Day 2, Saturday, at the Newport Folk Festival was bright and sunny which is great for a festival but frankly, it was a bit too warm for this old gal! I ended up a sweaty mess with haphazard hair!
The big deal of the day seemed to be Jack White and for the most part he was, I suppose. There were lots of 'there's Jack White' loudly whispered when he was spotted strolling around. Then came the excited loud whispers of 'did you see Joaquin Phoenix?', he's filming a movie in the area. Then more excited loud whispers of 'Beck's here, did you see him?', he had a show in the area. For the record, I saw White watching several sets, the back of Phoenix and not a glimpse of Beck though I had several phones thrust in my face showing me his presence. But, it was The Oh Hello's that stole the day. This is what the day looked like through my lens… minus the sweat!
Fort Stage
Jack White
There were three I wanted to hear. One he didn't play. One I missed because I had to leave before he played it. But, then there was that moment when my head said, 'is that "Icky Thump"? Why yes, I do believe it is.' Which means for one song, we were simpatico. So, after a day full of folks excitedly speaking of sightings, loud whispers, pointing and squeals, Jack White closed out day two to a happy mass of folks.
Deer Tick (more photos HERE)
They made their main stage debut and were decked out in white. "Baltimore Blues #1" happened so I have no bones to pick.
Shovels & Rope (more photos HERE)
Possibly the sexist set of the whole festival. Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent sizzle when they perform. They are a heck of a lot of fun and it was an excellent main stage debut.
Pokey LaFarge (more photos HERE)
Gosh darn it, what's not to like about Pokey?
Aoife O'Donovan
Quad Stage
Kurt Vile & The Violators
The Milk Carton Kids (more photos HERE)
These guys won me over last year. Good music and wit. I saw them perform twice over the weekend. Their stellar set on the Quad stage had the audience captivated and laughing. And, thanks to my friend Monica, who hooked me up with a ticket, I caught their revue style after show the night before at Jane Pickens Theater where they were joined by Joe Pug, Gregory Alan Isakov, Anais Mitchell, Jefferson Hamer, a guy who did a couple of songs that I really liked but for the life of me I can't remember his name (if anyone knows, drop me a line!) and more.
Houndmouth (more photos HERE)
Benjamin Booker (more photos HERE)
The Oh Hello's (more photos HERE)
Their fantastic set was the talk of the day. Yeah, yeah, folks were all a buzz about Jack White but this was hands down the best set of the day. Anyone who was anywhere near the Quad while they were playing got caught up in their high energy set. For the rest of the day I kept bumping into people who questioned, 'did you catch The Oh Hello's? and exclaimed, 'OMG! they were amazing!'
The Haden Triplets
Harbor Stage
Puss N Boots (more photos HERE)
I was amazed at the amount of people who were surprised when they saw Norah Jones on stage. The audience got a tickle when Catherine Popper offered Jones her "boob pick" when the latter's guitar pick went missing.
Lucius (more photos HERE)
J. Roddy Walston & The Business (more photos HERE)
J. Roddy announced, 'we don't play folk music, we play rock n roll.' No truer words, no truer words! They rocked the hell out of the Harbor stage. My ears may still be recovering.
Willie Watson (more photos HERE)
