South Bend man performs karaoke from his front porch

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Joe Trethewey of South Bend says that with all the bars closing down due to the outbreak of COVID-19 he is now singing from his front porch to nurture his passion for karaoke.

When the bars initially began to shut down, Trethewey says he sang in his basement, but then he decided to move the performances to his front porch.

“Normally I’d sing at the bar and I’d have a crowd and there’s no bar so there’s no crowd,” Trethewey said. “It’s a lot more fun when people are enjoying what I’m doing — singing.”

Trethewey says that a few crowds have formed outside his home, with some people even requesting songs and filming videos of him singing.

He sings songs from the classic rock genre and music from the 1980s.

When asked about why he is putting on these porch performances, Trethewey explained that it is all about helping people feel positive.

“I’m glad that the good feeling I’m getting is being reciprocated and everybody else is feeling good about it too,” Trethewey said. “It’s a lot of fun and like you said it’s hard times. People are just trying to be social without being social.”

Trethewey plans on having more porch performances and he said that he is going to sing karaoke at Dave’s Pub in Mishawaka when the pandemic ends.