Don't Miss: George Wein's Newport Folk Festival

Don't Miss: George Wein's Newport Folk Festival

Since 1959, George Wein’s Newport Folk Festival has been delighting audiences with folk music from all over the country. Last year, the Festival celebrated its 50th anniversary, and had more than 17,000 music fans in attendance. This year, with a diverse and talented array of performers, the Newport Folk Festival is not to be missed. Here is a little bit of what’s in store.

On Friday, come to the International Tennis Hall of Fame for an evening dedicated to Bluegrass and Banjo, featuring three performers including Sarah Jarosz, an emerging talent reminiscent of Nickel Creek – she’s already played at the Country Music Association Festival and been nominated for a Grammy Award – and she’s not even 20 yet.

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On Saturday, seventeen performers light up the stage. A few highlights: John Prine, a Grammy-winner whose songs have become the high-water mark of American songwriting and have found homes in the repertoires of renowned musicians like Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Cash, and George Strait. Also, Brandi Carlile, a Washington State native whose intelligent lyrics and multi-genre appeal have landed her numerous times on television shows like Grey’s Anatomy.

Sunday’s 16-artist lineup is equally impressive. A highlight is The Levon Helm Band’s Ramble on the Road – Over his five-decade long career, this master storyteller from the Mississippi Delta has lived with Bob Dylan in a large, pink house in Woodstock, New York, has lost his rich, southern voice to lung cancer (and got it back), and has won an Americana Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

For full schedules and details/directions, go to the Folk Festival Web site, here.