Festival logo designed by Kate Uleman

A new event planned for next month combines several concepts Ann Arbor holds dear: live music, walkability, community, the outdoors, and doing it yourself.

Also, porches.

The simple yet powerful idea of the Water Hill Music Fest is for musicians throughout an entire neighborhood to make music, on their porches, at the same time, for the enjoyment of listeners passing by.

It’s really a new kind of music festival, and it’s coming to the area known — or soon to be known, anyway — as Water Hill, just northwest of downtown, from 2-6 p.m. May 1.

The festival springs from the mind of Paul Tinkerhess, who owns Fourth Avenue Birkenstock with his wife, Claire.

Clockwise from top right: Paul Tinkerhess holding a modified five-string guitar; his wife, Claire, holding a lap dulcimer; their sons Eric, age 19, with a viola da gamba; Martin, 22, with an alto saxophone; and Miller, age 24, with a trumpet, sit on the porch of their family home in Ann Arbor. Paul Tinkerhess is organizing the neighborhood-wide Water Hill Music Fest.

Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com

Tinkerhess appreciates the concept of community — and the Ann Arbor community in particular. He speaks with heart of the value of local businesses, neighborhoods, and “being in one place, being committed to a piece of land.” When you find out he plays a banjo signed by Pete Seeger, it doesn’t come as a surprise. (He also plays a guitar modified for five strings.)

“I’ve had this idea brewing for years,” Tinkerhess said in a recent interview. And on May 1 (rain date: May 8), it will become reality: Musicians throughout the neighborhood have agreed to hang out on their porches and play for whoever cares to listen.

The idea has drawn amazing reaction. A recent count of committed performers numbered more than 100, at more than two dozen different locations.

“The response has been great. Water Hill, as I suspected, is dripping with musicians,” Tinkerhess said in an email.

Khalid Hanifi

A list of participants — which seems to grow by the day — includes many well-known names like jazz master Vincent York, guitar wizards Khalid Hanifi and George Bedard, beloved Latin jazz band Los Gatos, roots musician Chris Buhalis, singer-songwriter Dick Siegel, concert pianist and composer Waleed Howrani, Michigan Opera Theater Orchestra violist John Madison, and alt-country band Corndaddy. One group’s name isn’t being announced until the day of the event.

Other performers are less well known, ranging in age from young kids on up, and anyone is welcome to participate.

As a special warm-up, nationally known singer-songwriter Vienna Teng, currently in graduate school at the University of Michigan, has agreed to do a private concert later this month for volunteers and friends of the festival.

Chris Buhalis

Well-known local musician Chris Buhalis lives in the neighborhood and plans to perform in the festival. "I think it's a great idea," he said. "I think it's a great way to build community ... How bad could it be? People playing music everywhere!"

The event, naturally, takes place in the neighborhood where Tinkerhess lives. Unlke many areas of Ann Arbor, it isn’t really known for a particular name, but Tinkerhess has been trying to get “Water Hill” to catch on for some time now. He came up with it because of water-related street names like Spring, Brooks and Fountain; the area’s proximity to the Huron River; and tales of small springs throughout the area, now largely underground. Basically, it’s the area just northwest of Main and Miller; for the purposes of the festival, the neighborhood boundaries are Miller on the south, Sunset on the north, Brooks on the west and the Ann Arbor Railroad tracks on the east.

Neighborhood resident Jeff Kahan has volunteered to help with the festival.

"It brings attention to what is, without question, the coolest neighborhood in the city. We’ve been long proud of the history, architectural diversity, proximity to downtown and the river, views, parks, bakery, friendliness of residents and overall coolness, but not too cool, character of the neighborhood," Kahan said in an email. "Community and neighborhood are huge values for many people in Ann Arbor. This effort will not only be delightful to witness, it’ll also be about cultivating social connection. The music will be wonderful, but connecting with friends and neighbors from all over town will make the event really special. We hope a lot of people from all over town can join us to celebrate music and community."

The logistics of the event are simple: Even in today’s world, it turns out that you don’t need permission from the city to play a guitar on your porch, so the festival doesn’t even require any special permits. (Rules against excessive noise apply, of course. Participants are being asked to be considerate of their neighbors and to fully communicate ahead of time what’s going on. And the neighborhood was recently canvassed with door hangers so everyone is aware of the plans.)

On the day of the event, a map of scheduled performances will be posted on the festival website, waterhill.org/, and available in print at locations around the neighborhood. Signs will be posted in the front yards of participating musicians. “But I also hope for some unprogrammed anarchy, with neighbors deciding at the last minute to dust off harmonicas and tambourines,” Tinkerhess said.

For those going to listen, good walking shoes and loose clothing are recommended; something easily carried to sit on might be a good idea as well. There are restrooms at Hunt Park, at the north end of the neighborhood, and the city has promised a portable restroom at Belize Park, on the corner of Summit and Fountain streets.

And that's pretty much it. A bunch of people playing music, and a bunch of other people listening. This could turn out to be big.

Keep up with the latest news on the event at the festival website, waterhill.org/, and its Facebook page, www.facebook.com/waterhillmusicfest. To perform or volunteer, email paul@waterhill.org. And watch for further coverage on AnnArbor.com.

Bob Needham is director of entertainment content for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at bobneedham@annarbor.com or 734-623-2541, and follow him on Twitter @bobneedham.