Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals had been on my bucket list since the 1960s, but I never had the wherewithal to go for a variety of reasons. By the time I was adult enough, the folk festival went on hiatus. When it returned in 1985, I was headlong into life, marriage, kids. As they grew, my first wife became disabled. I worked and tried to care for her.
She passed in 2013.
2014 came and it was time for another bucket list item. When I was younger, my parents took a lot of road trip vacations, and in those travels, we stayed in or at least travelled through a lot of states. Up to that point in my life, I had been in almost all of the contiguous U.S. I was missing most of New England and the Pacific Northwest. I needed seven more to say I’ve been in all 48.
The Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals gave me the opportunity. The plan was simple. Three days in Rhode Island for some folk. Then three days in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine for some golf. Then back to the Fort for three days of jazz
Sadly Pete Seeger passed early in 2014.On my way to Rhode Island, I drove over the Hudson River on the Tappan Zee Bridge. I thought of the work that Seeger had done to restore the Hudson and I cried a little. I cried again on the first day of the Folk Festival and I saw they had the flag over Fort Adams flying at half mast. Seemed fitting.
I took a lot of pictures that first year.
I walked around from stage to stage trying to see as many sets as possible. Spent time in the Museum where I saw Christopher Paul Stelling for the first time. This was a year before he performed on the Harbor Stage and proposed to his now wife, Julia. I saw him at the Tall Tale Festival in Burlington, WI and recognized the guitar. Showed him and Julia the picture. We had a good laugh about it and chatted a while after his set.
Chris Funk has always done great things with the “For Pete’s Sake portion of the festival and carrying on the traditions. That first year I saw a hurdy gurdy man and Jeff Tweedy do a exceptional solo set. Funk also runs the Open Stage portion of the festival. I have to admit I felt kinda cool being on the same list with Bob and two famous Johns.
I heard many great performances that first year. Some by people I've never heard of some that I have. That's one of my favorite parts of Newport, discovering new people to listen to. 2014 helped me appreciate Willie Watson, Norah Jones, Shovels and Rope, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Lucius and others even more. And who knew John C. Riley could do folk that way?
The closer that year was Mavis Staples. She was introduced by George Wein. I don’t think Mavis could ever put on a bad show. She closed her set with “We Shall Overcome.” I thought of Pete. I cried again.
I stayed on the harbor for a while, taking in the sunset, watching the crews taking down equipment and vendors packing up. I was the last straggler as it was getting dark. I walked toward the Fort Adams gift store. Dan Blakeslee was still on the steps. I sat down next to him, wishing I had brought my harmonica. We chatted a bit, laughing about how we kept running into each other for the last three days.
Dan said, “One of the organizers said I should go to the after party. Want to come with?” Being the old fuck that I am and not knowing at the time if I would ever get back to the fort, of course I said yes. I didn’t stay long, but I did get to briefly shake Mavis’s hand as she drove by in a golf cart. Somewhere I have really bad out of focus pictures of Lucius and one of Jay Sweet valiantly trying and failing to light the flame to send off a small hot air balloon to celebrate the end of the festival.
I remember seeing George Wein driving around in the Wein Machine during the festival. I walked up to him, shook his hand, and said something about it being my first time and that I was having a great time. I know I said, “Thank you Mr. Wein.” He said, “Please come back.”
After the failed hot air balloon launch, I walked up to Jay Sweet, to thank him for the three days. Pretty much the same conversation I had with Wein. Sweet said, “Please come back.”
In 2015, I didn’t return. I went to the Picathon Festival in Portland, Oregon and finished off that bucket list of having been in the 48 contiguous states.
I didn’t meet my second wife at the Festival, but we came together in 2016, and every year since then. We tend to hang out mostly in the Museum Stage because that’s part of our family now. Nick Noble, Bill Scorzari, Bryan Minto, Chris Funk, Liana Gabel are there every year, too. We saw Kris Kristofferson do his surprise solo set one year. We saw two old friends, John Cohen and Rambling Jack Elliot meet up again.
We’ll miss this year but hope the first note of next year returns. We’ll be there to hear it. Who knows, maybe we'll make more ourselves.
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