Ben & Jerry's Newport folk festival

by Joe F. Compton

December 1991 / January 1992, Dirty Linen

Fort Adams Park, Newport, RI
August 10 & 11, 1991
with Craig Harris

A little over a year ago, driving almost 500 miles from Baltimore to Newport for a two day folk festival would have seemed madness to me. Now after attending the last two Ben and Jerry's Newport Folk Festivals, it seems an act of true deprivation not to make this an annual pilgrimage.

This year, blessed with almost perfect weather and an eclectic lineup of folk and roots musicians, the Festival was another unqualified success. From reports of friends in attendance early on Saturday, as I wended my way up the wild highways and byways of southern New England, Paul Geremia opened his hometown Festival to an enthusiastic response from the then-sparse crowd. Much of the interest in the Day One offering centered on the closing Indigo Girls, and their fans did not rush out early for Paul's strong blues guitar set. The most recent discovery from the bayous of Louisiana, the one and only Boozoo Chavis and his family band demonstrated their honest understanding of traditional zydeco music and got many in attendance up and dancing. Suzanne Vega, performing as a solo artist, made a much stronger connection with her audience than one would have expected, having seen her rather staid band performances. Singer John Prine mixed his older classics with material from his upcoming very strong new release The Missing Years and left all to wonder how one writer can maintain such a consistently strong repertoire - the new songs are as good as his old standards!

My arrival at Fort Adams coincided with the appearance of long-time favorite Randy Newman on stage. With only his piano for accompaniment, Randy presented his dark world vision fully and completely with such strong tunes as the sarcastic "Political Science" and the demanded encore tune "My Life is Good," wherein a weary Bruce Springsteen asks "Ran" to take over as The Boss for awhile because he's so tired. Despite the bright beautiful afternoon Newman had brought much of his heart of darkness fully alive on the Newport stage; he is a performing artist that we see much too rarely these days.

What followed was excruciating. The Indigo Girls with a very lame fake jazz backing band (including an incredibly bad saxophonist) and despite a guest appearance by David Wilcox, turned the assembled 8,500 spectators into a swooning mass of sycophants. These ladies sing okay, but their songs are incredibly banal. Yet spectators, some of whom ceaselessly chattered through Newman's perfect compositions, stood in rapt attention as if the Indigo's clichéd lyrics were the New Ten Commandments. There is, I guess, no explaining tastes. Before this set was completed I was enjoying a beautiful view of Narragansett Bay from the upper deck of the water taxi that sped me towards a superb lobster dinner.

The next day opened with Cliff Eberhardt's terrific acoustic picking on his older repertoire and the debut of two strong new songs, "Give Me Valerie" (a popular song name these days) and "Is It Wrong to Feel So Good." Mary-Chapin Carpenter and her hard rocking country ensemble followed with older material such as "Read My Lips" and "Right or Wrong," interspersed with newer hits such as "Twist and Shout," a song about Beausoleil's appearance at the late lamented Bethesda, Maryland roots rock club. Guitarist Pete Kennedy shone throughout this set on both 6- and 12-string electric lead guitars. The most exciting moment of this set came at its conclusion, as Mary-Chapin spied her friend Shawn Colvin entering the backstage area with the Thompson band, immediately grabbed her and Chapin's former lead guitarist John Jennings for an inspired rendition of "Quittin' Time" that had the audience in ecstasy.

Irish folksinger Luka Bloom put on a truly dynamic solo set that featured both old ("Jacqueline" and a very energetic "Rescue Mission" that began with a long and impressive rhythmic guitar introduction) and new (a beautiful encore of "Blue Water") material. The biggest surprise was the dedication of a tune to his "great grandfather L.L. Cool J," which turned out to be the rap star's "I Need Love." Shawn Colvin got on stage early for a three-song mini-set that included her new song "Polaroids" and a Warren Zevon cover, "Tenderness on the Block," before she brought out Richard Thompson for their lovely aching harmony on "Waltzing's For Dreamers" that took the crowd's collective breath away. In less than an hour the Thompson band concluded their American tour with a strong set marred only by John Sherman's inability to adapt his accordion style to the demands of Richard's music. Shawn Colvin shone on the second vocal line throughout this set. Pete Zorn contributed a deft flashy slide solo on mandolin (yes, slide mandolin!) prior to Richard's third solo on "Shoot Out The Lights." The best tune of this set was the encore of "Tear Stained Letter" on which Thompson's playing was incendiary.

Gospel-R&B legends, The Staple Singers, followed and mixed their old Stax-Volt commercial singles such as Roebuck "Pop" Staples's "Love and Hate," the licentious "Do It Again," and the classic "Respect Yourself," with gospel standards "I'll Fly Away" and "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" Pop Staples's trademark guitar sound balanced impressively within the strong vocal work of his three grown daughters. Lead singer Mavis Staples was the true revelation, especially on her classic "(I Know a Place) I'll Take You There" in which she proved she is one of America's great singers. Sadly I read three local newspaper reports on the Festival that used as their storyline women at the Festival (Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Suzanne Vega, Nanci Griffith, Judy Collins, Shawn Colvin, the Indigos, and Mary-Chapin Carpenter) and not one of the three articles even referred to the dynamic performance of Mavis Staples and The Staples Singers. Shame, shame! If you get the chance to see The Staples, do not pass it by.

Judy Collins calmed the audience with her current easy listening repertoire that seemed more cabaret than folk music. John Hiatt ended the Festival with an energetic solo acoustic set that included one new song, "Permanent Damage," along with traditional Hiatt material such as "Memphis in the Meanwhile" and the strong closer "Your Dad Did," performed in glorious late afternoon sunshine.

The non-musical aspects of this Festival remain a pleasure. The sponsors of the past four years, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, have imbued the Fest with a powerful, corporate-backed social conscience. Recycling bins are everywhere, and many booths include information of social action issues including support for family farmers and environmentally friendly house-cleaning products. In their occasional on-stage, between-set speeches in support of the peace movement and environmental issues, as well their discussions backstage with the musicians, Ben and Jerry exude a sincerity that goes well beyond their remarkable development of Cherry Garcia Ice Cream. Quint Davis and Festival Productions bring their New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival experience to a smooth-running Newport operation. My sole suggestion would be the elimination of one artist each date in order to give each of the remaining artists a longer set. This is a minor quibble about a remarkably well-run Festival.

Ben & Jerry's Newport Folk Festival/ P.O. Box 1221/ Newport, RI 02840. Phone: 401/847-3700