LOGAN SQUARE — Stoop and front porches are a Chicago institution.
They epitomize the idea of a neighborhood, and, to embrace that tradition, a young Chicagoan has launched a series of front porch concerts around the city.
The roaming concert series has already toured seven front porches in seven different Chicago neighborhoods this summer. The next and final stop of this year's Front Porch Concert Series is scheduled this weekend in Logan Square.
"I basically just love the idea of the front porch," said 22-year-old Carisa Marconet, the founder of the concert series. "Front porches are kind of like an open space where you can easily meet people and welcome them. ... It's something that's very rooted in American culture."
Saturday's performance starts at 5 p.m. on Marconet's own front stoop at 2631 N. Sawyer Ave.
"The local Chicago [music] scene is really great," she said. "I wanted to contribute to it and do something cool and fun and promote city exploration and build community."
Most of the gatherings have been relatively small with about 20 or so attendees taking in an intimate performance. This summer's tour included porches in Pilsen, Wicker Park, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Bridgeport, North Center and the West Loop.
The process of finding the stoops is completely organic: Marconet simply gets on her bike and rides through the neighborhoods.
When she sees a stoop or porch that she likes, she knocks on the front door and asks if she can host a concert there. For the post part, people are open to playing host.
"There are so many different pretty porches," Marconet said. "Some neighborhoods have more front porches than others."
The performers at each stop of the tour aren't announced until the day of the show and are usually local, and the sets are usually acoustic and last about 30 minutes.
"I usually keep it a surprise of who is performing until the day of show to make the event more about people coming to the porches and exploring the neighborhood," Marconet said.
Marconet works as an event planner for Metronome Chicago, the event-planning group that puts on North Coast Music Festival and Riot Fest.
That experience has helped her plan her inaugural tour and book different artists for each stop.
"I try to do it on any porch to show you can play music and hang out on any sized porch," Marconet said.
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