The Newport Folk Festival is just a day away, with a packed lineup of huge performers and some surprises in store, too.
Founded in 1959, Newport Folk is an institution in the music festival scene. And this year, the festival will honor its legacy with ‘65 Revisited, a set featuring a cast of performers covering Bob Dylan.
The lineup features Roger Waters, The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, Sturgill Simpson, Courtney Barnett, Leon Bridges and many, many more. Along with that, two artists are being kept under wraps on Friday and Saturday on the main Fort Stage. Three-day passes for the fest sold out before a single artist was announced—you’re out of luck if you want to buy a ticket straight from the source. And playing on Sunday is Boston’s own Ballroom Thieves. You’ll want to get to the Quad Stage just after 11 to soak in the band’s set. Or, Friday night, catch them (if you can get your hands on a sold-out ticket) at an official New Folks after show.
Allston Pudding will be there to cover the festival, so keep your eyes peeled for a review next week.
The band is coming off of a recent Boston Calling performance and the release of the new album Wolf in the Doorway. We caught up with Martin Early, singer/guitarist, on the eve of the festival to talk the latest record, festivals and the Bob Dylan tribute set.
Allston Pudding: You just released A Wolf in the Doorway, your debut album. What’s reception been like?
Martin Early: Reception has been great so far. We toured extensively in support of it, and it was really one of the first tours where we saw a significant bump in show attendances and general excitement all across the country. It’s been really nice to see the hard work we’ve been putting in for the last few years pay off, but mostly we’re just happy that people seem to be enjoying the record.
AP: Boston Calling was a recent hometown show for you — festivals are certainly different beasts from something like Folk The Cold. What do you like and dislike about the festival experience?
ME: There’s a lot to like about playing festivals. We love meeting up with other bands and sharing stories from the road, and we’ve been fortunate enough to play some well organized but laid-back fests lately, so our responsibilities were pretty much limited to playing our songs. We don’t get as much time to sound check as we would at a normal club show, but when you consider that we get to play for bigger audiences, enjoy seeing all kinds of bands we love in one place, eat and drink to our heart’s content, and meet plenty of fellow music lovers, it’s really not too bad of a trade.
AP: Newport is an entirely different festival from others, too — what does it mean to be playing such a festival packed with such legacy?
ME: Playing Newport has been a goal for this band since before we had a band name, so the gravity of it all definitely isn’t escaping us. We’re incredibly honored to be listed among such a star-studded lineup of musicians, and a look back at the history of the festival increases that honor exponentially. We used to joke that Newport is the pinnacle of any musician’s career, so we could all retire once we’ve played it, but now that it’s happening I think we just need to come up with some new goals…
AP: You’re also performing on the day of ’65 Revisited — the Bob Dylan tribute set. What has Bob Dylan meant to you as a band?
ME: I’m a big Dylan fan, and I think any songwriter can find heaps of inspiration in his body of work. What impresses me most about him is how he’s managed to stay at the top of his profession for several decades. He’s continually evolved through the drastic changes and fluctuations the music industry has naturally gone through, and there just aren’t many bands who can stay relevant in the way that he has over such a long time. Absolute badass.
AP: If we’ve seen you at the Sinclair and Great Scott, what can we expect from your set at Newport?
ME: You can expect a few new tunes and maybe a new spin on a few older ones but, more importantly, you can expect us to be as happy as we’ve ever been on a stage. I’m not exactly known for my on-stage smile, but I doubt I’ll be able to contain it come showtime on Sunday. You can also expect us to be roaming the festival grounds in the highest of spirits all weekend. The lineup is killer and we can’t wait to hear so many of the acts that Newport has lined up for us all this year. We’ll see you at the Fort!
Get more Newport info, like the mobile app and glance at the set times on Newport Folk Fest’s info page.