The Porchfest neighborhood live music event is returning to Bowling Green with more bands on more porches.

The lineup of local bands has expanded from eight groups to 12. The concert is set for June 4, from 2-6 p.m. in Bowling Green on Eberly, Hankey and Gorrell avenues.

“We tried to get a variety of music, so there’s something for everybody to enjoy. This is for the people of Bowling Green,” event founder Brian Young said of the second Porchfest in BG. “This idea is not new. It has been around for about 20 years, at least.”

Young estimated that there are now probably 150 cities holding Porchfest events. He was involved in the Dayton Porchfest before moving to Bowling Green. He did get advice from the Dayton organizers.

“In Dayton, I was a host for bands on my porch and we had a blast with it,” Young said. “The Bowling Green Porchfest, last year, evolved from the COVID concerts, when bands played in my garage and on my porch during COVID. It was just fun to see your neighbors, because nothing was going on.”

He brought the concept to Bowling Green last year, after having a couple bands play at his house on Eberly Avenue during the early part of the pandemic.

Each band plays for a 40 minute set, with a new one starting every 20 minutes, and there will be at least two bands playing at any given time.

This is the second Porchfest in Bowling Green, and it’s been moved to June, from August.

“We moved it to June just because of the heat. But it also coincided with the students returning to the university and distractions from events that coincided with Porchfest. We just thought it would be a lot better time frame, because there is not as much going on June 4,” Young said.

Last summer’s event was one of the hottest days of the year, but people did take advantage of the tree-lined streets.

“I think some people stayed away because of the heat, but I do think it went really well for a first time,” Young said.

The Porchfest concept is meant to be intimate and local.

Bob Midden, with the traditional Irish band Toraigh, said there will be a wide variety of music.

“It’s a form of music that not a lot of people have listened to much. Most people are familiar with Irish music, but most often it’s what you hear around St. Patrick’s Day and in pubs. What we do is the historical, traditional, mostly dance music of Ireland,” Midden said. “An important aspect of Porchfest is bringing a wide variety of music to our community and helping them possibly discover music that they might enjoy, but were unaware of. It also gives them opportunities to enjoy music they are already familiar with.”

Midden is on the planning committee for the event.

“We don’t have every kind of music you can think of. That’s impossible,” Midden said. “We have a variety of traditional folk music, jazz, blues, pop music, a woodwinds group, and a ukulele band, The Grand Royale Ukulelists of the Black Swamp, also known as the GRUBS. It’s really a nice eclectic mix of different genres of music, that I hope people find very appealing, inspiring and enjoyable.”

The event is free, but an actual hat is passed to help pay the bands.

Young said that they are lining up sponsors, but it went well enough last year that people have asked for swag, commemorative T-shirts, posters, ball caps and pint glasses, that will all be available to remember the event, promote the next one, and hopefully get some more cash to the musicians.

Greg Rich, a business professor at Bowling Green State University, is the lead singer for the band Illegal Smiles.

“The name of our band is Illegal Smiles, which comes from a John Prine song. I’m a huge John Prine fan,” Rich said.

This is the band’s second year to play Porchfest.

“Honestly, I don’t know what resonates with other people, but I know what resonates with me a lot. I’ve been a John Prine fan all my life,” Rich said. “It’s a real thrill to play with these people. I appreciate Brian for organizing the event and I’m looking forward to it.”

The other bands are Freight Street, Ginger & the Snaps, The Jolly Grabbers, Tree No Leaves, Moths in the Attic, the Joe Baker Band, Black Swamp Winds, CBR and Milk on the Rocks.

More details about the event can be found on the BG Porchfest Facebook page.