From the Norman Bird Sanctuary to Greenvale Vineyards and Channing Memorial Church an array of locations have hosted music

Summertime on Aquidneck Island offers a seemingly endless selection of live music and concerts to enhance the season of days on the beach and nights under starry skies.

Newport Live is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its outdoor concert series at the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown this summer with performances by three singer-songwriters. Laura Cantrell, known for her rich voice and lyrical storytelling, opened the Summer Series 2025 on June 20; Jeffrey Foucault is set to bring his American roots rhythms to the stage July 18; and Grammy nominee Leslie Mendelson will close the series on Aug. 29.

“We’re presenting three tremendous artists whose voices and songs truly resonate with Newport Live’s mission to present meaningful music in inspiring settings,” says Executive Director Dick Lynn.

In addition, Newport Live is bringing back contemporary folk master John Gorka — whose show sold out last summer — for a return engagement at Greenvale Vineyards in Portsmouth on July 11.

“We realize that summers are a great time to bring audiences together outdoors and to provide live music,” says Lynn. “We wanted to do more than three shows per summer, so we went to one of our sponsors — Nancy Wilson at Greenvale Vineyards — and [she] happily agreed, as well.”

Each concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $35 and are available online at Newport Live’s Eventbrite page.

Newport Live evolved from Common Fence Music, an organization created in 1993 to make folk music accessible in Portsmouth, the northernmost town on Aquidneck Island. Ed Nary, the group’s founder, booked artists from throughout the country to perform at Common Fence Hall, a community venue where audience members enjoyed the music while sharing food and wine they had brought with them.

Over the years, Common Fence Music expanded its menu to include a variety of singers and songwriters representing multiple musical genres.

“I think of Newport Live as a ‘roots based’ music organization that encompasses folk, jazz, Americana, blues, world music, and more,” Lynn says.

While enjoying some time in Barcelona in late spring, he took time to respond by email to some inquiries about the origins of Newport Live’s Summer Series, a “silver lining” born of Covid-19. The virus simmered during the winter of 2020, and erupted into a pandemic that shut down schools, businesses, churches and other places of worship, as well as theaters and concert halls.

Lynn, an interdisciplinary artist with an MFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, had carved a career in the music industry, managing artists and producing concerts worldwide. He had maintained relationships with record labels, agents, and managers, and agreed to help Common Fence Music book its
series.

“We used our first spring livestream to feature both regional and international performers from their locales.” Lynn recalls. “However, I realized the organization needed to figure out a way to grow its audience and donors.”

Common Fence Music had undergone leadership changes during the years and, with board approval, “morphed into” — as Lynn describes it — Newport Live in 2021. It produced its first outdoor concert that summer, with Nary as director emeritus.

“Covid was still raging,” Lynn says. “I knew that we could not survive by livestreaming, but did not want to put people’s health at risk. So, I went to Kaity Ryan at Norman Bird Sanctuary to talk about doing summer outdoor shows. I found that she was thinking similarly.

“And that’s what I like to call Kismet.”

The partnership proved successful from the start. Every concert staged at the sanctuary has sold out, says Lynn, and he expects that trend to continue this summer.

Summer Series audiences are confident they will enjoy themselves because the artists booked are first rate. Experience gained during Lynn’s years in the music industry and at PBS have honed his skill for selecting talented performers.

“I look for a few things in artists,” Lynn shared. “Original music, performances that stand out on any stage internationally, including musicianship, and stage persona, which means that the artist or artists are uniquely engaging to the audience.”

Newport Live is proud to have recognized and booked talented artists before they found fame, says Lynn, while bringing iconic musicians to Aquidneck Island to perform for loyal fans. The discovered up-and-comers include:

Alisa Amador: “We had her two years before she won her Tiny Desk Concert award.”

Lisa O’Neill: “We booked her before she was asked to do the finale for “Peaky Blinders” and before she was written up in The New York Times as ‘the future of Irish music’.”

“And we’ve had a number of artists who later went on to play the Newport Folk Festival,” boasts Lynn, “including S.G. Goodman, Raye Zaragoza, Jobi Riccio, and more.”

If enjoying great music under the stars in an intimate, bucolic setting is on your “summer sand pail list” check out Newport Live’s 2025 Summer Series. Lawn seating is provided, a cash bar is available, and on-site parking is free. Picnic tables are available, picnic baskets are permitted, but no alcoholic beverages may be brought into the sanctuary.

AUTUMN CONCERTS

Steve Dyer Quartet – Oct. 18 | Channing Memorial Church

South African composer and saxophonist Steve Dyer presents his latest project, Freedom Melody (co-commissioned by Lincoln Center in New York), alongside the celebration of his new album, Multipolar, to be released on Oct. 31, 2025. The performance by the quartet, which includes the Kenyan pianist Aaron Rimbui, puts the spotlight on the rich heritage of South and Southern African vocal and instrumental music within a contemporary setting. More info here. (photos courtesy Steve Dyer)

An Entire Evening with John Wesley – Nov. 8 | Greenvale Vineyards

Wesley Stace was born in Hastings, East Sussex in 1965. He released many albums under the name John Wesley Harding, before switching back to his birth name for more recent recordings, including 2021’s Late Style. He has recorded duets with, among others, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, and Rosanne Cash. Stace has published four novels, including the international bestseller Misfortune, and recently co-wrote Mark Morris’ memoir Out Loud. He also created Cabinet of Wonders, a monthly show that plays at New York City’s City Winery, and which The New Yorker called “one of the finest nights of entertainment this city has to offer.” He has taught at Princeton, Swarthmore and Fairleigh-Dickinson, and writes regularly for the Times Literary Supplement and the Wall Street Journal. He lives in Philadelphia. His next album, One Last Heist, is to be released in 2026. More info here. (Image courtesy Newport Live)