The 65th edition of the Newport Folk Festival was a humdinger. This year’s installment of the venerable fest that keeps renewing itself year after year featured poetry reading, impromptu dancing by fest grande dame Joan Baez and Rhiannon Giddens, […]
When I think of the Newport Folk Festival, I am reminded of the song “Carry It On.” First recorded by The Broadside Singers in 1964, and then by many others, it was originally an anthem for the civil rights […]
The Newport Folk Festival gets rolling today in Rhode Island, and across three full days of sets from Billy Strings, Jason Isbell, Aimee Mann, Jon Batiste, Turnpike Troubadours, and tons more, it’s sure to be a blast. But it’s […]
I know none of us ever tuned in to MTV primarily for news, but we certainly knew it was there, a few minutes here and there between videos (videos!) with Kurt Loder (or correspondents like Chris Connelly, Tabitha Soren, […]
We were most fortunate to have two veteran photojournalists, Anthony Mulcahy and Jim Brock, in the photo pit for the phenomenal, unforgettable, high-water mark that was the 2022 Newport Folk Festival, the epitome of roots music festivals. As both […]
When the Newport Folk Festival approached Black Opry founder Holly G last November about curating a set at the 2022 fest, her initial response was disbelief. At that point, her organization only had one live show — the first-ever […]
You’ve surely heard by now the big news from Newport Folk Festival – Joni Mitchell’s return to the festival stage for the first time in 53 years. She was the surprise guest at Brandi Carlile’s closing set at the […]
Sylvan Esso’s set on the closing day of Newport Folk Festival was part performance and part, in a surprise to fans, a statement of the duo’s next chapter. Live from the Newport stage, Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn announced […]
George Wein, founder of the Newport Jazz Festival and later its folk counterpart, died this week at the age of 95. His inaugural jazz fest in 1954 became a template for such events for decades afterward, across genres. In […]
The legendary Newport Folk Festival approached this summer’s event with a safer, more intimate experience. It expanded from three days to six in order to accommodate smaller crowds at each stage. Dubbed “Folk On,” the festival brought founder Pete […]
