The Newport Folk Festival is heading west this fall as the historic festival presents its inaugural Way Over Yonder weekend. Hosted on the Santa Monica Pier on October 5th & 6th, Newport Folk is transplanting the music-meets-the-bay backdrop the New England original is famous for to California. Way Over Yonder will feature two stages, the [...]

Wilco turned in a masterful, sonically adventurous headlining set on Friday; if you’re still on the fence about the material off their latest album, The Whole Love, you probably won’t be after listening to this performance. Listen with a good pair of headphones. My Morning Jacket brought Alabama Shakes’s Brittany Howard out to celebrate the [...]

(The Guthrie Family Reunion) Do you like folk music, in all its many guises? It’s not just about acoustic guitars you know — just ask Megafaun, who are currently rocking, full-band style, a cover of The Band’s “Look Out Cleveland” Anyway, don’t delay. Click here to live stream the Newport Folk Festival. And click on [...]

Here’s the ten artists we hope to be front and center for at this year’s stacked Newport Folk Festival, which runs from July-28 and 29 – check out the full lineup here. Patty Griffin After logging two years with Robert Plant’s Band of Joy, Patty Griffin is turning her focus back toward her solo career. [...]

This year’s lineup for the Newport Folk Festival features an impressive medley of artists. Bursting at the seams with talent, the roster ranges from the likes of veteran songwriters like Jackson Browne and Patty Griffin to the rising southern rock gods and goddess of Alabama Shakes to the 2011 critically acclaimed indie artist tUnE-yArDs. The [...]

The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy NPR Music spent the weekend simulcasting performances from this year’s Newport Folk Festival. Currently, you can listen to audio from Gillian Welch, The Decemberists, The Civil Wars, Emmylou Harris Justin Townes Earle, Amos Lee and many more. Highlights of the festival included ’50s music icon Wanda Jackson’s homage to Amy Winehouse [...]

(Jim James at the 2008 Newport Folk Festival) Thanks to NPR Music and six partner radio stations, exclusive video webcasts and broadcasts of George Wein’s Newport Folk Festival and Newport Jazz Festival will be available through NPR Music and the assisting stations. Coverage of the Folk Festival, July 30-31, includes The Decemberists, Elvis Costello, Emmylou [...]

The 52nd annual Newport Folk Festival will be headlined by Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, The Decemberists, and an acoustic set by Elvis Costello. Other acts on the stacked bill include Middle Brother, Mavis Staples, The Felice Brothers, Amos Lee, Justin Townes Earle, The Civil Wars, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and M. Ward. On [...]

photo by Laura Brown There’s a scene in the great 1959 film Jazz On A Summer’s Day, shot at Newport Jazz Festival, which is often cited as an inspiration by rock and rollers like Keith Richards. A jazz rhythm section backs Chuck Berry for his nighttime set, and the band does everything to rattle Berry’s [...]

Fort Adams, a defunct decaying fortress on the western boot tip of Acquidnik Island, which recently hosted a Civil War reenactment, hosted a more peacenik crowd this weekend as the setting for Rhode Island’s 2010 Newport Folk Festival. The now for-profit festival which once claimed 20,000 patrons brought in 7,500 on Saturday and 8,500 on [...]

You know how they say any press is good press? With news like this, that statement could be up for major debate. It’s the kind of story a publicist hates to tell and a writer hates to write. Justin Townes Earle has cancelled two tour dates, as well as his slot at this year’s Newport [...]

NPR and folk music — it seems like a natural fit. On July 31, NPR Music will offer a live webcast of the Newport Folk Festival. In addition, NPR Music and WFUV New York, FolkAlley.com (WKSU) Kent, Ohio, and mvyradio in Martha’s Vineyard and Newport will broadcast select sets from the Fest — air times [...]