REVIEW: Newport Folk Festival 7/24-7/25
Photography and review by Cooper Formica
As the end of July approaches, it is time for the chosen ticket-holding fans to break out their camping chairs, open-toe shoes and make the annual pilgrimage by car, bike or boat to Rhode Island for the 45th annual Newport Folk Festival.
Since 1959, the festival at Fort Adams State Park in Narragansett Bay has become synonymous with an intimate, tight-knit community for artists to collaborate and experiment. Auto-Tune is often replaced by small, acoustic sets and large, traveling productions are replaced by collaborations with other artists.
Collaborations at the festival often cross generations and even genres, like Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco) performing with Remi Wolfe or Mavis Staples performing with Dave Matthews. It is also an annual occurrence for comedians like Conan O’Brien or John C. Reilly, best known for the film “Step Brothers,” to perform with one of the acts at the festival.
Few perform at Newport with the intention of gaining fame but rather entrance into a community that has defined folk music. It is where Bob Dylan helped an 18-year-old Joan Baez make her debut and where fans welcomed Joni Mitchell after a 20-year hiatus.
It is a community upheld by loyal fans and volunteers, many of whom have worked or attended the festival for decades. A community that prides itself on making artists and fans feel welcomed. No matter who you are, you’re part of the same Newport community.
This year WTBU and I were lucky enough to be invited to cover the festival and were not disappointed, to say the least. This was my second time covering the festival and I can confidently say that there is no other festival or community quite like Newport.
From the second I entered the festival almost every single person I met went out of their way to make me feel welcomed, whether it be an artist letting me schedule a last-minute interview, a volunteer helping me find parking or the other photographers helping me fix my camera when the sensor failed. Everyone welcomed each other into the festival in a way that unfortunately isn’t so common beyond Fort Adams and made my experience incredibly special.
Also, Subway Takes (also known as Kareem Rana from the band Tiny Gun), let me take this selfie with him which was a nice bonus :)
Anyway…. On to the artists.
Lilly Fitts
Lilly Fitts made her first pilgrimage to the festival as an artist with an intimate performance at The Bike Stage on Friday.
Despite initially rising to prominence as a cover artist on TikTok, Fitts’ performance incorporated her own unique identity and style as she performed several songs from her new album “Getting By.”
During the performance, Fitts displayed her broad discography playing country-style songs such as “Good Riddance” and her more recent folk songs from “Getting By.” In our interview, she described her style as “brutally honest” and compared it to Noah Kahan.
Generally, Fitts had a pretty strong performance and was able to adapt her country and pop discography to mix with her recent folk style although the contrast was awkward at times.
Beyond Newport, Fitts is set to release new music in the near future and has her first international tour set to begin this fall. You can also check out her interview with WTBU here.
Michael Shannon and Friends Perform R.E.M.
Despite all the magical reunions and appearances that happen at Newport, an R.E.M. reunion was not in the cards this year.
Instead of getting a performance from Michael Stipe and the original band, R.E.M. fans were left to enjoy the next best thing, Michael Shannon (the actor from “Boardwalk Empire” etc.) performing R.E.M. covers with guitarist Jason Narducy.
Aside from my initial hesitancy, Shannon’s performance far exceeded my expectations. Unlike other actors turned cover musicians who often bob along to the bands they cover to deliver an hour of glorified karaoke, Shannon brought an energy even the original members of R.E.M. may find difficult to match.
From the second Shannon stepped onto the stage it looked and sounded as if he had been possessed by the ghost of R.E.M. and a rabid dog as he kicked around and passionately belted every word into the microphone.
Throughout the performance, Shannon and Narducy brilliantly recreated the sound of the original R.E.M. records rallying festivalgoers to deliver one of the defining acts of this year’s festival.
Although tribute bands typically come off as corny, I would pay money to see Narducy and Shannon perform R.E.M. again if the opportunity arose.
Matt Quinn
Matt Quinn returned to Newport to deliver his first solo performance at the festival.
The Mt. Joy frontman performed a mix of covers, Mt. Joy songs and some new independent songs during an hourlong acoustic set. Despite the performance being stripped down to just Quinn and his guitar the set was generally well received.
Instead of giving a long meticulously planned performance, Quinn used his slot at the festival as an opportunity to experiment and connect with his fans. Telling stories about writing with Mt. Joy and Noah Kahan while trying several new solo songs which the audience enjoyed.
Although Quinn connected with the audience and delivered a strong performance, it felt hollow at times, as some of the Mt. Joy songs felt incomplete without the full band.
Overall I enjoyed the performance. As someone who is primarily a Mt. Joy fan, I liked Quinn’s solo work and am excited to see what is next for the full band.
The Lumineers
Around noon Friday, I had thought the performances at The Bike Stage had finished. As I walked across the grassy quad into the media tent to start editing, a reporter from The Providence Journal tipped me that “someone famous famous” would be performing at the stage at 2:45pm.
Like most Newport rumors, I did not think much of it. Last year, I spent three days waiting for Taylor Swift to make an appearance; this year I was told Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney or Bono would be showing up sometime during the weekend.
Shortly after, I got an alert that Hudson Freedman would be doing a pop-up performance at the Foundation Stage with students from the Metropolitan School of Music. Rolling my eyes at the tip, I walked in the opposite direction until I heard a familiar voice coming from across the grass as a small crowd began to gather.
It was Wesley Schultz, the lead singer of The Lumineers. I had seen the band during their sold-out run at Fenway Park last year but never been this close to them. For the brief half-hour set on the grassy Bike Stage, it felt like the band was performing in a backyard for friends. The band told stories about their last tour, shared what brought them to Newport and what the festival meant to them.
During the performance, the group experimented with new songs that have yet to be released, including a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”
The following day the Lumineers played the headlining set. While less intimate, the band did not disappoint, especially as the massive crowd of fans from the audience and boats in the harbor sang along to classics such as “Ophelia” and “Angela” as the sun set over Newport Harbor to close out the second day of the festival.
Dawes
The folk band-turned-duo, Dawes, returned to this year’s festival for the 11th time.
This year’s minimalist format on the smaller Harbor Stage allowed brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith to connect with the audience.
Unlike their headlining acts at Newport in prior years, the duo spent most of the set performing older hits and telling stories about the band’s history including how they reformed to play a series of charity sets after the Los Angeles wildfires in 2024.
The new format seemed to land relatively well as many fans sang along for most of the performance before closing out the set with comedian John C. Reilly performing their hit song “El Camino.”
Although the new format felt different, being able to see the Goldsmith brothers perform at the festival was still incredibly special.
Lizzy McAlpine
This year, Lizzy McAlpine came out of her touring hiatus to make her first appearance at the festival. Throughout the weekend McAlpine collaborated with several different artists before headlining her own set on Saturday.
I will admit, I was neither a Lizzy McAlpine fan going into this festival, nor did I expect that I would leave one; I was wrong.
McAlpine far exceeded my expectations, delivering a performance that felt grounded and demonstrated her full range as an artist. McAlpine played her new single, “Light in the Painting,” in addition to an incredibly well-executed acoustic cover of “House of the Rising Sun.”
Although I was not the biggest fan of McAlpine’s music and the broader “sad-girl” sub genre when she grew in popularity, her performances this weekend demonstrated her talent far beyond that trope which made her music feel more well-rounded and approachable.
Overall, McAlpine delivered an amazing performance that will stand out as one of the defining acts of this year’s festival.