Near-perfect summer weather welcomed attendees of the Newport Folk Festival, held from 24th July to 26th, at Fort Adams State Park in Rhode Island. The annual, genre-spanning, sold-out event saw musicians perform across five different stages, from the tiny Foundation Stage to the solar- and pedal-powered Bike Stage (once again hosted by Illiterate Light), to the Harbour and Quad stages, and finally the main Fort Stage. Festival favourites like Brandi Carlile, Nathaniel Rateliff, and Dawes performed alongside (and sometimes with) first-time performers like CMAT, Case Oats, and Vulfpeck.
Considering the particularly turbulent year for the US, as social norms are upturned and the shameless President grifts out of the public’s trust, one could anticipate that many Newport Folk performers would lean heavily into the political sphere. Between the variety of acts, calls for social activism were strong but seemed few and far between. Kirby concluded her set by denouncing racism.
Dave Matthews spoke in support of Palestinians before “Don’t Drink the Water”, and Brandi Carlile shared the First Amendment before “Church & State”. The US-centric Sea to Shining Sea project, hosted by Devon Gilfillian, featured uplifting and politically tinged tunes (“What’s Going On”, “Lift Every Voice and Sing”), with rotating guests including Canadian Leif Vollebekk, Oakland Rising, and a very talented woman from Venice Beach named Starla.
Newport Folk continues to be a great place to catch rising acts, surprise performances, collaborations (Philly’s SNACKTIME made frequent guest appearances on top of headlining a Friday evening after-show and their own Sunday set) and established talents trying new things (e.g. Hayley Williams and Friends). Below are just a few highlights from the 2026 festival.
John R. Miller
John R. Miller performed a rollicking, bluesy set on the Bike Stage, dipping into songs from his latest release The Great Unknowing. His alt-country appearance aligned with the deadpan wit shining on songs like “Looking for a Place to Die” and “Toolbooth”. The Newport Festivals Foundation recognized Miller as the recipient of this year’s John Prine Songwriter Fellowship.
Amble & The Olllam
Grouping these two acts in one bucket works because both are Irish, but musically they are pretty dissimilar. Amble are an acoustic rock trio with a rock bent, while the Olllam utilize more traditional instruments, like flute and uilleann pipes, fused with a jazzy, even electronic-tinged energy. The former’s energetic set included lyrical songs, like Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery” and “Mary’s Pub”, while the latter’s set imbued a sense of astonishment.
Brother Wallace
Newport Folk has given soulful artists opening slots as of late, and this year, Georgia-born Brother Wallace preached his joyful gospel on the Quad Stage Friday morning. Wallace, a music teacher by trade, was an invigorating and joyous welcome, as he breezed through songs like “Gone with the Wind” and stirred the body and spirit with “Electric Love”.
Yasmin Williams and William Tyler
The collaborative set from the two powerful guitarists, Yasmin Williams and William Tyler (of the Silver Jews and Lambchop), was serene. The duo, backed by guitar and bass, opened their set with the electric “Winter Solstice” and “Summer Solstice” diptych before switching to an acoustic combo. If these songs see an album release, it will be an entrancing listen.
Trousdale
The vocal harmonies of Trousdale, Georgia Green, Lauren Jones, and Quinn D’Andrea were Saturday morning’s siren’s call to the Harbor stage. The alt-pop trio’s—the “alt” encompassing folk, country and rock leanings—infectious energy warrants sing-alongs with “Over and Over” or “Any Day Now”. Their set included favorites like “Movie Star” and “Out of My Mind”, an appearance by SNACKTIME, and a cover of Neil Young’s “Old Man” that captured ears and brought more kindred folks under their tent.
CMAT
Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, the performer known as CMAT, earned the most likely to be headliner award in her first year at the fest. CMAT’s 2025 Euro-Country is a vibrant album. She roared through the songs with a powerful set that included songs like “Take a Sexy Picture of Me”—introducing it with her thoughts on online commentators who address her body)—”I’d Want You” with Newport’s mother Brandi Carlile, and an energetic run through the crowd.
This Is Lorelei
Indie-rocker Nate Amos is at the center of two acclaimed projects, This Is Lorelei and Water From Your Eyes. Presenting the former project to the Newport Folk crowd went well as Amos hewed towards his Americana/rock influences on “Angel’s Eye” and “A Song That Sings About You”. Following his sing-along finale, Amos will most certainly be invited back to the Fort.
Lauryn Hill
Due to technical difficulties and tech setup, Lauryn Hill unfortunately started her set about 35 minutes after she was expected to take the stage. However, the performance was still tremendous, driven by Hill on acoustic guitar. She led the audience through a sing-along of classics like “Killing Me Softly”, “Ex-Factor”, and “Doo Wop (That Thing)” with the SNACKTIME brass.
Tom Morello
The Rage Against the Machine / Nightwatchman / Audioslave guitarist was an undeniable force at Newport Folk, and his 15-year-old son Roman stood practically his equal. Morello tied the provocative folk of Woody Guthrie (“This Land Is Your Land”) to the contemporary fury of Rage. A medley of Morello’s Rage Against the Machine guitar riffs was the incendiary device affixed to the bombastic “Killing in the Name” (jokingly introduced as a song “Bob Dylan left off his first record”) that the crowd sang all the lyrics of.
In Memory of Glen Hansard, who passed on 29th July 2026, as he and Marketa Irglova brought the Swell Season to Newport Folk Festival in 2010, the first time I attended, and again in 2025.