ALTON - Porch Café’s Music Festival in Honor of Bud Summers brought together local musicians for a good cause.
On Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, community members gathered at the Alton Amphitheater for a day of music, food trucks and craft vendors. Porch Café was also collecting money for its new nonprofit, the Bud Summers Music Foundation, which will provide scholarships to aspiring musicians.
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“It was a windy but beautiful day of the community coming together to support local musicians in honor of Bud Summers,” said Alivia Levi, lead singer of Porch Café and one of the festival’s main organizers. “Just seeing the community come out not only for Bud but for a music festival, to me, it just shows that the community is hungry for community things and to support each other.”
Levi noted that many of the festival’s featured acts had a connection with Summers. Porch Café’s lead guitarist once took lessons from him, and Summers’s band The Stingers reunited for a performance on Sunday. Porch Café, Rum Buggie, Soulard Blues Band, Coping In Blue, Max Michael, Erin Jo, Cole Tarrant and Big George were also included in the festival.
The Bud Summers tribute festival has been a popular Alton event for several years, and Porch Café was eager to collaborate this year as the main organizer. Levi worked with Summers’s wife Tracy, Jason McAtee, and Josh and Jamie Ruyle to organize the nonprofit and the festival.
“I’ve always wanted to put on a music festival in town because I am so deeply passionate about music,” Levi said. “The Riverbend area, especially Alton, has hidden gems. The musicians here are incredible. The artists here are incredible. There’s just so much hidden talent here.”
In addition to supporting local musicians, the festival introduced the Bud Summers Music Foundation. The Alton High School Class of 1977, Summers’s graduating class, raised $1,000 toward the organization over the weekend.
The money will go toward scholarships for local children so they can purchase instruments or pay for music lessons. Levi hopes the foundation will advocate for young musicians while honoring Summers, who was a music teacher.
“What also is sweet is that a lot of the younger generation, kids coming up, they’re not going to know who Bud Summers was, so a way to keep his memory alive is through the Bud Summers Music Foundation,” she explained. “I feel like that’s such a great way to keep his music alive and his memory alive in generations to come.”
For more information about the Bud Summers Music Foundation, contact Porch Café on Facebook or email porchcafe@porchcafeband.com. You can also visit PorchCafe.com to learn more about the band and their work in the community. Levi said she is already “really looking forward” to next year’s festival and the chance to support local musicians and recognize Summers.
“It was honoring to see the community come out and support the local talent and this music foundation in honor of Bud Summers,” Levi added. “I’m really looking forward to seeing where this will go and how it will grow in years to come.”
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