Newport Folk Podcast

Shakey Graves stumbled upon the music of Buffy Sainte Marie in the most Shakey Graves way possible: scouring the dollar bins at Amoeba Records. Seconds into his first hash-influenced listen, he knew he’d found something special. He joined us this episode to share his admiration for Buffy and cover her songs “Little Wheel Spin and Spin” and “Cod'ine.

Bonny Light Horseman (Eric D. Johnson, Anais Mitchell and Josh Kauffman) cover Tim Buckley and perform a track from their own record.

Each episode we ask a Folk Family Artist to take a look at every other artist that has ever played Newport Folk and cover a song by them. This episode, our friend, Liz Cooper chose to cover Twain.

This season we’re introducing a new format: Each episode we’ll ask a Folk Family Artist to take a look at every other artist that has ever played Newport Folk and cover a song by them. For this first episode, we were fortunate enough to have Mandolin Orange chose to cover Leonard Cohen.

Sara Watkins calls Anais Mitchell, Benmont Tench, Billy Strings, and Madison Cunningham to ask which artists they’ll be making time to see at the Fort this weekend.

Legendary Folk Festival Matriarch Mavis Staples chats with Phil Cook about harmony, family and friendship.

After a 20 hour trek from the Netherlands to Newport Folk, Stephen from Spirit Family Reunion was asked a simple question: “Why do you keep coming back to Newport?”. Unable to articulate a coherent response, he set out on this podcast quest of sorts to find his answer, the same question to NFF fans, staff and artists (JP Harris, Zach The Lone Bellow, Ian O’Neil from Deer Tick, and Kam Franklin).

Well, this is it - the last episode before the festival. And what better way to send things off than with our annual 'Ask Us Anything' show? You guys asked our staff questions about the festival, and we answered em'. Enjoy the episode, and we'll see you in just a few days! 

In this special edition of the Newport Folk Podcast, Christopher Paul Stelling takes over as host to talk with Ben Harper. Chris & Ben discuss definitions of the blues, Ben's upcoming set at Newport Folk with Charlie Musselwhite, and much more.  This episode contains explicit content. 

We talk a lot on this podcast about the folks that make this festival possible - the artists, the staff, the fans...but we don't hear enough from a group that plays a huge role: our partners. Sponsors, nonprofits and organizations help make this festival what it is. This episode we'll hear from three partners, their stories and how they make Newport a better festival. 

Matthew Logan Vasquez takes over the podcast and puts Jay Sweet in the hot seat. Matt scoured social media to find questions and comments made about this year's lineup ("might be time to consider changing the name of the festival") and asked Jay to respond. Thanks & enjoy the episode! 

This Saturday, April 21st (Record Store Day), we'll be releasing a vinyl record of the Speak Out set from last year's festival. This episode, we'll take a look at how and why we made that record. As always, thanks for listening and enjoy the show! 

Music discovery has been a part of Newport Folk's DNA since the beginning. In this first episode of Season Four, we pull back the curtain to see how the Newport Folk team is finding new artists and how music discovery has or hasn't changed over the years (hint: it's still all about the mixtape). As always, thank you for listening, and enjoy the episode! 

Before you pack your bags and load up the car (or bike, or boat) give our latest "Ask Us Anything" episode a listen. We asked if you had any last minute questions about this year's festival for our team. Of course, the folk delivered with a mixture of hilarious, practical, and thought provoking questions. The Folk Team met up in our offices to do our best to answer. Thank you for listening this season, and we'll see you at the fort! 

This episode of the podcast we heard from our favorite members of the folk community: the kids! We asked a few little folk to explain why they like the festival, their favorite memories and more. Parents, stay tuned for the end of the episode for some tips and advice from other families on how to prepare for Newport Folk. 

Since its inception, Newport Folk has been a place for artists to speak truth to power. In this podcast episode, we spoke with Colin Meloy, Rhiannon Giddens, Alynda Segarra and more to answer two questions: What is it about Newport Folk that has kept it connected to protest movements? And with today's political climate, are we on the verge of another protest music era?

Ask any long time Newport Folk goer if he or she has a tip for the festival and chances are you’ll hear something along the lines of "make sure you check out the Museum". In this podcast episode we interviewed the folks behind this year’s Museum Stage programs (Joe Pug, The Ballroom Thieves, Chris Funk, Jalopy Theatre & Rick Massimo) to help us preview what’s to come. As always thanks for listening and we’ll see you soon!

Somehow, we've made it to the final lineup preview episode of the season. So we thought we'd talk with someone who claims to know a thing or two about the lineup...our Executive Producer, Jay Sweet. Podcast host, Dan sat down with Jay to discuss what goes into booking someone like Jim James, meeting Suzanne Vega and why he booked Jalen N'Gonda for the final slot. 

For this special NYC edition podcast, we packed up our mics and ventured down the East Coast to chat with Hilary Hughes (Pitchfork, Esquire) and Garland Harwood (Grass Clippings) about the most recent artists to join this year's lineup. We also couldn't resist pulling a little prank on Hilary... Stay tuned for the end of the episode, we've got a clue for the next artist we'll be announcing on the lineup.

There's a good chance Rita Houston is the reason you know about a few of your favorite bands. As the Program Director of WFUV, she's one of New York City’s most influential voices in shaping the landscape of folk, rock, and indie music. In this podcast episode, we were lucky enough to sit down with Rita to discuss her favorite artists on the 2017 lineup and play some music. 

Who is the Miley Cyrus of the folk music? Is Matt the Electrician a certified electrician? What about that mysterious Waterside Stage: real or conspiracy? These questions and more addressed in this lineup preview episode of the Newport Folk Podcast. We sat down with Andrew St. Pierre (Allston Pudding) and Jessica L Phaneuf (WUMB) to discuss the six most recent artists announced via the rolling lineup

It's the folkiest season of all...Lineup Announcements have begun! To celebrate, we're turning this podcast into the ultimate lineup preview show. Every two weeks, we'll have a new guest on the show to discuss the artists we've announced. That way, you - the folk - get to know these artists and their music. To kick things off, we invited NPR's Tori Bedford and Jason Turesky to join podcast host, Dan Swain to discuss and play music from The Fleet Foxes, Margaret Glaspy, Big Thief, Marlon Williams, Drive-By Truckers and Choir! Choir! Choir! ....oh, and stay tuned until the end of the episode, we've got a clue for the next artist we're going to announce on the lineup.

There is no "right way" to experience Newport. Some folks like to plan every minute, others prefer to see where the day takes them. In this final episode before the festival, we sat down in the office to discuss how we like to prepare and some of our favorite rituals and tips we've heard from the folk fans. As always, thanks for listening and remember to dry-clean your wrist bands!

It's been five long years since our good friends John McCauley, Taylor Goldsmith and Matt Vasquez took the stage at the Newport Folk Festival as 'Middle Brother'. To celebrate their return, we sat down with each of them to discuss how this "un-supergroup" originally formed and what to expect from their set this summer at Newport.

What happens when you put a group of legendary gospel singers (The Blind Boys of Alabama), a vocalist from an electronic group (Amelia Meath of Sylvan Esso) and a multi instrumentalist/songwriter (Phil Cook) on stage together? You get "Southland Revue". This podcast episode we sat down with Phil, the mastermind behind this epic collaboration set, to find out how this all came together. Thanks for listening and enjoy the episode!

We're so excited to welcome Chris Funk (The Decemberists) back to the fort this year to host "For Pete's Sake". In this podcast episode, Chris gives us a preview of the artists who will be performing at For Pete's Sake this year. Enjoy the episode and as always, thanks for listening.

When, in 2012, Islamic jihadists imposed Shariah law on northern Mali, banning all music and destroying radio stations, the members of Songhoy Blues refused to be silenced. Instead, they moved south and started a band. This is their remarkable story.

We've announced over 30 artists to our lineup, so far. Keeping track of all that music isn't easy (it's a nice problem to have). Which is why we decided to do a Lineup Preview podcast episode. We asked two local music connoisseurs (Perry Eaton of Boston.com and Co Founder of Allston Pudding and Nina Corcoran of Consequence of Sound and DigBoston) to help us dig through the lineup and highlight some of the hidden gems you might not be too familiar with. Enjoy the episode and thanks for listening!

As the old adage goes "it takes a village." For our festival by the sea, that village is made up of hardworking staff, dedicated volunteers, the artists and their crew, and of course, you, the folk. This first podcast episode of season two is a thank you to everyone who made our 2015 festival a success--without your support and dedication, none of this would be possible. It's also our way of putting a cap on 2015. As much as we'd like to spend the rest of the year reminiscing there's work to be done, guitars to be tuned and bands to be booked. So as always, enjoy the episode and thank you for listening.