Saturday, July 25, 2015 -- Newport, RI
Day two of the Newport Folk Festival kicked off with a rousing set by The Suffers. They really got the crowd going at the Fort Stage.
I dashed off to catch a bit of the Spirit Family Reunion before walking around. I stopped by the big wooden FOLK lettering and manned several mobile phones for people who wanted to have their photos taken with it. I stopped by the Late July tent where the Ghosts of Paul Revere were just starting before I headed off for a little break.
It was then off to the Fort Stage for a bit of The Barr Brothers. I seem to remember them starting late due to some technical issues.
I made my way over to the Quad to catch Traveller…Jonny Fritz, Robert Ellis and Cory Chisel. This is your new favorite band, seriously. "Hummingbird" is still stuck in my head and I don't mind one bit. I reluctantly missed the end of their set to catch another band I wanted to see.
I just made it over to the Harbor Stage in time to grab a few photos of Madisen Ward and The Mama Bear and hear a few tunes before heading over to the Fort Stage to catch some of Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn.
Next up, Langhorne Slim on the Quad. If you haven't seen Slim and his band, you should, they're a world of fun. My camera had one heck of a time keeping up with Langhorne! Then about four songs in, he took to the audience. Anyone who wasn't already into the set sure was after that.
My next stop was over to the Harbor Stage to catch Nikki Lane whose set was as fun as her outfit. Then it was off to the Fort Stage to catch Jason Isbell whose set was tight.
I made it over to catch some of Courtney Barnett who has been getting a lot of hype. I wasn't as into her as the rest of the crowd was but I did like her better live than on record.
It was then off to the Fort Stage for the days "Unannounced" set. Just like the previous day, everyone already knew who it was. James Taylor took the stage. His appearance back in the day was interrupted by the moon landing so he came to finish it. Yeah, sure he's been back to Newport between then and now but hey, the story sounded good. Sadly, there were sound problems which had cropped up earlier in the day but didn't detour Sweet Baby James. While there was a lot of "new blood" at the festival, Taylor and fellow legend Roger Waters were probably the two most talked about sets amongst the audience members I encountered over the weekend.
After taking a little break, I went back to the Fort Stage to catch Sufjan Stevens. Some ladies along the front barrier swooned. I'm not much into him but the few tunes I caught were solid and the swooning ladies were probably glad to have one less photographer in front of them.
Since everything on the Fort Stage was running late, I nearly missed getting photos of Jose Gonzalez. I love his work but I only stuck around for a little bit of his set…so much to see and hear!
My next stop was the Quad where Brandi Carlile closed out that stage for the day. She rocked a highly enjoyable set leaving a very satisfied crowd.
The Decemberists closed out the day on the Fort Stage.
Check out more photos in the slideshow below or see the photo album HERE.
