The festival originated in 1959 with the late founders George Wein and Pete Seeger. It is where folk superstar Bob Dylan “went electric” in 1965, a watershed moment featured in the 2024 film “A Complete Unknown”. 

Sold out within minutes after tickets went on sale in February even before a single artist was announced, the Festival features some who are young and up and coming, others are household names. 

Country superstar Luke Combs is making his debut at the Newport Folk Festival. His top-selling, 2023 cover of Tracy Chapman’s song, “Fast Car” catapulted him into the pop stratosphere; his duet with Chapman took last year’s Grammy Awards by storm.

Singer Kenny Loggins is also appearing at the Folk Festival for the first time. He is best known for his duo, Loggins and (Jim) Messina, as well as theme songs for movies including, “Footloose”, “Caddyshack” and “Top Gun”. 

Mary Chapin Carpenter returns to the Folk Festival, as does Margo Price, Kevin Morby, Lukas Nelson, Maren Morris, Jeff Tweedy of “Wilco” and folk super-trio “I’m With Her”, featuring Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan and Sara Watkins. 

For the last few years, the festival has turned a spotlight toward  hip-hop pioneers, and this summer, it is  “Public Enemy” — the duo of Chuck D and Flavor Flav came to fame from New York. Their anthemic hit “Fight the Power” highlighted  the soundtrack to Spike Lee’s 1989 film, “Do the Right Thing”. 

Among the artists to watch is 70-year old singer-songwriter Robert Lester Folsom, largely forgotten after his 1978 album “Music and Dreams”, until his “rediscovery” in 2010.

Several artists are “graduating” to main stage status from previous appearances on smaller stages at the Folk Festival. They include powerhouse singer Maggie Rose, and the alternative rock duo Illiterate Light; Jeff Gorman and Jake Cochran. They are bicycling to Newport from their native Virginia. They hosted the “Bike Stage” for the last several years, with sound systems powered by volunteers peddling stationary bicycles. 

The “Foundation” and “Bike Stage” offer platforms to new artists who will be playing shortened sets between acts on the main “Fort Stage.” Among those scheduled to play is Bridget Kearney, a member of the band, “Lake Street Dive."

For each of the artists who perform at the festival, the non-profit Festivals Foundation, which produces the shows, says that it makes a gift to an organization of the artist’s choosing. 

An as-yet unannounced list of performers will take the field at Newport’s Cardines Field on the night before the festival, Thursday, July 24 at 7:00 P.M. for an All-Star softball game. The festival is promising celebrity guests and commentators for the game, pitting Team (Kevin) Morby vs. Team (S.G.) Goodman and is a benefit for the Newport Festival Foundation’s program offering free local music lessons. 

Each night of the festival features after-show performances at venues around Newport.  

The Folk Festival’s slightly older counterpart, the Newport Jazz Festival, founded in 1954, takes place the following weekend, August 1-3, also at Fort Adams State Park, also on the same stages. 

Steve Klamkin is a frequent contributor to ConvergenceRI.