Category Archives: festival photos

Smiling Happy People at Newport Folk Festival

I am not sure why, but the 2023 Newport Folk Festival felt more joyous than ever and it is always full of joy! Just look at these faces on Sunday!

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Newport Folk Festival 2022 Hit a Grand Slam!

Every year at the Newport Folk Festival is fabulous, but the 2022 Festival truly hit it out of the park! The joy I – and 10,000 others – felt at seeing Joni Mitchell perform for the first time in many years was incomparable. That should not detract from the rest of the Festival, which I enjoyed as much as always.

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Six Days of Unfettered Joy

While I’m not sure I have fully processed the six days that was Newport Folk Presents Folk On, I do know that the joy that I and every one of the 6,000 or so attendees felt was palpable and immeasurable.

2021 Newport Folk Presents, FOLK ON! | Fort Adams State Park, Newport, RI |  July 23 to July 28

This was not the Newport Folk Festival as we know it, which is why the name was changed for this year. What was the same was the vibe – although the vibe may have been even more intensely joyous than in the past because of the pandemic.

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Newport Folk Festival Continues To Amaze Me

How does the Newport Folk Festival get better each year?

Newport Folk Festival

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The Word For Luck Reunion Is – WOW!!!

I was a lucky (pun intended) person indeed to have traveled to Austin for Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion earlier this month. I knew artists who performed there in past years and always regretted not being there, but finally got the chance this year.

This one-day event is held in Willie’s backyard (if it can be said that a ranch was a backyard) with only 2,000 tickets sold, so everyone who attends is lucky.

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Newport Folk Festival Hits A Grand Slam!

Then again, it always does for me and the 10,000 others who buy tickets before the first artist is announced for the Newport Folk Festival (NFF)! The 2018 NFF is already sold out, but you can join the fan-to-fan ticket exchange where tickets are resold at face value – get yourself on the list!

Jay Sweet announcing the first set of the 2017 NFF

We trust in Jay Sweet and everyone who selects the artists who perform at NFF. Every year I discover at least one new artist with whom I fall in love, and this year was no exception! In case you don’t read all the way to the end, there is one important point I want to make. Yes, NFF is about the music but it is also about the Folk Family. I have made so many friends at NFF over the six years I have attended, and we all share a love of the music and the community. From the photographers with whom I share the photo pit and the media tent to the folk fans and the great friends I have made, you are what keep me going back! It is a beautiful thing!

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A Weekend Of Traditional Music In Brooklyn

I would not have known the Brooklyn Folk Festival existed were it not for the publicist. I might have known if I lived in New York, but I do not. I am grateful to that publicist because I was introduced to some fine people – musicians, a writer, and a filmmaker – who enriched my life.

Eli Smith, founder of the Brooklyn Folk Festival

This three-day festival celebrated its ninth year with a large diverse crowd, ranging from families with babies to older people who lived through the folk revival movement of the 1950s and 1960s.The musicians were as diverse as the audience; there was an 11-year old girl playing a mean banjo and there was Jim Kweskin who was part of the folk revival movement.

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Green River Festival Was An Amazing Anniversary Celebration!

The Green River Festival celebrated its 30th anniversary in July with a spectacular lineup! Sure, it rained during much of the Festival, but that did not dampen my spirits in the least! It wasn’t quite Woodstock – there was little to no mud – but it was fabulous.

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I will start with my top three sets/experiences from the Festival, in no particular order.

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Who Could Ask For Anything More…

I am feeling overwhelmed with feelings of joy, gratitude, fellowship and love for last weekend’s Newport Folk Festival. It was as close to perfection as I can imagine.

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Sure, there were sets I missed that I know I would have enjoyed, but I am thoroughly satisfied with the sets I saw. Rather than moaning about what I did not see, I choose to rejoice in what I saw.

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World Music’s Winter Festival Is A Winner

What a concept – throw an indoor music festival for your 25th anniversary and turn the House of Blues into festival grounds! That is exactly what World Music/CRASHarts did last weekend. I hope it is the first of many festivals for this fine organization.

Angelique Kidjo

Angélique Kidjo

This fine organization promotes a wide variety of artists from around the world at different venues in the Boston area, and their shows are always interesting. Musicians, dancers, and others are included in their annual offerings.

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