Here’s Who’s Playing at Newport Folk Fest This Weekend
A user-friendly guide to the biggest music event of the year.
Danielle Ponder performs during the 2023 Newport Folk Festival. Photo by Adam Kissick
It’s that time of year again — the time when music lovers from all over descend on Newport for one of the longest running music festivals in the country. Here’s a quick primer on who’s playing at Newport Folk Festival this weekend, and some tips on how to avoid the crowds if you’re one of the lucky 10,000 converging on the Fort.
The Artists
This year’s lineup is characteristically stacked with old and new favorites. As usual, the schedule features plenty of nationally-known hitmakers, including Hozier on Friday night, Elle King on Saturday and Brittany Howard and the Dropkick Murphys on Sunday. Other folk favorites like Guster, Hermanos Gutiérrez, the Oh Hellos and the War on Drugs will fill out the stages. Blues veteran Taj Mahal returns to the stage after first playing the festival in 1968. Joan Baez, who played the original folk fest in 1959, will also make an appearance, though this time, she’ll be reading poetry on the Bike Stage Saturday afternoon.
Of note, a Rhode Islander will close out the Fort Stage on Saturday. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings played the fest in the early 2000s and return just in time for the announcement of their new album, Woodlands. Rawlings grew up in North Smithfield, where his parents still live. Other Rhode Island artists include the Medicine Singers, who will open up the Fort Stage on Friday.
Many attendees are also looking forward to Conan O’Brien & the Real Musicians closing out the festival Sunday night. The late-night host brings his blend of comedy and music to the fest, with Dawes and Jimmy Vivino joining the band. The lineup also promises “very special guests,” leading to much speculation on who might join O’Brien onstage. If past festivals are any indication, it’s sure to be someone worth sticking around for.
The Food
As usual, Folk Fest also promises a stellar food lineup beyond the typical food truck fare you find at other festivals. It’s hard to pick just a few, but if I had to craft my ideal meal lineup, it would look something like this: breakfast and coffee from Beehive Cafe, followed by a raw bar lunch courtesy of Matunuck Oyster Bar. Then an afternoon snack from Ja Patty, and a cold Del’s Lemonade as the sun hits full peak. Around dinner time, I’d head over to Hometown Poke for a made-to-order poke bowl, and then finish it off with some gelato from A Mano Pizza & Gelato. If you’re looking for something a little more portable as you jostle for position near the stage, you can never go wrong with a Gansett Wraps falafel wrap.
The Vendors
Between sets, be sure to check out the vendor area, where you can find handcrafted goods as well as books, records and other keepsakes from local companies. A few of the Rhode Island vendors present include Air and Anchor jewelry, Rhode Island Reef hemp and CBD products, Folk Vintage Co., Twenty Stories bookstore, Lazuli Handcrafted jewelry, Charter Books and others.
The Details
However you plan to arrive, it’s important to remember the festival’s ethos of respect and kindness. About 10,000 people need to get themselves to and from the Fort each day, and this requires a little patience and flexibility. Gates open at 10 a.m., and parking passes are available for purchase ahead of time on newportfolk.org. If you’d rather arrive by bike, Bike Newport has an excellent guide to the Park ‘n Bike options and safe routes to Fort Adams. There is also a water taxi from Newport Harbor as well as a ferry from One East Ferry Wharf in Jamestown. Learn more about the transportation options here.
When packing your bag, be sure to include a refillable water bottle to use at the water stations and a low-sitting beach chair (less than thirty inches) to set up by the stage. Beach umbrellas, professional cameras, alcohol, selfie sticks and pets (sorry Fido) are not allowed. For a full list of what’s allowed and prohibited, visit the website here.
Folk and Brews
The Newport Festivals Foundation will host aftershows throughout the weekend at the Jane Pickens Film and Event Center, the Parlor Newport and Newport Blues Cafe. All of these are sold out, but you can still join the waitlists for your shot at tickets.
For those who didn’t snag tickets to the folk event of the season, you can still catch some tunes at Shaidzon Beer Company’s Lil’ Folk Fest happening all weekend at the brewery in West Kingston. Catch local favorites like How’s About Charlie and Two Cat Tango while munching on food from Anna’s Vesuviano and Hank’s Down South BBQ. If you’re staying in Newport for the weekend, you can catch up at Newport Craft Brewing & Distilling Co., which will be open late after the fest.
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