On Saturday, July 26, BGS and Good Country will return to Newport Folk Festival for another very special benefit aftershow, The Good Country Goodtime, featuring actor-comedian-musician James Austin Johnson (of SNL) and special musical guests. Each year, in the evenings after the festival winds down at Fort Adams State Park, Newport Folk hosts a variety of aftershows at venues around Newport, Rhode Island, each benefitting the Newport Festivals Foundation. Tickets went on sale today at 1pm EDT / 10am PDT – and sold out immediately. Join the wait list and get more info here.
Last year, BGS and our co-founder Ed Helms hosted A Bluegrass Situation at the Jane Pickens Theater on Saturday night of the festival. The sold out superjam styled show featured performances by Helms and his Lonesome Trio, Langhorne Slim, Tony Trischka, Billy Bragg, Rhiannon Giddens, Madison Cunningham, Andrew Bird, and many more.
This year, it’s a brand new show, an exciting re-imagination of our recent creation, The Good Country Goodtime, a variety show in the style of iconic old-timey radio shows, jamborees, and barn dances that’s a modern celebration of country, comedy, and everything beyond, below, and in between.
Hosted by Saturday Night Live cast member – and burgeoning Music Row songwriter – James Austin Johnson and written by comedy, radio, and podcast writer Greg Hess, the Good Country Goodtime will build on the show’s format as debuted by BGS and Good Country at Dynasty Typewriter in Los Angeles in September 2024. (Watch a humorous house band performance of “Who’s Gonna Feed Them Hogs” from the Dynasty Typewriter edition of the show below.)
The Newport Folk Fest rendition of our variety show will feature a who’s who of musical and comedy guests from the festival lineup and beyond, with many a surprise and once-in-a-lifetime moment in store. Hilarious sketches, iconic collaborations, a stellar house band, classic songs from the country canon, and plenty of homages to Newport Folk Festival and its country legacy will be sure to charm the Jane Pickens Theater audience.
On the evening of Saturday, July 27, BGS returned to the fabled Newport Folk Festival for the first time in a decade to host a very special after show event, A Bluegrass Situation, hosted by our co-founder Ed Helms, Noam Pikelny, and friends. Held at the Jane Pickens Theater in Newport, Rhode Island, the evening – which benefitted the Newport Festivals Foundation – was produced by BGS executive director Amy Reitnouer Jacobs in partnership with the festival team. The star-studded concert sold out almost instantaneously.
“In today’s overcrowded music festival market, it can be rare to find that place that maintains both comforting familiarity and curatorial daring do,” said Reitnouer Jacobs. “One of the last bastions of this kind of audacious event production is Newport Folk Fest… Saturday marked exactly ten years to the day since the last time BGS curated a stage for Newport. Here’s hoping our next return to Fort Adams will be far sooner!”
Helm’s own band, the Lonesome Trio – with Jacob Tilove and Ian Riggs – served as the evening’s house band, including pal Noam Pikelny (Mighty Poplar, Punch Brothers) on banjo. They kicked off the evening with a pair of bluegrass classics and were on hand throughout the show to back up many BGS friends & neighbors, including Rett Madison, young mandolin phenom Wyatt Ellis, frequent BGS collaborator Langhorne Slim, bluegrass banjo trailblazer Tony Trischka, and more.
Festival mainstay Billy Bragg made an appearance (appropriately covering Bob Dylan), as did Alisa Amador, who also joined singer-songwriter Kaia Kater on a performance of Kater’s original song, “Nine Pin.” Kater was back on stage again later in the evening for a banjo throwdown with Helms, Pikelny, Trischka, and Rhiannon Giddens all picking “Cluck Old Hen,” which brought down the house. Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham, who performed Buckingham Nicks at the festival during the weekend, stopped by for two songs, while elsewhere in the set Giddens called on her musical collaborator Dirk Powell – and Powell called on Giddens – for a pair of selections as well.
“Ed and Noam gathered a gaggle of old friends and buzzy new talent for one of our best bluegrass jams yet,” Reitnouer Jacobs continued. “Rhiannon Giddens and Langhorne Slim warmed up backstage alongside artists making their Newport debut, such as Wyatt Ellis and recent BGS Artist of the Month Kaia Kater (whose supergroup New Dangerfield would take the main stage the next day). Rett Madison dazzled us with sartorial style and voice, and surprise guests dropped by – like Tony Trischka and John C. Reilly. Like any good bluegrass jam, you never quite knew who was going to take the next break, but you knew it was going to be damn good.”
Reilly – arguably best known as an actor/comedian – is also an accomplished Americana songster, and joined his old friend Helms on a rendition of the Stanley Brothers’ “It’s Never Too Late,” to the delight of the Jane Pickens Theater crowd. To close the evening, the full cast of stellar artists, musicians, and creators came together to jam on a few rousing group numbers, including a touching a capella encore of “Amazing Grace.”
Newport Folk Festival is a sacred space in our roots music community; we were so proud and honored to return to the event to host A Bluegrass Situation and offer a stage to so many of our dearest friends in bluegrass, folk, and Americana. Relive our special after show with these photos from the evening:
Our A Bluegrass Situation co-hosts and house band, Ed Helms and Noam Pikelny with Jacob Tilove and Ian Riggs of the Lonesome Trio. By Nina Westervelt.
Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell warm up backstage at the Jane Pickens Theater for A Bluegrass Situation. By Josh Wool.
Billy Bragg takes the stage during A Bluegrass Situation. By Nina Westervelt.
Old friends John C Reilly and Ed Helms backstage during A Bluegrass Situation at Newport Folk Festival. By Josh Wool.
Young mandolin phenom Wyatt Ellis joins the house band on stage during his first time appearing at Newport Folk. By Nina Westervelt.
A longtime friend of BGS, Langhorne Slim was on hand for our A Bluegrass Situation after show. By Nina Westervelt.
Madison Cunningham and Andrew Bird share a quiet moment backstage. By Josh Wool.
Rett Madison joins the house band to sing "Silver Springs." By Nina Westervelt.
John C Reilly takes the stage with the evening's house band and Ed Helms. By Josh Wool.
Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham in duet during A Bluegrass Situation at Newport Folk Festival. By Nina Westervelt.
John C Reilly waves to the crowd at the sold-out Jane Pickens Theater in Newport, RI. By Nina Westervelt.
Dirk Powell and Rhiannon Giddens in a dressing room backstage during A Bluegrass Situation. By Josh Wool.
Langhorn Slim with the Lonesome Trio on the stage at A Bluegrass Situation, our Newport Folk Festival after show. By Nina Westervelt.
All photos by Nina Westervelt and Josh Wool, as noted. Lead Image: Nina Westervelt.
A decade after BGS’s first appearance at Newport Folk Fest, we’re thrilled to be returning to Rhode Island for A BLUEGRASS SITUATION, a special late night aftershow hosted by Ed Helms and Noam Pikelny on Saturday, July 27.
We’re putting together an evening of old school bluegrass and folk favorites that we’ll be playing with some long time friends and very special guests. Won’t you join us?
Tickets go on sale this Thursday, 6/27 and all proceeds benefit the Newport Festivals Foundation. More information available here. Make plans to attend Newport Folk Festival here.
(Editor’s Note: Enjoy this exclusive video premiere from the team at Newport Folk Festival and their Behind the Walls series, featuring a performance of Flatt & Scruggs’ version of “Rollin’ in My Sweet Baby’s Arms” by award-winning Flatt & Scruggs bluegrass tribute band, the Earls of Leicester.)
Artist:The Earls of Leicester Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Rollin’ in My Sweet Baby’s Arms”
In Their Words: “The song ‘Rollin’ in My Sweet Baby’s Arms’ has long been a staple in the bluegrass canon. It’s a good, hard driving song about traveling and returning home to the one you love. Down to the details of some of the family members’ occupations. Also there is a slight Romeo and Juliet effect in the line, “I know your parents don’t like me.” Flatt & Scruggs probably had the best version, but it’s a crowd pleaser and works in any situation.” – Jerry Douglas
“The Earls Of Leicester are living embodiments of the traditions of bluegrass that have graced our stages for over 60 years. We’re grateful that they recorded a backstage Behind The Walls session with us at last year’s Newport Folk Festival. And big thanks to The Bluegrass Situation for sharing it far and wide.” – Christopher Capotosto, producer, Newport Folk Festival
Former trumpet player and anxious adventurer Caroline Cotter had been constantly on the move performing hundreds of live shows since 2015. At the dawn of the pandemic she had a full album in the can and ready to go. When the world shut down, so did she. She set her songs to the side and didn’t pick up her guitar for a long while. She left her city of Portland, Maine and headed even farther north to the Acadia region and reconnected with nature: i.e. hugging as many trees and rocks and one woman can. Also during that time, she had the opportunity to sit with her shelved album. She discovered something amazing in that stillness: She, along with co-producer Alec Spiegelman, had made a fucking bomb record. She went forward with release plans, blew up her Kickstarter goal and finally gave us her third album, Gently as I Go, this past August.
In our conversation, Caroline talks about what she’s like to work with in the studio (hint: she is not a relaxed and calm dreamboat) as well as her relationship to rest. As someone who has struggled with anxiety, she did not take to rest naturally, however, she’s cultivated a yoga and meditation practice in order to maintain calm. We also dig into her history: talking about how the ocean has remained a constant in her relationship to home. Growing up in Rhode Island, she and her siblings all took piano lessons. Heading to college, she majored in art with a minor in Spanish. She has a reputation for being a globe-trotter, which began in her travels to Thailand, Spain and Portugal as an international educator. She quit her day-job in 2015 to pursue music with a basically nonexistent fanbase. These days, Caroline’s fans are many and they are dedicated. You don’t find many independent musicians with such a devoted crowd as Caroline: they buy her music, they attend her shows, they put her up when she’s in town. So hello all you Cotter-Kickers, hope this conversation does your favorite songwriter justice.
Artist:Caroline Cotter Hometown: Providence, Rhode Island; currently Ellsworth, Maine Song: “The Year of the Wrecking Ball” Album:Gently As I Go Release Date: August 18, 2023
In Their Words: “I wrote ‘The Year of the Wrecking Ball’ in the winter of 2020 as I reflected on the challenges of transition and the act of letting go. I grew up in a brick house, in a quiet residential neighborhood on the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island. This home was my place of refuge, belonging, and comfort. Cozy mornings listening to records on the green rug by the heat vent in our family room, sliding down the long wooden staircase in sleeping bags, being sung to sleep by my parents, surrounded by a menagerie of stuffed animals. Then as I got older and my siblings left the house, nostalgia and the unkept lawn grew, paint chipped, and our family continued to change. When I was 20, my parents divorced and sold the house. It took me years to understand what saying goodbye to my childhood home meant to me. As painful as the loss was, it gave me a push to find belonging in the present moment, make home wherever I was, and see the light through the cracks. ‘The Year of the Wrecking Ball’ revisits a place and relationships that could never be the same, and finds gratitude in the spaces made by inevitable change.” – Caroline Cotter
Artist:Billy Gilman Hometown: Hope Valley, Rhode Island Song: “Roller Coaster” Release Date: March 15, 2023 Label: Pinecastle Records
In Their Words: “What is so refreshing to me about this bluegrass project is that I am finally to a point in my career where I am allowing myself to record the kind of music that I want to record. I grew up around bluegrass music and have so many fond memories of my grandparents listening to it. I really wish that they were here today to hear this album. I think they would be very proud, knowing what a big influence they had on me. … I am very happy that ‘Roller Coaster’ will be the first single. It is very fast and fun and catchy, and I think it will be a good introduction for me to the bluegrass audience. Hopefully this record will be well-received because I look forward to making many more in the years to come.” — Billy Gilman
Artist:Charlie Marie Hometown: Burrillville, Rhode Island Latest Album:Ramble On Personal Nicknames: Charlie
Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?
Patsy Cline was the first country artist I ever listened to. My grandmother can be very critical of singers, but she was in love with Patsy. I would listen to her CD over and over again. I got a Patsy Cline songbook, so I could learn her songs at my vocal lessons. What Patsy taught me was to sing with your soul. Hardship is inevitable in life, but when you feel the stories that you tell you can process that pain. When you feel the hurt in your voice and hold it, then let it go, it can set you free for a moment.
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
It was one of my first live performances. I was around 10 years old. My vocal coach, John Cottone, put on a show for his students’ friends and family. It took place at the Caruso Club in Lincoln, Rhode Island. I was really nervous, but once I got onstage the anxiety settled. I sang “Crazy” and “Walking After Midnight” by Patsy Cline while using a bar stool as a prop. I had this little skit that went along with the songs. I rehearsed it for days in my grandmother’s living room. When I finished everyone clapped and cheered. I felt a rush of joy exiting the spotlight and found my grandmother waiting for me near the students’ dressing room. She helped me change out of my show clothes and I told her how I wanted to be a country singer.
What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?
Luckily the fear and anxiety that come up around certain music events force me to meditate. Before a “big” show or before a studio day, meditating is what helps me put my head on straight. It helps me see the big picture and recognize what’s going on inside my mind and body. A few years ago I found Tara Brach on YouTube and have been visiting her website weekly ever since. On her site, she has hundreds of free meditations and “talks” for people to use. I highly recommend giving one of her meditations a whirl.
Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?
My favorite place to write songs is rested on the grass. I spend most of my time with the earth and air. During the summer I deeply enjoy being with the ocean. Luckily I live in a secluded area surrounded by woods. When I’m sitting on the front steps and the sun is shining down, all I want to do is write a song. Being in the elements inspires me. It is the place I feel safest and where creativity flows.
Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?
My ideal pairing would be Frank Sinatra alongside a plate of Chicken Sorrento and homemade pasta from Pat’s Italian Restaurant in Johnston, Rhode Island. Local Italian restaurants always play him in the background. Every time I experience the combination I feel young again. Everyone is together and we are all having fun.
Where do you begin to talk about bluegrass at Newport Folk Festival? And how do you capture 60 years of musical magic in just one show? The curators of the festival’s archive have taken a very cool approach, pulling out musical highlights from their first decade as well their most recent decade for the upcoming Burnin’ & Pickin’ Bluegrass set.
The 90-minute show — featuring some recordings that have never before been released — will stream during the festival’s Revival Weekend on Saturday, August 1, starting at 1:37 pm ET. The list of performers on the show has not yet been announced, but considering the breadth of talent that the festival has hosted, you might hear iconic figures like Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe, and Doc Watson, or a new generation that includes Carolina Chocolate Drops, Old Crow Medicine Show, or Gillian Welch & David Rawlings. Legendary artists like Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, and Elizabeth Cotten could potentially show up on the set list, too.
One thing we do know: The Burnin’ & Pickin’ Bluegrass set will include this previously unreleased recording of Ralph Stanley and Ray Cline’s “Sally Goodin'” from 1968.
To honor the festival’s incredible heritage, please consider a donation to Newport Festivals Foundation, which in the last year has provided financial relief to over 400 musicians impacted by the pandemic and over 100 grants for music education programs across the country.
Billy Glassner, archivist for Newport Folk Fest, tells BGS, “Bluegrass has always been an important ingredient in the Newport Folk magic. From its first year in 1959 when Earl Scruggs brought the Cumberland Gap to the shores of the Narragansett Bay up through last years’ collaboration between Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle, that high lonesome sound has been a constant companion to the Newport Folk Festival.”
Glassner hints at more music to come from the vault, too. He adds, “The Newport Folk Archives house an embarrassment of bluegrass riches and curating this set proved to be a joyful yet challenging experience. The only way we were able to make the tough decisions of what to cut was with the knowledge that this is only the beginning of our efforts to make the recorded history of Newport more available to our fans.”
Artist:Chance Emerson Hometown: Hong Kong, China / Providence, Rhode Island Song: “Annabelle” Album:The Raspberry Men
In Their Words: “My songs tend to take on the energy of the place they were written. I wrote this up in rural Maine so it was particularly fitting that the video ended up being shot there. This song has grown closer to me, especially recently with the shuttering of schools in this period of social distancing. I wrote ‘Annabelle’ as a goodbye to my friends in high school but it’s become significant to me yet again in these times. I’m certainly a bit of a worrier about this entire situation and when I’m firing off probabilities and news headlines at breakfast, my mother likes to quote this song: ‘Everything will be alright in time.’ A lot of friendships won’t last through your life. A lot of friendships fizzle out. Many good things must come to an end — hence the last line. There’s a little bit of the whole idea that ‘you don’t know how good you have it until it’s gone,’ too. Maybe you can’t truly treasure a relationship until it’s over.” — Chance Emerson
“We had been working on a cut of a short when a friend showed us Chance’s music. Immediately ‘Annabelle’ spoke to us and we couldn’t help but feel that the pieces shared common themes. Both are concerned with youthful relationships, anxiety surrounding their future, and the hopeful acts undertaken to preserve that future. Right away we began recutting the short to fit the song and luckily Chance felt the same way we did.” — Rob H. Campbell and Davíd Antonio Martín of Vacationland Collective (Directors)
Photo credit: Chance Emerson as photographed in Hong Kong by Manisha Shah
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