The Best Things About the 2013 Newport Folk Festival

A friend had recommended that I try to catch the Kingsley Flood set, and I trusted her judgement so I made it to the festival just in time to catch them kick things off at the main stage. The first band to perform at that historic venue for this year's event, the Boston band did not disappoint. Already garnering nods from NPR's Bob Boilen, who premiered their video for "Sigh a While," this is a group that knows their sound and sticks to it. At turns riotous folk rock, at others pastoral stillness, the overarching theme is their infinitely palpable passion. Also, kudos to the energy and vivacity of Jenée Morgan Force, she's proof that women in folk music need not perform alone to establish their presence in the mix.

Feist, the Canadian folk-goddess was headlining Friday night's portion of the festival, but when Leslie took the stage the rain was nearly unbearable. For those un-equipped with rain gear even the strains of "My Moon My Man" were barely worth the drenching... or were they? From my dry perch huddled beneath a falafel vendor's tent, I saw a whole field full of people, soaked to the bone, happily chanting the rune-like lyrics back toward the stage through the grey mist. This moment was magical.

John McCauley is practically royalty at Newport Folk Festival. The Deer Tick frontman has been playing his native Rhode Island's crowning festival—along with alcohol-fueled after parties—for the past six years. But, there's a different air about the singer/songwriter this year. He's cleaned up—his hair, his act, and his person—a party boy settled down into a party man. No, but seriously, his demeanor added a graceful, grown-up edge to the poignant alt-rock he's best known for. The crowning moment of his solo set, however, came when he urged his mother up onstage to sing a cover of Jimmy Buffet's "Margaritaville." Along with the whole audience, who of course, happened to know all the words. God bless this festival.

Let's get this out of the way: Father John Misty aka J. Tillman aka the Fleet Foxes former-drummer is making money off music. In many ways, he too is utilizing the signifiers of a long-obsolete culture to create a person that feels fresh, authentic and simultaneously vintage in 2013. So when he rants a bit about other musicians appropriating these same symbols while playing a fairly high-profile slot at a folk-oriented festival, it feels slightly disingenuous. Still, Tillman is right to be frustrated and at odds with some of the practices in popular music today, even the resurgence of folk sounds that have become slightly watered down. His antics wooed and wowed the crowd though, and the non-folkies I attended the festival with even cited his show as their favorite. Perhaps he's hit the right tone of rescuing the old and regurgitating it as new. Either way, he puts on a helluva a show. Highly recommended though perhaps a little unwarranted holier-than-thou.

The Decemberists used to be a band I really liked, but their recent releases have felt like tired, recycled versions of previous songs to me. So I wasn't very interested in catching Colin Meloy's solo set at the fest, and was heading from Jason Isbell to the Avett Brothers when I came across members of The Decemberists and even Laura Veirs joining Meloy onstage for different numbers. As this festival continually revealed, it's the bonds between musicians and unexpected collaborations that make folk music special, decade-spanning, and fresh again.

I have begun referring to this man as "the secret Bob Dylan" partially because their career arcs follow in very similar time periods, and partially because I consider Hurley's poetry and songwriting skill to be on par with Dylan's. This one isn't one you can fall into easily though, his work requires persistence and particular attention—like any good poet, his work requires interaction to fully appreciate its deepest depths. But there's plenty of lullabies and near nursery rhymes that can serve as an appetizer for the as yet uninitiated. At Newport Hurley played alongside Black Prairie, and the fact that this juvenile country group could barely keep up with the 71-year-old legend speaks to his hushed majesty and skill-level. Some secrets are best kept, but if a few more knew of his music I firmly believe the world would be a better place.

It remains a mystery to me how Bonnie "Prince" Billy" is still such a swept-under-the-rug act. Performing at the smallest stage at Newport in a daytime slot, Billy absolutely trampled on the idea that folk is over-commercialized, boring or dead. Nee Will Oldham, he previously performed under several iterations of the Palace moniker, before adopting his new nametag full force. Oldham also has a vibrant acting career, and a very little known fact is that he appeared in "Trapped in the Closet" episode 15 portraying Sgt. Platoon. That means R. Kelly and Will Oldham have spoken, hung out, and potentially even broken bread together. Teaming with Dawn McCarthy for a tiny, circled-up string-heavy set, his remniscing on The Everly Brothers and reflections on digital technology were almost as compelling as his intricately finger-picked tunes. Listen to this man's music, you will never ever regret it. If he's good enough for R. Kelly, he's good enough for you.

In the media/VIP section I saw a man walking around with a washboard and I have to admit, in my skepticism I thought it was a prop. So I asked him if he actually plays it and lo and behold, he really does. I hadn't seen the Felice Brothers love—they were actually due onstage in only a few minutes—but Greg Farley plays both fiddle and washboard for the band, and does a damn fine job. There isn't an ounce of irony in this man's deamnor or playing, and instead of looking foolish he looks like a man using the materials at hand. In the middle of a field in Newport, the washboard seemed like a modern noisemaking device, and with a player that earnest, the term hipster loses all meaning.

Blake Mills is an incredible guitarist, lyricist and musician who you have probably been sleeping on. After working in the band Simon Dawes with Taylor Goldsmith, the two split ways to pursue solo projects. Though Dawes have gained more critical attention and acclaim than Mills, they don't really deserve to—he's easily making better music than them. Whether or not Goldsmith would agree to this, he brought the full band of Dawes to support Mills in an afternoon slot at the festival. Mills announced during this set that his new album is done and will be coming out sometime in 2014—don't let this one get away from you, it will be one of the best releases of the year. For now, watch his Newport performance of his best song to date "It'll All Work Out."

There is so little to say about how solidly good this band is, that attempting feels like a disservice. They've consistently been one of the best acts performing folk/country harmonies—whether old or new—for the past decade and beyond. There's a reason these former bluegrass buskers caught Doc Watson's ear. See them live, do yourself a favor. Everyone should hear "Wagon Wheel" performed IRL once before they die.

It's no secret that the star of Phosphorescent's Matthew Houck's is on the rise in 2013. His latest release Muchacho has been winning over new fans nearly every day, and on a personal note, his engagement has Houck smiling over at his keyboardist with special warmth. Phosphorescent put on an incredible live show at Pitchfork, and their performance at Newport was of the same caliber. Also, Emma Watson tweeted about their sweeping single "Song For Zula," so it looks like their winning international fans as well.

Phosphorescent - Song for Zula

— Emma Watson (@EmWatson) July 11, 2013

In the beginning of 2013 Jim James put out his third solo record entitled Regions of Light and Sound of God , and in the promotional materials for the record he sports a full, polyester purple suit. To everyone's delight he wore the full suit all day before his performance on Saturday—and while performing. Regions has been totally slept on, mostly because it came out so early in the year, but seeing James live cemented his status as one of the best performing guitarists I've seen this year—he has the rock star persona down without being chintzy or sleazy. Just pure, unadulterated guitar.

Maybe I've been spending too much time in the mainstream crowds of New York City, but in Manhattan, it seems it would be rare to hear a few thousand people screaming for a folksy/country band like The Avett Brothers. That's why getting away for the weekend to the isolated waters of Newport can be so refreshing—at the Folk Festival the Avetts are bona fide superstars. Watching this set with some contraband whiskey and screaming along the lyrics to old favorites like "Laundry Room" and "I and Love and You" was enough to erase the memory of how much I hated their latest album from my mind.

This man has the same warmth and charisma in his voice that catapulted Gary LeVox of Rascall Flatts to fame, but he has so much more to say. Touching lyrics and a bluegrass backbone make his songs stand up and walk around, only to lay you back down. Joined at Newport by his second wife Amanda Shires, the former Drive-By Truckers member has carved out his own space on the road.

P&P have been posting Lord Huron songs since the beginning of this year, and it was nice to see this instinct validated at their Sunday set yesterday. Dubbed "indie folk" by many, Lord Huron manage to weave the dreamy sensibilities of pop into perfectly strummed folk songs. Their take on folk music makes it feel both fresh and traditional, and the fact that their crowd approached the size of a headliner's spoke to their resonance with the current and past generations of folk lovers.

The Lone Bellow is a country/folk group out of Brooklyn that's fronted by Georgia native Zach Williams, and occupied a 1:10 set time on the festival's middle-sized stage. Well, that placement might have been the most major scheduling goof that the festival organizers made throughout the weekend. The tent was filled to overflowing before the show even started, and as the energy built more and more people began to crowd around the tent. There's an undercurrent of sadness, rebellion and refusal to quit in their music—the three part harmonies and galloping drums make their songs insistent, joyous and remarkable. If they keep going at the pace that their debut self-title album set, this group will easily surpass the likes of Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town in the coming years.

A chance to see the elusive, the legendary, the historical Ramblin' Jack Elliott is worth the price of admission to the festival alone—he's a living artifact. What was funny to experience, as more than one member of the audience was seeing Elliott perform for the first time, was that he really did ramble! After his first song Jack took to telling tales that lasted 5-10 minutes. Not that they weren't interesting—he spoke of driving to California with Woody Guthrie and meeting Oregon lumberjack Derroll Adams, whom he called "the five string banjo player." Truth be told, his stories were works of art in their own right, especially the one where he claimed to have thrown his aging into reverse at his 80th birthday party and has made his way back to "about 77." Seeing this legend perform and reminisce was one of the most special moments of the whole weekend, and the revelation that his nickname might not be about wandering the country was a hilarious addition.

There's a lot of hate out there toward the Lumineers—almost as much as their fellow commercially successful folkies Mumford & Sons. But the fact remains, both bands are doing something incredibly right or they wouldn't be so motherfucking popular. For The Lumineers, it's the fact that their live show is tight and entertaining and so full of energy it's impossible not to grin and sway when their music is coursing through the loudspeakers. Not just that, but the group have done their homework. They may have perfectly concocted a folk-pop sound that wins over the mainstream and causes the stalwart ranks of traditionalists to shake their heads, but hey, I'd rather hear their pop-ified folk on the radio than another Britney/Christian/Selena/Carly Rae/One Direction/Justin Bieber.

This man might be an angel sent down to earth to help us cope with the pain and suffering that life brings. Seriously, there's something divine, peaceful and gracious that surrounds both this mand and his music. Michael Kiwanuka played the main stage at Newport with a humility and passion that's rare to find among any musicians, let alone one as talented as him. Despite a few sound issues, Kiwanuka played like the expert performer he is, focusing on the music and the history instead of the little distractions. Hearing "Tell Me a Tale" live was an overall highlight of the whole festival.

In the beginning of Beck's career, he was a freak-folk artist, and though many of his current fans possibly forget that or are unaware, he took a moment to remind everyone of his roots by headlining Sunday's closing slot. "Here's a song from that peak folk decade of the '90s," is the gist of what he joked to introduce his initial single "Loser" mid-set. Dressed all in black a la Johnny Cash, he pulled up instrumental experimentalist Andrew Bird and living legend Ramblin' Jack Elliott onstage to round-out his folk and cover heavy set. One skill Beck possesses is the ability to play to his audience—he knew just what the Sunday crowd wanted and he delivered it in a full force gale.