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GRAMMYs

Parker Milsap

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

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Parker Millsap On Why He Loves Living In Nashville parker-millsap-covering-sly-stone-why-he-loves-living-nashville-newport-folk-2019

Parker Millsap On Covering Sly Stone & Why He Loves Living In Nashville | Newport Folk 2019

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"When you think of Nashville you think of country music, but it's everything," the singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist told the Recording Academy at Newport Folk Festival
Rachel Brodsky
GRAMMYs
Jul 28, 2019 - 10:08 am

Oklahoma-born roots-rock performer Parker Millsap has been making a name for himself for years now, ever since the release of his debut album, Palisade, in 2012.

Still riding the wave of his third record, 2018's Other Arrangements, Millsap stopped by Newport Folk Festival 2019 to play a set, which included an electrifying cover of Sly Stone's "Everyday People." 

"Amazon actually approached us to do the series they have called 'Amazon Originals' where they have people do cover songs," Millsap told the Recording Academy about the cover's origins "I really wanted to do a Sly Stone song 'cause I listen to a ton of Sly Stone. 'Everyday People' seemed like one I could get away with that people also knew, that everybody can sing along to. We hadn't played it live until we recorded it. And afterwards we were like, we should start playing this live. And people love it!"

Parker Millsap Talks Covering Sly Stone

The multi-instrumentalist also went deep on why he loves living in The Music City of Nashville, noting how genre-diverse its residents really are. (I.e., Nashville isn't just about country music.)

"I didn't realize how many musicians live in Nashville till I got there," he says. "When you think of Nashville you think of country music, but it's everything, man. Like, last night I met four people who live within a mile of me, and they're all musicians. I didn't realize the density of really talented and creative people [in Nashville]... That's my favorite thing about Nashville—the country people, the rock people, the metal people, the jazz people, the bluegrass cats, we all know the same people. We all have the same friends. It makes the world feel smaller."

Backstage At Newport Folk Festival's 60th Anniversary

GRAMMYs

Amy Ray

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/The Recording Academy

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Amy Ray Talks New Indigo Girls Music & Achieving Equality In The Music Industry | Newport Folk 2019

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"[Newport] s probably 50% women performers; that's a big deal. That's not happening at Bonnaroo and Coachella and all these other festivals, and it needs to happen everywhere," the contemporary folk figurehead tells the Recording Academy
Rachel Brodsky
GRAMMYs
Jul 28, 2019 - 12:10 pm

Amy Ray has a long history with Newport Folk Festival. In addition to attending the fest with her family as a kid, the singer and solo artist played Newport a number of times with her GRAMMY-winning contemporary folk band, Indigo Girls, in the '90s. 

Nowadays, Ray has six solo albums under her belt, including her most recent release, 2018's Holler, and she's playing Newport for the first time under her own name. The revered artist sat down with the Recording Academy on-site at Newport to talk about her admiration for the fest, new Indigo Girls music out early next year, what it was like to meet Bob Dylan at the GRAMMYs and what we have left to do in terms of achieving true equality in the music industry.  

Amy Ray Talks New Indigo Girls Music

Is this your first Newport?

Yeah, with Indigo Girls I played here about 10 times, probably, in the '90s.

Is it first with the Amy Ray Band, though?

Yeah, yeah. First time. We're green.

What makes this festival special for you?

Just being around all the other artists, honestly, the community vibe, meeting new people, and doing collaborations. It's a very engaging event so you leave feeling inspired by writers that you meet and people that maybe have been around forever.

For me, because we played back in the '90s so much, The Indigo Girls did. We did a long stretch of probably like eight years in a row at one point. Some of the older people that are here working security and crew, I knew them from then and that's cool to me. So, there's a continuation and a thread. I like that. It's all volunteers and there's a lot of people working here that are young 18 year olds, all the way to people that are in their 70s.

It's kind of a family environment.

Yeah, my family used to always come here with me, my mom and dad and my siblings. Last time I was here, my dad was alive and he's not alive anymore and it's cool to remember him and how he was very into music. It was always great to be here with them.

You mentioned meeting other artists and collaborators, and one thing that struck me about about your latest solo album, Holler, was that you had a lot of great guests.

I got lucky, to be honest. Well, my band is great. We had Kofi Burbridge from Tedeschi Trucks, who is passed away now, but he came in and played keys for the record and was part of the band for a couple of weeks. He's a good friend and that was a treasure to have had that experience with him. Now he's gone, but he was a great man.

Alison Brown came in and played banjo. She's a virtuoso. I had the Wood Brothers, Vince Gill, Brandi Carlile, Ruth May Harris, Justin Vernon, Phil Cook. People did me favors. I just can't believe they would be willing to [do that] kind of thing. 

It's been 30 years since the Indigos won their first GRAMMY. What do you remember about that moment for you to be recognized in that way?

We were so excited. Honestly, just being at the GRAMMYs was enough for us. Winning was like icing on the cake, but just getting to go. I met Bob Dylan. I met Flava Flav. I was sitting next to, I think, Patrick Stewart. Jean Luc Picard was sitting behind me. I was like, "This is crazy." Judy Collins was there. I was sitting at a table and I had on this hat, and Judy Collins had a similar hat on. Dylan leaned over and goes, "Judy, is that you?" I'll never forget that because I was like, "No. My name's Amy. I'm in a band called the Indigo Girls." He just goes, "Oh, yeah. Okay." And he walked away.

What's next for you in your band? You've got six solo albums now. Are you working on new music?

Indigo Girls are getting ready to put a record out in January or February. We have a record coming out that we're just about to finish mixing and master. My band and I, at this point, we've got like five more shows to play and then I'll go do some stuff with Indigos and I'll just go back and forth kind of between the two.

We just had The Highwomen in here and we were talking about gender equality in music. You've been playing in this industry for a long time, and I'm just curious if you're up for talking about what changes you've seen happen, and maybe what's left to be done in terms of achieving equality in the music industry.

There's a lot left to be done. There's a lot of progress though. Just this festival this, like Newport this year. It's probably 50% women performers. That's a big deal. That's not happening at Bonnaroo and Coachella and all these other festivals, and it needs to happen everywhere.

I think Brandy's doing a good job of pushing that and generally, she's doing a lot of different projects right now that push that agenda in a good way. That's important. I think we've come a long way, and I think people coming up, they have no concept of that kind of intolerance. They are going to be... We just need the old people to die off, honestly. Even me. We need to go away. I just mean the people that have old ideas, who are the gatekeepers still, some of them. They need to get out of the way for all the new people that have great ideas and are doing great things. There's still a lot of great old timers that were always open-minded that are good mentors and we need to honor them. There's a lot of work to do still. We still have a lot of racism to deal with. I think sexism and homophobia are one thing. I think racism is even harder. That's my feeling about it.

Backstage At Newport Folk Festival's 60th Anniversary

GRAMMYs

Our Native Daughters

(L-R) Rhiannon GIddens,Allison Russell, Leyla McCalla, Amythyst Kiah
Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

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Backstage At Newport Folk Festival's 60th Anniversary

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Find out who stopped by to see us behind-the-scenes of one of the most legendary music festivals of any genre or era, Newport Folk
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jul 27, 2019 - 9:16 am

Walk backstage with the Recording Academy at the 60th anniversary Newport Folk Festival in Newport, R.I., this weekend, as we take you inside Fort Adams for exclusive interviews and coverage of the 60th anniversary of the historic festival. From the Queen of Country Soul to the leader of Promise Of The Real, find out which artists came through to discuss music, life, culture what makes this community-driven festival feel like home.

*All photos by Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy unless otherwise noted

GRAMMYs

GRAMMY-winning folk icon Judy Collins stopped by to chat about the first time she attended Newport Folk in 1963, rubbing shoulders with Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, what the fest means to her and more - read the full interview here.

GRAMMYs

Dawes' Taylor Goldsmith said hello and posed for some portraits after delivering a special 10th anniversary set of their entire (and incredible) 2009 album North Hills on the Quad Stage.

GRAMMYs

Hayley Heynderickx and her band brightened up our day backstage, posing for portraits and talking about her debut album, I Need To Start A Garden. 

GRAMMYs

Kenya-born, Minneapolis-based singer/songwriter J.S. Ondara swung by to talk about what Newport Folk means to him, his prolific songwriting habits and more.

GRAMMYs

Colombia joropo group Cimarrón treated us to an unforgettable impromtu performance backstage. Be sure to spin up their latest album, Orinoco.

GRAMMYs

Colorado-based singer/songwriter Gregory Alan Isokov hung out after his set on the Fort Stage to pose for some photos and talk everything from touring to farming to songwring and more.

GRAMMYs

Three-fourths of The Highwomen stopped by to talk about their bold and beautiful two singles "Redesigning Women" and "Crowded Table," their message of inclusivity and their upcoming full-length album, out Sept. 6. 

GRAMMYs

The Nude Party came by to snap a few shots with the historic Fort Adams as the backdrop. Check out the North Carolina rock outfit's 2018 self-titled debut and catch them on the road and at festivals this summer. 

GRAMMYs

California-born, Nashville-based bluegrass master Molly Tuttle spent some time with us to talk about her debut album When You're Ready, her International Bluegrass Music Awards win and nominations, mental health and more.

GRAMMYs

Yola graced us with her infectious energy and opened up about her breakout album Walk Through Fire, working with Dan Auerbach and what it means to her to be the Queen of Country Soul.

GRAMMYs

Photo: Doublas Mason/Wireimage

Saturday's big suprise appearance did not dissappoint! The one-and-only Dolly Parton joined a female collaboration to remember, providing the biggest surprise of the weekend.

GRAMMYs

Lukas Nelson and Promise Of The Real hung out to tell us about the meaning and purpose behind Turn Off The News (And Build A Garden), the single "Bad Case," and why they’re inspired by the trajectory and music of The Band. 

GRAMMYs

Adia Victoria came through after her riveting set on the Fort Stage to discuss the meaning behind her stellar album, Silences.

GRAMMYs

Yola joined The Highwomen on stage to close out Friday night on the Quad Stage with an all-voices-on-deck sing-along of "Redesigning Women," one of the many special Newport moments. 

GRAMMYs

Moments before he delivered for a guest-heavy show-stealing performance, soulful singer/songwriter Hozier sat down with us to talk about his latest album, Wasteland, Baby!, Newport's magic and what he had up his sleeve for the afternoon set on the Fort Stage.

GRAMMYs

Devon Gilfillian gave a memorable performance on the Fort Stage, kicking off Saturday with energy and soul. We caught up with him afterwards to talk about his big hit "Troublemaker" and what he's got planned for us next. 

GRAMMYs

Photo: Nate Hertweck/Recording Academy

We spoke with the incomparabe Todd Snider about his new album, Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3, just before his set before a packed house on the Harbor Stage - read the exclusive interview here.

GRAMMYs

Ohio trio CAAMP swung by to talk about their album By & By, which dropped the same day as their Newport appearance, and discuss the global message of love behind its single "Wunderbar."

GRAMMYs

Madison Cunningham discussed her forthcoming album, Who Are You Now, a different kind of love song with "Different Kind Of Love," and the courage it took to cover Joni Mitchell.

GRAMMYs

Ruston Kelly swept through the fort with a smile, talked touring, writing and the process of making his introspective masterpiece Dying Star.

GRAMMYs

Rhiannon Giddens, Allison Russell, Leyla McCalla and Amethyst Kiah of Our Native Daughters sat down to discuss their incredible new collaborative project Songs Of Our Native Daughters and what it meant to cap their debut run of shows at Newport Folk. Read the full interview here.

GRAMMYs

Matthew Houck, a.k.a. Phosphorescent, came through to take some pictures and talk about what will follow his 2018 album C'est La Vie.

GRAMMYs

Amy Ray came through to talk all things Amy Ray Band, including her latest album HOLLER, plus future Indigo Girls plans, GRAMMY history and more.

GRAMMYs

Charley Crockett was dressed to the nines in a brand-new custom suit backstage at Newport to talk about playing The Valley, his upcoming album recorded just before his life-saving heart surgery.

GRAMMYs

Photo: Douglas Mason/WireImage

Maggie Rogers wowed the crowd at Newport, tearing up the Fort Stage with songs from her 2019 debut album, Heard It In A Past Life.

GRAMMYs

Bluegrass badboy Billy Strings went deep with us on the details behind his forthcoming album, HOME, what it means to take care of yourself on the road and more.

GRAMMYs

A fresh new supergroup played just their fifth or sixth show at Newport Folk, Bonny Light Horseman featuring Josh Kaufman, Eric Johnson and Anias Mitchell. We spend some time talking with the trio to hear how they dreamed up this new collaboration and find out what's next. Stay tuned for the full interview!

GRAMMYs

New Englanders The Ballroom Thieves sat down to talk about the kindness and gratitude that makes Newport special, how music can have a social impact and songwriting on the road.

GRAMMYs

Well-dressed Nashville singer/songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan chatted with us about the influence of songwriter like John Prine and Todd Snider, sharing the bill with Cheap Trick, rehearsing and touring. 

GRAMMYs

Liz Cooper, leader of Liz Cooper & the Stampede, sat down with us to discuss her band's latest live EP, Live In Chicago, including what the windy city has meant to her career, life on the road and more.

GRAMMYs

Nashville singer/songwriter Parker Milsap dropped in after his set to reveal how his electrifying cover of Sly Stone’s “Everyday People” came to be and relay his thoughts and feelings about playing at such an historic folk festival.

Erin Rae

Another Nashville singer/songwriter creating a big buzz, Erin Rae said hello and answered some questions about her new album Putting On Airs, how she got connected with John Paul White and more. Check out her interview here.

GRAMMYs

The O'My's stopped by to dish about their Above Ground EP, collaborating with Chance The Rapper and what's in-store next for the Chicago outfit.

GRAMMYs

Experimental rock duo Illiterate Light paid us a visit to talk about their unique stage setup and snap a few pics.

GRAMMYs

Australia's Angie McMahon made a sparkling appearance in our backstage portrait studio. Check out our exclusive interview with her all about her incredible new album Salt, which just dropped on Friday.

GRAMMYs

Legendary Gov't Mule frontman Warren Haynes paid us a visit to talk about playing Newport Folk in the past with the Allman Brothers Band and his special acoustic set this year’s fest. 

GRAMMYs

After starting Sunday off right with a groove-packed set on the Fort stage, Stephen Marley and Jo Mersa Marley stopped by to snap a few pics.

GRAMMYs

The hilarious and talented Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale of The Milk Carton Kids posed for some pics and talked about their "Sad Songs Comedy Hour," what it's felt like to be nominated for GRAMMY Awards and more.

GRAMMYs

British singer/songwriter Nilüfer Yanya talked with us about the inspiration behind her album Miss Universe, and took a moment to pose for our camera in the portrait studio.

GRAMMYs

Rayland Baxter shared the touching story behind his new tribute to Mac Miller, Good Mmornin, and told about his experience at Newport Folk.

Go Behind The Scenes Of ESSENCE Fest's 25th Anniversary: Party With A Purpose

GRAMMYs

Our Native Daughters

(L-R) Rhiannon GIddens,Allison Russell, Leyla McCalla, Amythyst Kiah
Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

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Our Native Daughters Look Back To Move Forward american-roots-music-supergroup-our-native-daughters-look-back-move-forward-newport

American Roots Music Supergroup Our Native Daughters Look Back To Move Forward | Newport Folk 2019

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The banjo-based quartet discuss how their new album drives the conversation of race in America forward. "We're looking back at the past, but the music is for today"
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jul 30, 2019 - 3:34 pm

Newport Folk has always hosted historic musical and cutural moments, but when the roots music supergroup of Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, Allison Russell, Amythyst Kiah know as Our Native Daughters close out their debut run of shows, history took center stage. 

Best described by Smithsonian Folkways, the album Songs Of Our Native Daughters "shines new light on African-American women’s stories of struggle, resistance, and hope. Pulling from and inspired by 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century sources, including slave narratives and early minstrelsy, [Giddens, McCalla, Russell and Kiah] reinterpret and create new works from old ones." 

"Black women have been makers and markers of social change in the United States for centuries, at this point," McCalla said. "I think this album is a part of that," adding, "We're looking back at the past, but the music is for today."

Just after their landmark first-ever set on the Newport Folk Quad Stage, the Recording Academy sat down with the quartet to hear how the project came together, what tools they used to create it, how they hope it will affect the narrative of history and more.

Why was Newport Folk the right place for Our Native Daughters perform in this brief initial tour?

Giddens: Well it just seemed like the right thing, because Newport folk festival has such a history to it and I know that they've been really trying especially recently to really build on that legacy. In a way, even more than they have in the past. You know, just really make it about the folk music and about what folk music can do. And so when the offer came in, it just made so much sense. If we could build a tour around it and let this be the sort of finale to this part of the tour, it's really amazing.

Obviously, this is a and very historical and research-heavy concept for an album, but the music rings out fresh and very alive. How did you approach the daunting task of balancing the historical elements with the musical elements?

Russell: Well I think we really approached it song by song. I would say Rhiannon was struck with the idea to do something like this when she was given a private tour of the National Museum of African American History and Culture with her daughter. And that's a painful experience for anyone, let alone a descendant of some of the people who were enslaved. And a quote, a William Cowper quote really sparked the idea, and it was a quote to the effect of, "slavery is terrible, but how could we do without our sugar and our rum?" And the correlation to our modern day dependence on technologies that are being supplied by slave labor… that connection really resonated in her mind and she invited all of us to come and join her and sort of explore some of that history.

Initially the project, the idea was to kind of explore some early slave songs and minstrel music and we did a little bit of that with, with her adaptation of 'Better Get Your Learnin'." But we really realized we had a lot, we're all songwriters and we had a lot of feelings to process around all of this painful history, which is so much in evidence that these ghosts have not been laid to rest. Clearly the divisiveness in our country, the kind of outright racist and fascist rhetoric that's coming from the highest offices in our land is indicative of the fact that this history is not sleeping easy. It is affecting our present on all of us directly and all of you, directly. And so we, we felt like we had some things to say.

Giddens: I think it's also just the recognition of the lack of reckoning around the effects of slavery in the United States and the Atlantic Slave Trade. And even though we come from this place of a lot of research and reading and engaging with like academic material, I think that we've been living in our skin our whole life and that's a part of our experience. We've inherited some of this trauma in different ways and we represent different parts of the African diaspora. And so it made sense for us to come together and try to process this together. And honestly we didn't really know what exactly that was going to land us. And, like Alli said, I really think it was song by song. It was like; 'I have this musical idea, I have this musical idea, I have this phrase that has been turning in my mind,' 'Well, oh, I just came up with something that plays off of that.' And it was very collaborative.

2019 ARTIST ANNOUNCEMENT: Please welcome Our Native Daughters (@RhiannonGiddens @jtandalli @LeylaMcCalla @amythystkiah) to this year's Sunday lineup. @newportfestsorg has made a donation on their behalf to @kidz_notes. Learn more: https://t.co/9IjxshNW2W pic.twitter.com/5JCaqe6Qr8

— Newport Folk Fest (@Newportfolkfest) April 10, 2019

Can you tell us more about the instrumentation and the instruments you used?

Kiah: The banjo was the centerpiece, all of the songs in some capacity needed to revolve around the banjo because the banjo is a descendant of the West African loot family. And historically, at least in contemporary music times, it has been very long associated with white male, three finger style bluegrass players. And that history has been sort of muddled and lost because of the segregation of the commercial music industry. There were black banjo players, black fiddlers and once the record executives wanted to market music, they assumed that, 'well only white people are going to listen to string band music,' so black people had to put down their banjos and fiddles and pick up a guitar and play the blues or play jazz if they wanted to make a living making music.

So this was obviously spun from Rhiannon's Inspiration, but her idea to take the banjo and to reclaim it as something that is also part of black culture because all of us in some capacity have lived like on the in-between of you know, not being black enough or not being white enough because of our interests and, even though by default, if someone is moved by music or move by something, they should be able to like it. There shouldn't have to be a birthright to be able to enjoy your love something, but just in case here is the historical backstory this instrument. And so that was really important to have that because that more or less blasts away the myth of like, 'what is blackness?' You know, what it means to be black, it goes to show that we're not a monolith and there's all sorts of ways to express yourself regardless of what your race is. So the banjo was really important. And then we had fiddle, we had drums and really just song by song, we kind of pieced together what instruments would make sense to serve the song. I think that's kind of kind of how we pieced arrangements together.

Giddens: Yeah, we were in Louisiana, we worked with Dirk Powell, who's a got a lovely, very small studio and it's kind of a built out of a very old, one room house that was once owned by a Creole family nearby. And it's just got all this history to it and he was great to work with, in that he was really very much setting up the sounds and then we just got in there and just did our thing… It was a very much a kind of fostering of like; 'I want what you want.' You know? 'I just wanna make it sound really good,' And so that it became a very safe space and it was a space where we all just felt very comfortable to, "oh and let me try this banjo or that or do that." And we weren't afraid to put electric guitar on and we weren't afraid to put modern instruments on it because it's not a historical record. It's something inspired by histories and inspired by these instruments and we wanted to use those sounds just because that's what we play.

Russell: We're all multi-instrumentalists, as well. We all do play banjo, different banjos, each of us. Rhiannon plays a fretless minstrel banjo, I play a five string, gut-string banjo, Leyla plays a tenor banjo, Amythyst plays a steal string. So we all have different banjos, but we also play other things. Amythyst is an incredible guitarist, Leyla is a classically trained phenomenal cellist. I tootle along on the clarinet and plink on the Ukulele [laughs humbly] and Rhiannon plays like eight to 25 instruments as far as I can tell-

Giddens: I play also fiddle [laughs humbly].

Russell: So we all, you know, we were kind of bringing all our little babies into the project as well.

McCalla: I think it's also that the banjo, like despite how much research we've done on the history of the Banjo, the Banjo is a modern instrument and it is relevant to the conversation of, 'what is folk music and what is American music?' I think the banjo is essential to that conversation. We're looking back at the past, but the music is for today.

What types of conversations are you hoping listeners will have from experiencing this album?

Giddens: Well, I'd like to think that maybe people that are possibly on the fence with the whole... I think this will really be helpful for the people that are like, "Well, isn't racism over? We elected a black president. Isn't racism done?" I think this is a record for people that are asking that question and these subjects are difficult to talk about just face to face. You can talk about it academically with other academics but when you talk to a person that doesn't know the history... A lot of people don't necessarily understand it or people get too upset and don't want to talk about it. Like they kind of go into like a bit of an emotional crisis of either not wanting to hear about it or being defensive.

And so music has a way of disarming people. It's like sugar for the medicine, if you will. You know, these are these harsh realities of things that happened. Because these things happened, this is why things have evolved the way they have, socially, in our culture. This is a way to to disarm people and allow them to think and realize, "oh, this is why we still need to talk about this," you know? Because we're all sort of wrapped in this trauma of that part of our history that still affects how we interact with each other and the kind of legislative policies that we make and all those kinds of things that affects that, whether people see it or not. And hopefully with this record, people can maybe start thinking about it and having that conversation.

The album's liner notes serves as an emotional, historical and contextual companion to the album, and the song by song information is very insightful Can you talk about how they support the music?

Giddens: Well, the liners were collaboration. I wrote the essay.

Russell: It's a great essay.

Giddens: I got together the bibliography, I really wanted people- I mean the problem is that people forget that something always comes from something else. So knowledge is always coming from a place and I have such a respect and such a debt to the scholars who really found such amazing, you know, facts and figures and put them all together. And especially nowadays, these incredibly sensitive, like really, really just well done books. And so I wanted people to know where to go, you know and also to say this is where I got my information from, because I'm not making any of it up and I don't want credit for that.

And then I asked the ladies to give what they would want people to know most about each song, and Dirk wrote something. I just think it's important also to acknowledge him, all of the folks at the Smithsonian Folkways, most of which are white dudes. There is a relationship with allies going on here and I think that that's really important because, in this day and age, there's a lot of kind of, us versus them and I'm like, the only way forward really is to accept the platform that's given to you and the help that comes along with that and then you say your thing. It was like we weren't in any way needing anybody to help us say what we wanted to say, we just needed the space to do it.

So it's really important, I think, to acknowledge that, and to say, "This is how we can work together and not by you guys writing our story, but by you guys letting us have the space to write our story." And in this day and age, that's what it takes, and that's okay. You know what I mean? That's the way to turn it around. It's not like, "No, we don't need your help." It's like, "No, actually, because of the behemoth that we're shifting, it's going to take that." It's going to take the handout and then, "thank you. I got it now." You know what I mean? "Thanks for giving us the space." So I just think that's really important to say, and I'm glad that the Smithsonian has the budget to put liner notes in [laughs].

Russell: And I think, something that you said, this idea of allyship and moving forward and we move forward together. It's a family, it might be a dysfunctional, broken family, but it's a family. This country is still very young and its strength is also where the fault lines can, you know, when there's fear-mongering going on, those fault lines can crack and break and people can have the illusion of some sort of inseparable gulf between themselves and someone they perceive as other. But as Rhiannon's other album posits, there is no other and it's a we, you know, it's a we, and we have to figure out how to talk to each other.

And you know, we were talking about so many of these songs, the reason we wrote them and the way that we connect with them emotionally ourselves, it's a lot of them are trying to make things personal. It's personal, it's not academic, it's not dusty, it's not ancient, dead history, it's personal, it's present. Empathy comes from being able to imagine yourself, your child, your family in that situation, in a given situation. And that's what our hope is, that we're building empathy and sharing empathy and being more empathetic ourselves and I think that is the only way forward.

McCalla: I think it's also so important to talk about the strength of black women in this country and worldwide, really. Because a lot of the time we talk about the victimization of black people, and I think that that's certainly part of the story, but it's not the whole story. And black women have been makers and markers of social change in the United States for centuries, at this point. So, I just think this album is a part of that. And I don't see any other completely black groups at the Newport Folk Festival, for example, you know? And so, it's a step forward. You have to start with one foot in front of the other.

Yola Ascends To 'Walk Through Fire' & Become The Queen Of Country Soul | Newport Folk 2019

GRAMMYs

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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Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy.