Friday, July 31, 2015 -- Newport, RI
Summer's here and that means music...outdoors. My camera and I headed out for another weekend at the scenic Fort Adams State Park. This time it was to take in the 2015 Newport Jazz Festival presented by Natixis Global Asset Management. It was a bit humid out, it rained the night before so it wasn't as dusty as the previous week was where I came home coated in a layer of dust. My only hope for the weekend was that I could manage a few decent photos with my bum wrist while enjoying a weekend full of great music. This is what it looked like.
I started my day at the Quad Stage to catch the Ambrose Akinmusire Quartet. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not a trumpet fan but, I dig some of his stuff so I hung out there for a bit.
My next stop was at the Harbor Stage to see what Matana Roberts' Coin Coin was all about. Um, well, while the rest of the audience was into it, I however couldn't get into it at all. Seriously, that was some weird ass shh…stuff and upon deciding I probably needed substances to "get it", I made my exit.
I walked around a bit and then made my way to the Fort Stage to catch some of the Johnathan Blake Quartet before taking a break.
I went back over to the Harbor Stage and caught a bit of Bria Skonberg & The Jazz Compatriots before heading back to the Fort Stage to catch the Gerald Clayton Quintet and then headed towards the food.
Food in hand, I realize I've not been paying attention to the time and heard Lucky Peterson starting up. Oh crap! So, I stashed my food in a safe location, grabbed my camera and ran over to the Quad Stage to grab a few photos. Making my way back to my food, I sat near the Quad and listened to the rest of Lucky's killer set.
Next up at the Quad was Kneebody followed by the Christian McBride Trio.
The day closed out with Snarky Puppy on the Fort Stage who had the crowd on their feet. And, it was nice to see some kids right up front enjoying the set like they were at a rock concert, props to them. I know I certainly wouldn't have been hanging front row at a jazz festival at that age.
Check out more photos in the slideshow below or see the photo album HERE.
