Best of The Newport Folk Festival

This past weekend folk lovers from all over converged on beautiful Newport, Rhode Island for the annual Newport Folk Festival. An event known for its history as much as its music, this year's batch of performers seemed to be extra special and thanks to NPR (seriously, thanks NPR) we can all pretend we were there. There are some videos and some audio - only performances, so check them out below.

For those of you on the west coast who didn't make the cross country trek to Rhode Island, fear not - the good folks from the Newport Folk Festival are putting on a west coast version at the Santa Monica Pier, dubbed Way Over Yonder. With a killer lineup including First Aid Kit, Conor Oberst, and Neko Case, it's sure to be a weekend of folk fun. And I'm not just saying that because its in my backyard. Although it helps with my excitement. Get your tickets here.

Lord Huron (click through for audio)
Setlist:
Ends Of The Earth
The Man Who Lives Forever
I Will Be Back One Day
Lonesome Dreams
We Went Wild
The Ghost On The Shore
She Lit A Fire
Time To Run
Brother
The Stranger
Mighty


Hey Marseilles (click through for audio)
Setlist:
To Travels & Trunks
Gasworks
Heart Beats
Dead Of Night
Elegy
Calabasas
From A Terrace
Bright Stars Burning
Rio

The Milk Carton Kids (click through for audio)
Setlist:
Hope Of A Lifetime
The Ash & Clay
Honey, Honey
Charlie
Michigan
Girls, Gather 'Round'
New York
Snake Eyes
I Still Want A Little More
Memphis

Michael Kiwanuka (click through for audio)
Setlist:
If You'd Dare
Tell Me A Tale
Always Waiting
May This Be Love (Jimi Hendrix cover)
Worry Walks Beside Me
I'm Getting Ready
Rest
I Need Your Company
Home Again
Bones
I'll Get Along

The Avett Brothers (Click through for full audio performance)
Setlist:
Live And Die
Go To Sleep
Down With The Shine
Will You Return?
Laundry Room
Old Joe Clark
At The Beach
Head Full Of Doubt / Road Full Of Promise
Pretty Girl From Chile
Just A Closer Walk With Thee
Fireball Mail
Gimmeakiss
Talk On Indolence
Slight Figure Of Speech
Life
No Place To Fall(Townes Van Zandt cover)
Kick Drum Heart
I And Love And You



The Lone Bellow (Click through for full audio performance)
Setlist:
You Can Be All Kinds Of Emotional
You Never Need Nobody
Two Sides Of Lonely
Tree To Grow
Green Eyes And A Heart Of Gold
You Don't Love Me Like You Used To
Angel From Montgomery (John Prine cover)
Watch Over Us
I'll Be (Edwin McCain cover)
Looking For You
The One You Should've Let Go
Teach Me To Know



Colin Meloy from The Decemberists (Click through for full audio performance)




Andrew Bird (Click through for full audio performance)
Setlist:
MX Missiles
Give It Away
Something Biblical
When That Helicopter Comes (The Handsome Family cover)
Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dyin' Bed
Dear Old Greenland
Begging Questions
Dark Matter
Tenuousness
Three White Horses
Headsoak
Danse Caribe
If I Needed You (Townes Van Zandt cover)
Don't Be Scared (The Handsome Family cover)



Phosphorescent (Click through for full audio performance)
Setlist:
Terror In The Canyons (The Wounded Master)
The Quotidian Beasts
A New Anhedonia
Tell Me Baby (Have You Had Enough)
A Picture Of Our Torn Up Praise
Song For Zula
Ride On / Right On
Nothing Was Stolen (Love Me Foolishly)
Los Angeles


Were you at the Newport Folk Festival this weekend? What was your favorite performance?

New Song and New Album From Mazzy Star

Last year, I left for vacation and came back expecting to have to shuffle through my inbox and blog feeds, surely to be overwhelmed by the amount of amazing quality music that the music gods had released while I was gone. Instead, I came back to this:

This year, however, my return from vacation has gone much better with the the music gods releasing some new music from Mazzy Star. Coming out with their first new album in 17 freaking years, they've released a teaser on YouTube that stays true to the original Mazzy Star formula, with Hope Sandoval's melancholic vocals floating atop bittersweet guitar strumming, making for a hauntingly gorgeous song.

After 17 years the echoing guitars and aching quality that permeates their music still resonates and drives this first single, "California," aptly named as it has the same soft bittersweet guitar as Led Zepplin's "Going to California." Somehow taking a happy, sunny place and giving it a melancholic aura, the single is also a great reminder of how timeless their sound is. The new album, "Seasons of Your Day" is out September 24th. Listen to "California" below. (via Pretty Much Amazing)