The Original Screw Tops are playing at Sunday’s Historic Athens Porchfest, but things are different this year following the recent death of longtime bassist Jeff Evans.
“To be honest, I’m still in shock because he had this heart condition,” vocalist Marcelo Buril said. “It was one of those days he said, ‘Hey, we have rehearsal on Thursday in the morning. Should be back home at noon.’ He never came out, you know?”
Evans, who was 72, died July 29. His passing left a significant gap in the blues band he helped create back in 2012. Buril said the band made efforts to find a new bassist, but no one has filled the role like Evans.
Their friend left the band instructions to celebrate in his memory instead of mourning him, Buril said, so despite the loss, the band will playing at 1 p.m. More than 260 other performers will join The Original Screw Tops Sunday across seven neighborhoods for Porchfest this year — ending with the mayor’s show at 7 p.m.
The free event has grown over the years and has gained partnerships, including trolley rides, vendors and a food truck lot.
One new feature is an interactive website with a way to search for artists, view a map of all performances and listen to and support the bands included.
To me, it’s just the uniqueness of the event itself. It’s just so cool,” Buril said.
“I’ve been in Athens now for 26 years. So to be part of an event that every year you go from 50 bands to 100 bands, this year we’re gonna have 262 bands. So just insane to even know that we would have that many bands here in Athens.”
Porchfest continues to claim an authentic Athens music experience and a real look at the city’s neighborhoods as it heads into its seventh year. Denise Sunta, senior director of operations at Historic Athens, has high expectations for the event, seeing the partnership as a way to get people connected beyond just attending.
“I would love for this event to be something that like people from all over are like, ‘I want to go to Historic Athens Porchfest this year,’” Sunta said.
One of those partnerships is Athentic Brewing Co., a craft brewery that created a collaboration beer, Lost Places Lager. The brew is the fourth beer the company has created for Porchfest, and it’s unique for having four historic locations on each of the cans.
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Paul Skinner, co-owner of Athentic Brewing Company, expressed enthusiasm for the brewery’s involvement in supporting local music and community engagement.
It’s pretty amazing. And just to see people traveling through the neighborhoods as they do, and bumping into each other,” Skinner said.
“Athens is really a small town. And after all, you know, that’s the beauty of Athens, is it’s big in many ways and also small in many ways, and those connections we make is what makes the community so beautiful.”
Barrett Nardi is a journalism major in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
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