With most stages closed, musicians played on Norfolk porches on Saturday

The song “Hallelujah” reverberated from a minivan in a Ghent driveway Saturday evening.

A small crowd bundled in winter coats and face masks gathered silently around the popped trunk to watch a Virginia Symphony member play her father’s box cello.

Multicolor holiday lights wrapped around the trunk door and puddled on the ground, framing Rebecca Gilmore’s impromptu stage.

Gilmore was one of more than 20 musicians who performed outside during “Porchella” — a celebration of local music named for the prominent Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California. Local residents were able to watch the small shows throughout the night.

Artists who thrive off of performing have found it difficult to play alone and without audiences during the pandemic, Gilmore said.

“It is hard being a musician and feeling like you’re silenced,” Gilmore said. “I want to get back to normal life and I know other people do, too.”

Rebecca Gilmore plays a cello out of the back of a Honda Odyssey outside a house as a part of a spontaneous porch music festival dubbed Porchella in the Ghent neighborhood of Norfolk on Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020. (Hannah Ruhoff / The Virginian-Pilot)

Cristina Fletcher, a professional landscape designer, decided to organize the local festival, modeled after a similar event in Richmond. She said she wanted to do something to help support artists and help people get out of their houses while still socially distancing.

“Our musicians are not able to play gigs like they normally do,” Fletcher said. “It has been really hard on them. We want to bring a little bit of joy and fun to the neighborhood.”

Fletcher invited Tejas Singh to play guitar and sing from her porch. The next-door neighbors heard the music and came out to listen, along with a small crowd that spread out on the sidewalk and in the yard.

“This might be my coldest performance ever,” Singh told the crowd.

Tejas Singh plays guitar and sings as a part of a porch music festival dubbed Porchella in the Ghent neighborhood of Norfolk on Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020. (Hannah Ruhoff / The Virginian-Pilot)

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Joyce and Bill Rosenbaum, who live in Ocean View, attended Porchella to support the musicians and enjoy holiday cheer while keeping a safe distance from others.

“This is the first Christmas I haven’t been with my family, so it has been really hard,” Joyce Rosenbaum said. “This too shall pass.”

A crowd of about 30 watched Zoe Chatfield, the lead singer of an indie Americana group called the Bandshes, and guitarist Tom Stanley perform on a stranger’s porch across the street from the Harris Teeter on Colonial Avenue. The two hadn’t met before Saturday. It took a few tries before they synchronized while performing “Sea of Love” by Cat Power.

“It makes it spontaneous,” Chatfield said.

The last time Chatfield performed live was in March before states began issuing stay-at-home orders and shutting down businesses. Since then, Chatfield said, she has focused on songwriting. But she has missed connecting with people through live music. She said many people resent having to spend so much time cooped up this year, so she was happy to bring joy to people stuck at home.

“It is nice to be a part of this creative moment,” she said. “It was really beautiful.”

Alissa Skelton, 757-995-9043, alissa.skelton@pilotonline.com.