Another year of the Newport Folk Festival is officially in the books. After last years’ iconic Joni Mitchell set that felt like a once-in-a-lifetime moment in music history (QRO photos), the festival undoubtedly had a lot to live up to this year, Friday-Sunday, July 28th-30th, in Newport, RI.
Almost immediately, the air was thick with whispers of who would be the big guest to appear this year. The past few years of this festival has unintentionally trained its dedicated crowd to expect big names to appear in unexpected ways, perhaps to the detriment of the festival itself. Additionally, the lineup this year seemed to lack the depth compared to previous years as it was slowly rolled out on the fest’s social media pages. It also did not help that a few of the bigger names dropped out of the festival, including Orville Peck, Gabriels, and a day-of cancellation from Noah Kahan.
Newport’s Executive Director, the consummate Jay Sweet, made sure the theme of this year’s fest was made known from the jump. The festival debuted its new mission statement this year to concentrate on “creating moments of hope through the power of music and community.” While this year’s festival didn’t create any viral moments with such legends as Joni Mitchell, Dolly Parton, or Paul Simon, the diversity and breadth of the lineup speaks to this community that Sweet continues to foster in the folk music community. In this way, the absence of a surprise appearance from a music icon can be the reset that the festival needs to get back to its roots of fostering marginalized folk and americana artists in an increasingly harsh live music climate.
Despite these factors, this year’s lineup highlighted many local bands and continued to offer a diverse array of musical backgrounds and subsections of folk music. Perhaps the number one highlight this year for anyone who is a longtime Newport attendee was witnessing Dan Blakeslee play the Fort Stage. For years, Blakeslee could be found busking on the grounds of the festival and became a staple of the Newport weekend. Despite being early in the day, Blakeslee played to a full crowd at the Fort. Witnessing a powerful storyteller and performer get the recognition they deserve on the biggest stage at the festival was certainly a weekend highlight that sets Newport apart from any other music festival.
Kicking off the festival on Friday was Ron Gallo, an energetic Nashville-based singer-songwriter. One of the days’ highlights was the New Zealand band The Beths, fronted by Elizabeth Stokes. Despite almost succumbing to the days’ oppressive summer heat and humidity, the band delivered a high-energy set that included songs from their newest album, complete with a blow up fish head as a stage prop. Over at the Fort stage, Del Water Gap gave a fun performance that was reminiscent of Jack Antonoff’s previous Newport performances.
Later at the Fort, Maggie Rogers, who is no stranger to the Newport stage (QRO photos at Newport ‘19), appeared to feel completely at home performing stripped-down versions of her poppier hits. Rogers is a performer who knows and respects what Newport is all about, and her set and the power of her vocal performance was a true standout of the day.
The major letdown of Friday was Noah Kahan’s last minute cancellation due to vocal exhaustion. While Kahan was a heavily anticipated act for Friday, the “backup” just so happened to be James Taylor – something that could truly only happen at the Newport Folk Festival. Called in for “emergency folk music,” Taylor performed a set of his most beloved songs for the lucky Newport audience.
Closing out the day on Friday, My Morning Jacket, also no strangers to closing out a Newport stage, brought the high intensity rock to end the day. Their set included a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Say You Love Me” with Maggie Rogers and the first of a few pop-up appearances by Margo Price (not to mention drum icon Animal, of The Muppets’ Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem).
Saturday boasted the lineup with the most depth and it was kicked off nicely by Arkansas native Willi Carlisle, with his unique ability to tell stories with anything from a guitar to a fiddle to rhythm bones. Over the course of his set, Carlisle firmly recentered folk music within its working class, leftist beginnings that felt simultaneously traditional and yet radical.
Another highlight of the day came from Bartees Strange, in his Newport Folk Festival debut, who has seen a meteoric rise since his debut album was released in 2020. While Strange suffered a broken pinky finger and was unable to play the guitar, he electrified the Quad Stage with his energy and openness. Later at the Quad Stage, Angel Olsen performed songs from her most recent folk-leaning album, even bringing out Margo Price to sing “Big Time.” Meanwhile, festival regulars Goose and Jason Isbell were a fantastic one-two punch at the Fort Stage.
The closer for Saturday was billed as Jon Batiste and Friends, and Batiste, who has closed a Newport day before and is also headlining the Newport Jazz Festival this year, unfortunately had to fight to beat out a storm in the area. With a meat smoker on stage cooking wafting the smell of barbeque over the lawn, the set started off with the help of Native Soul, a Native American group who will also feature on Batiste’s upcoming album. The set showed off Batiste’s grasp of any musical genre possible – from New Orleans style soul to rock ballads. With the help of vocalist Lauren Daigle, Batiste maintained a level of high intensity that saw the performer jumping off stage during a rendition of “When the Saints Go Marching In” that led him into the crowd but came to an abrupt halt when Jay Sweet announced the set was over in an attempt to beat the storm.
Batiste certainly delivered his brand of musicality to the stage in the time he had but the storm robbed the audience of the full set that Batiste had prepared. The strong lineup of the day was certainly marred by the anticlimactic ending but such is the risk with any outdoor summer music festival.
The big draw for Sunday’s lineup was Lana Del Rey, perhaps the biggest name on the fest’s lineup. Del Rey caused a stir Sunday morning when her soundcheck ran long and the Newport staff had to delay doors by half an hour. Despite this hiccup, highlights of the day included a set from Los Lobos, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary and first time back at Newport in decades. Their set included appearances by Neko Case and Deer Tick’s John McCauley, as well as a fun rendition of “La Bamba” to finish.
The Fort Stage immediately filled up right before Lana Del Rey was about to go on – partly due to her dedicated fanbase that were present but also partly because the crowd was curious how it would play out. Complete with props and dancers, the set seemed entirely disconnected from the rest of the festival’s offerings, but Del Rey did her best to stick to the Newport formula – special guest appearances (Jack Antonoff and Nikki Lane), a folk cover (Joni Mitchell’s “For Free”), and a recall to the festival’s history.
For folks missing the vibe of the Joni Jam last year, the Folk Family Revue was the place to be if you could stand to miss Del Rey’s set. It completely encapsulated what Newport stands for in terms of collaboration and community through music. With a long guest list, including Erin Rae, Margo Price, Valerie June, and bass icon Floyd Pepper of The Electric Mayhem it had all the makings of a typical Folk Festival ending set. The actual closing set of the festival belonged to Billy Strings, world class bluegrass musician. While it didn’t have the emotional or thematic impact that closing sets at Newport have historically had, it was nonetheless a masterclass in musicianship from a performer in a league of his own in bluegrass music.
Next year, the festival will celebrate its 65th anniversary. While it has certainly evolved since then, the dedication to its history and lineage remains at the forefront each year. As this year felt like a reset year after the big post-COVID years, it will be fascinating to see what direction the festival will take for its big anniversary. Whatever may happen next year, one thing is for certain – it is impossible to catch a bad set at the Newport Folk Festival.
– words: Jennifer Evans-photos: Monica Simoes
