The Mrs. and I are bringing Twangville back to the best festival this year. Newport Folk has a great lineup again and we’re super excited about it. To kick off the weekend, we’ll just give a quick preview of some acts each day that we’re excited to see.
FRIDAY
St. Paul & the Broken Bones
Since the first time we heard their classic soul sound, Suzanne and I loved St. Paul. Their four-song EP from 2012 made the band a fought over highlight of our series on Muscle Shoals area bands. Their debut LP expanded on their earlier sound. Their Tiny Desk concert on NPR was mind-blowing. They have expanded on the classic sound of the Alabama Shakes with more horns. Great stuff.
Freakwater
This duo of two alt-country singer-songwriters are back. The two, Catherine Ann Irwin and Janet Beveridge Bean, are inspired by the Carter family. They have released their first album together in over a decade and their style is a welcome return. Highly literate writers.
Ray Lamontagne
Hailing from New Hampshire, Ray has woven together  elements of soul, singer/songwriter, and classic R&B into a style all his own. He has changed his style and has a knack for writing catchy tunes.
SATURDAY
Del & Dawg
For overall chops, this pair is definitely the most exciting. David Grisman is definitely a musical legend who can play in many genres. I also love true trad-bluegrass, and Del McCoury brings that to the table. I’m looking forward to seeing this one of a kind pairing. I think they bring some much needed traditional flavor to a rockin’ festival.
Father John Misty
I’ve really enjoyed the somber mood of J. Tillman so I was certainly shocked to hear Misty’s latest release “I Love You, Honeybear.” The new record has both catchy tunes and laugh-out-loud lyrics. I definitely could see what people who were excited about.
Ryan Adams with the Infamous Stringdusters and Nicki Bluhm
We loved Ryan’s Newport set in 2014 and the wife is a super-fan. This year he’ll be mixing it up and adding in some bluegrass with the help of the Infamous Stringdusters. Can’t wait to see what they have up their sleeves. They previewed their set at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival this year and the added twang sounded amazing.
SUNDAY
Joan Shelley
Joan’s record “Over and Even” was an absolute revelation. The songs are beautiful, the arrangements are simple, and the vocals are moving. This year, I found this record and couldn’t stop playing it. So glad that Newport found someone who doesn’t even have a page on Wikipedia. Can’t wait to see her and guitarist Nathan Salzburg take the stage.
Elvis Costello
I’ve gotten lots of his records but before this past month, I really hadn’t dug into them. Man this guy’s been all over the map musically. His first record is a classic and he knows how to rock. I’m excited to hear his licks live. He’s done everything and I’d forgotten that he’d already been to Newport!
Hayes Carll
This guy is just blowin’ up lately. He sure knows how to write a song. It’s the hard-living Texas country singer-songwriter that’s got a great outlaw sense. He’s in the new mold and the Twangville faithful will be jealous of this one.
Alabama Shakes
They are closing out the whole festival this year and it’s clear why they’ve gotten so much attention. Front-woman Brittany Howard can belt it out like nobody’s business! We’ve never seen them live so this will be a great end to the weekend.
Photo by Suzanne McMahon
About the author: Jeff is a teacher in the Boston area. When not buried correcting papers, Jeff can be found plucking various stringed instruments and listening to all types of americana music.