Newport Folk Fest Lineup: Beck, Feist, Father John Misty, Jim James, Lumineers & More
Newport Folk Festival has a special place in music history—it's where Bob Dylan plugged in an entire generation, going electric in 1965 (check out this awesome footage). After a period of less relevancy to mainstream music, the festival has bounced back with jaw-dropping lineups in recent years, and the 2013 bill is perhaps its best yet (or at least since '65).
Beck, Feist, Jim James, Father John Misty, the Lumineers, the Avett Brothers, Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, Lord Huron, the Mountain Goats and Andrew Bird, among others, are all set to perform at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, RI on July 26-28. Check out the full lineup here.
Let me tell you from personal experience: Newport Folk Festival is one of, if not the best summer festival. Period. Fort Adams offers gorgeous views of the sailboat-filled bay. The lobster rolls and Narragansett beers are plentiful. The crowd is family-friendly and relaxed. Fans can swim in the ocean, right off the grounds. And, best of all, the festival delivers performances you can't see anywhere else. Its folk roots result in acoustic performances from some of the leading names in music, and traditionally closes with a star-studded group performance of a classic folk song.
Expect Beck to play the stripped-back, folky tracks from his album-as-sheet-music release, Beck Hansen Song Reader—one of his first appearances of the material. Pete Seeger, a festival icon (who legend has it tried to cut the cord to Dylan's amp with an axe back in '65), posted a letter to the festival's webpage praising this year's headliner.
"If you like the old time singing and songwriting, you will like Beck. Like many of us he is a mix of many different heritages and styles. I like Beck's new work without any accompanying instruments. Good songwriter. Good singer. Please welcome him to this year’s festival."
It's safe to say: Expect magic in Newport this summer.
Below, hear one of my favorite Newport moments: Jim James doing an acoustic version of My Morning Jacket's "Smokin' From Shootin'" in 2010.
23m
13s
23m
22m
34s
46m
57m
20m
2m
41m
22m
1m
59m
57m
10m
9m
4m
30s
20m
13m
21m
20m
21m
1h 33m
22m
24m
20m
55m
41m
56m
1m
1h 39m
12m
21m
45m
22m
21m
47m
21m
10m
23m
45m
2m
44m
23m
8m
13m
1m
5m
2m
4m
10m
24m
20m
6m
13m
3m
43m
2m
1h 27m
20m
2m
22m
1m
45m
42m
46m
45m
46m
14m
1h 22m
20m
20m
13m
45m
7m
7m
1m
20m
46m
2m
41m
2m
22m
26m
12m
1m
1m
11m
6m
23m
25m
41m
21m
26m
19m
2m
2m
27m