Newport Folk Festival 2018: 7/27-7/29
Jon Batiste and Mavis Staples
BY MICHAEL KINGSBAKER
Last year, I was a little critical of The Newport Folk Festival. The set slated before John Prine’s closing set on Sunday was called “Speak Out” and was designed to give Newport artists a platform to reflect on the long tradition of artists speaking truth to power at the fest. My issue was the lack of diversity in the artists holding microphones–it seemed that many of the groups that were being directly affected by the new administration weren’t given a platform to Speak Out.
This Year, Newport doubled down on being a festival that is on the front lines of social activism both on and off its stages. Phone booths were set up inside the Fort for audience members to reach out to their congressman to speak about issues that were important to them. And the final set of the entire festival was “A Change Is Gonna Come”, curated by Jon Batiste, Louisiana native and house band leader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Batiste, backed by The Dap-Kings, opened the set with some ragtime piano that weaved in a distorted version of the star-spangled banner and dropped into a dirty funk rendition of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land”. Valerie June joined on stage, looked out onto the primarily white audience, said “Well, ya’ll know what it’s like to be free, so we’re just gonna do this,” and begin a rendition of Nina Simone’s “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free”. Next, Gary Clark Jr. and Leon Bridges joined Batiste for a dirge-like cover of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young’s protest anthem “Ohio”. The set also included performances by Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Chris Thile, Brandi Carlile, Maggie Rogers, Rachael Price, Bermuda Triangle, and Mavis Staples. A particularly moving moment was seeing the three queer women of Bermuda Triangle joined by Staples singing “Jesus on the Mainline”. The stage was full of all of the Sunday performers as the set closed to The Staples Singers’ “Freedom Highway”.
I don’t know who exactly the festival is listening to, but I get the sense that they are listening. And now, in his 10th year as the festival producer, I can’t think of anyone who produces a better weekend than Jay Sweet. It was another beautiful weekend in Newport full of discoveries, one-of-a-kind performances, and a vibe that can’t seem to be recaptured anywhere outside of Fort Adams.
It’s always fun to see what kind of supergroups will be formed for Newport. GLORIETTA performed for the first time live at the Quad Stage on Friday. The band, comprised of Delta Spirit’s Matthew Logan Vasquez, Noah Gundersen, David Ramirez, Wild Child’s Kelsey Wilson, Jason Robert Blum, and Adrian Quesada, filled the stage with mayhem, energy, and even a few kisses.
After the festival, every year, the people at Newport Folk put out a call to its audience as to who it would like to see next year. Every year, I tell them I want to see Ben Harper. It was worth the wait. Joined by Charlie Musselwhite, the always present Harper put on an absolute clinic on the blues. I hope to see him back soon.
What was Annie Clark going to do at the Newport Folk Festival? A guitar virtuoso whose styles range from electropop to jazz to experimental to rock to straight frickin’ shredding–would she plug in for some of it and go acoustic for the rest? No. She came out in a simple red dress, joined only by pianist and friend Thomas Bartlett for the most vulnerable set I’ve ever witnessed at Newport. Absolutely breathtaking.
Friday night headliner Jason Isbell, who had joined his wife Amanda Shires for her set at the Quad earlier in the day, was later joined by legend David Crosby for renditions of CSNY’s “Wooden Ships” and “Ohio”.
Saturday morning started off with the folk trio of CAAMP making their Newport debut at the Harbor Stage.
Festival producer Jay Sweet gets a moment to take in some music at the Harbor Stage. I’m very grateful for the heart and soul he and his team put into this festival every year.
It’s always fun to see artists joined on stage by their contemporaries, especially when the bigger acts join some of the lesser-known ones. No one seems to do this more than the ladies of Lucius. On Saturday, I caught them in at least four sets, and they had already performed on Friday. Here they are lending harmonies to Bedouine, who perhaps had the prettiest voice of the festival.
Lukas Nelson & Promise of The Real rock out the Fort Stage Saturday afternoon.
Phil Cook and M.C. Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger were both working hard all weekend. Here, they’re in the Messenger set at the Quad. They were also part of the Beneath Sacred Mountain set and a set at the Late July Family Tent. Cook also curated a late night show in town Friday night, and Taylor joined Mumford & Sons for a song during their set.
Every year, there’s one: a set that just obliterates the Quad. This year, it was Tank and the Bangas. I was dancing too hard to take too many photos, but they had the entire Quad audience on their feet, then getting real low, then jumping everywhere when they closed the set with a cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
Jenny Lewis returned to The Newport Folk Festival, stylish as ever, joined by the Watson Twins for an incredible mix of old favorites and some new tunes that left everyone at the Quad “With Arms Outstretched” for more.
Courtney Barnett, still ripping, moved on up to the Fort this year!
It wouldn’t be Newport without a little bit of mystery. Who would be the Saturday Night headliners? Mumford & Sons didn’t disappoint with a mix of old favorites and guests including Maggie Rogers with a stunning performance of “Alaska”.
Mumford & Sons closed their set with a cover of The Band’s “The Weight”, joined by M.C. Taylor, Mavis Staples, Brandi Carlile, Maggie Rogers, and Phoebe Bridgers.
I got my Sunday morning church fix from the husband-and-wife duo The War and Treaty, who brought the spirit and all the feelings to Quad.
Quickly becoming a Newport Folk favorite, The Lone Bellow took us through the spectrum of emotions at The Fort.
Gary Clark Jr. shreds. ‘Nuff said.
No Jim James, Dawes, Avett Brothers, Conor Oberst, Sara Watkins, or many of the old faces in attendance this year. Brandi Carlile held the torch high and bright with a gorgeous set that included some Joni Mitchell and Led Zeppelin tributes as well as appearances by her own children.
Valerie June was back this year both Friday at the Fort and here at the A Change Is Gonna Come set, singing multiple times, including a rousing rendition of Nina Simone’s "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free”.
Unannounced artist Leon Bridges joined Jon Batiste and Gary Clark Jr. for a slow-burning rendition of the CSNY classic “Ohio”.
Brandi Carlile, Chris Thile, Maggie Rogers, and the Hanseroth twins perform a rousing rendition of Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A’ Changin’”.
Rachael Price can sing. Here she is slaying Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come”.
Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard joins Mavis Staples and Bermuda Triangle bandmates Becca Mancari and Jesse Lafser for a moving rendition of the traditional classic “Jesus Is on the Mainline”.
Again, there’s always a list of unannounced artists who appear throughout the weekend. This weekend included David Crosby, John Prine, Mavis Staples, James Mercer of The Shins, The Watson Twins, and these two: Maggie Rogers and Leon Bridges. I think she was crushing on him.
