Wednesday, Adrianne Lenker ushered in Newport Folk 2024 – 7/26
Galleries and thoughts on the 2024 Newport Folk Festival’s Friday.
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In the course of its lengthy history, the Newport Folk Festival has been many things: a springboard and showcase for genre greats; the site of seismic shifts in folk culture; a source of once-in-a-lifetime surprises for its devoted audiences. Celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, the Newport of today seeks to strike a balance between honoring that storied past, thoughtfully pushing boundaries in the modern definition of “folk,” and satisfying the crowds who dutifully sell out each year’s ticket allotment while the players remain under wraps. This year’s lineup welcomed a diverse cast that set to work in these tasks at the Fort on the final Friday morning in July – though not all of the hopeful audience was there to see it.
The fest’s sunny first day began waylaid by a recurrent weekend issue of backup at the front gates, where many patrons hoping to catch early sets by Big Thief’s Buck Meek or bluegrass torchbearer Molly Tuttle (myself included) were instead ensnared in agonizingly lengthy security check lines. Thankfully, things cleared in time for one of my more anticipated sets of the weekend from Asheville’s Wednesday. The alt-country-gazers were a disappointing scratch from Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival in June thanks to an ill-timed storm, and the prospect of missing them again at Newport felt mildly torturous.
The five-piece led by singer/guitarist Karly Hartzman and axeman MJ Lenderman rewarded the anticipation with the day’s best set for my money; one of the rawest – sonically and emotionally – of the whole weekend. The songs, pulled largely from last year’s Rat Saw God, howled and heaved in the afternoon heat, punctuated by the occasional heartrending scream from Hartzman. They worked in a personal favorite with their cover of Newport alums Drive By Truckers’ “Women Without Whiskey” (with Lenderman taking his lone lead vocal turn) before bringing the house down with a razing “Bull Believer” to close. I have to imagine it was a divisive set for passersby accustomed to an oft-laidback Newport vibe, but on the right wavelength it was transfixing.
My interest hovered around the interior Quad stage for a good chunk of the afternoon’s remainder, which included a surprise Beck performance that seemed to conjure an otherworldly swarm of dragonflies from parts unknown, and a set from Adrianne Lenker that riveted much like Wednesday’s, if for entirely different reasons. The Big Thief singer/songwriter took the stage solo, seated, with just a pair of acoustic guitars, and absolutely spellbound a rapt crowd with songs from her solo catalog and main project (eventually joined by bandmate Buck Meek for a sit-in).
Elsewhere, Greater Boston indie/alt-rock vets Guster overcame the first of the weekend’s several battles with malfunctioning sound at the Fort stage to deliver some joyous tunes appropriate for the summertime revelry, ahead of a slick soul-psych party from Black Pumas. Singer Eric Burton proved an eminently charming frontman, hopping down into the photo pit and into the crowd at the set’s start to hype things up.
I also caught glimpses of L.A. indie pop trio Muna (who dialed back the infectious energy of their typical live show to something more Folk Fest-speed, for a little while at least) and old-time-y folk duo Shovels and Rope before the day closed out with one of the weekend’s bigger stars in singer/songwriter Hozier (who’d be in a headlining slot at Lollapalooza the following weekend). The dashing Irishman’s records have never fully grabbed me, but the soulful sweep of his sunset live show brought the day to a compelling end.
Scroll below for a gallery of Friday’s happenings, and check back soon for more on the rest of the weekend.
