Not Your Parents’ Newport Folk Festival
The 54-year-old institution still packs a musical wallop
In 1965, Bob Dylan’s performance at the Newport Folk Festival was booed by the audience and criticized by his peers. Some say it was simply a reaction to a bad sound system, but the event has gone down in musical history as the day Dylan “went electric,” and the move was seen by many as a rejection of the more serious, political songs Dylan had become known for during his acoustic performances at the ’63 and ’64 festivals.
The folk music community has come a long way since then. At this year’s Newport Folk Festival, the one indoor and three outdoor stages hosted both the more traditional sounds of acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, and even the washboard and a bowed saw, as well as some more raucous jams that had every type of modern electric/ electronic instrument represented.
Newport has always prided itself on being a venue for groundbreaking music. The Folk Festival, and its older, sister event, the Newport Jazz Festival, which are held within one weekend of each other in late July/early August, showcase not only folk and jazz, but also related genres, giving fans an opportunity to broaden their musical horizons. Audience members can move from stage to stage to hear bluegrass, Americana, blues, gospel, country, and good ol’ solid rock ‘n’ roll.
My first time at the Newport Folk Festival was in 2009, fifty years after its 1959 debut. Though this wasn’t the fiftieth festival to be held—there weren’t any in ’61, ’62, or between 1971 and 1985—the 2009 concert was planned with a sense of celebration for the event’s long and colorful history. Folk pioneers, including Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Pete Seeger, and Arlo Guthrie, were mixed in with favorites of the younger generations, such as Fleet Foxes, the Avett Brothers, and Neko Case. I’d marked my schedule that year so as not to miss the bands that I’d either seen before and was eager to see again, or others I’d only heard on the radio or CD and was catching live for the first time. But the real treat of the concert came for me when, exhausted from spending two days on my blanket in the blazing sun on the Fort Stage lawn, I wandered to one of the smaller stages, more for the protection of the tent and comfort of a folding chair than for the bands scheduled to play.
I’d never heard of the act that came on next, and I haven’t had the opportunity to see him since, but ethnomusicologist Tim Eriksen immediately captivated the sparse crowd at the Harbor Stage that day with his sonorous voice and mastery of a wide variety of exotic-looking and -sounding instruments (including the Saraswati veena and the Bajo Sexto). For a portion of his set, he was joined by a group of shape-note singers. This form of singing, which first arose in the nineteenth century, was brought to the attention of a larger audience through the soundtrack for the 2003 movie Cold Mountain, on which Eriksen performed. As I listened, I looked to the empty seats around me and couldn’t help but feel sorry for the fans still hanging on for the promise of big names at the Fort Stage. It’s gems like Eriksen that have kept me coming back to the festival year after year.
The musicians themselves seem to appreciate their inclusion in the festival as much as the fans do. On several occasions this year, performers expressed their gratitude at having been invited to play. Cold Specks, who appeared nervous but still delivered a gorgeous set of both a cappella and guitar-accompanied tunes, mentioned it was one of the best festival experiences she’d ever had. Folk Festival first-timers Hey Marseille kicked off this year’s inaugural Friday afternoon session and were welcomed by enthusiastic cheers from the rain-soaked crowd. The band appeared genuinely touched by the reception and even snapped photos of their standing ovation before leaving the stage. Given the increasing popularity of these type of events in the U.S. (from Pickathon, held outside Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, to New York state’s Brooklyn Folk Festival and Falcon Ridge Folk Festival) and around the world (including the Edmonton Folk Festival and so many in the UK that you couldn’t possibly see them all), it was nice to hear from the talent that they had as much fun as the folks standing, sitting, dancing, and celebrating to their music.
But the word is out. The Newport Folk Festival now sells out long before the lineup is announced and many months before the event itself. Competition is fierce for both lodging in Newport proper and for positioning in front of the Fort Stage. I’ve heard of people leaving their downtown B&Bs at 5 a.m. on show days, skipping hearty breakfasts in cozy dining rooms for the chance to stake claim to the choicest spots on the lawn. Others take advantage of the nearby campgrounds for quicker access to the front gates and the inevitable lines that form hours before the music kicks off. I’ve generally opted for a less structured approach, shuttling between stages for that optimal combination of old and new, known and unknown.
Plus, the most fitting start and end to the festival experience requires taking one of the many ferries carrying concert-goers between downtown Newport and Fort Adams Park. Doing this gives you the same perspective as Fort Stage performers, whose views past the park lawn and out over Brenton Cove and Newport Harbor must be one of the highlights of their Newport experience.
