Behind the Porchlight

Behind The Porchlight: Bringing Community Home with Emily Marschner

| July 17, 2024 | Behind the Porchlight | 0 comments

For Emily Marschner, summer camp is life.

For about twenty years, Emily and her family have lived and worked year-round at Hume Christian Camps, a youth camp in the middle of the Sequoia National Forest. While summer is their big event season, the camp hosts off-season retreats for adults, as well as science camps and winter getaways.

Photo from the Hume Lake Christian Camps website.

This wasn’t always the plan, though. “I’ve been up here for about 20 years,” Emily explained “I moved up here after college as an in-between until I start real life. And then…”

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Behind the Porchlight with Steve Chab: Committing to Art and Community

| May 21, 2024 | Behind the Porchlight | 1 comment

“I guess I’m more like a noisy prophet.” 

A poet, a musician, a songwriter, and coder, Steve and his family hail from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Equal to his passion to create is his desire to support creators. From a young age, Steve has been involved in DIY communities and arts events, driven by a desire to see artists thrive. 

It all began at the age of fourteen, when Steve traded his trumpet for a guitar. Brought up on rock and roll, Steve started a bunch of metal bands in high school, soon switching to drums when drummers were scarce. 

“God used my drummer dilemma to draw me to Him,” he explained. “I eventually started dating the woman who’s now my wife. She wanted to go to a church so we went to church. There’s more to this story, but I started drumming in this church before I even believed in God. Eventually, I did start believing. And so there’s no turning back now.” 

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Behind the Porchlight with Trailand Eltzroth: Creating Shared Stories

| April 23, 2024 | Behind the Porchlight | 0 comments

Trailand Eltzroth is no stranger to the artist’s life on the road. Born to a singer-songwriter and a dance teacher, Trailand grew up traveling around the country with his parents as they showcased their art. From churches to college campuses, the Eltzroths served the Church with performances and workshops on Christian artistry. It was this environment that engendered Trailand’s love for songwriting and community.

“In a simple way to put it, I was like an unfocused youth, and I think music really grounded me,” he shared. “It was the thing that I grasped onto.”

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Behind the Porchlight with the McMannis Family: Come Through, Don’t Fly Over

| January 19, 2023 | Behind the Porchlight | 0 comments

Norman, Oklahoma is big on college football. Home of the Oklahoma Sooners, Norman is about three hours north of Dallas, a halfway point from Oklahoma to Tennessee. Norman is home to the McMannis family (arguably more soccer people than football people), transplants from California who appreciate just what a hub of connectivity their city is. 

“Norman, Oklahoma can be really overlooked in terms of location,” Raeanna McMannis explained. “A lot of times, when people hear ‘Oklahoma,’ it’s kind of wrapped into the flyover states. There’s a lot of rich tradition in our town and it’s also really good thoroughfare for musicians from Tenessee that are dropping down into Dallas.” 

Hosting Before Porchlight

Taking note of their prime location for touring musicians and having their interests peaked by Carly Bannister’s then-upcoming “Technically a Texas Tour” consisting of some house concerts alongside Jac Thompson and S. Grant Parker, the McMannis family fell into hosting.

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Behind the Porchlight: Ghost of Christmas Present

| December 15, 2022 | Behind the Porchlight | 1 comment

“Come in and know me better, man!” Thus, the ghost of Christmas Present greets Charles Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge in the timeless classic A Christmas Carol. The ghost of Christmas Present, characterized by abundance, warmth, mirth, and welcome, reminds us of our best Christmases. These things about Christmas that we love most can all find fulfillment in art and hospitality. So, it follows that Christmas house concerts fit in this Christmas season like the star atop the tree.

Porchlight Christmas Show Season

This month, across the country—from Rochester, NY down to Richmond, TX, back up to San Diego, CA, and many places in between—Porchlight hosts are holding Porchlight Christmas concerts. For some, this represents the first event of the Christmas season. For others, a welcome respite from the hubbub of holiday shopping and planning. The temptation to lose oneself in either isolation or consumerism tightens its grip each passing year, with its highest potency felt during the holidays. 

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Behind The Porchlight: The Local Hang-Ups On Being Hosts and Artists

| May 11, 2022 | Behind the Porchlight | 0 comments

Behind “Behind the Porchlight”

In my work with Porchlight, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to hosts around the country for this blog series. Mostly we talk about their hosting experience: the initial planning, their home and setup, interactions with the artists, and what they learned from the night. While each interview is unique, common threads spool them together. Of these, three are constant: a rooted love for God, a commitment to serve others, and the belief that music is an ordained catalyst for both.

Their stories have served to strengthen my faith. In these polarizing and isolating times, it’s life-giving to hear how others are welcoming the stranger and feeding the hungry (both physically and creatively) with the first fruits of what they have: their homes, kitchens, friend groups, sound equipment, stages, and most valuably—their vulnerability and time. They offer whatever they have, as they are.

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