The Best Artists of the Newport Folk Festival 2024

Now in its 65th year, the esteemed Newport Folk Festival has consistently challenged the notion of folk music. The 2024 edition continued to defy traditions; the headliners alone contained a breadth of musical legacies. But the multitude of other performers encompassed genres like bluegrass, desert blues, hip-hop, and rock over the course of three beautiful days (26-28 July) at Fort Adams State Park in Rhode Island. 

On Friday, the youthful Hozier performed a set mostly of his own material but brought out guests like Mavis Staples and Joan Baez for “The Weight” near the end. Folk icons Gillian Welch and David Rawlings gave a more compact performance (i.e., no special guests) on Saturday that included some songs from their forthcoming record Woodland and older hits like “Look at Miss Ohio” and “Revelator”. 

Sunday’s headliner was the most out-of-left-field. Comedian Conan O’Brien was slated to perform with some “real musicians”. Before the night was out, O’Brien received some flack from Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, but he put together a fun super jam. The humorous set found O’Brien shredding back-to-back with the likes of Nick Lowe (“So It Goes”), Brittany Howard (“Come and Get Your Love”), Jack White (“We’re Going to Be Friends”), and more. 

To recap the weekend, here are some of our favorite artists we’ve caught before, some artists we haven’t seen before, and some honorable mentions.

Favorite Acts (alphabetical)

Billy Bragg

Billy Bragg interspersed social activism chatter between his social-justice songs. Speaking plaintively, Bragg discussed the environment, noting, “We all know, every single one of us across the planet, know that we are facing this climate crisis, and we need people to wake up to that,” acknowledging that patriarchy remains the main problem when concerned with gender-ideology, and admitted that music isn’t a cure for the world’s ailments but has “the power to make you believe the world can be changed”. He performed Woody Guthrie‘s music (“All You Fascists” and a favorite, “Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key”), a solidarity anthem (“There Is Power in a Union”), and more (“Bound to Lose”). 

De La Soul

A super-late addition to the fest (announced following some cancellations), De La Soul were an awesome surprise, given their legendary status in the hip-hop world. Trugoy the Dove, a founding group member, had passed away last year. However, Posdnuos and Maseo filled the void with Pharoahe Monch and performed a career-spanning set (following some technical difficulties with the turntables). The festival removed all the seats from the Quad Stage, unleashing the audience for an energetic set of hits like “Oodles of O’s”, “Potholes in My Lawn”, and, for the finale, “Me, Myself and I”. 

Guster 

Guster, a Massachusetts-grown band, had the New England crowd ready for their sing-along anthems. On tour this year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their standout album Lost & Gone Forever as well as the release of their new record Ooh La La, Guster drew from all their eras in their terrific set. Lead singer Ryan Miller ran through the audience (“Doin’ It By Myself”), Guster unleashed a swarm of dragonflies into the crowd (really that was Mother Nature’s doing, but it was pretty striking) and invited the Mass U marching band out for the “Fa Fa” finale. One of their delicate new songs, “Black Balloon”, could be a hint at the sonic direction of Miller’s upcoming work on the Safety Not Guaranteed Broadway musical. 

Brittany Howard

Repeatedly expressing her love for Newport Folk (one of her favorite festivals), Brittany Howard (formerly of Alabama Shakes, aka Thunderbitch, aka Thelma the Unicorn) was one of the audience’s favorite returning artists based on the immense crowd at the Fort Stage. Howard released her second solo album, What Now, in early 2024 and has been touring throughout the year (with more North American shows to come). Her bluesy-rock set drew from both albums, including the unifying “13th Century Metal”, “Red Flags”, and “Stay High”, and the energy she gave was returned tenfold from the audience. She returned on Sunday to perform a rousing take on Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love” during O’Brien’s slot.

Tinariwen

Performing on the Quad stage, Tinariwen brought their desert blues for one of the most mind-bending sets of the weekend. The audience grooved to their mesmerizing Saharan guitars and explosive percussion. The set began with the mellow new single “Azawad”  and went through the group’s career, including “Koud Edhaz Emin”, “Ittus”, and more. 

New and Noteworthy Acts

BERTHA: Grateful Drag 

A set with Grateful Dead songs covered by a band in drag was probably a first for Newport and was a massive draw for the Harbor stage; the crowd swelled well beyond the tent to catch BERTHA. The raptured audience grooved to Dead songs like “Touch of Grey”, “Drums” and “Brokedown Palace” as the visually stunning band jammed and sweated it out. Following their set, BERTHA members were hanging out and posing for pictures with fans still in full drag and under the bright sun. Fortunately, BERTHA’s upcoming fall tour is indoors and should have air conditioning. 

Britti

Britti released her full-length debut, Hello, I’m Britti, on Easy Eye Sound earlier this year and has been steadily building steam with TV and festival appearances. The New Orleans-raised singer kicked off her inviting set on the Bike Stage with “Nothing Compares to You” and had the crowd energized with her biggest song, the rollicking “Keep Running”.

New Dangerfield

A new bluegrass supergroup, New Dangerfield takes its name from abolitionist John Brown’s raiders and builds upon the black string tradition. Kaïa Kater, Nelson Williams, and Jake Blount joined founder Tray Wellington for the group’s fourth live performance on the Fort Stage. The group played some originals (“Put No Walls Around Your Garden”) alongside traditional tunes. For the fourth song, the group invited their “banjo auntie”, Rhiannon Giddens on stage for some free-wheeling footwork amidst the frantic fiddlin’. 

Ocie Elliott

The plaintive harmonies and stark guitars of Ocie Elliott (Jon Middleton and Sierra Lundy) could fill cinematic interludes (after writing that, I found out an episode of Grey’s Anatomy had once included their song “Run to You”). The Canadian folk duo (and couple) played a heartfelt set that included a cover of Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Helplessly Hoping” alongside some of their originals (“Like a River”). 

Cory Wong

Cory Wong and his band (Victor Wooten (of the Flecktones), Sierra Hull, Theo Katzman, Nate Smith, Ariel Posen) were a force to be reckoned with. The group frequently traded solos throughout a barnstorming set that mixed jazz, funk and bluegrass. Hull took the banjo lead on “People Get Ready” while Wooten and Wong traded bass and guitar lines (respectively) through The Flecktones’ classic “Stomping Grounds”. 

Honorable Mentions

Accessibility On-Site

The Newport Festivals Foundation made a noticeable effort to increase accessibility in 2024, launching a pre-fest registration page and setting up a Hub where attendees could obtain services. When one guest needed assistance going up a ramp into the quad, the accessibility team quickly mobilized to make it happen. Prominently labeled accessible seating was increased around the two smaller stages. An ADA shuttle was available for any guests trying to make their way from the parking lots. These were all significant steps in the right direction, and the team will likely make further improvements to address other bottlenecks and challenges disabled patrons face. 

Beck

While his set was kept secret until minutes before, Beck’s arrival was unfortunately delayed due to traffic conditions, and he didn’t have time to rehearse. But he and the band quickly got into a set of classic folk covers including “Maggie’s Farm”, “Waiting for a Train” and “God Moves On the Water” before playing a few of his own (“Loser”). Surprises like this prove Newport continues to create lasting musical memories. 

Joan Baez 

One the MVPs of the fest, Joan Baez was on stage with multiple artists (including dancing during Rhiannon Giddens’s set) but was scheduled for readings from her autobiographical poetry collection When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance. One short reading was on the Bike Stage (hosted by Illiterate Light for the third year in a row), and another was before Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’s Saturday night set. Both saw her read the poem explaining why one of the three little piggies went whee-whee-whee all the way home. 

Liz Cooper

The Foundation stage was a small tent on the lawn downwind from the Fort Stage. Liz Cooper (formerly Liz Cooper & The Stampede) and others unfortunately faced audio challenges as other artists sound-checked on the larger stage. Cooper strummed through some new songs, including “Shoot the Moon”, “Slice of Life”, and others. But at times, the empathetic crowd strained to hear the music. Later in the fest, Cooper joined Thao on backing vocals at the Harbor Stage. 

The Hanseroth Twins

Although the Hanseroth Twins are far from unknowns in the musical world (Phil and Tim are Brandi Carlile’s bandmates), the duo leaned into their own compositions with their debut album, Vera (released on the first day of the festival). They didn’t have any official slots scheduled but made a quick, unamplified appearance by the Harbor stage, slinging their guitars and stomping on a case for percussion. With another appearance at the Wellness Tent, The Hanseroth’s low-key pop-ups became some of those “you had to be there” moments.