Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Thursday September 18, 2025 - Columbus, OH

Road Blog
Columbus, Ohio
September 18, 2025

I left home around noon on Thursday, trying to leave as little of a mess in my wake for TrooperGirl22 to come home to as possible. The drive to Columbus was mostly uneventful, except for a completely unnecessary detour around some road closure in Kenton, Ohio that cost me about 15 minutes but could have cost me about 90 seconds had I ignored the signs and just gone around the block. Anyhow, that stretch once you get off I-75 just past Findlay until you get into back into the Columbus interstate loop is pretty brutal; 2-lane highways with crawling farm equipment and geriatric drivers forever. I’ve never been a fan, but it’s the most direct route and it is what it is.

I checked into my motel on the south side of Columbus and got caught up with all the action on my phone that I’d missed over the last three hours and chilled out for a few minutes before I had to get into my show headspace and head back into the city. It was an easy 15 minutes to the venue where I met the owner John and loaded in. The Ohio Taproom sits on a busy intersection on the north side downtown Columbus with lots of walking traffic and other bars around. It’s a former barber shop, I assume, based on the aged barber shop pole still attached to the building by the front entrance. The patio where I played was out front, and there’s a cozy taproom inside with an amazing beer selection and a few boutique liquors too.

I unloaded and set up then parked my vehicle and walked over to the Woodlands Tavern where I got a couple awesome shrimp tacos and an IPA. I haven’t played the Woodland yet, surprisingly, but it looks like a room that would be a good fit or The Tucos or me solo, so hopefully one day. Back at The Ohio Taproom I met Ricky C., who is my Co-Editor-in-Chief at Pencil Storm. We’ve communicated together countless times, multiple times a week, for the last 7 years or so, but never met face to face, so I think it was pretty cool that we finally did. Ricki’s done it all and he has endless stories. Seeing Aerosmith on their first tour (“still wearing jeans and tee-shirts”) is up there with my favorites. Before long, Colin ( WATERSHED, League Bowlers, Pencil Storm) and Nick (Pencil Storm County Tippin’) showed up and it’s not often there’s more than 1 of us in one spot at the same time, so we made sure to grab a photo.

I went on at 6pm and it took me a few songs to dial in my sound and find my voice and fingers, but I locked in after a couple tunes and it felt ok. Before long there was a pretty decent group of people hanging out, and Marcy Mays (Scrawl), Rick (Watershed, League Bowlers), and then Micah (Two Cow Garage, Call Me Rita) came in and grabbed a seat. Felt good to have so many friends there, and three generations of Columbus rock and roll royalty.

I played straight through, focusing mostly on original stuff, but threw in a couple covers as I do during these longs sets, until 8PM. Spent some time getting caught up with Micah, Colin, Rick, and Ricky, grabbing some photos, and having a nightcap before the lights went up and it was time to load out. It was a fun night, great to be outside while it’s still nice out, and grateful for all who came out, and to John and the crew for having me!

I called TrooperGirl22 on my way back to the motel and she was just getting in from Ladies’ Night in our little town and getting ready for bed. She got to hear me place and receive my order for a double cheeseburger and small clam strips from the White Castle next to my motel (you know it’s a nice motel when…. but when made well, their double cheeseburger is the best in the fast food market) before we said goodnight. Back in the room I scarfed down my WC (A+), did some business paperwork, and watched some family guy before switching over to a shark documentary on NatGeo.

This morning I was up and at `em pretty early, working on the blog, drinking shitty in-room coffee, watching The Rifleman reruns. Down at the breakfast bar a young couple was dealing with some sort of break-in/vandalism at their house back home, wherever that is, and their…house-cleaner? was tallying the damage piece by piece. I wouldn’t normally eavesdrop on anyone’s conversation, especially in a moment of trauma like that, but when you’re face-timing with the volume of your phone cranked in a public breakfast space with about 6 small tables in a confined area, well, I wasn’t really given the choice not to. Anyhow, they’re clearly having a worse day than me so I hope they get that all sorted out.

Today it’s off to Louisville where I’ll play the Highlands Tap Room tonight from 7-10. It’s a rowdy little joint with good food and vibe, and like last night, my first solo show there. Big thanks again to John at The Ohio Taproom for a fun night in Columbus, and to all my friends who came out to support – means a lot to me. See ya tonight Kentucky!