Rochester's Second Annual PorchFest had the downtown rockin'

Dancers take to the floor to the tunes of C-Rock as they play in the Union Street Parking Lot during Rochester's 2nd Annual PorchFest on Sunday. (Rochester Voice photos)

ROCHESTER - City streets, not the hills, were alive with music on Sunday as the 2^nd Annual PorchFest brought thousands to the downtown to watch more than 40 bands of all genres play their hearts out for fans old and new.

There was the eerily Halloweeny bluesy rock of Melodies from Ghost Rock playing at Hervey's Tire not far from the all-xylophone band Patti and the Pop Tarts at the corner of Union and North Main who were a stone's throw from the Wyandotte Falls alleyway where Fukax blasted out Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love".

A crowd enjoys the sounds of the band Aunt Pet which was set up near the Collectiques Shop on North Main Street on Sunday.

Rochester Mayor Caroline McCarley, who was among a teeming crowd milling about the half dozen North Main Street venues around 12:30 p.m., said she was thrilled with the turnout ... and the party had just begun.

Asked if she thought it might be good to have more PorchFests during the summer and autumn months, she nodded.

"I'll be looking into it," she said.

In fact, when all was said and done around 5 p.m., it could well have been in

The lead singer of Melodies from Ghost Rock, whose band name is Tommy Ghost, left, helps members of Wreckless Child get set up before the start of the 2nd Annual Porchfest Sunday.

excess 2,000 who came out to enjoy this most unique of regional events.

The lead singer of Melodies from Ghost Rock, whose band name is Tommy Ghost, said this was "the largest musical collaborative that local musicians have ever taken part of."

He said his band plays almost all of its gigs in the Rochester-Dover area, playing recently at the Brickhouse in Dover.

Alex Veseskis of Rochester, who was attending his first PorchFest and considers himself an alternative-rock guy, said he was finding plenty of his music to enjoy.

"I'm liking this," he said.

Meanwhile, Ruthanna Fournier of Rochester, who was downtown with her husband and baby, said they just happened on the musical smorgasbord when they were downtown just killing time on a Sunday afternoon.

"This is awesome," she said.

In the Union Street Parking lot where several food trucks and other vendors were set up as well as a band, the pavement became an impromptu dance floor, while on North Main the crowd before some bands was four deep with many listeners taking advantage of the bike lane to listen to their favorite band.

PorchFest was promoted by the Rochester Opera House with major sponsorships from Xfinity, 98.7 Frank fm and Holy Rosary Credit Union. Other sponsors included Rochester Main Street, Postal Center USA, Grace Community Church, First United Methodist Church and State Farm Peggy Lynch.