Phoebe Bridgers, Mavis Staples, More Set for Virtual 2020 Newport Folk Festival
The 2020 Newport Folk Festival was canceled back in April due to the spread of COVID-19. Now, in its place, Newport Folk has announced a a virtual event featuring performances by Phoebe Bridgers, Mavis Staples, Leon Bridges, Sharon Van Etten, Deer Tick, Jim James, Jason Isbell, Roger Waters, and more. The Folk on Revival Weekend will take place from July 31 to August 2 and will include a combination of music performances (which have been pre-recorded), Newport Folk Revival Radio, audio archives, and the screening of an original film.
“In the history of this festival, there has never been a time like we’re in now,” Executive Producer Jay Sweet said in a press release. He continued:
A global pandemic shuttering our plans to congregate before quickly shifting into the biggest civil rights movement in over 50 years. Many of our lives have drastically changed, financially, emotionally, and/or irrevocably. It has been painful for many of us, on the front lines fighting the pandemic, on the front lines fighting social injustice and especially for those losing loved ones along the way.
While it was an emotional gut punch to cancel the festival in a year where it is so clearly needed, we felt it was imperative to our community to do something. Music has always brought our family together, even when we’re divided. The Newport stage has always been a sanctuary for artists to speak their minds on the times in front of us, not with merely one voice alone, but many in unison. This year’s Newport is no exception, collectively representing what it feels like to be human in today’s world by amplifying our convictions. For 2020 these voices will be our megaphone, these events our stage.
Read “What Happens When a Music Festival Is Canceled Due to Coronavirus?” on the Pitch.
Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
