by Doug MacGunnigle
NEWPORT, R.I. — The 2017 Newport Folk Festival hosted a wide array of performers this year, hardly limiting the genre to just ‘folk’ – everything from Dixieland jazz to a tribute to rock and roll founding father Chuck Berry (who appeared at the Jazz Festival in 1958) was represented.
The festival, first put on in 1958, has seen resurgence and is so popular this year that tickets sold out before the acts were even announced. The folk and jazz festivals are now run by a nonprofit foundation. The jazz festival is scheduled for next weekend.
Friday highlights included a blistering set from Shreveport, Louisiana’s Seratones on the Quad stage – who certainly delivered on their claim of delivering “Southern musicality, garage rock ferocity, and general badassery.” Hurray for the Riff Raff, The Head and the Heart, and the Fleet Foxes delivered memorable, crowd pleasing sets from the Fort Stage, while Regina Spektor delivered a potent set from her grand piano on the Quad Stage. Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie also delivered a well received solo set on Friday afternoon, while L.A. group The Wild Reeds showed off amazing harmonies on the Harbor stage.
Saturday’s standout performance was that of Billy Bragg and Joe Thomas, who delivered a stirring performance of railroad-themed songs from throughout American history – perhaps the biggest declaration of “FOLK” of the entire weekend. Bragg later joined headliners Wilco who capped off a sometimes shaky set with a beautiful rendition of “California Stars” as the sun set on the festival.
Other highlights Saturday included a wild set from Chicano Batman, the crowd-pleasing Avett Brothers, a solo set from My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, and North Carolina duo Mandolin Orange, who provided a lovely set of country tinged bluegrass and folk.
The action on the Fort stage started Sunday with the energetic Preservation Hall Jazz Band from New Orleans, marking somewhat of a tradition on Sunday mornings at the Folk Festival.
An all-star tribute to Chuck Berry followed, led by guitarist Charlie Sexton and ably backed by the Dallas musician’s collective the Texas Gentlemen, featuring turns on vocals from Jim James (who read the lyrics from “The Promised Land” off of his iPhone,) Shakey Graves, Kam Franklin, members of Deer Tick, and this year’s surprise performer Nathaniel Rateliffe, who later performed an unannounced set at the small Harbor stage.
Banjo playing singer songwriter Rhiannon Giddens delivered a stirring set on the fort stage, which she returns to next weekend at the Jazz Festival.
Another major highlight on Sunday was headliner and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter John Prine, who was joined by Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, as well as by My Morning Jacket’s Jim James and Nathaniel Rateliffe.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
