Not much happened on Saturday afternoon and early evening in Vankleek Hill… nah, I’m just just screwing around, more than 40 fantastic bands from across Quebec and Ontario came to town for a totally free, nine-hour energy-filled music festival across our little village — from total newbies all the way to established legitimate actual Canadian legends of Punk, Ska, and Rockabilly.

In one amazing day, I managed to get to nineteen awesome concerts… I gave up walking around to the uptown shows after a few hours, and then drove down to Beau’s Brewery on the outskirts of town, to catch a bunch of acts there. By the end of the festival, I had seen 50 Proof [here], Hadrian’s Wall [here], Audio Visceral [here], Miss DJ Sings [here], General Chaos [here], K-Man & The 45’s [here], Bloodshot Bill [here], Barrow Gang Buskers [here], Prospect Nelson [here], Outpost Echo [here], Guilhem [here], Slo’ Tom & The Handsome Devils [here], The One-Offs [here], BA Johnston [here], Ripcordz [here and here], and the Shook Boys [here]. And that wasn’t even half of the shows performed around town.

…I suppose I could have seen more bands, but any more fun and heat and dehydration and running around, and I probably would have died, and I do want to spend a few more years raising my kids. Maybe in the future, after they both pass 18-years old, I’ll try for all forty.

So, this is Part One of Two… maybe three, and I’m starting with photos of Vankleek Hill’s classic ’50 Proof’, ‘Hadrian’s Wall’, ‘Audio Visceral’, ‘Miss DJ Sings’, ‘As Good As It Gets’, Montreal’s up-and-coming ‘General Chaos’, Canada’s ska legends, ‘K-Man & The 45’s’, the always awesome ‘Bloodshot Bill’, and Hawkesbury’s own ‘Prospect Nelson’.

…anyway, if you see any of these bands playing in your hometown, definitely jump at the opportunity to catch them live. Or wait until next PorchFest, because most of them will be coming back. To see photos from an incredible day in Vankleek Hill, just click on the first picture to get the carousel going — remember, comments are always welcome, they’re free, it’s easy to leave them, writing one will make me happy… and a happy Gabriel is a Gabriel less likely to start smoking again, and I can NOT afford to do that again.