The Jane Pickens Theater is marking Newport’s folk music season with a four-event Sounds of Folk Series running through the end of July, pairing live performances with documentaries and classic films celebrating the artists who shaped American roots music.
The series opens Tuesday, July 21, with a live tribute concert marking the 50th anniversary of Bob Dylan’s legendary 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue. Avi Jacob of Hawk in the Nest steps into Dylan’s role, joined by an ensemble cast portraying Scarlet Rivera, Mick Ronson, Rob Stoner, Joni Mitchell, and Joan Baez. Doors open at 6 p.m., show at 7 p.m.
Sunday, July 26 features two events. At 4 p.m., Rhode Island singer-songwriter Beth Barron — winner of the 2025 Motif Award for Best Singer-Songwriter — performs a set of John Prine songs before a 5 p.m. screening of You Got Gold: A Celebration of John Prine, the all-star concert filmed at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium featuring Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, Tyler Childers, and others. That evening at 7 p.m., the theater screens Peter Asher: Everywhere Man, a documentary on the producer and manager behind James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, and Carole King, featuring interviews with Taylor, Ronstadt, Natalie Merchant, Steve Martin, and others. Doors at 6:30 p.m.
The series closes Thursday, July 30, with a live set from Newport folk trio Princess June — Myah Strauser, Griffin Keeffe, and Telli Quinn — at 7 p.m., followed by a screening of the Coen Brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou? at 8 p.m. Doors at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are available at janepickens.com.
