Photo by Chris Van Slyke
OK. The Lone Bellow broke me, at least temporarily. Abra has written before about our dislike of festivals, absolutely nailing my feelings about them. I mean, the heat! The crowds! All for an abbreviated performance?? But after seeing The Lone Bellow at The Egg and at Mohegan Sun, I realized I really did not want to wait until October before seeing them again. A conversation with their tour manager, Chris, after the Mohegan Sun show about the awesomeness of Newport Folk Festival finally persuaded me to break down and attend my first music festival since Lollapalooza in 1994 (yes, I am that old). So I found someone on Craigslist (she was even in my neighborhood!) selling a Friday only pass to the sold out festival, and I committed to going.
And I’m really glad I did. The day was beautiful (though clouds were rolling in toward the end of The Lone Bellow's set, and it started raining right as I returned to my car), my drive to Newport was easy, with only a spot or two of traffic once I got to town, and the water taxi over to Fort Adams State Park was pleasant. It was fun listening to the people on the taxi discussing their histories with the festival – a couple of first timers, some people who have been a few times, and one guy who has attended every year for the last 23. I realized that, at the very least, I would have the experience of being at one of the more iconic music festivals in the U.S.
And I’m really glad I did. The day was beautiful (though clouds were rolling in toward the end of The Lone Bellow's set, and it started raining right as I returned to my car), my drive to Newport was easy, with only a spot or two of traffic once I got to town, and the water taxi over to Fort Adams State Park was pleasant. It was fun listening to the people on the taxi discussing their histories with the festival – a couple of first timers, some people who have been a few times, and one guy who has attended every year for the last 23. I realized that, at the very least, I would have the experience of being at one of the more iconic music festivals in the U.S.
Arriving at Fort Adams State Park by water taxi
I arrived just as the music was starting. I wandered around to get the lay of the land, and caught some of very enjoyable The Goodbye Girls’ show. I got an iced coffee, hit the bathroom, and headed over to the Fort Stage. My plan was to hunker down through New Breed Brass and Elephant Revival so I could be sure to have a spot in front of the stage when The Lone Bellow came on.
Both of the bands were great! New Breed Brass was so much fun and those guys are so talented. Elephant Revival makes beautiful music, and how can anyone not love a band that includes a washboard and a saw?
As soon as Elephant Revival cleared away their equipment, the members of The Lone Bellow headed out to the stage to set up and do their sound check. The band is always very focused and serious when they are setting up, but here we had the chance to witness a few moments when they joked around with each other. At one point, when they were coordinating the volume on each member’s mic, Kanene asked to have hers turned down a bit, and Zach quipped, “Yeah, turn her down. I don’t need to hear any more of her!”
Both of the bands were great! New Breed Brass was so much fun and those guys are so talented. Elephant Revival makes beautiful music, and how can anyone not love a band that includes a washboard and a saw?
As soon as Elephant Revival cleared away their equipment, the members of The Lone Bellow headed out to the stage to set up and do their sound check. The band is always very focused and serious when they are setting up, but here we had the chance to witness a few moments when they joked around with each other. At one point, when they were coordinating the volume on each member’s mic, Kanene asked to have hers turned down a bit, and Zach quipped, “Yeah, turn her down. I don’t need to hear any more of her!”
Sound check
Just before 2:30 they left the stage to await their official introduction, then reemerged to launch right into “Then Came the Morning.” The crowd was so into the music, and the band was obviously psyched to be back at Newport, playing on the main stage for the first time. At one point, Zach encouraged the audience to turn around and look out at the lovely ocean landscape, dotted with sailboats and the bridge in the distance. “We find ourselves in a beautiful situation,“ he said. It was at that moment, when I turned around, that I noticed the vastness of the crowd, though I didn’t fully realize just how unbelievably large the audience was until I later saw pictures photographers had taken from the stage. It was stunning to consider that all those people were present together in that moment, enjoying the music of this immensely talented band.
Both Brian and Zach were wearing a ridiculous amount of black, long-sleeved clothing, and I was truly concerned they would pass out from heat exhaustion! But despite being very obviously overheated, they still managed to put on their typical high energy show, connecting with the audience of even that exaggerated size. I found it to be very impressive.
Photos by Timothy Patrick Boyer
Throughout the show, it became clear that members of Zach’s and Kanene’s families were sitting up in the boxes on the sides of the stage. When the band began playing the chords for “Marietta,” Zach pointed up to the box and called something out to his wife.
And speaking of “Marietta,” I always wonder where Zach’s mind goes during that song. There is an even greater emotional intensity than usual that comes over him, and he looks like he’s channeling some higher spirit or power. The performance at Newport was no exception. It is definitely one of my favorite songs to see live.
I’d been disappointed about having to miss Leon Bridges because his set was too close to The Lone Bellow’s, but all was not lost because he joined the band on stage for a magical performance of “Watch Over Us.” I did not have the pleasure of seeing The Lone Bellow perform this song live with The Blind Boys of Alabama at the Eaux Claires Music Festival, but I have to believe this was on par. While still reeling from that, the members of Lucius walked onto the stage wearing vibrant yellow dresses, and joined in on a rendition of the Everly Brothers’ “When Will I Find Love!” And then! Sara Watkins accompanied the band for “Call to War.”
I’d been disappointed about having to miss Leon Bridges because his set was too close to The Lone Bellow’s, but all was not lost because he joined the band on stage for a magical performance of “Watch Over Us.” I did not have the pleasure of seeing The Lone Bellow perform this song live with The Blind Boys of Alabama at the Eaux Claires Music Festival, but I have to believe this was on par. While still reeling from that, the members of Lucius walked onto the stage wearing vibrant yellow dresses, and joined in on a rendition of the Everly Brothers’ “When Will I Find Love!” And then! Sara Watkins accompanied the band for “Call to War.”
Photo from descendantrecords.com
Photo by Ray Padgett
OK, now I sort of get it – these collaborations are one of the amazing things that can happen at a festival that aren’t likely to happen at a regular show! I don’t know that I will be attending a festival again any time soon, but my experience at Newport this year has taken the edge off my dislike of them a bit. In addition to the potential for unexpected collaboration, there is the experience of being in the audience that is novel. The energy of the audience is different than at a typical show – more relaxed yet more excited, and I’m glad I experienced it.
See more of Timothy Patrick Boyer's photos of The Lone Bellow here, and more of Chris Van Slyke's here. And you can listen to the band's Newport Folk Festival set here, courtesy of NPR Music.
See more of Timothy Patrick Boyer's photos of The Lone Bellow here, and more of Chris Van Slyke's here. And you can listen to the band's Newport Folk Festival set here, courtesy of NPR Music.
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