Photos & Review by Emily Gardner

John Batiste

The beloved Newport Folk Festival took place this past weekend at Fort Adams in Rhode Island. Although Mother Nature decided to throw almost everything she had at the weekend with extreme heat, humidity, thunderstorms, and downpours rocking the grounds, a dedicated line of fans happily endured it all to attend. When asking past attendees about the festival, many had the same thing to say: expect the unexpected. It’s a talent-packed weekend spanning across five stages with a mixture of folk, indie, and bluegrass performers. This year features notable acts such as My Morning Jacket, Lana Del Rey, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Maggie Rogers, and Goose. What you see isn’t always all you get, however. The weekend is notorious for bringing out star-studded musical guests throughout all of the sets, no matter what time or artist is performing. Some of the surprise guests this year included James Taylor (who arrived within an hour to cover an artist dropout), Jack Antonoff, and Animal as well as the rest of the Muppet crew. As far as the performances, there were quite a few notable sets throughout the weekend. Indigo de Souza brought a raw, poetic energy with empowering lyrics to her set. Although he broke his finger and couldn’t play guitar, Bartees Strange brought his incredible vocals to the Fort and gave a powerful performance. A fan favorite, The Backseat Lovers played with such a presence and mesmerized the crowd. Despite all of the obstacles of the weekend, Newport Folk Fest was a great opportunity to experience folk music in a raw, intimate way. 

Check out our photos from Newport ’23 below.