Well, The Fort tried its damndest to break my spirit on my very first venture on down to the prestigious Newport Folk Festival, but nevertheless I persisted. Yes, a heat rash on my leg day 1, a dirt/sunscreen combo in my right eye rendering it unusable/forcing me to go pirate style with a face towel wrapped around my face for most of day 2, and a brand new Tommy Bahama chair snapped in half roughly 1 hour into day 3 could not stop me from having a good time. Maybe that’s the magic of the fest, or maybe it was just all the free sugarless colas I was sipping on. in any case it was an eventful and utterly unforgettable weekend.
First, the bad: Personal calamities aside, the thunder and lightning storm on Friday did force me to miss sets from Geese (cut short) and Jessica Pratt (cut entirely) that I was eagerly anticipating, but overall I do believe the fest acted accordingly and that’s just summer in New England, baby.
Now, the good: I was told regulations force the alcoholic revelries to take place in designated areas somewhat far from the stages, but to be honest the infamous “beer pier” as the Newport cognoscenti lovingly call it was actually a nice respite from the crowds. Plus, the sound carried awfully well down there while giant screens pointing in the general direction ensured you never felt that far from the action while imbibing. As with any music festival I had my must-sees this year, but I always try to leave at least a slot or two in the day for acts I’m less familair with in the hopes that I’ll be won over. Being admittedly more of a folk-adjacent listener at the damn folk festival ensured I’d have ample opportunity, but I must credit the curators for stretching the very definition of the term. Folk is certainly a big tent here to include things like the “afro-psychedelic future pop” of South Africa’s BCUC (a wonderful wake-up on the final morning), the slippery dancehall-inspired grooves of London crooner Obongjayar (legit pop star soon if there’s any justice in this wicked world), and the vividly diaristic koans of North Carolina’s Jensen McRae (honorary Bostonian imo).
That said, it’s worth noting just how much indie rock fit the bill in 2025. You’ll read more about most of these sets below (guilty), but Friday night anchored around a four set block that ran from MJ Lenderman (easily one of the most attended and buzzed about sets all weekend) to Kim Deal to Yeah Yeah Yeahs to Jack Antonoff (well-known 90s indie rock head) leading a star-studded “talent show” (which featured, among many heavy hitters, Hayley Williams). Saturday featured The Lemonheads, Waxahatchee (still a DIY lifer at heart), and (a largely) more subdued, emotional set from country radio killer Luke Combs featuring quite a few numbers that would slot well with the likes of say Vic Chestnutt, Sparklehorse, or even Songs: Ohia. He did play the “cold beer never broke my heart” one though, that’s a fun little ditty. Sunday kicked off with AP faves Nova One and also featured Dehd, Hurray For The Riff Raff, and Jeff Tweedy. So, yeah, indie rockers were in the house tonight, everybody just had a good time.
Read on for Emily’s fantastic photos and more about my fave sets below.
FRIDAY
Friday afternoon really got cooking for us a little after 12:30 when New Orleans party-starter Big Freedia side-stepped some gear issues and burst on stage with energy that hit better than any of that free mushroom coffee they were giving out by merch. Freedia’s bounce music finds room for gospel, house, jazz, big room EDM, hip-hop, hell any kind of music that makes you shake ass and we were glad those that wandered out of the chairs and into the pit were willing to do just that. A solemn and poignant call for a ceasefire and the end of Gaza’s suffering mid-set was a sobering reminder that none of us are free until we all are. And then it was back to the jams. Alex G was among several artists that played up the Newport of it all, stripping back to just guitar, piano, and string accompaniment and cracking wise about shit he saw in “the Bob Dylan movie.” The quieter takes on material off his latest LP fit the more domesticated vibe the G man has been aiming towards for some time, but it was on some of the “weirder” more studio-driven older numbers that really showed off just how sturdy his songwriting has been from the jump. Kim Deal meanwhile sorta did the opposite if were talking addition by subtraction, blowing up the arragements of her solo material as well as some Breeders bangers with a 10-piece (!) band that added a lot more subleties than they did extreme volume. What a treat it was to see a Massachusetts original (no matter how hard she reps Ohio) do her casually brilliant thing where a song can be both so plain-spoken and yet also devistatingly precise. Shout out to John C. Reilly who watched every minute of it sidestage, too. (e.d. want to mention that Cameron Winter pop-up set on the Bike Stage too, which was crazy and also easily the one thing I was asked most about on insta – Dillon)
SATURDAY
Well of course we’re gonna highlight The Lemonheads. The long-running Boston crew somehow just made their Newport debut on Day 2, with Evan Dando opening solo with a few acoustic covers and a Smudge song before plugging in and being joined with his latest band members for a medley of hits from Ray and Come On Feel. Would have been nice to hear something off the long-gestating new record, but anytime time in The Lemonheads’ shaggy, (somewhat) edgy sonic world is time well spent. Waxhatchee played the main stage as the sun started coming down and man was that beautiful. Mostly sticking to tracks off her two latest more alt country leaning LPs the material feels both lived in and still achingly gorgeous. MJ Lenderman came out to sing harmonies on several Tigers Blood tracks as well, what a vibe. Public Enemy closed out the Quad Stage with feverish energy, clearly relishing their chance to bring a little fury to this typically buttoned up affair. But you know what, to the Newport crowd’s credit PE was met with glee from virtually everywhere on that field. They also brought out Mavis Staples for her first of several guest appearances which was insanely cool.
SUNDAY
“Gay Band from Providence” (that’s a direct quote by the way to be clear) Nova One kicked off the main stage on Sunday morning and their space age girl group/dream pop hybrid sounds great with a little extra space outdoors to really float. All dolled up in matching rose gold wigs, the four-piece attacks on the heavier material and lays it down smooth for the reverbier ones that call for a slow dance. Big Nice bands are as a rule, our favorite bands. Chicago indie poppers Dehd are such a sight to be seen. Stripping down pop songs to their barest essentials, those bone dry drumpads and basslines leave plenty of sonic space for the group’s duel trashing vocals and guitar violence, not to mention plenty of actual physical room onstage for Jason Balla to trash around with his bright green hair metal guitar. Hurray For The Riff Raff played an equally-charged set on the same stage later on in the day, calling out the wicked ways in which our government tortures the most vulnerable and delivering a performance that stood among the most stirring all weekend. The material off last year’s The Past Is Still Alive LP worked even better in the shady environs of the Harbor Stage, with its tightly packed walls giving some natural echo and warmth to the group’s tightly-coiled attack. The festival closing “Songs For The People” mega-jam as hosted by John C. Reilly was also a hoot in that virtually everyone we saw at Newport came back for one last goodbye, and a few pointed jabs as well.