Big names took the stage alongside up-and-comers for an unforgettable weekend of music and memories at Newport Folk Festival
Photos by Emilee Angell
Nathaniel Rateliff closed out the 2026 Newport Folk Festival with an All-Star cast – Mavis Staples, Joan Baez, Dave Matthews, Brandon Flowers, David Rawlings, Brandi Carlile. It was moving and memorable and one of many great sets that transpired from Friday to Sunday.
Depending on your musical tastes, you might even say it was far from the best set of the weekend – that that recognition belongs to a host of other high-energy performances, like Tom Morello’s loud takeover of the quad a few hours earlier, or The Lumineers’s heartfelt closing set on Saturday, or Ms. Lauryn Hill’s iconic appearance on Friday. Three very different sets that shared a sense of palpable energy and an awareness that being at Newport Folk is to bear witness – and take part in – something special, historic, and, yes, magical.
There were several threads woven throughout the weekend, among them artists commenting on the nature of folk music and what it means to play at a “folk festival” when your music is more rock and roll. And there was no skirting around talk of America at 250 and what it means to gather, collaborate, and rally (or rage) in this political and cultural moment.
The very last song of the weekend was a collaborative version of “America the Beautiful.” As dozens of musicians poured onto the stage for the finale, Brandi Carlile asked Joan Baez to share why she chose this song. “So we can reclaim the country for ourselves,” said Baez. “It’s something we took for granted and this song is something we’re taking back now – please join us.”
And then a few thousand people were singing “America! America!” as the sun set over a golden-hued Newport Harbor – where, in the distance, a rainbow could be seen peeking through the clouds, despite a weekend of perfect weather and no rain. It was one of those moments that could only happen at Newport Folk Fest.
The previous day, Devin Gilfillian hosted a set dedicated to the Festivals Foundation Sea to Shining Sea project, which received grant funding to travel around the country and discover what “music means to America.” Several of the artists encountered on that trip performed on the Harbor Stage Saturday.
“You have no idea what this thing is about to be and yet you are here – that’s why you are Newport Folk fans,” Jay Sweet said to the crowd by way of greeting. Sweet is the Executive Director of the Newport Festivals Foundation, which oversees the Newport Folk and Jazz festivals. “Music is one of the last things in the world that can make us all be better people – that’s what we discovered… that’s what this set is about,” he said to enthusiastic applause. He then introduced Gilfillian, who traveled with him to collect the musicians and their stories.
“Music brings us together,” Gilfillian said before introducing the first group, Oakland Rising, a trio of teens from Oakland, Calif. All of the artists selected a song that makes them think of America and explained why; Oakland Rising choose “Four Women” by Nina Simone, “because Black women are America. Period.”
Also from California was Starla, who Sweet helped on stage. “Me and Jay were on our journey in Venice Beach, and we hear this crooning down the boardwalk – and we met Starla,” Gilfillian said. “She’s been singing on Venice boardwalk for over 40 years, spreading love and joy with her voice – and we are now blessed to have her at Newport Folk Fest.”
Starla sang two songs: “What a Wonderful World,” by Louis Armstrong, and “What the World Needs Now Is Love Sweet Love.”
For the final song, all of the featured musicians took to the stage, including Leif Vollebeck, Taylor Hollingsworth, BJ Barham, Snacktime, Louis Cato, Dillon Basse from Flipturn, and Evan Honer, for a rousing rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” It was a closing act that felt like history in the making or, perhaps, re-making, and one of those sets that embodies how music has the capacity to bring people together – in real ways and not just for show or likes.
The next day, Oakland Rising popped up on the Bike Stage at 11:30 a.m., where Naima, who is 16, shared that she wrote one of her songs for her mom – who was standing there, wiping away tears as the trio played before a few hundred enthusiastic people (who were also wiping away tears). After a handful of songs, they had one request: “Can we get a selfie with everybody?! This is our first time in Newport!”
The Bike Stage, making its fifth festival appearance, continues to be a small stage powered by pedals and solar panels, and a not-so-secret gem of Newport Folk, where some of the most intimate sets occurred over the weekend. Most notable was a surprise appearance by The Lumineers on Friday afternoon, were they played several covers and sang “Ho Hey,” the hit single off their self-titled debut album from 2012.
Wesley Schultz, the lead singer, told those gathered round that the band first played Newport Folk in 2013, and didn’t realize at the time how special Newport is – a sentiment he reiterated the following night when the group closed out the main stage.
“You come to this festival to be healed, to connect with other people – and this festival actually delivers… there’s just something different about this place,” Shultz said Saturday.
At one point, he jumped off the stage and danced his way through the crowd while singing “Ophelia,” slapping hands along the way. And then he invited out Nathaniel Rateliff for a cover of Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind,” their final song, which he dedicated to his younger brother and best friend, who unexpectedly died last May. He said this will be The Lumineers last show for “a couple years,” and expressed immense gratitude.
It was part tribute, part farewell (for now), and seemed like a healing experience for him, too.
On Friday, Hayley Williams of Paramore fame closed out the first day, with several surprise guests. Among them were Jenny Lewis, Remi Wolf, and Jack Antonoff. “Last year was my first time [here] – I so appreciate you welcoming me into this family, it’s so special,” Williams told the crowd. “This was a career highlight – I’ve met so many heroes and seen so many friends today – thank you again, Newport.” She ended with a cover of “Lean On Me.”
Williams, however, was not to be outdone by Lauryn Hill, who took to the Quad Stage inside the fort around 6:30 p.m., following a 30-minute delay – during which time the air was charged with a sense of excited anticipation. When she did come on stage, people were heard shouting “I love you, Lauryn,” to which Hill responded, “I love you, too.”
The musical icon played many favorites, including Fugees hit “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” and was joined on stage by Snacktime, which had everyone up and dancing.
Two days later, the energy in the quad was again electrified by Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Bruce Springsteen fame. He was accompanied by Roman, his 15-year-old son, and the two matched each other’s energy as they shredded guitars and tore up the stage.
There were a few thousand fans in the quad for Morello’s set, and at one point he had everyone jumping. If Sunday felt a bit sleepy, Morello made sure everyone was awake at 4 p.m. The vibe was charged and political and people were ecstatic. It was a reminder of what a privilege it is to experience music live, among strangers, and in your own backyard (or at a home away from home).
For the rest of the day, strangers were commenting to strangers about how much they loved that set or needed it or how it made their day/weekend/year. Before Morello played “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against The Machine, he quipped that he was about to play a long lost Bob Dylan track – not such an unbelievable thing as he had already played an acoustic (and folky!) version of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” – but as soon as he played the opening chords, the crowd registered what was happening and went wild, absolutely wild.
Was it folk? No. But Morello knew that (“we are redefining folk music right before your f**king eyes” he exclaimed), and the crowd knew that, and for those few minutes no one cared, and it didn’t matter. What mattered was people living in the moment and sharing that energy together.
Morello seemed a tough act to follow, but Brandon Flowers, of the band The Killers, closed out the Quad Stage with a set that was its own kind of perfection. Flowers played new music, “Paradise,” and a few Killers hits, including a stripped-down version of “When You Were Young.” He was later joined on stage by Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes, David Rawlings, and John C. Reilly.
Flowers’ set briefly overlapped with Rateliff’s closing set on the main stage and a surprise appearance by Dave Matthews, another highlight of the weekend.
Matthews, who made his festival debut and joked about sneaking in sideways after wanting to play Newport for years, opened with “Flowers,” played a short solo set, danced with Joan Baez, and performed “Paper Town” alongside Brandi Carlile.
You might say the final hours of the festival divided music lovers into two camps: those who grew up with The Killers CDs in their cars versus those with Dave Matthews discs (or: Rage Against the Machine fans versus Brandi Carlile fans).
The beauty of Newport Folk, though, is that an hour or so later both Flowers and Matthews were on the main stage together for the closing act, where they joined a host of other musicians, from Carlile to Baez to Oakland Rising, as everyone united in song, singing The Band’s “I Shall Be Released” followed by “America the Beautiful.”
The crowd cheered, the boats saluted, and the sun set on another Newport Folk Festival.
THIS & THAT
- Local love: There were several hometown favorites who played throughout the weekend, including Princess June, Honest Charlie, two Met Lab student bands, and Evan St. Martin & Elizabeth Beisel who backed Lily Fitts on the Bike Stage. Princess June introduced themselves as a band “from right here on the island” when they took to the main stage for their Saturday morning set: “This is so awesome… the whole five to ten rows is all just family and friends.” The small but mighty crowd cheered loudly in support.
- Collabs and covers I’ll be thinking about for a while: CMAT – whose stage presence was as electric as her messaging to accept people for who they are – and Brandi Carlile singing “I’d Want You,” a song CMAT said she wrote when she was 17… Lizzy McAlipne covering “Let Me Roll It” by Paul McCartney on Saturday, which was endlessly dreamy… And Hayley Heynderickx & Max Garcia Conover, who’ve been friends for ten years and whose collaborative project is inspired by the spirit of Woody Guthrie and aims “to look at America fearlessly.”
- Dawes was mentioned everywhere, but the brothers – Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith – were playing as a duo, a project that came about after the California wildfires that swept through Los Angeles last year. “Every time we come to the festival it feels like a homecoming – we’re back where we belong, with our people,” they said during their Saturday afternoon set on the Harbor Stage. They went on to explain that the duo was formed “in response to the most atrocious thing that ever happened to us” and has become a “strange silver lining.” Then they played “Time Spent in Los Angeles,” a song written in 2010 they said has taken on a new, and more profound, meaning.
- The Dawes Duo popped up on several stages throughout the weekend: from joining Deer Tick for a few songs on Friday, to taking the stage with Medium Build (Nick Carpenter) on Saturday, who said: “At Newport Folk Fest, it’s in the DNA to collaborate and make friends… bringing up some of our heroes: Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith.” Carpenter went on to explain how a Dawes song – “Million Dollar Bill” – “changed my whole world view.” The brothers also joined Brandon Flowers on Sunday evening for a version of Dawes’ “When My Time Comes.” Flowers told those gathered, “As is tradition, we’re going to bring up a couple of friends… the best harmonists and singers I know are these guys.”
- Artists to keep on your radar: Brother Wallace! His Friday morning set marked the tone for the weekend… Tiny Habits: they met at Berklee in Boston and their harmonies linger… And Snacktime, who are always a good time.
- A few multilingual sets I could have listened to for longer: Tim Bernardes singing in Brazilian Portuguese, which lulled me into the Harbor Stage like I was in a cinematic trance; I could have listened to him sing for hours. And Nabeel playing Iraqi indie rock and jamming in Arabic on the Bike Stage Sunday afternoon.
- Sets seeped in instrumental artistry I also could have enjoyed for longer: The Ollam (with Joe Dart of Vulfpeck and The Fearless Flyers) and The Barr Brothers (joined at one point by friend and fellow Montreal dweller Leif Vollebekk).
- The one set I enjoyed for myself: Madi Diaz on the bike stage Saturday. It was perfect. “It’s always been my dream to put together a Judy Garland-esque variety show for the people,” Diaz said. She went on to assemble what she called the Avengers or Power Ranger team of her dreams, who each joined her for a song: Morgan Nagler, Joy Oladokun, and Lizzy McAlpine. “My state of bliss could not reach any further, I don’t think,” Diaz said. “[This] feels like a slideshow that’s gonna play before I die, honestly.”
- A few sets that I regrettably missed because you can’t be in two places at once: Amble, Evan Honer, Courtney Barnett, Hot Tuna.
- A book recommendation: “What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome – The Authorized Biography of Justin Townes Earle,” by Jonathan Bernstein, senior research editor and writer at Rolling Stone, who chatted about his book on the Foundation Stage Saturday and at Charter Books on Thursday.
- Spotted around town Friday: Brandon Flowers enjoying dinner at Yagi Noodles, Haley Williams chartering the Tree of Life sailboat, and Deer Tick hosting a late-night jam session at Hotel Viking.
- A comment: At the risk of making the whole weekend out to be rainbows and butterflies (although there was a rainbow) the festival had undoubtedly changed in recent years, and at times felt more cramped and crowded than ever before. Each year there seems to be less organic green space, and more blankets claiming territory – and noticeably unoccupied for long stretches (the young kids might call this “spotmaxxing”). If any festival organizers are reading this, my one request for next year: more unclaimed lawn space at the Harbor Stage and in the Quad left for spontaneous sitting and the understanding that you bring your own blanket – and then take it with you when you leave so someone else can do the same. (And also: more shade structures at the Harbor Stage, please.)
- A record: Bike Newport parked more than 5,000 bikes throughout the weekend. 1,816 people arrived by bike on Friday, 1,720 on Saturday, and 1612 on Sunday, for a total of 5,148 bikes – and all-time three-day high. Even better: these numbers reflect the highest ever on a Friday – and the highest ever on any day.
- A highlight of the festival continues to be the fact that, despite there being 10,000 people a day, you can still run into locals at every turn. I swapped more sweaty hugs this weekend then I’ll likely exchange all summer, and I hope that never changes.
- Another highlight is arriving by bike or boat (or partaking in Float Fest!) and being able to take in the sunset over the harbor on the way home (and Saturday evening, if on bike, passing cows grazing in the pasture at Ocean Hour Farm) – there’s nothing quite like heading home, a breeze at your back, high on the feeling of having experienced yet another magical weekend.
