A mix of singer-songwriter legends and fresh faces are headed to Newport for George Wein’s Newport Folk Festival, which announced its lineup on Wednesday.
The three-day festival begins with a night of bluegrass, headed by the unusual pairing of comedian Steve Martin playing banjo with the bluegrass group The Steep Canyon Rangers on Friday, July 30, at the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Tim O’Brien, formerly of Hot Rize, and Sarah Jarosz are also on the bill.
The festival moves to Fort Adams on Saturday, July 31, for a three-stage show from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. with a bill that includes singer-songwriter veteran John Prine, the multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird, indie-folk singer Brandi Carlile, indie rocker Yim Yames of My Morning Jacket, the Providence-based new-folk heroes The Low Anthem and more.
On Sunday, Aug. 1, rock legend Levon Helm and Ramble on the Road, a live band loosely based on Helm’s all-star Midnight Ramble home-studio sessions, heads the bill, along with The Swell Season (the folk-rock duo of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, who were featured in the movie “Once”), the breakneck traditionalists The Avett Brothers, the crack retro-soul group Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings, veteran singer-songwriter Richie Havens and more.
