Newport Folk Festival Attendees Were Spoiled for Choice and Talent in 2024

Live Review

Live Review: Newport Folk Festival @ Fort Adams State Park, RI — 7/26 – 7/28/24

Casey Vock

August 12, 2024

Live Review: Newport Folk Festival @ Fort Adams State Park, RI — 7/26 – 7/28/24 — Conan O'Brien takes in the crowd the night of July 28, 2024, at the 65th annual Newport Folk Festival held at Fort Adams State Park in Rhode Island. (Photo by Casey Ryan Vock)

Not many events can draw the most influential artists and entertainers year after year, but the Newport Folk Festival is in a class of its own.

Featuring star musicians galore and world-famous celebrities, too, Newport Folk celebrated its 65th anniversary with a lineup for the ages as thousands of festival goers gathered each day at Rhode Island’s Forth Adams State Park from July 26-28.

Fans of live music came from far and wide and were quick to file into the line that grew each morning along with the anticipation for each day’s dreamy slate of performances and the assortment of special guests that would be invited to the various stages.

On all three days, the earliest of attendees waited just beyond the security checkpoint for the 10am official opening of the grounds. Like each year, the storied fort — a National Historic Landmark — was transformed into an idyllic gala and the fest became the talk of the music industry.

Boats anchored in the waters of Narragansett Bay during the 2024 Newport Folk Festival. (Photo by Casey Ryan Vock)

Revelers wore funky shades, straw hats and bright collared shirts or airy sundresses and they mingled in the vending areas, while families found comfy spots to lay tarps or blankets on the grass at the Fort Stage or nearby the Quad Stage within the fort itself. Some opted to head right to the northern-most point of the property, where they enjoyed ice-cold drinks and sat along the rock ledges above the water.

Out in Narragansett Bay, boaters dropped anchor and eavesdropped as traffic buzzed in either direction across the Claiborne Pell/Newport Bridge about a mile north of the fort.

For actual ticketholders, being on site presented a quandary: deciding which sets to attend. However, none could be wrong as this year more than ever presented an unthinkable selection of tastemakers from all over the world who’d traveled to the smallest of all the United States to rejoice with an audience known to be both discerning and progressive.

A growing community and evolving population, the Newport Folk family views songs as catalysts for change and each year those on hand seize the chance to experience incredible music in this terrific setting. And with three large stages and two smaller ones on opposite sides of the grounds, friends and family relished in the warm sunshine and the presence of so many talented artists who were thrilled to be there.

“Playing Newport is something you want to do as a kid,” said Steve Poltz early in the day on Friday. The singer-songwriter and guitar player from Canada told the Harbor Stage crowd that as a child he’d seen Bob Dylan playing at Newport on television.

“And you tell your parents, I wanna do that.”

Poltz and many others would live out their dream over the weekend, and it wasn’t just those who might be considered folk artists or of a closely related genre.

Alternative and indie rock groups, rappers, bluegrass outfits, tribute acts, and experimental projects of various origin took to the stage or appeared at one of the afterhours shows held Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.

By lunchtime on the opening afternoon, an impressive list of performers had already delivered powerful sets of music, including an early appearance by the Medicine Singers with the help Sonic Youth co-founder Lee Ranaldo.

Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway, one of bluegrass’ hottest bands, charmed the Fort Stage, while Buck Meek — a founding member of Big Thief — and English singer-songwriter Billie Martin played to growing audiences at the Quad and Harbor stages, respectively.

Absorbing a remarkable contrast of tones and vibes, fans on Friday were able to enjoy an angry and blaring set by North Carolina’s Wednesday and if they liked they had time to also catch some of Allison Russell’s set, as the Quebec-born musician and activist amazed on the Fort Stage.

Elsewhere, Illiterate Light — an indie rock duo formed in Harrisonburg, Virginia — presided over the Bike Stage for the third consecutive year, presenting yet another lineup of mostly-solo artists who played on a DIY stage powered by peddled stationary bicycles.

A unique tradition invented by band founders Jeff Gorman and Jake Cochran, the stage replicates the setup these two used time and time again to host backyard shows with friends on their way to becoming staples on the indie rock scene and now at Newport, too. Illiterate Light welcomed various artists Friday before putting on their own explosive performance in front of eager onlookers.

Listen to the newest single from Illiterate Light, “Norfolk Southern,” via Spotify:

Another custom at Newport, heavy-weight artists simply drop in unannounced, and this year brought one of the most exciting surprise visits to the Fort in some time.

Rumors swirled beforehand but turned out to be true when security created a temporary path for motorized vehicles to enter the Quad. About the same time a massive swarm of fireflies buzzed into the grounds, so did Beck, and his set drew anyone who could get to it.

Meanwhile, must-see artists were taking each of the other stages: Tik-Tok sensation Petey at the Harbor Stage, indie pop band Muna on the Quad, and surfing singer-songwriter Donovan Frankenreiter on the Foundation Stage.

Shovels & Rope and Adrianne Lenker stunned crowds in what felt like headlining performances early in the evening. But the buildup of stars on the Fort Stage was the true marvel of the weekend, and Friday’s order of Guster, Black Pumas, and Hozier was rewarding.

While fans got the chance to see Black Pumas’ Eric Burton up close and in person — he leapt over the barricade and walked deep into the audience — they also got to see Hozier in rare company.

The first night’s finale featured various notable guests and culminated with a bunch of them on stage as Hozier covered The Band’s classic “The Weight.” For the special occasion, he was joined by Joan Baez, Nathaniel Rateliff, Mavis Staples, Allison Russell, Wes Schultz of The Lumineers, and more artists who were either on the bill or simply hanging out at the fort all weekend.

Listen to the newest album from Hozier, Unreal Unearth: Unheard, via Spotify:

Every morning at Newport begins with a session titled “For Pete’s Sake,” daily tributes to the late Pete Seeger, who is considered a co-founder of the event and driving force alongside its original architect, George Wein.

Palmyra, an on-the-rise folk band out of the Shenandoah Valley, hosted the Saturday edition of this year “For Pete’s Sake,” and it gave the group a chance to share not only its riveting sound but its thoughtfulness as well.

The group played some of its own tunes, some of Seeger’s compositions, protests songs and the traditional gospel piece “Up Above My Head” as sung by Bernice Johnson Reagon, an original member of The Freedom Singers who passed away on July 16 at the age of 81.

“We played her version of that, which was really fun,” said Sasha Landon, Palmyra’s lead vocalist, guitarist, and mandolinist. “It’s an honor to get to share stages with heroes of ours. It’s the most historic festival in the world for the type of my music we make.”

Though they were new as headliners this year, the band had been to previous festivals to assist Illiterate Light at the Bike Stage. Still, they were moved by just how much care the festival and its organizers show the performers.

“They take such good care of artists here, it’s insane,” Landon said.

But Newport attendees are essentially spoiled in their own right, too, and Saturday brought another array of options. It would include two appearances by Baez: first as a guest on a live recording of the Sheroes Podcast, later for a poetry reading at the Bike Stage. But the day also brought a hypnotizing quantity and quality of artistry that has become expected of this event.

First-timers represented some of the most awaited of sets. Oliver Hazard, a trio from the shores of Lake Erie in Ohio, played to a large audience early Saturday at the Harbor Stage, and the boisterous cheers made the group feel at home and the experience like a rite of passage.

“I think of any event or festival in America this one feels very like artist facing, it’s artist friendly,” said Oliver Hazard vocalist and guitarist Michael Belazis.

“There’s not a lot of places where every single artist from the entire event are all sitting together in the same tent in the back. … It’s almost like there’s an assumption if you’re here you belong here, and none of the bigger artists seem to have much of an ego and they’re very open to meeting other people. Between the diehard fanbase of Newport and the accessibility to meet and grow our community as artists, it’s a really neat event for that reason.”

Indie folk musician Tré Burt, English singer and guitar player Billy Bragg, and Chaparelle — the sensuous duo of Zella Day and Jesse Woods — made splashes and likely grew their followings with sets early in the day.

Josiah Leming, who records and tours as Josiah and the Bonnevilles, performed on the Quad Stage Saturday afternoon much to the joy of the many who heard and felt his impassioned, heartrending and brutally honest songs. And though he’s filled popular venues in cities across the country, Leming said the experience of playing to a Newport crowd was without compare.

“You think of Dylan here,” he said, adding that the rush of photographers entering the pit at the start of his set made the moment that much more significant to him.

“I felt like I was back in the ‘60s or ‘70s. And it hit me how real this is. Because a lot of things don’t feel like that. This one feels … special. … The weight of the whole thing is not lost on me. It’s a quite scary experience, so you just try to hang on.”

Josiah’s and other sets gave way to some of the most memorable in Newport history, including the colorful smash-hit Bertha: Grateful Drag show on the Harbor Stage.

Early Saturday evening featured Ocie Elliott, a reflective folk duo from British Columbia, South African country innovator Orville Peck and Philly neo-psych visionaries The War on Drugs.

Newport darlings John Craigie and Langhorne Slim teamed up on the Harbor Stage for a set billed as Craigie & Slim and they performed each other’s songs as well as the lovable piece they just released together, “Out on the Road.”

Killer Mike, the outspoken rapper from Atlanta, stole the show in closing out the Quad Saturday evening. The chairs were cleared out and fans grooved and bounced shoulder to shoulder for a lively and provocative set that fit in so perfectly to the weekend, as the talented wordsmith took issue with authority in America and performed a good portion of his 2023 album, MICHAEL.

“Newport rap sets are sick,” summed an attendee afterward, already high stepping his way to the Fort Stage.

There, David Rawlings & Gillian Welch — two of the most respected figures in folk music today — closed out the night with a mix of their own songs and traditionals, including the duo’s masterpiece “Miss Ohio” and a hauntingly beautiful encore take on Welch’s “Everything is Free.”

Listen to the first two singles from David Rawlings & Gillian Welch’s forthcoming release, Woodland Studios:

The chance of Sunday besting the two days prior might have seemed remote, but Jay Sweet, Executive Director of the Newport Festivals Foundation, crafted this to be the most incredible of all Newport Folk lineups.

Instrumental cumbia/chicha trio LA LOM, local Black string band New Dangerfield, Chicago indie rockers Friko and other ascending acts enriched the day with disparate sounds and semblance, all of it welcomed by the Newport Folk family.

Algerian and Malian collective Tinariwen blew minds from the Quad Stage and Northern Virginia folk artist and guitar slinger Thao turned in one of the day’s most vigorous performances on the Harbor Stage.

All this before a set by Cory Wong and Friends featured some of the most intricate skills of the weekend. The Minneapolis-based artist and producer was joined by bass guru Victor Wooten, guitarist Ariel Posen, mandolinist Sierra Hull and more.

Later, the chairs were again cleared from the Quad for a rejuvenating 55 minutes with De La Soul and it was again standing-room-only and became very close to mosh pit status for Dropkick Murphys — two wildly different presentations, but both packing the interior of the fort with elated music lovers.

Out on the main yard, sets by Sierra Farrell and Brittany Howard warmed up the big stage for what was to come, as Howard proclaimed Newport Folk as her “favorite” of all festivals.

And as planned, the highest profile guest of the weekend arrived in one piece, taking the stage Sunday for a monumental evening of song and comedy.

Conan O’Brien, the esteemed TV show host, writer, comedian and producer, walked out onto the Fort Stage, Fender Stratocaster in hand, and the audience went bonkers for him. He was joined by member of LA-based rock band Dawes as well as recent graduates of the Berklee School of Music who were selected to round out the backing group for this one-time project.

O’Brien himself was accompanied by Jimmy Vivino, who is the leader of Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band, best known as the house band for his TBS late-night show, Conan. While O’Brien’s appreciation for music and his addiction to guitars is well known, many might have been shocked to see him clutching an electric at the mic of a major music festival.

His plan, he gagged, was to see if he could destroy “folk music” like he had ruined other genres, a reference to his occasional dabbles.

But O’Brien turned out to be the perfect host for an eye-popping and ear-pleasing list of guests.

And Conan didn’t just request their presence, but he complimented each in a warm way that revealed him to be a careful and emotional listener, much like those who rush to grab tickets each year to this sell-out event.

Introducing Langhorne Slim, O’Brien commented: “someone gave me an album of his and I listened to that like 75 times in a row … and I felt joy again.”

Presenting Nathaniel Rateliff, Conan said that upon first hearing one of his albums he “lost my mind, and never really got it back.”

But he didn’t miss his chance at funny. He added that he observed Rateliff to be “always suspiciously sweaty.” Welcoming Nick Lowe to the stage, he joked “my favorite song of his was playing on the radio when I lost my virginity. … That was six years ago, sadly.”

Listen to Conan O’Brien’s Needs A Friend podcast, updated regularly on Spotify:

A Brookline, Mass. Native and a Harvard graduate, O’Brien’s local roots are strong, but more so is his place in the world of entertainment, where he’s revered and adored for his dynamism and, above all else, his sense of humor.

He led one of the most incredible efforts in the history of Newport, welcoming additional guests that included Mavis Staples, Jack White, Brittany Howard and others. By the end of the night, the swarm on stage included the likes of John C. Reilly and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.

Though he made quips and wisecracks through the entire show, Conan was clearly moved by the allure of the moment as he and his friends wrapped up the set.

“There’s a lot of negativity in the world right now,” O’Brien pointed to the west, where the setting sun was peeking through the haze of distant rain clouds.

“There’s nothing more beautiful than that. … Have a great time and enjoy yourselves.”

Below are images of the 65th annual Newport Folk Festival held at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island from July 26 to 28, 2024. All photos copyright and courtesy of Casey Ryan Vock.

Conan O’Brien Setlist

Memphis (Lonnie Mack cover)
Forty Days (Ronnie Hawkins cover)
Ramblin’ Man (Allman Bros cover)
Found My Heart (Langhorne Slim cover, with Langhorne)
So It Goes (Nick Lowe cover, with Nick Lowe)
Cruel To Be Kind (Brinsley Schwarz cover, with Nick Lowe)
Buckets of Rain (Boy Dylan cover)
Come and Get Your Love (Redbone cover, with Brittany Howard)
Everybody’s Talkin’ (Fred Neil cover, with Nathaniel Rateliff)
Let It Bleed (The Rolling Stones cover, with Nathaniel Rateliff)
I’ll Take You There (The Staple Singers, with Mavis Staples)
We’re Going to be Friends (The White Stripes cover, with Jack White)
Twenty Flight Rock (Eddie Cochrane cover, with Jack White)
Midnight Special (trad)

Conan O’Brien with Jimmy Vivino and Dawes