On Newport day three, great music rings
Fort Adams State Park, Newport, R.I., July 28, 2024
Reviewed by Marc Cantor and Josh Cantor
Kicking off the day on the Harbor Stage, Richmond, Va's Palmyra is a three-piece band melding folky indie-rock with bluegrass. Sounding at once familiar (see: The Lumineers, Bright Eyes, The Wood Brothers, among others,) and new, this is a band working hard to carve out their own niche in a crowded genre. Even early in the day, the crowd was impressive, densely filling in all viable sightlines. Highlights included the big build of "Speak My Mind" and a shout out by John Prine's family, who came out on stage to show their appreciation for the band, which just signed on to its Oh Boy Record label.
La Lom is an LA-based trio with a warm, inviting Latin sound and instrumental focus. Their debut LP is expected within the next couple of weeks, so with no real song-based familiarity for the audience, the band needed to wow newcomers with their musicianship. They largely succeeded, filling the difficult role of wake-up call played by Sir Woman on Friday at roughly the same time and stage. The audience clearly ate up La Lom's mix of bolero, Latin soul and Bakersfield country, but one has to wonder if the vibe might have been more celebratory later in the day.The Newport Folk Festival is renowned for its desire to enhance diversity and pluralism for all under the music umbrella. A prime example, and a band attracting a great deal of buzz is New Dangerfield, a collective of excellent musicians devoted to developing awareness of the Black string tradition. The band, consisting of Tray Wellington (banjo), Kaia Kater (multi-instrumentalist,vocals), Nelson Williams (bass) and Jake Blound (violin, vocals) wowed the Fort crowd with new and traditional songs representing multiple genres of Americana,from blues to folk to Caribbean to bluegrass to country - and everything in between. In succession, band members introduced songs, describing their meaning and background. Standing out were new singles, "Put No Walls Around Your Garden," "Saw My Name Written on a Wall," (a tribute to the great Robert Johnson) and a beautifully harmonized paean to Sidney Poitier called "Sidney."
Philadelphia quartet Mo Lowda & The Humble is a versatile indie-rock outfit. Playing the small Bike Stage around midday, the band filled the fort's large quad with their reverb-heavy folk-rock. Normally playing electric guitar, lead guitarist and vocalist Jordan Caiola took up the acoustic guitar for the day ("I'm doing reverse Bob Dylan - don't riot please"). The acoustic sound over the spacy electric reverb sounded excellent, and it was a treat to see this group with a larger-than-life sound in such an intimate venue. This is a band worth following.
Two other small stage acts, Wyatt Ellis on the Foundation stage, and Jake Kohn on the Bike stage, demonstrated the incredible promise of roots and Americana music due to their youth and virtuosity. Ellis is a 14-year-old (yes, you read that correctly) multi-instrumentalist from Tennessee, who just released his debut album Happy Valley. Kohn is 17, from Virginia, an old-soul singer-songwriter with a gravelly deep voice which belies his youth. Both demonstrated talent and aplomb in this high profile setting. Another member of the Oh Boy records family, singer-songwriter Jobi Riccio demonstrated why she was the 2023 John Prine fellowship award winner. Oozing self-reflective sincerity, Riccio, from Nashvile via Colorado, made a personal connection with anyone with ears and a heartbeat. Confessing that it was her "life's dream" to be at Newport, she relayed that she, along with singer (and Newport regular) Erin Rae were brought up as "festival" kids, frequenting music celebrations during their childhoods.
Riccio held the crowd rapt with her musical storytelling, with tunes such as the heartbreaking "I'm Feeling Lonely Tonight," focused on the challenges dealing with one's desires and social expectations as a woman, and rocker, "Sweet."
When the crowd rose to its feet with loud approval, Riccio exclaimed with surprise, "You're all standing up. Holy Sh*t!"
Releasing only a couple of EP's before this year, indie-rock trio Friko dropped their debut LP Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here in February and has been touring in support of the new music. Highlights included "Where We've Been" and finale "Get Numb to It," which managed to get the audience on its feet, despite the lunchtime lull. Friko's sound ranges from writhing-on-the-floor screaming to soft and pretty, which is at once unsettling and exhilarating.
Luscious harmonies, soaring vocals, and mesmerizing music characterized the first concert appearance in six years of siblings Maggie and Tyler Heath, who perform as The Oh Hellos. Gracing the Fort stage, they had listeners swaying and nodding with tunes such as "Hello My Old Heart," a beautiful wistful crowd-pleaser, "Rio Grande," in the spirit of an old English ballad, and a shake-it-up change of pace, "Eat You Alive."
Dirty Laundry is the stage name for Orangevale, Cal.'s Marcus Veliz. Perched on a seat with a harmonica and, alternately, a banjo and acoustic guitar, Veliz's playing is both minimalist and breathtaking. Particularly on banjo, a single song may only consist of a few chords, but Dirty Laundry's quick picking, and lightly raspy, heavily soulful voice lend so much texture to his overall sound. While currently only streaming a handful of songs on YouTube, Dirty Laundry is absolutely an artist to watch moving forward.
Austin-based Briscoe, an American folk-rock band led by childhood friendsTruett Heintzelman and Philip Lupton, delivered an infectious set, jazz-infused by Lupton's saxophone. The band used this opportunity to introduce singles, "The Well" and "Coyote" from their recent LP West of It All, notable for Truesdale's nasal inflected tone and catchy harmonies.
Unquestionably one of the day's highlights, Tuareg (a western Africa ethnic group living mostly in Saharan Algeria and Mali) collective Tinariwen took over the Quad Stage and blessed the audience with their groovy, hypnotic desert blues. Tinariwen has existed in various forms for about 45 years, and their story is tied directly to political and ethnic resistance in their homeland. Their English, at least when it comes to crowd banter, is very limited, and their lyrics are in the Tamashek language, but it is impossible to listen to their music and not feel moved. There were three guitarists on stage, and the solos electrified the crowd, but the most prominent sound was the bass, snaking through the guitar riffs while providing the backbone to the band's extended jams. There were more than a few "dance" bands on display in Newport all weekend, but no artist got the audience moving more than Tinariwen.
Both lovers of Fleetwood Mac, and those unfamiliar, were treated to Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham's complete reprise of the classic 1972 eponymous album Buckingham-Nicks. Bird's violin and Cunningham's vocals soared, especially in the tune, "Crying in the Night." Both were perfectly suited for this undertaking.
Former member of the defunct group Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, Thao has been sharing her gripping, genre-defiant music for over 20 years, and she hasn't slowed a beat. Joined by horns, bass, drum and keys, Thao took guitar duties and fittingly stole the show; she managed to squeeze an impressive variety of sounds from the instrument, interacting with each member of her band, while ceaselessly caroming and bouncing across and around the stage,
But Thao's lyrics also moved, including songs about her extremely difficult relationship with her absent father and her mother's recounting wartime experiences and lessons in the "cost of freedom." The latter was specifically described in the song "Temple" which is an Arcade Fire-style anthem from her most recent LP.
Joined by uber-talents Victor Wooten, Sierra Hull, Ariel Pozen, Nate Smith and Theo Katzman, Cory Wong wowed the Quad Stage crowd with a mix of jazz, funk, rock and bluegrass. The highlight was a cover of Béla Fleck's "Stomping Grounds," proving a master class showcase for Wooten, Hull, and the ensemble as a whole. The Quad Stage is often a great crowd barometer, with its location in the middle of a large number of other tents and vendors, so it is very clear when the crowd is feeling the band on stage. Nearly the entire quad was enraptured by Wong and company, who clearly enjoyed themselves and the experience.
.Eighty-two year old blues legend Taj Mahal may have needed a slight hand getting up to the Harborside stage and into his seat, but he needed no assistance in delighting the overflowing crowd honored to be in his presence. "I used to be a guy sleeping in a sleeping bag under a park bench," he commented ironically as he looked out at the audience eagerly awaiting his set. Picking up his well-traveled and familiar sounding steel guitar and plucking in his easily recognizable style, he laid out favorites from his repertoire, including "Diving Duck," "Freight Train," "Fishin' Blues" and "Cakewalk into Town."
The crowd, mostly familiar with these offerings, unabashedly joined in. Switching to banjo, he invited "wonderful renaissance woman" Rhiannon Giddens on stage to join him and his band with her powerful vocals and expressive violin. Giddens appeared amused with his introduction, and initially seemed reluctant to dive in, but once they began "Colored Aristocracy" she was all in. It should be noted that so well-regarded is he as a performer, Festival staff placed a chair in the photographer's pit for none other than legend-in-her-own-right Mavis Staple, so that she could experience his set. Other highlights, aside from the numerous standing ovations and beaming smiles from the crowd, were "Corrina Corrina," and "Wild About My Loving," made even more special by Gidden's clarion voice..
Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard took over the main stage as one of the highlighted acts of the day, and she did not disappoint. Dwelling in the space between soul, EDM and roots rock -- yet never really pigeonholed into a single genre -- Howard is one of the premier vocalists in popular music, and, evidenced by her live show, she is also an excellent guitarist. Playing songs from her two solo LP's, including this year's fantastic What Now, Howard commanded the stage, managing to cut through the increasingly gloomy weather with ethereal jams and words of peace, love and togetherness.
The term "supergroup" has been used so often in the music context that one can not be blamed for a raised eyebrow or two when it is applied. to Mighty Poplar, a conglomeration of Punch Brothers alumni Noam Pikelny (banjo), Chris "Critter" Eldridge (guitar), Greg Garrison (bass), plus mandolinist Andrew Marlin of Watchhouse and fiddler Alex Hargreaves. However, based on their late afternoon set on the Harbor stage, the only thing raised were the acclaiming voices of the overjoyed crowd as the band combined humor, tight musicianship and boot-kicking tempos to new and classic bluegrass tunes. And even absent Hargreaves, who is presently touring with Billy Strings, and more than ably replaced on the fiddle by Stuart Duncan, no slouch in his own right, the term "supergroup" seemed apt.
Pikelny noted wryly that those "freeloaders" on their yachts in the harbor were getting a concert without paying, and wished that someday, they would pull themselves up "by their bootstraps" to raise the money to actually buy tickets.
The audience was favorably overwhelmed with tunes such as Martha Scanlan's "Up on the Divide," and even a rendition of Dylan's "North County Blues." Andrew Marlin offered a crowd participation anthem in "The Hawk is a Mule." Whether or not Mighty Poplar qualifies as as a supergroup, they are clearly super good.
As the day worked to its close, the expected rumors circulated as to the special guest who would grace the Fort stage for the finale. All knew that late night host, comedian, and better than amateur guitarist in his own right Conan O'Brien would be joined by "real musicians," as the set was billed. As the set began, O'Brien and his fine house guitarist Jimmy Vivino were teamed with the members of the Dawes Band to entertain. After Conan combined his self-deprecating humor with an adequate, but crowd pleasing rendition of "40 Days," Dawes and Vivino amazed all present, honoring the memory of the late Dickie Betts, with a scorching "Ramblin' Man." Without giving more than a nod to the speculation of the identity of the surprise guest, well-known contributors to the closing performance began with Newport staple Langhorne Slim, then continued with surprisel guest number one, Nick Lowe ("So it Goes" and "Cruel to be Kind"), who Conan announced "flew in from London just for this show."
Fittingly, as Lowe finished and left, it began to rain, which fit with what was arguably the least entertaining portion of the set: Conan's recollection of the first time he met Bob Dylan as an introduction to what was a forgettable performance of Dylan's "Buckets of Rain," and the questionable addition of Conan puppet Triumph the Insult Dog. Plagued by inappropriate and poor (for the setting) jokes and sound difficulties, the overly long routine seemed to deflate what had heretofore been an uplifting festival.
Blessedly, this ended, and the crowd was reinvigorated with music once again. Brittany Howard came on stage for an uplifting "Come and Get Your Love," leading the thousands present to dance and sing along. Surprise guest number two Nathaniel Rateliff, joined by Erin Rae and Jess Wolf on vocals, and horn players from Berklee College, offered popular takes of well-loved nugget "Everybody's Talking" and the Rolling Stones' "Let it Bleed." Beloved Mavis Staples stepped on stage, and introduced her classic "I'll Take You There" by recalling that her family, The Staples Singers, have been "taking you there" for over 70 years, and coaxed the ready crowd, "Now, take us there!" The crowd happily obliged. Conan's friend, podcast companion, and the third and final legitimate surprise guest Jack White joined him in a duet of "We're Going to Be Friends" from the White Stripes playbook. The Festival closed in traditional fashion with a welcome rendition of "Midnight Special" as all present collected on stage, after which the exhausted crowd trudged to their cars, bikes and ferries, warmed by the twinkling lights emanating from the parked bicycles and the echoes of great music ringing in their memories.
©Country Standard Time • Jeffrey B. Remz, editor & publisher • countrystandardtime@gmail.com
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