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John Prine

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

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Exclusive: John Prine On 'The Tree Of Forgiveness' exclusive-john-prine-tree-forgiveness-protest-music-more

Exclusive: John Prine On 'The Tree Of Forgiveness,' Protest Music & More

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Riding high on the widespread success of his latest album, the folk icon reveals a songwriting secret or two backstage at Newport Folk Festival
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jul 28, 2018 - 7:20 am

John Prine may not be a household name – unless you're a songwriter. Since Prine released his groundbreaking self-titled debut album in 1971, he's written some of the most heartfelt, clever, quirky, and enduring songs of his generation. In April of this year, the 71-year-old unleashed his first new batch of original tunes in 13 years with The Tree Of Forgiveness. The songs feel as natural and essential as Prine's classics, and to no one's surprise — except maybe his own — the folk and country music communities have taken quite a shine to his new material.

John Prine On 'The Tree Of Forgiveness'

Prine stopped by backstage at the Newport Folk Festival to talk with us about how the album came together, the importance of imagery in lyrics, folk music's power of protest, and a few of his songwriting secrets.

The new music video for "Knockin' On My Screen Door" features tons of all-star cameos, [including Margo Price, Sturgill Simpson, Amanda Shires, Jason Isbell, Dan Auerbach, and more]. How did the video collaboration with all of those folks come together?

I'd worked with everybody in the video, and some of them were really good buddies of mine. It just felt like a normal day for me because I go to lunch with half of those people, and I co-own a studio with Fergie [David Ferguson] and that's where Sturgill cut his record, and we cut Tyler Childers over there, felt like old home week. The fact that we got a video out at the end of the day, I thought that was pretty good.

Your latest album, The Tree Of Forgiveness, felt like a gift to your fans; to get all-new music from you was a real treat. How did it feel to write and record a new collection of songs for the first time in quite a while?

It was actually one of the easiest records I've ever made. It wasn't that I didn't believe in all the songs, I just I thought I was going to the studio to get maybe four songs that I liked, get them recorded, then take a break and write some more. But things were going so good. I kept remembering songs I hadn't done ... and that would turn out great, one after another. But the big surprise for me is that my records usually get received by my audience really good, but this record is something that's crazy. It's got stardust on it or something. It just keeps [going]. It's got legs and it keeps on running around, and we do all 10 songs every night in our show. … It's just a great feeling.

I've noticed a lot of younger songwriters are using tools out of your toolbox, and you can hear it in the songs of Kasey Musgraves and Margo Price, who both name you as an influence. What does it feel like to influence this next generation of songwriters?

Both these people that you're talking about are so good anyway, and then when they tell me that they took certain things from the way I wrote, it's such a huge compliment. It takes me awhile to hear what it is that they think is like John Prine that they put in their song, but after a while, I can tell. And it's just a big compliment really.

One of those devices I've always loved about your writing is your incredible use of imagery.

Thank you. I try to include stuff that everybody can relate to. If you're talking about a subject or an emotion that's hard to put your finger on while you're talking about it. If you mention there's a chair and an ashtray in the song, then everybody starts relating to the ashtray and the chair, and pretty soon they get caught up in the emotion, and boom you got them.

We're learning all the secrets here today.

That's it. That's my one secret. [laughs]

It's a good one. When we were driving to the festival today here in Newport, we saw a billboard with you and some lyrics from "Summer's End." Can you talk a little bit about writing that song?

I wrote it with my good buddy Pat McLaughlin. Pat and I have been buddies for going on 35 years, and we didn't write together maybe the first five years we knew each other, we were just buddies. And then, with The Missing Years, we started writing together. By the time we got around to just writing "Summer's End," when we go to write, we almost finish each other's sentences. So, it's hard to tell even after you sing the song where my mind left off and Pat's came in or vice versa. ... On that particular thing, we were throwing images back and forth and we both liked them so much. The only thing we had to stop for was to see if they phrased or occasionally rhymed. We went for this general mood. We didn't talk about what we were going for, we just kept throwing images back and forth at each other to see if we were on the same plain, and it just worked out to be a really beautiful song.

Folk music has always had a mainline into the protest sentiment. What does the song "Caravan Of Fools" mean to you?

I wrote it with Pat McLaughlin, Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, and our good friend David Ferguson that has the studio that I was talking about. We wrote six songs in two days. We were just hanging out. ... They could have said, 'Come on over, we're gonna play cards.' Instead, they said, 'Come on over we're gonna write songs.' … I knew Dan Auerbach was getting ready to do his first solo record, and so I thought that the songs were supposed to be for Dan. And we wrote, like I say, six songs in nothing. I made everybody break for an hour to go get White Castle hamburgers, and then we went back to writing.

The reason that I'm saying that about "Caravan Of Fools" being taken as a political song is to me when I sing it. But I never asked any of those guys if they were writing about anything [in particular] or what their politics were or anything. It's just that the song to me has a connotation I would say of what's going on. And it's got more verses then there are original members of Trump's cabinet too. … When I'm singing it, it's a protest song.

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Lukas Nelson

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

Interview
Exclusive: Lukas Nelson On Neil Young & More exclusive-lukas-nelson-neil-young-star-born-new-music

Exclusive: Lukas Nelson On Neil Young, 'A Star Is Born' & New Music

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Backstage at Newport Folk Fest, the rising country juggernaut opened up about what he's working on, performing with a legend, working on a blockbuster film, and more
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jul 30, 2018 - 1:38 pm

Lukas Nelson may have been born into music high royalty as the son of country legend Willie Nelson, but in person, he's as humble, friendly and thoughtful as they come. In the middle of a huge year for his growing music career, we caught up with Nelson backstage at Newport Folk Festival to ask him about his self-titled debut album, his experience of his band Promise Of The Real playing with Neil Young, his involvement in the anticipated film A Star Is Born, and what he's up to next.

Lukas Nelson Talks Debut Album, Neil Young

You've been making and releasing music your whole life, but your official self-titled debut arrived in 2017. What does it mean to you to have a full-length record that's out there with your name on it?

Like you said, we put out four records before, and some of those have even the same songs. But I just basically wanted to get the band, because we'd just come off the road with Neil [Young], we're very inspired and I thought, "Let's go in the studio," with my manager, Scooter [Weintraub]. And we were thinking, "Let's go in the studio and do a record that is just the best of what I've written so far," and just put down what we've got. And I feel like I could have done a few things differently, but I feel like it generally got there, to where it was a good first impression on a major scale. We're having a label behind us and all that, and it was really a good first record. But right now we're working on so much music that's way more involved than that music, and so I'm looking forward to putting that out.

Can you tell us a little bit about what you're working on?

Oh, well, there's a couple songs that we re-recorded. Actually, the next release that we're going to have is going to be a couple songs that didn't make it on this record. So I recorded it back then, so it's got the same vibe in terms of the instrumentation and the way we're playing it as those older [songs].

But then we also did a more recent cover of David Bowie's "Life On Mars," which really came out well. Super fun. And then we're going to put out a music video for "Forget About Georgia," and we released that sound in an edited down format so that we can try and get more people to hear that song, as more people are paying attention [now]. ... That was one of my favorites of the record.

And then I've got another 30 songs, or 40 songs recorded for the follow-up record, and I've got to pick those songs out of that batch, and then go in maybe one more time and record, and we should have a record for the spring or somewhat near there.

You're a busy man! You mentioned Neil Young — what did you learn from being around him, and then what do you think Neil took away from you and your band?

It's definitely a symbiosis between Neil and the band. We give and we take. He's a master, and so we've become his pupils in some ways. But then also, it's like as we learn more and we grow, then we give him energy at the same time. It's definitely a cycle. … People in the audience can feel that too I think, and they get caught up in the cycle and that's what makes for a great night.

Let's talk about A Star Is Born. What was it like to work on a film and operate in a different creative reality?

It was great, man. Bradley [Cooper] and [Lady] Gaga, I mean Bradley being a great musician and Gaga being a great actress, I'm really looking forward to seeing people's reactions to the movie and seeing how they like it. I think they really will. I think they'll like the music, it's all original that we wrote, and Promise Of The Real is in it. And there's music from Dave Cobb and Jason Isbell. Mark Ronson produced a bunch of stuff. And then Bradley's just so fantastic. I mean he put his heart and soul into it. So I'm really looking forward to when that comes out.

There's such a rich history here at Newport Folk Festival. It was 53 years ago that Dylan went electric here at Newport. What do you think, 53 years from now, fans are going to remember most about this era?

Well, I'll tell you what I visualize for that, because if we are, in fact, in 53 years still having music festivals, or even still alive as a human race in 53 years, that means we figured some things out. So I imagine it'd be a pretty beautiful celebration of music and love. ... I think that if we can learn to take care of our planet and have more music festivals and less wars, then I think that maybe in 53 years we'll all be here saying, "Hey, remember when ..."

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Leon Bridges and Jon Batiste

Leon Bridges and Jon Batiste

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

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Go Inside Newport Folk Festival 2018 go-backstage-us-newport-folk-festival-2018

Go Backstage With Us At Newport Folk Festival 2018

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Join us behind the scenes at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, R.I., for the country's most historic folk festival
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jul 27, 2018 - 8:05 pm

This year's Newport Folk Festival was full of fantastic music, friendly faces and special surpises right up to Sunday night's spectacular festival-closing "A Change Is Gonna Come" revue featuring soul star Leon Bridges and masterminded by Jon Batiste with the Dap Kings. They were joined on stage by a host of incredible guests - collaborations that could only have happened at Newport. You had to be there to believe it!

Newport Folk festival boasts an unmatched combination of tradition, innovation and good ole' fashion community. GRAMMY.com was on the ground in Newport, R.I., for one of the most eclectic — and electric — years in the festival's storied history. Take a look to see who rocked the stage and who dropped by to visit us backstage.

Brandi Carlile

Sunday headliner Brandi Carlile dropped in to discuss everything from the powerful messages of By The Way, I Forgive You to her love of fishing before she tore up the stage.

John Prine and Margo Price

Folk legend John Prine paid us a visit to talk about his wildly successful new album, The Tree Of Forgiveness, before rising star Margo Price dropped in to say hello. With a stellar album currently making waves in the americana music world and a recent cameo in Prine's "Knockin' On My Screen Door" video, we had plenty to talk about with the pair of master songwriters.

Amanda Shires

Photo: Douglas Mason/Getty Images

The incredible Amanda Shires wowed the audience by performing songs from her upcoming album, To The Sunset.

Lukas Nelson at Newport Folk Festival

Lukas Nelson and his band, Promise Of The Real, rocked Newport hard on Saturday. After their set, he stopped by to chat about the many, many projects he's working on and snap some portraits with us.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band at Newport Folk

New Orleans musical institution Preservation Hall Jazz Band arrived in style, dressed fresh in white and bearing instruments. We sat down with bandleader Ben Jaffe to talk about the musical message they take with them everywhere they go. 

JD McPherson

We asked JD McPherson all about his latest album, Undivided Heart & Soul, focusing on his fuzz-heavy single, "Lucky Penny" and the soulful "Crying's Just A Thing That You Do," with he co-wrote with fellow Newport Folk performer Butch Walker.

Bermuda Triangle at Newport Folk

Meet Becca, Brittany and Jesse of Bermuda Triangle, a new trio from East Nashville who turned an impromptu jam into a real deal band. The ladies came by to tell us how they started playing music together and talk about their experience at Newport Folk.

Mumford & Sons

Photo: Douglas Mason/Getty Images

Surprise! This year's suprise headliner on Saturday night of Newport Folk Festival was none other than Mumford & Sons. The band made their first ever appearance at Newport, and called up a host of guest including Maggie Rogers, Brandi Carlile, Phoebe Bridgers, and more.

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Jazz/folk duo Tuck And Patti stopped by after they kicked off day one of the festival to talk about what makes Newport so special, their upcoming projects and even drop some advice on making it as a musical duo and a married couple.

Fantastic Negrito - Newport Folk 2018

Hot off the release of Please Don't Be Dead, Oakland, Calif., neo-blues hotrod Fantastic Negrito had some wise words to share backstage about true artistry, the good vibes at Newport and where he keeps the GRAMMY he received for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 59th GRAMMY Awards for The Last Days Of Oakland.

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Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius showed up in stunning matching blue to talk about their latest "acoustic" album, Nudes, why they love coming back to Newport and what they're working on next.

Paul Cauthen and Shakey Graves

While we were chatting with Alejandro Rose-Garcia, aka Shakey Graves, his friend and ours, Paul Cauthen, dropped in to talk about the Newport hijinks he'd been getting into so far and how the festival is the perfect setting for connecting with all of their closest musical friends.

St. Vincent

Photo: Douglas Mason/Getty Images

St. Vincent closed things down Friday night with a haunting set, proving Newport Folk is, and has always been, about pushing the limits.

Rachael & Vilray

Ever since college, Rachael & Vilray have shared a love for '30s and '40s traditional jazz. The duo came through to talk about the Newport experience, reveal what makes the music they love so enduring and pose for our cameras.

Sidi Toure

Photo: Douglas Mason/Getty Images

Sidi Toure tears up the stage on day one, bringing the Newport Folk Fest crowd to their feet.

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Hot off the stage, New Orleans' Tank And The Bangas pulled up to take a quick snapshot and tell us how excited they were to share their music with the equally excited – and receptive – Newport crowd.

Hiss Golden Messenger at Newport Folk

MC Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger came through after his set to talk about the natural way his Halelujah Anyhow album came together and how being a father has meant everything to him as an artist.

Valerie June at Newport Folk

The ever-entertaining Valerie June stopped by to talk about the incredible vibes at Newport and breakdown one of her most cosmic songs, "Astral Plane."

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Thirty Tigers artist Tyler Childers shared his impressions of Newport Folk as well as some insight on his 2017 album, Purgatory.

Lone Bellow at Newport Folk Festival

The magnetic trio The Lone Bellow paid a visit to our corner of the fort to talk about Walk Into A Storm and tell the touching story of "May You Be Well."

The Wood Brothers

Apropos of being situated right on the water at Newport's Fort Adams State Park, the Wood Brothers discussed the various water themes and symbols that flow through their latest album, One Drop Of Truth.

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The musical journeyman Phil Cook swung by to see us and talk about why he loves Newport Folk Festival, his new - and first - solo album, People Are My Drug, and why now is a crucial time in music's history. 

Stay tuned for much more to come from Newport Folk Festival 2018.

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Dolly Parton At Newport Folk 2019

Photo: Douglas Mason/WireImage

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Newport Folk 2019: Relive The Music & Camaraderie newport-folk-2019-relive-all-surprises-highlights-exclusives

Newport Folk 2019: Relive All The Surprises, Highlights & Exclusives

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From Dolly's big surprise to Brandi's big weekend, join us at the 60th Anniversary Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island, as we round up the moments you may have missed, plus peek in on our exclusive backstage access
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jul 29, 2019 - 5:35 pm

It’s hard to believe the first-ever Newport Folk Festival took place 60 years ago, mainly because the vibe at this year's fest feels so future-facing, so switched-on, and so decidedly in-the-now. But in truth, Newport Folk has been a breeding ground for revolutionary change since the beginning. On-the-ground and by-the-sea at Fort Adams, you can't get far without talking to someone about Bob Dylan going electric here in 1965, or Mississippi John Hurt bringing Delta blues to a whole new audience three years earlier in 1963, or Judy Collins introducing two young songwriters to the Newport crowd a few years later who just happened to be Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, or... or...

Newport Folk 2019: Recording Academy "On The Road"

History aside, the first force of nature you notice about this year’s Newport Folk is the powerful and dynamic female-driven lineup, highlighted by Friday’s headlining debut of the Highwomen, a new supergroup featuring Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris and Amanda Shires. Saturday’s surprise headlining slot, mysteriously marked on the schedule as four female symbols, turned out to be the first all-female collaboration in the festival’s history. Also, remarkable performances by Sheryl Crow, Kacey Musgraves, Jade Bird, Maggie Rodgers, I’m With Her, Lucy Dacus and more. 

But the surprise of the year—and each year at Newport there are many—was the Saturday night “Collaboration” when none other than Dolly Parton, joined by her frequent collaborator Linda Perry, jumped up on stage with Crow, Carlile, Collins and more, providing Newport ’19’s most memorable moment. 

yeah… no big deal…..#LEGENDS https://t.co/Gca5VY6H7b

— Newport Folk Fest (@Newportfolkfest) July 28, 2019

Not to be outdone, Sunday was magical in its own way, highlighted by Hozier’s soulful set with special guest Mavis Staples and Lake Street Dive’s Rachel Price. But the most chill-producing musical moment Sunday beloved to Carlile, the same way the entire arc of Newport ’19 seemed to belong to the incredibly warm, gracious and talented GRAMMY winner. She joined Hozier on-stage for a rendition of her GRAMMY-winning song “The Joke,” trading verses with Hozier, then silencing the crowd with her vocal delivery of the songs climax before an uproar of applause. 

Brandi Carlile On Forgiveness & "The Joke"

Festivalgoers had plenty to cheer for at this year’s Newport Folk, but what they didn’t see was the action backstage. It’s not uncommon to see impromptu rehearsals, joyous reunions and excited first meetings between artists while walking through the all-access areas of the festival. The Recording Academy setup shop to speak with some of Newport’s brightest stars, one-on-one, for exclusive interviews.

For instance, we caught up with Friday’s main event, The Highwomen, to hear about their new singles and forthcoming album. We spoke with well-traveled Texas country breakout artist Charley Crockett, who also came well-dressed in a brand-new bright-red suit. We sat down with rising star and Queen of Country Soul, Yola, who ended up making guest appearances everywhere during the weekend, winning over new fans in droves.

Yola On Being The Queen Of Country Soul

We were also honored to talk with Judy Collins about her rich history at Newport dating back to the days of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. We even got to talk with Our Native Daughters, the powerful new group featuring Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, Allison Russell to hear about their moving debut album and performance.

For all of this coverage and much, much more, including interviews with Amy Ray, Molly Tuttle, Lukas Nelson and many more, visit our exclusive photo gallery and see who else stopped by to say hello and snap some pics in our portrait studio.

.@molly_tuttle, @iamyola, @lukasnelson, @adiavictoria, and many more artists came through to discuss music, life, culture what makes @Newportfolkfest feel like home. https://t.co/48X4Pm5ghW

— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) July 28, 2019

At the end of the day, Newport is about the music and the people, and backstage in a beautiful side room of the Fort, artist after artist tells us how attentive the audiences are and how well the staff treat everyone. This is the spirit behind the festival that — 60 years after it’s inception — continues to bring the music community together, push the boundaries of artistic conventions, give a voice to artists to fight for what they believe and build lasting friendships and connections with all those who make the journey to Newport. See you next year!

Backstage At Newport Folk Festival's 60th Anniversary

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Charley Crockett

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

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A Walk Through 'The Valley' With Charley Crockett charley-crocketts-walk-through-valley-thats-what-artists-do-newport-folk-2019

Charley Crockett's Walk Through 'The Valley': "That's What Artists Do" | Newport Folk 2019

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"I think everybody in life has to walk through the valley, and a lot of times, we got to do it by ourself. That's part of the struggle and the beauty of being a human being," the country troubador told us at Newport Folk Fest
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jul 27, 2019 - 3:00 pm

Some voices are unmistakable. True modern troubadour Charley Crockett has one such voice, and he knows how to use it. Street-trained and road-worn, Crockett's musical journey has bounced him around the globe, from his homeland of Texas, to New Orleans, Barcelona, Paris and more. At every stop in his journey, he's sharpened his skills as a singer of storytelling songs. But his latest twist in the road might also be his most cathartic.

Charley Crockett On His Walk Through 'The Valley'

On Sept. 20, he will release The Valley, his fourth album in three years, which he recorded in the weeks leading up to what would be a life-saving heart surgery. Sung by a man who's made a global voyage with the uncertainty of his own return, these songs read as the next chapter of his chronicles. According to Crocket, channelling his life experiences, no matter how dire, comes with the territory.

"It's what artists do," he says, when asked the complicated question of how such intense uncertainty shaped the songs and performances of his new album.

Just after Crockett's first-ever performance at Newport Folk Festival, we sat down with the sharp-dressed man to hear about his forthcoming project, the journey it took to make it and how singing songs on subways and in train stations taught him everything he knows about making music.

This is your Newport Folk debut - what makes this festival special to you?

Oh, it has to be the heritage. It has to be the history, my man, it really does. And I've been looking out over this harbor since we got here this morning, it's just a real special place. So I'm thinking about some of those greats like Lightnin' Hopkins and a lot of the Bob Dylan and the folk artists, and the just the roots music artists that transformed America through this festival and that decade and that era, that lives with me. That's what I know about the festival… and I was shocked to get invited. So thanks to whoever made that happen.

Yesterday, you announced your new album The Valley is coming out on Sept. 20. What can your fans that have been following your career expect from this album?

I think everybody in life has to walk through the valley, and a lot of times, we got to do it by ourself. That's part of the struggle and the beauty of being a human being. And I've recently just been through some things in my life, and lots of people are going through stuff, but I had some life-saving heart surgeries that ultimately, to be honest with you, it just kind of transformed the way I see my life and the wold around me. Well, I recorded these songs about a week before those operations, just really uncertain about where I was going. If I was going to stay here, go up to the house, or just the quality of life. So, I made those recordings and I urged the people around me to put it out.

Hey, you can pre-order my upcoming album “The Valley” now: https://t.co/T5OVussdu6
Pre-save on @Spotify and hear “Borrowed Time” and “The Valley” today: https://t.co/wZXq5pm77H pic.twitter.com/pSDZIRKKmt

— Charley Crockett (@CharleyCrockett) July 26, 2019

How do you think that intense uncertainty manifested musically for you on this album?

That's what artists do, and it's our responsibility to reflect our times. That's what artists are here for, I think, or whatever you want to call it. So, that's all I'm doing. I'm just painting pictures of the life that I'm seeing, and I have learned from my journey to pull from tradition to find myself. But I am a man of my times, so I have to project this time too. That's all I can do, is reflect living now. And a lot of the spirituals that I've learned over the years playing in the street and traveling like I have, refer to life as the valley. A lot of the Carter Family stuff that I've really gotten into. Just that spirituality, it's a universal thing when you talk about something like the valley, or that mountain to climb. And we don't want the mountain to disappear, we want the strength to climb it.

Wow, that's an incredible answer. You've lived and played music all over the world. What's your approach to playing to a festival crowd where you've got some people who know you very well and are singing along, and you've got some people hearing you for the very first time?

I suspect most of them are hearing me for the first time, and it's why somebody like me, I might have a lot of anticipation coming to this place. I learned how to do this in public, like actually. A lot of people might be afraid to get out in public and play on a street corner or in a subway platform or inside a subway car. I have traveled around the world and just counting on people to lend you a hand, and when you come at music from that direction, people aren't asking you to be there. So, when people interact with you, that's a very real exchange that I can feel and see and understand.

I guess the short way to answer that question for you is, I've spent my whole life learning to stand behind my guitar, and the reality is half of what we do is the people listening. Literally, half of it. I'm only doing half of it because that's the whole thing. It wouldn't be an art if there wasn't somebody listening to it. And once somebody hears it, it honestly belongs to them as much as it does to you. If it means something to somebody, I'm lucky enough to have that going on.

"It wouldn't be an art if there wasn't somebody listening to it. And once somebody hears it, it honestly belongs to them as much as it does to you. If it means something to somebody, I'm lucky enough to have that going on."

What was the selection process like for your 2018 covers album, Lil G.L.'s Blue Bonanza? Are these songs you've been playing your whole life?

Yeah. To be honest with you, what it is mostly is songs I've known for years, and that's why I play so much stuff that comes from anywhere from gospel to country to blues to soul music or traditional jazz or whatever you want to call it. It's mostly songs that I've just been picking up over the years that I just always thought were so good, and look, I write a lot of songs. I write a whole lot of songs, but I just don't think I'm worth anything if I'm not learning the great songs from before me, for myself personally.

And a lot of the giants, the people that I see as maybe my mentors or heroes were anybody from even a Dolly Parton or a Etta James or Hank Williams or somebody like that, Willie Nelson, these people are amazing songwriters. But if you look at their catalog, half the stuff they ever recorded they didn't write, and there is something to be said for when a great artist knows when a song is so great it has to be sung. Because sometimes the song is best sung by somebody that didn't write it, and sometimes the only person that can sing it well is the writer.

You know of some kind that I can see that's growing, I just figure that each time I put out a record, it's doing better than the last one, and that's a real blessing. So I'm going to do what I've been doing, which is I live on the highway and I play really hard. I been doing that ever since my mama got me a guitar at a pawn shop, going toward the valley nonstop. I'm going to Europe in a few days. I got to get home to my lady for a few days and tell her I love her, and then I bet before we know it again it'll be Newport next year.

We look forward to seeing you there and good luck on everything.

Thanks a lot, I appreciate y'all taking the time to speak with me and I'll be twice as good next time.

Backstage At Newpork Folk Festival's 60th Anniversary

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