Newport Folk Festival: 7/26-7/28
Brandi Carlile and Dolly Parton sing “I Will Always Love You”
BY MICHAEL KINGSBAKER
Another Newport Folk Festival has come and gone, and yes, it still is the greatest music festival in the world, and it is still my favorite weekend of the year. This year, for the first time in its 60-year history, the festival had an all female-led Saturday night headliner, arguably had its two biggest appearances to date, covered an entire masterpiece album, premiered the biggest female country supergroup ever, and finally found the heir apparent to Pete Seeger on what would be his 100th birth year.
After Pete Seeger passed away in 2014, a gaping hole was left at the Newport Folk Festival. Seeger had been around the festival since its inception, and while festival producer Jay Sweet has captained the ship incredibly since taking over in 2008, the question has remained: Who would hold the seat that Seeger did for years? The musical ambassador of the people and of the music of the Newport Folk Festival? That question was answered loud and clear this year, as Brandi Carlile cemented her rightful seat. Last year was a precursor, when she performed from her Grammy Award-winning album By the Way, I Forgive You and guest performed with Mumford and Sons and during the Change is Gonna Come set. This year, she got handed the keys to the car and packed a Saturday night headlining slot full of talent from the past and present, culminating in a 5-song set from none other than Dolly Parton. Now, Jay Sweet has pulled some pretty big acts during his 12 years on the festival, but he didn’t pull Dolly--Brandi did! She also premiered her new country super group The Highwomen, an all-female answer to The Highwaymen. The former’s reworking of the latter’s namesake song absolutely took my breath away (and was just released), and then Carlile closed out her weekend singing Pete Seeger's classic song "If I Had a Hammer" with Alynda Segarra from Hurray For The Riff Raff.
Overall, this year’s festival was fiercely female, showcasing talents from multiple generations from Parton and Judy Collins, Sheryl Crow, and Linda Perry to Carlile, Rhiannon Giddens, Maggie Rogers, and Yola. The collaboration sets, which really gained steam with the Dylan 65' Revisited set 3 years ago, continued this year and actually tripled, with the Saturday night All-Female Collaboration, along with a last minute addition of a complete cover of Graham Nash's "Song for Beginners" led by Kyle Craft with an all-star cast of Newport favorites. Finally, on Sunday, Pete Seeger was celebrated with set entitled "If I Had a Song" where audiences were given song books with which to sing along. It opened with Jim James singing “The Rainbow Connection” with perhaps the second biggest star to ever appear at the Newport Folk Festival in Kermit the Frog. I was also pleased to see that Our Native Daughters were asked to participate in the Seeger Celebration, singing the Seeger tune "If You Miss Me at The Back of The Bus" and joining Mavis Staples and Hozier for "Keep Your Eyes on The Prize". Two years ago, for the SPEAK OUT set at Newport (intended to be a platform for artists to speak out about issues of our times), I was critical of the set’s lack of diversity. I noted that both Rhiannon Giddens and Alynda Segarra gave the most topical and stirring performances of that festival but were absent at that finale. Well, this year, they both hit the stage and had their voices heard with songs of protest to make up for lost time.
It's good to know this incredible festival is in good hands and has its ears open. I'm already looking forward to next July. Until then, here's a few photos to pass the time.
Newport is always a place to make discoveries. Saturday morning, the audience was woken up to the raucous duo of Illiterate Light.
Liz Cooper & The Stampede bent over backwards (literally) to electrify the audience at the Quad on Friday with their psychedelic soundscape.
Recent Tony Award winner Anais Mitchell and The Milk Carton Kids at The Harbor Stage, singing Graham Nash's "Simple Man" as part of the Songs for Beginners set.
After a last minute dropout from Noname due to illness, Festival producer Jay Sweet was left with a hole at the Harbor Stage on Saturday. After tweeting about the brilliance of Graham Nash's album Songs for Beginners and the responses it garnered, an idea sparked. A supergroup of Newport faithful led by Kyle Craft, including Hiss Golden Messenger, Lake Street Dive, Amy Ray, The Tallest Man on Earth, and more played the album from start to end. I think we may have just started a new Newport tradition--might I suggest Neil Young's Harvest next year?
Lukas Nelson and The Promise of The Real rocked the Quad Stage on Friday, closing the set with a rendition of Neil Young's "Rockin’ in the Free World" but slowed things down with reminders to Turn Off the News (Build a Garden), and song about an ex named Georgia that made performing with his father singing "Georgia On My Mind" every night a little tricky.
British singer-songwriter Yola was everywhere at the Newport Folk Festival, performing her own set at the Harbor stage as well as at the Quad with both The Highwomen and Dawes. Here, she takes the stage at the Fort during The Collaboration with the First Ladies of Bluegrass covering The Eurythmics’ "Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves".
After appearing last year as a guest to Mumford & Sons and others, this year, Maggie Rogers got the Fort stage all to herself to dance in and out of her sound equipment and share her debut album Heard It in a Past Life with Newport.
Every year, there's an act that brings Quad to its feet and doesn't let them sit back down. This year, Jupiter & Okwess invited everyone to fill in the fire lanes, and a 45-minute dance party ensued, capping off with a collaboration with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
Phosporescent returned to the Quad stage with hypnotic grooves and chill vibes, keeping all the heads bobbing inside the old fort.
I'm With Her returned, bringing their sweet blend of harmonies bridging old-time music to the present, including covers of The Vampire Weekend and Joni Mitchell.
This year was all about the women, and the fellas came to support. Jason Isbell, who generally headlines festivals like these, wasn't even given a microphone. Here, Amanda Shires (who happens to be his wife) allows him to share a few thoughts as they introduced a song they co-wrote, "If She Ever Leaves Me", dubbed the first gay country song, which was sung moments later by Brandi Carlile.
Each year, the festival producer comes out to the early birds waiting for the gates to open to welcome them back and remind them to BE PRESENT, BE KIND, BE OPEN, and BE TOGETHER. There isn't a place in the world that's easier to do those four things.
It's always fun to see what surprise guests will show up to the festival that aren't officially listed. This year’s guests included Jim James, Kermit The Frog, Dolly Parton, James Taylor...you know that this list might end up being bigger than the actual lineup. Here's surprise guest Tallest Man on Earth, who joined both the Songs for Beginners set as well as The Cooks in the Kitchen.
Hozier returned for his 3rd appearance, singing a duet with Mavis Staples for their song "Nina Cried Power". He also gave over the stage to Brandi Carlile during his set for her to sing her hit “The Joke”. Here, he joins with Lake Street Dive for a cover of Sly & The Family Stone’s "Everyday People".
Jade Bird had her own solo set at The Fort stage but joined in on The Collaboration, seen here singing "What's Up" with Linda Perry and Brandi Carlile.
Phil Cook has become a regular staple at the festival. His love and respect for the musicians and the music played at the festival has endeared himself to both fans and musicians alike. For his set, Cooks in the Kitchen, Phil, who always seems up for a collaboration, was joined by his brother Brad as well as Tallest Man on The Earth’s Kristian Matsson, Amy Ray of The Indigo Girls, and Anais Mitchell.
Molly Tuttle, who had her own set with guitarist Billy Strings, joined The First Ladies of Bluegrass, Courtney Marie Andrews, and others for a cover of “Big Yellow Taxi” at the Collaboration Set Saturday.
Just a man, his guitar, and a huge open stage. Jeff Tweedy charmed the audience at the Fort on Saturday claiming he wanted to "hug you with his sad shit."
Rhiannon Giddens returned to the Newport Folk Festival with the most powerful and gut-wrenching set of the festival, joined by Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell to form the group Our Native Daughters, singing songs addressing American historical issues that have influenced the identity of black women. This marked only their 6th live performance, performing in Connecticut a week earlier for the first time. Emotions were overflowing both on stage and in the audience, as each artist (each of whom played multiple instruments) took turns singing songs of sorrow, hope, anger, and joy. It was an experience like no other at the festival.
Linda Perry leading a sing along of "What's Up" at The Collaboration, asking the audience to sing so high, "I wanna touch the fucking stars!" Later, she was on Facebook Live for the introduction of Dolly Parton.
There was a bit of a 90's renaissance at this year’s festival with appearances from Amy Ray, Linda Perry, and former Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss. Sheryl Crow, who had her own set at the Fort on Friday and later joined The Highwomen that day at the Quad, got in on the fun at The Collaboration on Saturday, performing "If It Makes You Happy" with Maren Morris and "Strong Enough" with Maggie Rogers and Yola.
Newport always does a great job of honoring those who led the way. This year, we saw Judy Collins hit many stages and share stories about a young Bob Dylan writing “Mr. Tambourine Man” on her porch, as well as recalling Stephen Stills singing her "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", to which she replied "It's a good song, but it won't get me back." Here, she shares the story of a friend discovering Joni Mitchell and bringing her "Both Sides Now", which was sung moments later with Brandi Carlile.
Couples take in the If I Had A Song set at sunset on Sunday, which included a duet from Kermit the Frog and Jim James as well as a serenade to Judy Collins from Robin Pecknold (Fleet Foxes), Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats), and James Mercer (The Shins), singing “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”.
Newport Folk Festival marked the inaugural performance of The Highwomen. Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires, and Natalie Hemby, here joined by Yola, opened their set to a powerful reworking of “The Highwaymen”, made famous by Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash. The Highwomen’s version, written by Carlile, Shires, and Jimmy Webb (the original songwriter) honors the stories of courageous female revolutionaries and includes an additional 5th verse:
"We are The Highwomen / Singing stories still untold / We carry the sons, you can only hold / We are the daughters of the silent generations / You sent our hearts to die alone in foreign nations / It may return to us as tiny drops of rain / But we will still remain.”
A stage full of Newport Folk ladies, including Brandi Carlile, Rachael Price, Maggie Rogers, and Sheryl Crow, bow down to the one and only Dolly Parton. I've seen Roger Waters, Jack White, My Morning Jacket, Jackson Browne, Beck, Levon Helm, and Mumford & Sons headline the Festival. This was the biggest of all the Saturday night headliners.
