Newport Folk Festival

Newport Folk Festival

Location(s)	Newport, Rhode Island
Years active	1959-1971?[citation needed] 1985-present
Founded by	Theodore Bikel, Oscar Brand, Pete Seeger, George Wein, Albert Grossman
Date(s)	currently early August
Genre	Folk, Country, Blues, Folk rock, Indie folk
Website	www.newportfolkfest.net

The Newport Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the previously established Newport Jazz Festival. The festival features performances by folk, blues, country, bluegrass and folk rock musicians, and since the 1990's has featured performers from related contemporary genres, such as alternative country, indie folk and folk punk.

History

Baez and Dylan at Washington, 1963

The Newport Folk Festival was founded in 1959 by George Wein, founder of the already-well-established Newport Jazz Festival, backed by its original board: Theodore Bikel, Oscar Brand, Pete Seeger and Albert Grossman.

The Festival is renowned for introducing to a national audience a number of performers who went on to become major stars, most notably Joan Baez by her appearance as an unannounced guest of Bob Gibson in 1959, and Bob Dylan, in turn a guest of Baez at the 1963 festival. Not strictly limited to folk performers, in in the 1960s Johnny Cash, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf all performed. The festival also included many musicians of the pre-World War II country blues who figured as influences to the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s where artists "lost" since the 1940s were "rediscovered."

The Festival in its initial guise ran from 1959 to 1970, with no festivals scheduled in 1961 or 1962. Many of the concerts have provided a rich source of recordings. Murray Lerner directed the 1967 film Festival based on the 1963-1965 festivals.

The Electric Dylan Controversy

Main article: Electric Dylan controversy

Bob Dylan's 1963 and 1964 performances solo and with Baez had made him popular with the Newport crowd, but on July 25, 1965 Dylan was booed by some fans when he played with backing from Mike Bloomfield on guitar and others from an electric blues/rock and roll band known as The Paul Butterfield Blues Band while headlining the festival. It is usually said that the reason for the crowd's hostile reception was Dylan's 'abandoning' of the folk orthodoxy, or poor sound quality on the night (or a combination of the two). This incident, Dylan's first live 'plugged-in' set of his professional career, marked the shift in his artistic direction from folk to rock, and had wider implications for both styles of music.

The Comeback

The Newport Folk Festival fell on hard times in the later 1960s, even closing its doors for a number of years beginning in 1971, but was revived in 1985, and has since become one of the major folk music festivals in the United States, alongside the Philadelphia Folk Festival, which began in 1960 and is now the longest continual running music festival in North America, and the Kerrville Folk Festival which began in 1972.

The Newport festival has run without interruption ever since 1985, although in a different form from its 1960s heyday; the event has gone from not-for-profit to for-profit, the crowd has shrunk from 20,000 to 10,000 and evening concerts have been canceled.^[1] Furthermore, the festival has enlisted the aid of major sponsors, including Ben & Jerry's and Dunkin' Donuts. The 2007 festival featured musicians such as Linda Ronstadt, who was the Friday night headliner, in addition to other well known musicians such as the Allman Brothers Band, Emmylou Harris, Alejandro Escovedo, Cheryl Wheeler, Hazel Dickens and Ralph Stanley. In recent years, the folk festival has expanded to include performances from folk-influenced indie rock artists and acoustic rock bands, such as The Decemberists and The Low Anthem.

The 2008 Newport Folk Festival headliners included Jimmy Buffett, Stephen and Damian Marley, The Black Crowes, Levon Helm and Jakob Dylan

Recent Years

2009 marked the 50th celebration of the Newport Folk Festival, featuring established folk artists like Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and Pete Seeger, along with newer musicians like The Decemberists, Fleet Foxes, The Avett Brothers, and Neko Case. 2010 was headlined by Levon Helm, John Prine, The Avett Brothers, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.

SPIN Magazine described the disparate music of the 2010 event as part of the festival's "rich history of uniting disparate genres of music...The one common thread: each artist's sound is celebration of American music, thus qualifying it as "folk," or "carriers of culture." ^[2]

Rolling Stone Magazine described the festival: "The venue featured plenty of high-energy performances from both old timers and young indie acts. There were veterans like Doc Watson, Ritchie [sic] Havens and John Prine alongside the manic O'Death and freak folk troupe Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros." ^[3]

In January 2011 it was announced that the festival has returned to being a non-profit event which will be produced under the umbrella of Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc.

Setting

The Newport Folk Festival takes place every year at Fort Adams State Park, in Newport, Rhode Island. The Friday evening before the festival kicks off for the weekend with a performance at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in downtown Newport. Fort Adams houses three stages, the main one of which sits looking out at Newport harbor and the famous Claiborne Pell Bridge. The Festival is known for its beautiful setting- as the music blog Consequence of Sound puts it, "Located at the gorgeously scenic Fort Adams, in Newport, Rhode Island, glimmering, clear blue water surrounds the small vivid green peninsula. Look out from the fort towers and you’ll see hundreds of beautiful boats rocking along the water." (Consequence of Sound). My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James told Spin Magazine, "You've got the sun on your skin and the breeze in your hair. It's magical here... It's just magical." (SPIN at Newport Folk 2010) Brandi Carlile says "It's one of my favorites so far if not my favorite." (Brandi Carlile Interview)

WMVY began streaming the festival in 2005 and was joined by NPR Music in 2008. WMVY's Archives contains both performances and interviews from Newport Folk and NPR music has recorded sets available available for listening here: NPR at Newport Folk 2010.

Sustainability

The Festival has made efforts in being green-friendly, teaming with many groups to do so. They partnered with Clean Water Action and Rhode Island Resource Recovery to collect 1.5 tons of recyclables. CWA worked onsite picking up trash and recycling, and set up composting stations to curb the waste generated during the event. A portion of beer and wine sales went to CWA to support their work. The official beer of the Festival, Vermont-based Magic Hat used plant-based, 100% compostable cups. The Festival also partnered with CLIF Bar, who set up a bike valet to encourage people to bicycle to the event and participate in their 2-Mile Challenge. They worked with New England Wind Fund to offset power used during the Festival, and Klean Kanteen to provide reusable water bottles. They also partnered with Farm Fresh Rhode Island to incorporate local foods into the vendors' fare.

Newport Folk Festival Tour

Beginning in 1998, a multi-act bill, only loosely centered around folk music, has toured the United States under the Newport Folk Festival Tour moniker.

That first touring lineup included Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith, Alison Krauss, John Hiatt, Newport veteran Joan Baez, Wilco, Suzanne Vega, Loudon Wainwright III, Lucinda Williams, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore.^[4] A New York Times review found some similarities between the acts but a loss of the folk sensibility in its original purpose.^[5]

Albums recorded at the festival

• The Newport Folk Festival, 1959 [3 Volumes] - Vanguard Records

• The Kingston Trio Live at Newport - Vanguard Records (1959 performance released in 1994)

• The Newport Folk Festival, 1960 [2 Volumes] - Vanguard Records

• The following albums were issued by Vanguard Records after the 1963 Newport Folk Festival:
  • Newport Broadside (Topical Songs) - VRS-9144 (Mono) and VSD-79144 (Stereo) Joan Baez, Bob Davenport, Bob Dylan, The Freedom Singers, Jim Garland, Sam Hinton, Peter La Farge, Ed McCurdy, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Pete Seeger
  • Blues At Newport - VRS-9145 (Mono) and VS-79145 (Stereo) Rev. Gary Davis, John Hammond, John Lee Hooker, Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry, Mississippi John Hurt
  • Country Music and Bluegrass At Newport - VRS-9146 (Mono) and VSD-79146 (Stereo) Clarence "Tom" Ashley, Clint Howard, Jim and Jesse and the Virginia Boys, Tex Logan, The Morris Brothers, The New Lost City Ramblers, Fred Price, Doc Watson, Mac Wiseman, and The Country Boys.
  • Old Time Music At Newport - VRS-9147 (Mono) and VSD-79147 (Stereo) Clarence "Tom" Ashley, Doc Boggs, Maybelle Carter, Jenes Cottrell, Dorsey Dixon, Clint Howard, Fred Price, Doc Watson
  • Evening Concert At Newport, Vol. 1 - VRS-9148 (Mono) and VSD-79148 (Stereo)
  • Evening Concert At Newport, Vol. 2 - VRS-9149 (Mono) and VSD-79149 (Stereo)
  • Live at Newport (John Lee Hooker album)

• The following albums were issued by Vanguard Records after the 1964 Newport Folk Festival:
  • Long Journey Home - VCD-77004 (Stereo) The Kentucky Colonels (Clarence White, Roland White, Billy Ray Lathum, and Roger Bush) with Doc Watson and Bill Keith

• Festival: The Newport Folk Festival 1965 [1]
• Ben & Jerry's Newport Folk Festival '88 Live [2]
• Ben & Jerry's Newport Folk Festival, Vol. 2 (1990) [3]
• Turn of the Decade 1989-90: Ben & Jerry's Newport Folk Festival [4]

See also

• American folk music revival
• Festival
• No Direction Home
• Kerrville Folk Festival
• Philadelphia Folk Festival
• Newport Music Festival
• Newport Jazz Festival
• Electric Dylan Controversy

References

1. ^ CNN: "Newport Folk Festival features Willie Nelson, Natalie Merchant", retrieved January 10, 2006
2. ^ SPIN at Newport 2010
3. ^ Rolling Stone
4. ^ Travel Advisory | Pop Culture News | News + Notes | Entertainment Weekly | 1
5. ^ "CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; Newport Folk, How It's Changed", The New York Times, August 4, 1998. Accessed April 11, 2008.

Further reading

• Reed, James, "Founder pitches to again lead Newport fests: Promoter's financial woes prompt return of George Wein", The Boston Globe, March 4, 2009 (archived 2009)

External links

• Festival Network
• The Fariña Files: about the early 1960s Newport Folk Festivals
• Newport Folk Festival discography
• Newport Folk Festival webcasts at NPR Music
• Well-Rounded Radio's 2009 audio interview with Co-Producer Jay Sweet
• Well-Rounded Radio's 2010 audio interview with Founder + Producer George Wein