A stacked bill came to the House Of Blues on Sept. 12, bringing with it the spirit — but none of the sunlight — of Newport Folk Fest. Alums Trampled By Turtles and Hurray for the Riff Raff split the headlining duties, with Elephant Revival opening.

Alynda Lee Segarra, frontwoman of Hurray for the Riff Raff, opened with a pair of solo songs, and really displayed both her songwriting chops and uniquely folk voice. Segarra really rings of ‘60s folk voices; so much so, that when you see her live, you find yourself anticipating the pops and hisses of a vinyl record along with her sweet sound.

One highlight from the set included “Blue Ridge Mountain” with the beautiful refrain of “My heart is a blue ridge mountain / and my head an overflowing fountain / oh, my heart is a blue ridge mountain / but I never, never knew, I never knew, never knew.”

Then there was “Crash On The Highway,” a song about being stranded on the side of the road to a gig in Germany and wishing for the simple pleasures of Segarra’s hometown of New Orleans. The song chugs along on the studio record, but worked very, very well live.

“The Body Electric” was a protest of murder ballads that have permeated folk music since time immemorial, usually burying women as a metaphor for a relationship that didn’t work.

Hurray for the Riff Raff, as a full band, worked very well — they played a very pure brand of folk music and delivered on it. Their new album, Small Town Heroes, is one of the better records this year, and it is worth checking out. For moments, it had me yearning for the splendor of Fort Adams in Newport rather than a cavernous music hall.

Next up was Trampled By Turtles, from Duluth, Minnesota. After a while of watching this band, it’s easy to imagine a backstory. A bunch of buskers lining the cold, snowy expanses in the city of Duluth. Soon after, they decide they could play well together — with different songs sung by different leads. Then they grab a few beers and become a very good folk act. No idea if that’s true, hell, it’s probably not. But isn’t it great?

Because that’s exactly what you get. While I saw none of the raucousness I saw on the wide open fields next to the Quad Stage at Newport, the band whose initials have been co-opted by a cloying nostalgia hashtag, there is quite a segment of devotees to TBT.

Hit single “Wait So Long” threw the crowd into a frenzy. There’s something sort of asynchronous about this band: there’s an edge, while relying on just acoustic strings and vocal harmonies — there’s no percussion to speak of. There were even mandolin solos! (Note the plural!)

However, the best moment of their set came when they slowed down and brought out a string quartet. The quartet joined for a few songs, but “Lucy” is an absolutely stirring, emotional song that worked well with the addition of more band members.

Perhaps that’s because many of their other songs just kind of sound the same. So any kind of slower beats per minute was a brief respite from the unending strumming fury and fast-paced harmonies.

Still, Trampled By Turtles is worth looking into — and Live At First Avenue, a live album with a video release might be a good intro to the band.

One of the best aspects of a Newport Folk Presents show is that the organization sometimes reaches outside the realm of alums and brings someone new to the family. Elephant Revival are new to Newport Folk crowds and they fit right in.

The five-piece from Colorado incorporates an English/Scottish influence on their compositions, which brings to mind contemporary folk acts The Oh Hellos.

Overall, the night of music provided just the right variance on the ever-expanding definition of folk music.

Get a list of Hurray for the Riff Raff’s tour dates here, and check out Trampled By Turtle’s tour dates here . See Elephant Revival on tour as well.