The first day of the 2024 Newport Folk Festival on July 26th didn’t waste any time kicking into high gear. A Surprise set from Beck chronicled the post-war history of folk music following a performance by Molly Tuttle that paid homage to the new and old.
Allison Russel, who is on tour opening for Hozier, put on a powerhouse set that suggests the bill should be the other way around and Petey delighted with between-song banter worthy of a comedy club.
Black Pumas put on the highest-energy performance of the day, only to be outdone during Hozier’s headlining slot, which was highlighted by covers of “The Weight” and “I Shall Be Released” featuring Nathaniel Rateliff, Mavis Staples, Allison Russel, Wesley Schultz of The Lumineers, and folk matriarch Joan Baez.
