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Newport Folk Festival

Jul 30 2010 - Aug 1 2010  •  Newport RI  •  Fort Adams State Park
Genre(s): contemporary-folk, folk-rock, progressive-folk, roots-rock, singer-songwriter
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Founded: 1959
Official Website
Phone: 401-848-5055
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Category: Roots
Region: New England
Type: Urban Outdoor

After the business and branding uncertainties of 2009, Newport Folk Festival is back under its rightful name and familiar format with an opening night at the International Tennis Hall of Fame and two days of folk artists on three stages at Fort Adams. What's new is the updated sensibilities in the lineup, with younger artists joining some familiar old-timers designed to draw a new generation of fans to the historic event. The event is programmed with an emphasis on likely artist collaborations and audience interaction.—Festival Preview




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PHOTOSHOW Scenes from the 2010 Festival
Irene Trudel

Opening night at Newport with Steve Martin and Steep Canyon Rangers
Irene Trudel

What Cheer? Brigade played all around the grounds
Irene Trudel

The Avett Brothers
Irene Trudel

Yim Yames of My Morning Jacket
Irene Trudel

Levon Helm
Irene Trudel

Richie Havens
Irene Trudel

Swell Season

Young acts bring new energy to Newport Folk Festival, but old-timers keep the flame

Last year’s Newport Folk Festival was an occasion of high drama, sweet nostalgia and deep emotion. This year’s was mostly just a lot of really good music.
 
Things were extraordinary last year for two reasons. The first is that it was the 50th anniversary of the first Newport Folk Festival, an occasion that George Wein and his staff marked by bringing back as many big-name veterans as possible, most notably Pete Seeger and Joan Baez. The second is that the festival almost didn...

Newport Folk 2010 slideshow
Preservation Hall to host young collaborators at Newport Folk

From the zydeco of the Balfa Brothers to the Dixieland of Dirty Dozen Brass Band, George Wein’s Newport Folk Festival has a history of presenting the sounds of New Orleans at his seminal festival in New England. Of course, Wein also was responsible for the launching of New Orleans’ signature Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Wein’s guide to the music and culture of New Orleans was musicologist Allan Jaffe, and in one of the earliest Newport Folk Festivals, Jaffe’s...

Steve Martin heads opening night festivities at resurgent Newport Folk

Newport Folk Festival returns to its traditional opening night format at the International Tennis Hall of Fame at Newport Casino with an especially appealing program headed by banjo-picking actor and comedian Steve Martin.

Martin has been sidelining on the bluegrass circuit for several years, playing with top-notch North Carolina bluegrass ensemble Steep Canyon Rangers. Their recorded collaboration earned the 2010 Grammy for bluegrass album of the year.

At Newport,...

Look for collaborations among artists at 2010 Newport Folk

The headline acts at the 2010 Newport Folk Festival are John Prine, Levon Helm's Ramble and Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers, but that isn't the top story of the festival lineup that was announced today.

According to festival co-producer Jay Sweet, the totality of the lineup and the interconnections among many of the artists is the thing to focus on. "Our goal is to create an environment where artists want to stick around for the whole weekend, enabling special...

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