Festival Recap: Newport Folk Day Two

Words by Carson Huffer // Photos by Mae Krell

Waking up for Newport Folk day two, we had lofty plans and a large list of sets we wanted to try to catch. The excitement of the previous day hadn’t lessened with the exhaustion I felt as we went to bed the previous night, instead, I felt even more of the anticipatory buzz of energy for the long day ahead – no matter how tired my feet were.

There was a massive lineup of music to see during day two and I couldn’t even fathom missing a minute of the planned schedule, so our day started early at the Foundation Stage to catch the morning’s open mic. A Folk Fest tradition, the first hour of each morning hosts a first come first serve showcase of talents from the Newport audience.

Throughout the hour, we heard beautiful covers of songs like “House Of The Rising Sun” and original songs built with homegrown passion. The continually growing crowd cheered along every note, and a highlight of the hour for me was finding the music of Guthrie Siwinski, who sang a stunning original song that had us and the rest of the audience entirely in awe. I’m hoping Guthrie releases recorded music sooner rather than later, because I easily could have listened to a full set of his beautifully worn voice. You can find Guthrie Siwinski on Instagram here, where he regularly shares his music and also some pretty incredible woodworking art.

We stuck around the Foundation Stage to catch Chance Emerson at 11:55, and with only a twenty-five minute set, Emerson certainly made the most of his time. I first found Chance on TikTok, a place where his musical catalog is coupled with chaotic storytimes and hilarious comments back and forth, so I admittedly wasn’t sure what to expect when he took the stage. Chance’s distinctly effortless rasp immediately floated throughout the festival grounds with a fury, with the low tent of a stage quickly getting surrounded on all sides by festival goers and other artists alike. 

Chance’s journey to Newport Folk began a few years ago where he performed during an open mic, and Chance’s humility and honor at being selected to play a full set at Folk Fest couldn’t have been understated as he admitted, “I have to be careful with my words or else I think I’ll cry, but the little kid sitting on his windowsill in Hong Kong would be amazed right now” to a chorus of cheers and applause.

Playing what felt like an intimate jam session with his roommates turned band members, the Newport crowd lit up even further as Emerson joked about the crowd needing to find Jay Sweet and tell him how fantastic his set was… only to find out Jay was already there, watching the set with a beaming smile. Attendees swarmed Chance after his set to say hello, get some stickers, and take pictures with the person who is certain to be back again on a Newport mainstage very very soon. Our full Chance Emerson gallery can be found here.

We then passed through Alice Phoebe Lou’s set, and through both laughter and tears she brought an impressively larger than life musical experience despite her small stature.

During her introductory song, Alice became visibly more emotional with each passing moment, admitting that she couldn’t help but become overwhelmed with the emotion of the moment as she played Newport Folk.

Her latest album Shelter dominated the set, and I particularly loved getting to sing along to “Open My Door” with the enamored crowd of the Harbor Stage. I can’t wait for when Alice Phoebe Lou is back in the states, hopefully with even more emboldened music and poignant emotion in tow. Our full gallery of Alice Phoebe Lou can be found here.

Jobi Riccio was next up on the Foundation Stage, and her set can only be described by the title of her latest release – “Sweet”. The 2023 winner of the John Prine Songwriter Fellowship, Jobi’s set brought the full support of the festival behind her as showrunners and staff all appeared to listen along with the excited crowd. Her set was entirely solo acoustic except for a surprise guest feature of Erin Rae for a beautiful duet.

The crowd seemed stoked to hear such a bright new star in songwriting, and with the building excitement of Margo Price’s official aftershow and John Prine tribute later that night, Jobi’s set quickly gained the attention of the masses before her late night performance. Our full Jobi Riccio gallery can be found here.

The Fort Stage was brought to its knees by The Backseat Lovers next. Having caught the band at Hangout Fest in May, I already felt like I had a semblance of understanding on what a Backseat Lovers set entailed. Instead, I found myself repeatedly shocked by the heightened emotions displayed by The Backseat Lovers throughout their set.

The band are repeat Newport Folk performers, and being upgraded this year to the main stage clearly held a distinct chord of importance for the band who were getting all choked up – “Pool House” lyric pun fully intended – throughout their hour at the Fort.

Newport’s set felt like The Backseat Lovers in their element, both incredibly locked in on the music and also lost to the passion of the moment at hand. Our full gallery of The Backseat Lovers can be found here.

Next, Indigo De Souza brought her vibrant and relaxed indie-rock outfit to the Harbor Stage in style. Indigo was an incredibly expressive performer throughout each track, embodying the atmospheric and otherworldly energy of her music with ease.

I’ve been absolutely loving her latest album All of This Will End, and hearing one of my personal favorite tracks “Not My Body” brought my Indigo obsession back in full force. Our full Indigo De Souza gallery can be found here.

After Indigo’s set we finally explored the Bike Stage put on by the band Illiterate Light. Entirely off the of the electrical power grid, the Bike Stage is powered by solar panels and pedal bikes that attendees clamored to get onto.

At the Bike Stage we caught the beginning of Odie Leigh’s set, which brought together a warm and restful crowd under the slight cover of the stage’s overhang to catch a few of Odie’s recent hits like “Crop Circles”.

Her stage presence was a bit more sarcastic and subdued, which helped to shift the energy of the day a bit and brought festival attendees out of any midday slump they were experiencing from the heat. Our full Odie Leigh gallery can be found here.

Right after Odie Leigh’s set ended, the Quad Stage lit up with the color coordinated get ups of Angel Olsen and her band. Leading in with “Dream Thing”, Angel commanded the stage with a breezy laugh and stunning smile between each chorus.

A highlight of the set came later on as Margo Price joined for “Big Time” to a chorus of applause from the elated crowd, and as she played through a litany of her favorite releases, Angel seemed entirely at peace with the world around her. Check out our full Angel Olsen gallery here.

We left Angel Olsen’s set a bit early to head over to the Fort Stage to catch Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, and as we walked over we stumbled into none other than Bartees Strange playing a quick acoustic song at the Sound Mind booth after his set.

Sound Mind is a non-profit built to create community and conversation in regards to mental health in the music industry, and the organization frequently collaborates with artists like Bartees Strange to host talks and short acoustic moments in support of being open about mental health.

I was so close to walking right past the tent until Mae caught wind of what was going on, and suddenly it felt like I was once again offered a piece of that distinct Newport magic. After finishing his quick appearance, Bartees immediately reached a hand out and connected with the fans that had surrounded him with a smile, reinforcing just how important the aspect of community and connection is at Newport Folk. Our full Bartees Strange gallery can be found here.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit rounded out our stacked day of music with an iconic set on the Fort Stage. Isbell sounded better than ever during his opener of “Cover Me Up”, and the audience seemed to fall more in love with each and every move.

Continuing the fun of surprise guests, Jason laughed about bringing a real cowboy to the stage as Evan Felker entered early on for a rendition of “King of Oklahoma”, and later in the set found SistaStrings yet again hitting the stage for a ethereal play through of “Death Wish”. Our full gallery of Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit can be found here.

As we left Fort Adams for a second time, I couldn’t help but think about how nearly every act we had caught during day two had at least one moment of pure emotion about being on stage at Newport Folk. Seeing so many artists have such a poignant reaction to being at the Fort sat monumentally within my mind, a stronger-than-ever reminder of just how integral and revered Newport Folk is within the music community. I honestly even felt emotional myself, reeling through a distinct sense of belonging that I couldn’t place at the time.

Reflecting back upon that feeling now that I’m off grounds, I think what makes Newport Folk so special is that the festival feels less like a concert of fans and more like a community of friends. It’s a place riddled with collaboration, friendship, and a distinct focus on the artists themselves.

Since attendees purchase tickets without knowing who they’ll be seeing and the daily open mic pulls out an additional variety of talent, music discovery is rife within the event and seems to be one of the most important parts of the fest to many attendees. Seemingly every act pulls out their personal favorites from their discography, sings adoring covers of songs with other musicians, and even wanders around the grounds to catch sets and meet fans with a trust unlike any other major music event that I’ve ever seen. Every attendee is quick to walk into a new musician to love and even quicker to make new friends on the shared experience of just being at Newport Folk. 

Trying to describe this energy – this magic – feels weak in comparison to the actual feeling of it. I’ll try to find better words by the end of the final day of Newport Folk, but if you take nothing else from this recap, just know that there is truly something so impossibly beautiful about the festival’s coined “Folk Family” that I can guarantee I’ll be thinking about for the rest of my life.