From the 1920s to the 1960s, Akron, Ohio was a boomtown. A lot of people were making a lot of money off of rubber, and the city's economy flourished. But by the end of the 1980s, Akron (and the rest of the Rust Belt) had experienced the worst manufacturing industry downturn in American history, most of the rubber factories were gone, and what stood in their place were some cool bands like The Pretenders, The Bizarros, 15-60-75 (The Numbers Band), and The Waitresses. The same DIY scene that helped produce these acts, with roots sprouting from the gadfly sanctuary neighborhood of Highland Square, later fostered The Black Keys, and most recently, Time Cat. Akron's been down, but never out.

Time Cat headlined this year's PorchRokr Festival in Akron's Highland Square neighborhood. What sets this annual music festival apart from the thousands of other annual music festivals is that the musicians play on residential verandas. You walk from porch to porch and see bands play. This year the porches were spread out over about 15 city blocks, and there were also a couple stages erected in the lovely Will Christie Park adjacent to the neighborhood.

It was fun for the whole family. There was a five-piece jazz ensemble of insanely talented, mostly 12-year-old kids, called Moldy Figs. There were some local ambassadors of pop punk, Ghost Slime. There were dad bands (for dads by dads, also surf dads), and some funky mom bands too. There was Ginger Ackley, strumming an autoharp and singing serene Celtic folk; Floco Torres, a monster on the mic, with charisma to match his bars; and Soleo, a teenaged Middle Eastern prog rock band who shredded.

Then there was Time Cat, who got an intro from the Mayor of Akron. Their set was fun as hell, with fan favorites like "Boozled" and "Young Ones." Plus they covered "War Pigs." It was the biggest show the band ever played, for the biggest crowd PorchRokr ever hosted. Being at the festival felt like witnessing history—a milestone in the continuing renaissance of a once-doomed city.

I caught up with Jeri, Sam, and Corey from Time Cat before the show, for a chat out the back of their van.

Noisey: What has your experience been like in Akron? There are 130 bands here, 250 applied, so they had to turn them away. So there's this massive underground DIY indie scene here in Akron.

Corey Jenkins (Bass): It has been for a long time, like 50 years, really.

Jeri Sapronetti (Guitar/Vocals): I mean it definitely comes in waves. There have been times where there's like three decent bands to go see and it's at like Annabell's [Highland Square bar] or something. But I've been in one of those bands where you're just keeping it alive because there's nothing else you can do. Like, I quit college, because music is what I do. i've always felt that I couldn't stop until I could realize my vision. It's one that i've had since I was a little kid, playing in bands with my stuffed animals.