Newport Folk Festival brought Wilco, Fleet Foxes, John Prine, The Avett Brothers, Jim James and more to Rhode Island for a weekend of music at the end of July.
Thanks to NPR, fans can now hear full sets from a number of the performers, including Wilco, Fleet Foxes, Drive-By Truckers and more. Nine sets in all can be streamed from this page, and we're highlighting out top three below.
Wilco
Wilco’s set was a definite highlight of the festival, with 17 songs spanning their career and including three tracks from Mermaid Avenue, an obvious tribute to Woody Guthrie’s legacy at the iconic festival.
Older tracks like “Misunderstood” and “I’m Always In Love” balanced newer songs like “If I Ever Was A Child” and “Someone To Lose.” A soaring “Impossible Germany” acted as a proper midpoint, while the recently resurrected “Reservations” found its way into the set as well.
The highlight, though, was the reunion of the band with Billy Bragg, who joined them for a rousing rendition of “California Stars” to end the set, performed immediately after the rarely-heard “Christ For President.”
Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes are back on the road after four dormant years in promotion of their excellent new album Crack-Up.
Their 16-song set at Newport heavily previewed the new record, including the epic opener of “I Am All That I Need / Arroyo Seco / Thumbprint Scar.”
The band still hit the classics, though, performing “Helplessness Blues,” “Ragged Wood,” “White Winter Hymnal” and other older gems.
Ultimately, the set proves just how much the new songs shine in the live setting, underlining the band’s vital role in the folk-rock scene.
LIsten to the Fleet Foxes performance here.
Drive-By Truckers
A perfect fit for Newport Folk Festival, Drive-By Truckers’ earlier set may have only lasted ten songs, but still gave the band a chance to stretch out.
The set largely focused on newer material from the last few years, with the two primary exceptions being “Ronnie And Neil” and live favorite “Hell No I Ain’t Happy,” the latter featuring a guest appearance from The Decemberists’ Chris Funk.
And there's lots more -- stream full sets from John Prine, Hurray For The Riff Raff, Brent Cobb, Pinegrove, Marlon Williams and Margaret Glaspy over at NPR.
