Festival Recap: Newport Folk Day Three
Words by Carson Huffer // Photos by Mae Krell
Sometimes a festival can be too exhausting, and the early sets towards the end of a weekend may play to small crowds because the attendees are burnt out. This couldn’t be further from the truth at Fort Adams State Park, where the gates flooded early on with buzzing festival goers who couldn’t wait to see what the final day of Newport Folk 2023 had in store. Lucky for all of us, day three brought about stunning set visuals, beautiful weather, and some impressive newcomers to the Fort.
Our first set of the day was Senora May on the Harbor Stage. May’s powerful and robust vocals pulled in passersby with ease, quickly packing out the seats and standing room of the stage.
She joked lovingly about how she hoped everyone had easy travels into the Fort, especially speaking to the families of the crowd as May’s own child slept peacefully on the plane ride in.
I hadn’t heard any of Senora May’s music before planning my trip to Newport, but after finding “Dogs of Mexico” on a Folk Fest 2023 Spotify playlist, I quickly fell in love. Hearing the song live was even better than I could have imagined, as Senora May’s voice is truly a gift to hear. Check out our full Senora May gallery here.
Madison Cunningham claimed more of my heart with her 1:30 set on the Quad Stage. With the success of last year’s album Revealer, her midday set easily drew massive crowds to hear the delightful croon of “Hospital” with the surprise guest of Remi Wolf and the sheer melancholic beauty of “Life According To Raechel”.
Madison’s discography holds such a poetic weight to it that is best appreciated in a place like Newport Folk, with the swaying crowd almost as caught up in the emotion as Madison was herself. Check out our full Madison Cunningham gallery here.
We then caught the incredible Black Opry Revue on the Fort Stage. Founded in 2021, Black Opry is an artist’s collective built to showcase and uplift Black artists within country and folk music.
After performing last year at Newport Folk on a side stage, this year the Revue was promoted to the main stage and they took this placement in stride. This year’s set featured Whitney Monge, Aaron Vance, Nikki Morgan, Tylar Bryant, Julie Williams, Ally Free, Jett Holden, Roberta Lea, and Ping Rose & The Anti-Heroes.
Each artist had the opportunity to perform an original song with backing support from other collective members, and every crowd member could feel the pure joy radiating throughout the Opry’s hour on stage. Check out the full gallery of the Black Opry Revue here.
Heading back to the Quad Stage, Newport Folk was given the pure treat of Remi Wolf’s debut to the folk family. Remi’s eclectic and bold stage presence commanded the attention of every audience member, and more importantly, you could tell that she was genuinely having the time of her life on stage.
Wolf danced and joked around with band members throughout the set, all while her dynamic voice rang out through the park with hits like “Liz” and “Photo ID”. Her set even included a bright cover of “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye that had every attendee on their feet and jumping along with Remi and her band.
After the set, Jay Sweet posted that Remi had one of the best Newport Folk debuts in a while, and I’m inclined to say that her set was easily one of the best shows of the entire weekend. Check out our full gallery of Remi Wolf here.
Next, we were treated to the beauty of Gregory Alan Isakov live on the Quad Stage. As a long time fan of Isakov, finally getting to hear “San Luis” live right at the start of his set brought chills down my spine.
Isakov brushed through other widespread favorites like “The Stable Song” and “Amsterdam” to raucous applause, and I saw a variety of other artists camped out by the stage in awe of Gregory’s entire set.
The set as a whole felt intimate, even while surrounded by thousands of people, due to Isakov’s sensational songwriting and impassioned song choices. I adored finally catching Gregory Alan Isakov live, and I think that the Newport air made the show even sweeter. Check out our full Gregory Alan Isakov gallery here.
Following that up, nearly every festival goer flooded to the Fort Stage to catch Lana Del Rey’s set. A first time performer at the Fort, Lana took the crowd on a beautifully produced journey, complete with dancers, her hairdresser, and a beautiful stage design of mirrors and tables. Lana surprised the crowd mid-set with the special guest of Jack Antonoff on piano to perform a cover of “For Free” by Joni Mitchell. Antonoff then took Del Rey by surprise as he played the first few notes of “Mariners Apartment Complex” on the piano to a frenzied crowd. Lana attempted to laugh off the attempt due to not remembering the words, but the crowd and Jack spurred her on to sing through what she could remember.
As her set came to a close, Lana jokingly stated, “Now we could end you on a high note, but why would we do that?” before launching into “Hope Is A Dangerous Thing For A Woman Like Me To Have - But I Have It” and being dragged off stage while laying on the ground. It was an unusually produced set in terms of the normal Newport Folk layout, but Lana exceeded expectations in terms of sheer beauty behind each choice of her set.
The closing set of the weekend was found in musical prodigy Billy Strings. His set was almost equal amounts of his own music and covers of other artists, riding high through “And Am I Born To Die” by The Doc Watson Family and his own “Turmoil & Tinfoil”. For the last few years, the closing set of the weekend has always been marked by some sort of surprise guest or moment that seemingly overtook the conversation of the whole set. That wasn’t the case this year, as Billy and his band played the entire set themselves and held their own on the stage.
The set radiated the energy of a basement jam session, all centered around Strings coasting through impressive guitar lines with ease. Check out our full Billy Strings gallery here.
As we walked back to our car, leaving Fort Adams State Park for the final time in 2023, the inspirational energy of the weekend hit me like a truck. Newport Folk’s legacy remains as great as it is for a variety of reasons, ranging from fantastic set choices to special surprise moments each day.
More important than the music itself, however, is the community that surrounds the Folk Fest. The roots of this camaraderie run deep, and with each handmade sign that littered the festival grounds, I was confronted with the personal ties that bind together the world of Newport Folk. People wait all year for the end of July, ready to finally come together and make the world a happier place for a weekend on the water. Smaller artists were immediately uplifted by the festival goers and held in high regard, and the headliners were welcomed to play anything they wished out of their catalog or another’s with no fear of an upset crowd.
All of that is to say that there is truly nothing like the world that Newport Folk creates. In just three short days, I felt a stronger sense of home and belonging than I have in some places I’ve spent years attempting to mold myself into fitting within. There is a place for everyone at Newport Folk, and that love connects together fans and artists in a more intimate and close knit way than I previously thought possible.
I still don’t think I can fully explain the Newport magic in coherent thought, but the way that the aforementioned magic is so intrinsic to the festival is what keeps everyone coming back year after year. I absolutely adored my time at Fort Adams State Park, and I cannot wait to see what magical moments come along next year.