The weekend went by fast and I found myself at Fort Adams State Park for the final day of the Newport Folk Festival. I had been shooting with a bum wrist all weekend and was really starting to feel it but the show must go on! From the beginning of the morning, everyones mind was on who would perform during the '65 Revisited set. There were some wild speculations (Dylan himself, Clapton) and jokes (Kanye West) about who it would be. But there was a lot of music to see and hear before we would find out.
I started my day at the Harbor Stage to catch some of Christopher Paul Stelling whom someone on Instagram said I should make a point of seeing. Good recommendation. I didn't stay for his whole set as I wanted to get in as much music as I could. He apparently got engaged during his set which I missed but, congratulations!
I then dashed off to catch some of Ballroom Thieves on the Quad before heading over to the Fort Stage for a bit of the Berklee Gospel Choir. I somehow neglected to make it over to the Harbor Stage to catch the Jones Family Singers who I wanted to check out. I'm not sure what I was doing but I must have been wondering around with my head in the clouds because there's a big gap of unaccounted for time where I apparently didn't see anything!
Next, I ended up at the Quad Stage where I caught some of Brian Fallon's set. Catherine Popper joined him; I dig her work. I enjoyed what I was able to catch of his set. His mood was infectious…he seemed genuinely happy to be there and that mood carried over to those of us watching him.
My next stop was at the Fort Stage to catch Jon Batiste & Stay Human. I normally see them at Folk's older sister the Newport Jazz Festival, where they would be playing a week later. The folk festival crowd enjoyed the energetic band as much as their jazz counterparts.
I then headed over to the Quad to catch Nathaniel Rateliff & The Nightsweats. Talk about some high energy grooving! They were a lot of fun and I stuck around for a bit watching them before heading back to the Fort Stage to catch a bit of Lord Huron before taking a break.
After my break, I went over to the Fort Stage to catch First Aid Kit. Johanna had lost her voice but sister Klara held it down well for the both of them. I watched them for a bit before heading over to the Quad to catch Laura Marling.
I made my way to the Fort Stage to catch a set I was looking forward to all weekend, Hozier. I'm pretty sure I sang along more than I took photos during "Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene". The crowd was enthusiastic and I think it was the most singing along during a set that I heard from the audience other than the '65 Revisited set that would take place later on that the same stage. A friend sent me a message, 'get a photo of J Mascis' … um, Hozier is on stage! But, I ran over to Timbuktu, I mean the Harbor Stage, where J Mascis was and ran back to Hozier.
All good things must come to an end. Closing out the Newport Folk Festival for the year, '65 Revisited. In case you didn't know, '65 was being revisited because it was the 50th anniversary of one of music's most iconic moments, Dylan going electric at Newport Folk. No, Dylan didn't show up which my ears probably appreciated, nor did Clapton or the joked about Kanye. Who did show up? A string of musicians led by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch. There was Willie Watson, Dawes, Al Kooper, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Deer Tick, Blake Mills, Hozier, First Aid Kit, Robyn Hitchcock, even the guitar Dylan played 50 years ago was there for the party. The set ended with a rousing sing-a-long of "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" with everybody.
Check out more photos in the slideshow below or see the photo album HERE.
