Newport Folk Fest Update: 4 More Acts and Buy Tickets NOW

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Newport Folk Festival is quickly shaping up to be the event of the year. They've only announced six acts in all, and all six are absolute winners. Joining the aforementioned Mavis Staples and Houndmouth are Jenny Lewis (making her Newport debut), Shovels & Rope, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and the reunited Nickel Creek. This makes three holdovers from last year (Houndmouth, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and Shovels & Rope, but Newport might be the only festival that can pull it off without seeming repetitive. The Newport community is more like a family than a concert festival, so seeing the same bands there numerous times just feels right. Plus, I skipped Shovels & Rope last year to watch all of Frank Turner's set, and while I didn't exactly regret it, the two songs I saw them do made me need more. The Nickel Creek reunion was on my personal prediction list, so I'm thrilled to see that they're officially playing. Nickel Creek is a reminder to keep your eyes open on all performance spaces since they did a surprise reunion at the kids' tent in 2012.

 Also, if you're holding off on buying tickets, buy them now. As in right now. Saturday single day tickets and two day passes are sold out, meaning there are only three day passes along with Friday and Saturday only tickets. Gone are the days of deciding if you're going to go once you look at the weather report.

 For more information including tickets, go to www.newportfolk.org. You can also check out a video of Nickel Creek in the kids' tent at Newport Folk Festival 2012.


On Repeat...

Liam Kazar - "Shoes Too Tight"

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Photo by Alexa Viscius This may be Liam Kazar's debut single, but the Chicago based musician already has an impressive resume, having worked with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, and others. "Shoes Too Tight" features childhood friend Spencer Tweedy on drums, Lane Beckstrom on bass, and Ohmme on vocals. It's an absurdly fun and groovy little song that is a party waiting to happen. What he gives us here is a timeless song that could truly have been released any time since the 1960's (ok... maybe not the 80's...) There are elements of classic rock, 60's crooners and R&B, indie rock, modern Americana... it's really just packed with everything in a cohesive song that maintains the vibe the entire way through. You can watch the video for "Shoes Too Tight" below. For more on Liam Kazar, check him out on Instagram and Twitter . He's also raising money on his Bandcamp for Constellation and The Hungry Brain. ...
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Dutch ReBelle - "GOONIEZ"

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How is Dutch ReBelle not a national superstar at this point? The Boston MC just released "GOONIEZ," and I know I'm a bit out of touch with current mainstream hip hop, but this song is absolutely killer. It's a stripped down hip hop song that has this futuristic space age sound to it. Plus, ReBelle's flow is unsurpassed. You can't listen to her and not be completely sucked in. The song has a feel reminiscent of classic Missy Elliott. As much as I love that we can still see Dutch ReBelle in smaller Boston venues, "GOONIEZ" proves she should be playing much larger venues nationwide very, very soon. You can watch the video for "GOONIEZ" below. For more on Dutch ReBelle, check out the artist's website . 
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The Freqs - "Witch"

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Photo via Facebook When you're a rock band from Salem, MA, you have to have at least one song about witchcraft. The Freqs have fulfilled their obligation with a banger of a song. "Witch" is this giant monster of a song, filled with fuzz and strained, screaming vocals. This is the type of song that doesn't usually exist in this century. It's giving me some serious 90's flashbacks, like if Hum got aggressive or Alice in Chains decided to do some damage on the college charts. As great as the vocals are in "Witch," what's really drawing me in is the instrumental break down that takes over about halfway through. This is the kind of song to make the hipsters and the headbangers equally excited. You can listen to "Witch" below. For more on The Freqs, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram . The Freqs · Witch
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