On Saturday, September 26, the streets and neighborhoods of Nyack and Upper Nyack will come alive with music as the inaugural Nyack Neighborhood Music & Arts Festival (NNMAF) brings more than 100 musical acts to 40 neighborhood porches, lawns, driveways and stages for a free, community-wide celebration of music and the arts.
Rather than concentrating the festival in a single venue, NNMAF is built around the spirit of a traditional Porchfest: musicians performing throughout residential neighborhoods, with audiences walking from porch to porch and discovering artists, streets and corners of the community along the way.
The festival is free and open to the public.
“This is really about turning the neighborhood itself into the venue,” said William Bird, President of Nyack Neighborhood Music & Arts Festival, Inc. “Instead of putting everyone behind a gate or on one big stage, we’re spreading live music throughout Nyack. You walk down a street, hear something coming from a porch, stop and listen, meet some people, and then wander on to discover something completely different. That sense of discovery is what makes a Porchfest special.”
The festival has grown dramatically since organizing began earlier this year. What started as an idea for a grassroots neighborhood music event has developed into one of the area’s most ambitious community music gatherings, with 100+ acts representing rock, folk, jazz, blues, punk, indie, singer-songwriters, jam bands and more.
Local residents have volunteered their homes and properties as performance spaces, while musicians, artists and community members have donated their time and talents to help build the event.
In addition to live music, the festival will showcase local artists and vendors, creating opportunities for attendees to experience the broader creative community while exploring Nyack on foot.
The organization behind the event, Nyack Neighborhood Music & Arts Festival, Inc., was incorporated in March 2026 and is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing musicians, artists, residents and local communities together through accessible arts programming.
Unlike a conventional music festival, there is no single headliner or main attraction.
The neighborhood is the attraction.
“The idea is that every porch matters and every artist matters,” Bird said. “You might come because you know one band and end up discovering five others you’ve never heard before. We want people walking around Nyack saying, ‘What’s that music? Let’s go see.’”
A live interactive festival map will allow attendees to explore participating locations, performance times and artist information and create their own route through the festival.
For the schedule, interactive map, participating artists, volunteer opportunities, sponsorship information and festival updates, visit: nyackneighborhoodmusicandartsfestival.org
