"Paddle faster, I hear banjos"

This summer I went to the Newport Folk Festival with a good friend and music blogger out of Boston after she got free tickets to review the lineups. It was one of the best concert lineups I’ve experienced. It was two days of banjos, brews, car camping and pure bliss.

History: The Newport Folk Festival started in 1959.  It has lured world famous artists such as Gillian Welsh, Pete Seeger, Johnny Cash, the Allman Brothers Band, and Emmylous Harris. Bob Dylan first made an appearance as a guest of Joan Baez in 1963. Not sure if it was that year or years after that Dylan famously got booed of stage when he chose to play electric guitar rather than stick with an acoustic guitar.  Hey, it’s an acoustic crowd but you’ve got to appreciate a man who pushes the boundaries, right?

 (Trampled by Turtles, front row)

More recently the festival has expanded to include folk-influenced indie rock artists and reggae artists including Stephen and Damian Marley, Jakob Dylan, The Avett Brothers, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros,  and The Decemberists.

My favorites included:

·      Middle Brother – Rumor has it this was their last show together

·      The Head and the Heart – Yes, I’m hopping on the bandwagon.

·      Trampled by Turtles – I’m a huge fan of the banjo player

·      The Civil Wars

·      The Devil Makes Three

·      Delta Spirit – Leader singer and guitarist is part of Middle Brother with gentleman from Dawas and other unknown

·      Emmylou Harris

·      The Decemberists – I’m not a huge fan of their CDs but they are AMAZING live. Definitely worth seeing. Check my video below.

Getting there: Well let me tell you from first hand experience that there is no ferry from Newport to Providence, Rhode Island (if there is please tell me now). So don’t try to make your MegaBus connection via the ferry because you’ll miss it, like I did.  I would definitely recommend coming with friends in a carpool or a general carpool from your starting point. I should have tried to get a ride home with NYCers but didn’t think about it until after I was back on my way to Boston to get a bus home.

Insider tip: If you don't have a place to stay and need to shower, check out the Fort Adams State Park boathouse public showers. It'll cost you a quarter for about 15 minutes of warm water. 

Music lineup gets a 9 out of 10. Scenery gets a 5 out of 10. I’m bias since I’ve been to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and that gets a 10 out of 10 rating. Nothing beats Telluride scenery.

I like folk festivals in general, and I would recommend this if you enjoy banjos, great tunes and a laid back crowd.

Festivarians Unite

Last week I went to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. It was my first music festival and it was amazing. I don't think I'll ever enjoy another festival like I did this one for a variety of reasons:

• It's in Telluride, Colorado, which is located in the beautiful San Juan Mountains and San Miguel county in southwest Colorado.
• The festival strives to be greener and greener every year.  It's sustainable through recycling, composting, wind energy.
• I went with four amazing women. 
• Festivarians are amazing, kind, generous people. 

The musical line up was killer. Josh Ritter (below in a three-piece suite) played a great set on Thursday afternoon. Alison Kraus wowed the crowd with her amazing voice (but unfortunately left many people wanting to head to bed). Imelda May traveled all the way from England to surprise Festivarians with her amazing voice and great song set.

My two favorite performances of the weekend were Leftover Salmon and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. Leftover Salmon was just classic bluegrass. The whole crowd was going crazy. It was the perfect set for the night. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros just flat out wowed Festivarians. Never have I been in a crowd that was as energized, as into a show and as excited about a performance.


Besides the performances there is so much to do in Telluride. We mountain biked, floated down the San Miguel river and road the gondola to the top of the ski mountain. The views are expansive and vast.

I highly recommend the festival. But in case you need a bit more convincing here is my final comment. It's simply heaven on earth.