Image via Newport Jazz Festival

Attention Newport Folk Festival and Newport Jazz Festival fans, there’s hope, positive news, and/or reasons to be excited.

Governor Dan McKee today announced during his weekly COVID-19 press briefing that he is working closely with organizers of the Newport Folk Festival and Newport Jazz Festival on a plan that allows them to host safe events this summer.

“It’s not going to look exactly like the other festivals, but we’re going to do everything we possibly can to make it a successful event,”Mckee said.

Watch the announcement at approximately 13:09 below;

Just moments after the announcement, Newport Folk Festival and Newport Jazz Festival shared the following;

Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...