Nightlife – The Fresnan

What I’m Doing This Weekend: Porchfest [Duh]

April 24, 2026April 24, 2026 The Fresnan

Yes, what I am doing this weekend is what everyone else is doing on Saturday, it’s Porchfest – it’s one of my favorite Fresno things.

I have not locked in planning my day yet (because I am not that kind of person), but I do know some things, my loose schedule of the day I will try to have:

Jonathan Low-Fi – Canal Market at 11:00.
Brother Luke and the Comrades – South Tower Hitching Post at 11:30.
Sleepover Disaster – The Belmont at 12:00.
Werebear – Planet Punk at 1:30.
The Sunburns – The Big Red Porch at 1:45.
It’ll Grow Back – Planet Punk at 2:30.
123 Death – The Big Red Porch at 3:00.
Bootlegger Folk – Medium Weldon from 4-6.
Talking Ghost – The Big Red Porch at 4:15.
Bill Clifton & the Chicken & Whiskey Band – Tower Live! at 5:00.
From Flowers To Flies – The Belmont at 6:30.
Strange Vine – Goldstein’s at 10 PM.

Think I can pull it off?

Also looking to use the Fresno Trolley at some point:

img_1556 What I'm Doing This Weekend: Porchfest [Duh]

Great coverage of the event can be found at Bandgeeeek and Valley Echos.

A good page on the website to plan your day with is this one.

Shout out to the one stage in the NW region of Tower (Hamilton/Daily block), holding it down for the whole area.

Shout out to the Medium WelDON porch for the best dad-joke stage/porch name.

Starts at 10 in the morning. I am going to ‘Dad you’ here and tell you to drink some water and wear some sunblock. And also, nobody needs to know what is in your water bottle.

P.S. Don’t forget there is something cool to do on Sunday, too, you just have to take the short drive up to Madera, it’s Spring Fling! Classic VW car show.

-Mike

What I Might Do At FresYes Fest 2026

March 20, 2026March 20, 2026 The Fresnan

It has become a big local event that is now in the same space as the big big big BIG Fresno Fair and a Fresno State football game, it’s FresYes Fest. (Saturday 1-11:00 pm at Tioga and the baseball stadium)

Lucky for FresYes to have some (even if a little hot for March) good weather. There will be everything you can think to have at a festival, here is what I might be looking to do:

Watch every damn band I can. I am most pumped for Strange Vine and Werebear. Sadly Werebear had to cancel but It’ll Grow Back is a fine ass punk replacement. There is a good chance I won’t be around still for Strange Vine’s set – that’s okay as I plan to see them at their album release show at Fulton 55 (April 11th)
Park in the Spiral Garage. I think I will be there early enough that there will be spaces in the garage, but we shall see. Also considering taking the trolley bus in from Tower.
Find shade. It will be impossible to do this while watching bands though, and won’t be easy at other times. The Chuk with be open though and there is shade under the concourse at least.
Drink water. And yeah, beer too. Not much of a Seltzer person but I do want to try the Tioga & Ampersand blueberry seltzer colab.
Eat. I don’t have a particular food truck I am looking out for. The shortest line will be the top ranking factor for me, if I am being honest.

Band info:

img_1200-1 What I Might Do At FresYes Fest 2026

If you see me out there, please give me your drink ticket or a beer, straight up.

-Mikey

P.S. I have chosen sunblock to be the affiliate sponsor of this post. Because you’re going to fuckin’ need a sport face out there.

Gazebo Gardens Is a Needed Fresno Space

August 1, 2025August 6, 2025 The Fresnan

Feeling thankful to have Gazebo Gardens around. It’s pretty damn unique and borders on something necessary for a city.

I am not talking about the nursery/plant aspect of it either. I am talking about the third space feature for friend and family groups.

In case you don’t know, Thursday – Saturday evenings Gazebo Gardens nursery turns into a beer garden & food truck court. Complete with seating and some shade.

There are very few places you can meet up with people without having to reserve or hawk a big table, or worry if “all of your party is here yet”.

Just show up around a time. Eat, don’t eat. Drink beer, don’t drink. Kids can wander around. You can wander around. It’s great.

Sure, I get tired of it too, like any place. I am here to appreciate the looseness of it all, and there isn’t much of that out there.

Related: As I sat on Shields yesterday waiting for a train to pass, I caught a little bit of the blues coming from Gazebo

Fresno Oldhead Uneventfully Watches Bands and Drinks Beer In Tower

July 23, 2025July 27, 2025 The Fresnan

Editor’s note: I will be doing more personal log style posts here on The Fresnan with expansions of some of the Fresno!Fresno! content. Hope you enjoy and check my website more often as a result.

I was one of 3 old dudes at Goldstein’s last night. I don’t know to think if this is pathetic or something to be proud of.

Probably a bit of both.

Pathetic: Why are you out in The Tower alone as a 50 something dude? Go home and pull weeds or do dishes or some shit.

Proud: Nobody else in my age group out here checking out local bands and enjoying a beer, walking miles home.

I got that video just as the Goldstein’s crowd gave up trying to start a little pit. That band was not playing pit appropriate music but, dammit, folks wanted to pit.

For the younger Fresno crowd, this has been a staple of every Fresno generation; Fresnans love even the tiniest excuse to start a pit. Bless our little hearts. Do we need to grow up? Maybe. But it makes us kind of adorable too.

I decided to check in on Livingstone’s (It has been a while for me) and have a General Sherman IPA from our own Tioga.

The bar had just enough people to give me a sense of enough going on that I wanted to stay. But soon enough, a large amount of people came in and it was too much for this guy, so I headed back over to Gold’s and caught some more Fresno talent:

As I wandered the streets home, contemplating life, I am pretty sure I saw Fresno Jesus wink at me as I walked by:

saintteresechurch-768x1024 Fresno Oldhead Uneventfully Watches Bands and Drinks Beer In Tower

-Mikey

Keep Fresno Brutal

Casa Corona Closing the Wrong Casa Corona

December 19, 2024January 22, 2025 The Fresnan

We are flush with good Mexican restaurants in Fresno. So the closing of the Bullard & West Casa Corona is low on the loss scale. But it still sucks.

It’s a good location in a nice shopping center, good bar (although they could have done better with the beer selection), good neighborhood atmosphere and the history of it being once El Torro Tambien and still looking like it inside.

The decision to close was one of downsizing for the owners, not wanting the work of running two locations. But why keep the Cedar & Herndon and drop Bullard & West, because… no offense to Cedar but the Bullard one was kinda way better, IMO.

But whatevs, I assume the Cedar lease is cheaper and that’s the one they have had longer so, I get it.

Hopefully, another good local restaurant will get in that space and kill it.

Meanwhile, this is happening across the street:

https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe447e715-88f4-4078-a729-5de953887bb7_4032x3024 Casa Corona Closing the Wrong Casa Corona — This building will be having Wine Wednesdays every day, soon enough.

Related: Across the street, someone is making that odd white building into a wine bar. Yep, people will be bouncing between the Manhattan bar, the new wine bar, and Max’s across the street, it will be NW Fresno debauchery.

So watch out.