Newport Folk Festival 2016

(Alabama Shakes)

After a busy day 1 and day 2 of Newport Folk Fest, it was time to wrap it up with what was probably the most jam-packed day of the entire weekend at Newport.

I began my day with an energetic set from The Oh Hellos, who won over all of the crowd in the same way they won both Ross (at Bowery Ballroom) and myself (at Terminal 5) last year. There’s no doubt they’ll be returning to the festival again, they were one of the first bands of the day but won the crowd over with ease.

(Julien Baker)

Speaking of winning over, the set from Julien Baker was one of the highlights of my entire weekend at the festival, as before she even sang a word, the crowd at Newport stood up and gave her a marvelous standing ovation. Baker was caught off guard by this, and was half smiling, half shyly embarrassed. That was just a precursor for the great reception she’d get after the set. This woman just keeps finding new ways to impress me every time I see her.

From there I caught a bit of Glen Hansard of (The Frames and The Swell Season), before catching a performance from the always delightful Villagers. Next up was longstanding Newport favorites the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, who had everyone up and dancing along to their sweet jazz sounds. Then it was time for Middle Brother, the collaborative indie super-group of John McCauley of Deer Tick, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, and Matthew Logan Vasquez of Delta Sprit (he also played on day 1). It was a performance that the festival had been waiting on for a long time, and it delivered. It also was made that much more special considering that the rest of the band was filled out by the rest of Dawes.

(Elvis Costello)

It was then time for the great Elvis Costello who offered a stunning set full of songs taken from his Elvis Costello & The Imposters days, as well as some covers of songs by Cliff Edwards and Brinsley Schwarz. Next was a stripped down set from The Gaslight Anthem’s Brian Fallon (who also played last year), before heading over to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Sound issues delayed their set, but once they kicked off, it was a party, as frontman Alex Ebert headed into the crowd.

The festival was closed down by Alabama Shakes, who brought down the house down in typical fashion. Frontwoman Brittany Howard started off the set asking for the crowd to give them a little bit, so that they would respond with a little bit right back. This was not a one way street, the crowd gave them everything that they had lest, and so did the Shakes, who have amazingly become one of the biggest bands in rock and roll, and have done it with good old fashioned hard work and good, honest songwriting.

Find photos of all the acts I caught on Day 3, posted below. We can’t wait to be back for Newport once again next year. It’s a festival unlike any other out there. Don’t miss it!

The Oh Hellos: