2013 Newport Folk Festival: Day Three
All photos by Joy Asico (joy@chunkyglasses.com / www.asicophoto.com)
Day three dawned warm and sunny at Newport Folk Festival as the early crowd ambled in and made their ways to various vendors and stages. For many, it was a perfect morning to check out the Paste Ruins — a small stage in the depths of Fort Adams sponsored by Sennheiser and Paste Magazine — where festival goers could catch intimate sets from most of this year’s performers
Long before her set proper, Beth Orton took the “ruins” to play three songs, and as water dripped from the ceiling, she and her acoustic guitar created moody, atmospheric sounds. Contrasting with the much more rowdy mood outside, particularly on her song “Magpie”, her voice rose and cracked a bit with the emotion of the song. As one of the few completely solo artists (that is, no backing band) to play the festival, she later proved she could hold her own on the Harbor Stage, with humor and just two guitars.
One group who did not have a lack of band members was Black Prairie. Featuring artists from the Decemberists: Chris Funk (guitar), Nate Query (bass), John Moen (drums) and Jenny Conlee (accordion) and joined by Jon Neufeld (guitar) and Annalisa Tornfelt (violin), the Harbor stage was full, and their choice of songs varied to highlight each player resulting in a triumphant set from this minor super group.
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Over at the Fort Stage, British soul singer Michael Kiwanuka carried on that theme of triumph as he tore through Jimi Hendrix’s “Waterfall” before running through tracks from his acclaimed 2012 album, Home Again. With a style that ranges from soulful to danceable it was a sublime performance that kept a crowd happily glued to the stage.
After the Lumineers whipped the crowd into a folktastic frenzy the end of the festival loomed, Beck took to the main stage, which was now under gloomy skies. Dressed in a large black hat and black coat, he put on a set that was an unexpected yet totally appropriate for the spirit of the Folk Festival. Sharing stories about the songs, he mused that “Lazy Flies” from Mutations, wasn’t really appropriate for a folk festival, he said, because of all of the chord changes…and it was “kind of a beast to relearn.” “We’re going to play more pensive ponderous folk dirges for you,” he announced before starting “Already Dead.” But the crowd loved every moment, especially when he played a folk version of “Loser” which served to highlight the sadness under the radio version’s exuberance.
“Pay No Mind (Snoozer)” gave Beck a chance to bring other musicians out, including Chris Funk and Annalisa Tornfelt from Black Prairie, Andrew Bird and later joined by Ramblin’ Jack Elliot for a cover of his “Waiting on a Train.” Beck ended the show with “Where It’s At,” trading a little folk for a little more modern electronica, and the sun broke through the overcast sky to set on another year’s Newport Folk Festival.