The venerable Newport Folk Festival, first held in 1959, returned with another triumphant weekend of roots music, tradition and rebellion at Fort Adams Park in Newport, Rhode Island (July 24-26, 2026).
Newport Folk was both the result of the folk and blues revival of the 1950s and instrumental in making roots music more well known, including bringing it into American living rooms on Saturday nights via the 1960s Hootenanny show on the ABC television network.
Early fests featured the legendary Pete Seeger, a teenage Joan Baez, Mississippi John Hurt, Doc Watson, Johnny Cash, famously Bob Dylan, and a virtual who’s who of roots music. It was also immortalized in the 1967 Oscar-nominated documentary film Festival.
We are extremely fortunate to have had Newport veteran photographers Jim Brock and Anthony Mulcahy there to capture the action, including some absolutely wonderful on-site portraits. You will not find a more stunning collection of Newport Fest photos anywhere. Jim also shares some impressions of the weekend with us.
