The time came and went for the 65th annual Newport Folk Festival! I attended the Friday lineup, stepping amongst a sea of Patagonia backpacks, many pairs of Teva sandals, shirts with graphics representing Tracy Chapman, The Outsiders, and not one but two Adventure Time T-shirts to name a few.
by Ella Mastroianni, Blog Assistant
Newport Folk Festival began as a festival to represent all that folk is and can be, and with Friday’s artists which included Billie Marten, MUNA, Adrianne Lenker, and Hozier, this year promised to be no exception.
THE BEST KICK-OFF
Sir Woman took the stage at 11:10 am. For many, they had the responsibility of setting the tone for the day, and I can confirm they didn’t disappoint. Sir Woman is the newest project of vocalist Kelsey Wilson, with a groovy-beyond-belief energetic sound fueled by her soulful voice. With crowdpleasers “Blame It on the Water” and “Highroad,” it was impossible not to dance. The two other vocalists onstage, Uncle Roy and Spice, were giving it their all, dancing in sync and adding their vocal flair to each song. They were dropping it low, kicking it high, and much more without missing a beat. Alongside the vocalists, there was a talented collection of instrumentalists on stage including Matthew Thomas Muehling, James Alexander Adkins, and Dayne Reliford.
A barefoot Wilson called Folk Fest her “favorite festival in the whole world.” I can safely say Folk Fest is so many people’s favorite because of performances like the memorable Sir Woman on Friday. With tracks such as “Who You Gonna Love,” “Bitch,” and “I Know Better”. Sir Woman created an easy-going, infectious energy that propelled excitement for the rest of the day.
Billie Marten’s 12:10 pm set had the ooo’s the aah’s and the la’s. Bassist and vocalist Katie Martucci and percussionist Andrew Maguire accompanied the 25-year-old British singer-songwriter on the Harbor stage. This early afternoon show was the group’s first show together, though it would’ve been difficult to tell they hadn’t been together for ages if they hadn’t said so—they provided a calm presence that was perfect for the early afternoon. They delivered a charming, light-as-air set filled with Billie’s telltale whispery voice accented by Martucci, performing a handful of before-unheard material from the upcoming record. New songs “To Lose,” and “Swing,” joined Billie Marten staples like “La Lune” and “Willow.”
Marten frequently interacted with the crowd, drawing laughter with her various quips. At one point, Marten warned “It's singalong time I’m afraid,” and continued by monotonically saying, “The words are ‘la la la la, la la la la.’ Got it?” After, she commented on the crowd's participation, saying “You looked quite sad while you were la-ing… It's kind of heartbreaking. It was tender and sweet.”
Marten’s words “tender and sweet,” just about sum up the entirety of the set. A butterfly fluttered around before the last song, perhaps making the environment more tender and sweet, while people were cheering for “I Can’t Get My Head Around You.”
“You’re just so nice,” she said to the audience. “I guess that’s the idea.”
SUPER (NOT) SECRET SURPRISE
“I wanted to pay tribute to Newport, it's one of the most important festivals in America,” Beck, an 8-time Grammy award winner who was Friday’s mystery performer, said on the Quad stage. “Some of the great history of the music that I love happened here, all through the 50s, 60s… So we’re gonna tip our hats to that and see what happens.”
Before Beck took the stage, there was speculation on who “TBA” on the schedule could be, but people around me were certain it was Beck before the official announcement. While it may not have surprised everyone, the eventual reveal had everyone out of their chairs. Beck’s set was very swingy, and he seemed to be having a blast on stage, fingerpicking and jamming along with the band that helped make his 2002 album, Sea Change. Most notably he had Smokey Hormel, who he referred to as one of the best guitar players in America, perform with him. The highlight of Beck’s performance was his inclusion of the harmonica, of which he humorously said, “[You know you’re] at a folk show when the performer spends half the show looking for the right harmonica.”
Most of the set consisted of covers by iconic folk singers; Fred Neil and Bob Dylan being two. Aside from covers, Beck performed “Lost Cause,” “The Golden Age,” and his universally known hit “Loser,” which had every audience member's hands in the air.
GAYS TO THE FRONT!
After Beck, the Quad stage became a home base for well… the gay folk fest-goers. MUNA and Adrianne Lenker were back-to-back, with drastically different, equally special sets. MUNA — made up of Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin, and Naomi McPherson — was an unlikely pick for the Folk Fest, as they are primarily a pop band. However, their career and discography up to this point were proof they could pull it off. And they absolutely did.
Opening with their track “Shooting Star,” is not their usual trajectory. After the song, Josette commented that this show had the “least jumping we’ve ever gotten at the beginning of a set.” MUNA had the stage for about an hour, and during that time they played songs from all three of their albums—paying particular attention to their softest, closest-to-folk songs. They played “Winterbreak” with an added twang, “Loose Garment” with an added sway, and overall a collection of songs that, while they may not have knocked the audience's socksoff, definitely blew their bandanas away.
Without a doubt, the two most precious moments of the performance were when they dedicated “Kind of Girl” to trans fans, and when Naomi and Josette expressed support for Katie’s musical adventures (Her solo album, What a Relief is set to release on October 25th). Katie debuted “As Good As It Gets” and Naomi and Josette joked they would be putting out their own solo project called TUNA.
“Energy,” is one of the keywords I would use to describe MUNA, and even with a “mellow” set, Naomi’s glasses flew off during the first song and Josette fell later in the set. Whether going for their usual pop or trying out a different environment, they delivered. Their final song was the pop anthem “Silk Chiffon.” Safe to say, that anyone who wasn’t originally a fan of MUNA likely left as one.
Shortly after MUNA, Adrianne Lenker took the stage, entrancing the audience with her fingerpicking. She took the stage alone and opened with the floaty, earthy track “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You,” a song built to be heard in the Folk Fest environment. Adrianne performed a few new Big Thief songs; one was titled “More Than Anything” and it felt like a purposeful choice to play that right before her solo track “Anything.”
Big Thief bandmate Buck Meek joined later in the set to perform two songs, “Sadness as a Gift” and Big Thief’s unreleased “Wait a While.” Adrianne sweetly said “I love singing with you,” to which Buck replied, “You too.” Seeing them perform together felt almost familial, and the audience remained hushed as they chatted about how they used to live in a van, burning CDs, and eating popcorn during rainstorms. “Similar now just without a van,” Adrianne said as the audience laughed. “We still eat popcorn and still sing…It’s pretty beautiful to get to keep playing with you.”
Adrianne closed the set with “The Only Place,” and left only after expressing her gratitude to the audience.
TAKE ME TO CHUR- I MEAN, FORT STAGE
One of the most unfortunate things about music festivals is that a few artists will always be missed. On the bright side, the arrangement of the stages at Fort Adams made it easy to wander by a stage and be pulled in by the music, even if it was for a brief moment. I heard Warped Tour-esque music by Wednesday, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway performing “Crooked Trees,” and the powerful passionate voice of artist Rett Madison as they performed their self-proclaimed murder ballad.
I missed most of Hozier’s set, so, unfortunately, he was another artist I only got to see briefly before I left. Hozier began singing “Francesca” right as I arrived to Fort stage. While everyone who attended the festival had been scattered all day, most people came to Hozier, returning to the chairs and blankets they had set up that morning.
As the sun dipped behind the stage, Hozier went from “Unknown/Nth,” to “Cherry Wine,” but despite the sun's departure, Hozier’s energy was oh-so bright. To close out the first festival day, after I had left, he not only played “Take Me to Church,” but he invited the legendary Joan Baez and Mavis Staples onstage to perform two covers, the second of which was a U.S. Civil Rights anthem that left the audience with a clear, hopeful message: “We Shall Overcome.”
