About

“Unplugged on the Front Porch provides regular opportunities to listen to exceptional music and engage in meaningful conversation with the artist in an intimate and acoustically exquisite environment. I am always enriched by the experience.” Stephen Edmonds

Every 3rd Thursday we create a truly transformative experience in which artists and audiences bond through music and conversation in a listening space that benefits the Austin community.  It’s really incredible.  You’d be crazy to miss it.

The Front Porch has teamed up with All Saints’ Episcopal Church and the Live Music Capital Foundation  for a second season to bring you Austin’s finest artists. We’ve got this incredible space, and we want to do something really special with it:  Not just great music, but Living Wage Concerts.  By taking care of our artists, we’re guaranteeing quality to the audiences.  Community support makes that possible from people like you.

The Front Porch has always had a fascination with music and its ability to bring people together and communicate across social, racial, gender, and linguistic divides. We’ve been involved with various musical undertakings since 2009, but didn’t really find our niche until we partnered with the Live Music Capital Foundation and developed Unplugged on the Front Porch in 2013. Since then, we’ve brought some of central Texas’ finest musicians into the visually and acoustically stunning space of All Saints’ Episcopal Church for an experience that is uniquely intimate and interactive for both artists and audience.

Last year’s artists included: Sam Baker, Guy Forsyth and Terri Hendrix with Lloyd Maines, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Colin Gilmore, Nelo, Darden Smith, Ruby Jane, Will Taylor and String Attached with John Pointer, and Mother Falcon.

Unplugged on the Front Porch is usually on the third Thursday of the month. The doors open at 6:30, although we invite everyone to hang out on the lawn, chat with the other patrons, and have a drink. At 7:00, the music starts. We usually take a ten minute intermission around 7:45, then come back for a conversation with the artists about what makes them tick before getting back into the music. We’re usually done by 9:00.

Cost

One of the things about Unplugged that we’re so proud of is that it’s free for everyone. You don’t have to worry about buying a ticket or a seat or anything like that. Even the drinks are free. We do ask for a $10 or $20 donation which goes directly to the artist. Heck, even the parking is free, although sometimes it can get a little crunched, so we recommend carpooling if you can.

Space

Unplugged on the Front Porch is hosted in All Saints’ Episcopal Church. Originally built in 1899, it is recognized as a historic building by the Texas Historical Commission. As you might expect from such a venerable structure, All Saints’ is a strikingly beautiful space. What surprises many people is that it follows in the millennium old tradition of fantastic acoustical engineering present in many churches. The artists are consistently astonished by the purity of sound they can get, and some eschew amplifiers completely, choosing to let the building fill its function as a natural amplifier. Needless to say, it makes for a pretty amazing experience for everyone involved.

Partners

Unplugged is a joint production between the Front Porch and the Live Music Capital Foundation. All Saints’ Episcopal Church generously contributes the space. Additionally, Unplugged on the Front Porch wouldn’t work without the generous support of Robin and Stephen Edmonds, John Pointer, Stuart Blackwell, Philip DeFalco, Charlotte Frazier, Chris Johnson,  David Saenz, Martin Kohout, Liz Williams, Jerry Laporte, Blake Naleid, Momin Ahmad, Augie Vanderford, Marvin Jones, and Mona Myers.