Let's Call It Folk On Not Folk Festival - Newport 2021

My wife and I had a great time over the weekend of this year’s Newport Let’s Call it Folk On Not Folk Festival event. 

The Newport organizers decided to hold the festivities over six days rather than the normal three days due to COVID protocols and reduced capacity.  

Yet, some people in social media seem to forget what the Newport experience is supposed to be.

I've been reading several posts complaining about the weekend vs the weekday lineups, not enough dancing, somber moods, scheduling snafus and miscommunications, that things could have been better, that it should always be six days now, the music was too loud, too soft, not real folk. An entire myriad of supposed slights. My suggestion to the powers that be is to let all this roll off their backs.

As I've said before, I had a great time this weekend. I don't have the discretionary money that some people have to spend on seven nights of hotels at the summer vacation rates of Newport. I'm not 30 anymore and I know six days is way too much no matter how much hydrating and  sun screening I do. 

I got to hear and see some damn good artists perform some damn good sets. Randy Newman is older than me, and got into an argument with a fog horn playing the wrong key when it should always be in the key of G, which, in the words of Pete Seeger, is the people's key. Billy Strings paid tribute to Doc Watson and proved why he is the best damn flat picker in the country and why you don’t have to play loud, you just have to play. Jason Isbel said he loved the importance of the song writing of Newman. Margo Price paid homage to Joan Baez, Joy Oladokun paid tribute to Odetta. That connection to the greats of Newports past in always important. Shakey Graves may me cry on Friday. Jay Sweet could hardly get through his speech about the Prine Scholarship. In short, there were more than enough Newport moments for me.

Usually I discover a new artist about whom there is little if any buzz or popularity, someone I didn’t know existed. There are a lot of artists I’ve never heard of.  Sometimes they are known and popular with other people. Groups like Dawes and Deer Tick were on a lot of New England radars before I ever heard of them. But there are others like Kaia Kater, Kyle Craft, Lankum, Cimarron, Christopher Paul Stelling. This year Joy Oladokun was that someone I never heard of, but, in typical Newport fashion, was immediately entranced. 

My wife and I were asked to busk this year. Yes, there were some hiccups as this is the first time they were trying it. I don’t know if they will continue or how. I have suggestions if they ask. The fact is that someone suggested us as buskers and they asked us. As Wattle & Daub we got to play two full sets on the steps of the Museum. We were thrilled. We remain grateful to Chris Funk of the Decemberists for his recommendation. 

They asked if we wanted to play on the Quad or on the steps of the Museum. The choice was easy. The Museum is where we spend most of our time. It holds what has become known as “For Pete’s Sake.” It’s the smallest stage with the biggest heart.

All in all it was a good weekend. Some are saying the weekday lineup is better. I don’t know. I wish we could have stayed for the Christopher Paul Stelling set, but like I said … discretionary spending is seemingly unlimited for others. I honestly don’t know what the beef is or why.

As much as Newport charges for hotels, services, etc. one must remember that when everything was cancelled last year, people lost money. Waiters and waitresses didn’t get tips. Venues like Jimmy’s Saloon no longer exist. The hotel we’ve stayed at the last two times is not a chain place. It’s family owned and operated. Having a year without income was particularly hard, and it was only because they had another income source that they were able to make it through the pandemic. This year was hard on a lot of people.In the grand scheme of things, these complaints about lineups, this whining, is meaningless. It’s just people whining and complaining. The musicians and workers whose lives depend on the money generated by the festival needed the weekend probably a lot more that those attending. 

The Newport Foundation helps music education. They do good work. That’s what is important. Whether I got to see somebody, whether somebody else did on Monday - Wednesday doesn’t matter. People are still hungry. War still exists, Climate is still changing. People still get shot. All the problems of the world and our country didn’t go away over the weekend and they sure as hell ain’t going away over the week day events. In the grand scheme of things, petty complaints don’t mean shit. I believe the people of the festival and its foundation know that. Everyone in the music business is relearning what to do, when, how, and what people want to hear. The people at the festival are no different and whatever mistakes they may have made this year, I am sure they will learn from it.

My wife's dad passed away before the festival. Because we were doing a small tour, I drove our gear out to Newport and attended Friday alone. She flew in on Friday night. We busked on Saturday and Sunday.

We want to thank Chris Funk for suggesting us as buskers. And we want to thank the people of the festival for having us. 

These are pictures of us busking on the steps of the museum stage. We had fun. We want to be inside that hallowed building again next year. Maybe even doing what we did this year.