Free Porch Café Music Festival to Honor Area Musician with Day of Fun and Live Music
The festival will run on Oct. 12, 2025, at the Alton Amphitheater for a full day of fun on the riverfront.
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ALTON - Community members can enjoy a full day of music, food, craft vendors and fun at the annual Porch Café Music Festival in Honor of Bud Summers.
From 1–5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, bands and musicians will play at the Alton Amphitheater in memory of Summers, one of the area’s favorite music teachers. The free festival invites the community to enjoy the music, snack at local food trucks, meet vendors and crafters and enjoy a day on the riverfront.
“Our goal is to just keep growing,” said Jamie, one of the festival’s organizers. “Let’s showcase all the talent. It’s the music talent, it’s the food talent, it’s the crafters, it’s all creative people in Alton coming together for one event. The more crafters we can have, the more people there, it just makes it one fun full day.”
The music starts at 1 p.m. with the Alton High School Jazz Ensemble. They will be followed by Soulard Blues Band, Erin Jo, Porch Café Band, Cole Tarrant, Mondin Band, Everheart and Light, and Rock Crown Band. Each band will play a 40-minute set with support from the individual musicians and duos during breaks.
The event is completely free to attend. Riviera Maya, C-Rations and Jewel the Ice Cream Truck will be present with food for purchase. The organizers are still seeking craft vendors to participate.
Proceeds from the festival and sponsorships go back to the Bud Summers Music Foundation, which provides scholarships for aspiring musicians in the Riverbend region. Last year, they gifted a keyboard to an Alton High School student.
Jamie, Alivia and Jason, who organize the festival, noted that their work wouldn’t be possible without the sponsors. They hope to continue providing music education to local kids.
“My hope and goal is that this continues on so that maybe the newer generations, they’re not going to know who Bud Summers was, but they’ll know that this is a foundation they can depend on,” Alivia said. “I didn’t know Bud personally, but from what I’ve heard, I think he would probably be pretty proud of what we’re doing in his honor.”
Jamie added that Summers was “very humble” and would be “floored” to see the festival today. Jason expressed his gratitude for the chance to honor Summers.
“It means a lot to me,” he said. “I’ve known Bud since I was 2 years old. He was in a band with my dad, and he was like a father figure to me. It means a lot.”
The trio added that there seems to be “a renaissance” of music and art talent in the Alton area, and they are eager to be a part of this. They hope many people come out to the Porch Café Music Festival in Honor of Bud Summers so they can see this talent for themselves while honoring a great man and raising money for the next generation of musicians.
“We’re glad that the whole family can come together too to see the impact that he had on our community,” Jamie added. “We're really trying to help the younger generation so that they can get to the point where they can be like Porch Café and they can play at a restaurant in a band or wherever. We’re just trying to really encourage the younger generation in memory of Bud Summers.”
For more information about the free festival, visit the official Facebook event page. To learn more about becoming a vendor, a sponsor or a donor to support the Bud Summers Music Foundation, email budsummersmusicfoundation@gmail.com.
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