The 2023 Newport Folk Festival is shaping up to be great, with today’s announcement that Billy Strings, the renowned bluegrass virtuoso, will be returning to Newport! Billy Strings, who is scheduled to perform on Sunday, July 30 at Fort Adams State Park, is an American bluegrass guitarist and singer who has been active in the […]
Newport Folk Festival
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The Beths added to 2023 Newport Folk Festival lineup
The Newport Folk Festival is back this summer and promises to be one of the year’s most exciting events. The festival today announced its latest addition to its 2023 lineup, and music fans are in for a treat with The Beths set to perform on Folk Friday. The Beths, the four-piece indie-pop band from New […]
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Newport Folk Festival kicks off lineup announcements; CAAMP is returning to Newport
The Newport Folk Festival today began its tradition of a rolling lineup announcement for its 2023 festival, which is scheduled to take place at Fort Adams State Park from July 28 – 30. CAAMP, the folk-indie band from Athens, Ohio, kicks off the 2023 Newport Folk Lineup. The band has played at the festival twice […]
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Tickets for the 2023 Newport Folk Festival go on sale on Feb. 1
Tickets for the 2023 Newport Folk Festival, which will return to Fort Adams State Park on July 28-30, will go on sale beginning Wednesday, February 1 at 1 pm via DICE. Full ticket pricing is listed below. Children under 10 are free with a maximum of 2 children attending per ticketed adult. Children 10 and over will need to purchase a […]
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Newport Folk Festival returns July 28 – 30; tickets go on sale to the general public on Feb. 1
The legendary Newport Folk Festival is set to return to Fort Adams State Park in Newport for its 64th anniversary this summer. The festival is scheduled to take place July 28-30, 2023, and once again promises to feature a diverse lineup of artists, as well as unique experiences that celebrate innovation while preserving the deep […]
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What’s Up Interview: Kara McKee, awarded Passim Iguana Award, to record first album
A year and a half ago, Kara McKee quit her job in the corporate world to chase down her dream of being a full-time musician. After years of gigging at small clubs around New England, the daughter of RI Governor Dan McKee finally received some national attention when she appeared on NBC’s The Voice last […]
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What’s it like to play the Newport Folk Festival? Meet 16-year-old banjo sensation Nora Brown
The 2022 Newport Folk Festival featured artists in genres from hip-hop to rock, punk to bluegrass. One young artist is among those focused on keeping the folk tradition alive. I spoke to teenage banjo extraordinaire Nora Brown who is turning 17 next week. Needless to say, she was excited to be returning to the festival […]
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Newport Folk 2022: A lot more than just the headliners
If you follow the Newport Folk Festival you’ve likely heard about the heat (it melted my sneakers), the Covid cancelations and last-minute changeups, and Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell (the rumors were actually true for once!). So highlighting those areas feels a little redundant to what we already know which is: Newport Folk is the […]
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2022 Newport Folk Festival Day 3: Joni Mitchell appears for historic set
In Saturday’s Newport Folk recap, I wondered how the Festival could outdo itself after welcoming music legend Paul Simon to the Fort Adams stage. There were rumors of a “big name” coming on the third day of the 2022 festival, but there are always rumors at Newport that fail to develop, so most festival-goers were […]
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2022 Newport Folk Festival: Surprise Appearance by Paul Simon – Day 2 Recap and Photos
Saturday, July 23 at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival was a day to be remembered. The festival was overdue for a big surprise performance, and Saturday’s appearance by Paul Simon certainly fit the bill. There were some hints earlier in the year when Nathaniel Rateliff announced the “American Tune Review,” as a planned festival set. […]
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Gibson Partners with Newport Festivals Foundation to honor Sister Rosetta Tharpe on the 55th Anniversary of her legendary Newport Folk Festival Performance
Gibson, the iconic American instrument brand, has partnered with Newport Festivals Foundation through its philanthropic arm Gibson Gives at this summer’s Newport Folk Festival to celebrate the music icon Sister Rosetta Tharpe and the 55th anniversary of her groundbreaking Newport Folk Festival performance on July 16, 1967. This Sunday, July 24 at 12:40 PM on the Newport Folk Festival Foundation Stage a special performance will feature acclaimed singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Celisse performing classic Sister Rosetta Tharpe songs such as “Didn’t It Rain,” as […]
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Newport Folk Festival includes stage powered by bicycles
By PAT EATON-ROBB Associated Press NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — The Newport Folk Festival, known for creating electrifying musical moments — the most famous being Bob Dylan’s decision to plug in his guitar in 1965 — this weekend has a small outer stage that is being powered in part by festival-goers on stationary bicycles. The Bike […]
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Boys & Girls Clubs of Newport County campers enjoy waterfront music by Newport Festival Foundation musicians
By Boys & Girls Club of Newport County Newport Festival Foundation’s Director of Development, Dan Swain, likes to say that the Newport Folk Festival starts with a performance at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Newport County’s Camp Grosvenor, and, this year, musicians Steve Cerilli and Bill Cote kicked it off at the camp’s waterfront […]
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2022 Newport Folk Festival: Day 1 Recap and Photos
If there was a theme to the first day of the 2022 Newport Folk Festival on Friday, July 22, it was variety and diversity. A wide range of sound was represented, including several genre-defying bands and artists. No doubt, the focus was simply all about great music. The festival was more or less back to […]
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Pete Seeger postage stamp unveiled in ceremony at Jane Pickens Theater
Longtime Newport Folk Festival board member, performer, and activist Pete Seeger was honored in a ceremony at the Jane Pickens Film and Events Center Thursday, July 21. Members of the Seeger family were present when a new “forever stamp” with Seeger’s likeness was unveiled by the United States Postal Service before a packed house. The […]
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Pete Seeger gets own stamp; ceremony planned at Newport Folk
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Pete Seeger, the banjo-playing folk singer whose music was indelibly intertwined with his social activism, was honored Thursday as the latest American musician to appear on a U.S. postage stamp. The forever stamp, which features a color-tinted, black-and-white photograph taken in the early 1960s showing Seeger in profile singing and playing […]
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What’s Up Interview: Maeve Gilchrist of Silkroad Ensemble, playing Newport Folk and Indian Ranch
One of the more innovative acts playing the Newport Folk Festival this weekend could have easily been booked for the Newport Jazz Festival … or even the Newport Classical Music Festival. When it comes to genre, the Silkroad Ensemble, led by Artistic Director and NFF veteran Rhiannon Giddens, is impossible to pin down. The group […]
Posted inCity & Government
DEM: Access to Fort Adams State Park will be limited July 22 – 31 to ensure the smooth running of Newport Folk & Jazz Festival
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) announced today that it will temporarily restrict access to parts of Fort Adams State Park in Newport to ensure the smooth running of the upcoming Newport Folk Festival and Newport Jazz Festival. The restrictions, which will be in effect July 22-31, will affect shore access to recreational and […]
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‘Six Picks’ Newport Folk: ‘Not to be missed’ sets at this weekend’s Newport Folk Festival
With over 50 acts scheduled to perform at this weekend’s Newport Folk Festival, it’s close to impossible to pick just six favorites, but we’ll give it a go. The historic festival begins Friday, July 22, and runs through Sunday, July 24 at Fort Adams State Park. We’ll have complete coverage on WhatsUpNewp including daily recaps […]
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What’s Up Interview: Ballroom Thieves, releasing new album and playing the Newport Folk Festival
It’s no secret that the pandemic almost destroyed the music touring industry. Understandably, some bands gave up during the two-year slowdown, while others hunkered down and made the best of a bad situation. Maine-based Ballroom Thieves were one of those bands who were down, but not out, managing to put together a new album which […]
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What’s Up Interview: Legendary Singer Judy Collins, coming to Jane Pickens for two shows August 19-20
What do you ask a folk music icon who inspired one of the greatest love songs of all time? That was the challenge as I prepared for a phone call with singer-songwriter Judy Collins recently. I decided to keep it simple … my first question, “Do you prefer Judy or Ms. Collins?” was enough to […]
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Newport Folk & Jazz Festival teams with 11th Hour Racing on sustainability initiatives
11th Hour Racing today announced its new role as the Environmental Awareness Sponsor of the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals. “Widely considered two of the most treasured cultural institutions in American history, for over 60 years, the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals have shown that music can positively impact the communities and lives it touches,” […]
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Newport Folk to host official aftershow benefit concerts at The JPT, Newport Blues Cafe
Now that they’ve finished announcing the lineup for its sold-out festival at Fort Adams July 22 – 24, Newport Folk Festival has moved on to announce aftershow benefits and events. For Pete’s Sake Newport Folk Festival on June 14 announced, in partnership with the United States Postal Service (USPS), that they will hos “For Pete’s […]
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2022 Newport Folk Festival Lineup Announcement
In traditional fashion, the sold-out Newport Folk Festival has begun announcing its lineup in a rolling fashion. Composer, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and multi-GRAMMY winner, Taj Mahal, was the first artist to be announced to the 2022 Newport Folk Festival lineup on February 3, just a day after the event sold-out within minutes. The sold-out 2022 Newport […]
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Newport Festivals Foundation offering free afterschool music program to Aquidneck Island high school students
Registration is now open for the Newport Festivals Workshops Program, a free, virtual afterschool music program created by Newport Festivals Foundation, which produces the Newport Folk and Newport Jazz Festivals. According to a press release from Newport Festivals Foundation, the workshops will be taught by professional musicians and music industry professionals about Songwriting, Audio Engineering, Music Industry […]