Aimee Mann will perform at Newport Folk Festival on Saturday, July 29, 2023. Credit: Newport Folk Festival.

The Newport Folk Festival today announced that Aimee Mann has been added to the 2023 Newport Folk Festival lineup. Mann will perform at Fort Adams State Park on Saturday, July 29, 2023.

Aimee Mann is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and bassist known for her distinctive voice and introspective, often melancholy lyrics. She was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1960 and grew up in Bon Air, a suburb of Richmond. Mann began playing music in her teens and moved to Boston in the early 1980s to pursue a career in music.

In 1982, Mann formed the band ‘Til Tuesday with several other musicians, and the group released their debut album “Voices Carry” in 1985. The album’s title track became a hit, and the accompanying music video received significant airplay on MTV. Mann’s solo career began in the 1990s, and she has since released several critically acclaimed albums, including “Whatever” (1993), “I’m with Stupid” (1995), and “Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo” (2000). Mann’s music has been featured in numerous films and television shows, and she has received several Grammy nominations over the course of her career.

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Aimee Mann’s first new solo album in five years arrives on March 31 with a title loaded with possible meanings and intent. For her, its provocative branding comes down to something akin to truth in advertising. “It came from a friend of mine asking me what the record was about,” she explains on her website. “And I said, ‘Oh, you know me — the usual songs about mental illness.’ He said, ‘You should call it Mental Illness!’ I said, ‘I think I will.’” And thus, over the course of a few short seconds, was a classic album title born. “I always probably have a little bit of gallows humor,” Mann says, “and I would hope that people see there’s a little bit of that interspersed in there. I mean, calling it Mental Illness makes me laugh, because it is true, but it’s so blunt that it’s funny.”

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On Aimee’s behalf, Newport Festivals Foundation announced that they will be making a grant to Girls Rock Roanoke, whose primary focus is to empower female identifying, non-binary and gender expansive folks through music, creative expression and collaboration. Funds will be used to support their week-long day camp, which provides ages 8-16 the opportunity to form bands, receive musical instruction on the instrument of their choice, and practice with their bandmates to write, produce, and perform an original song on-stage during the Girls Rock Roanoke Showcase, which is held on the final day of camp.

The sold-out 2023 Newport Folk Festival will take place July 28 – 30, 2023, at Fort Adams State Park.

This announcement is just one of several recently made by the Newport Folk Festival. The festival’s Artist Gives program, which donates funds to music education programs for every artist on the lineup, has also seen donations made to various other charities.

2023 Newport Folk Festival Lineup Announcements

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