Newport Folk Festival Announces Additional Performers

NEWPORT, RI, June 29, 2012

The Newport Festivals Foundation has announced lineup additions, rounding out the final schedule for the 2012 Newport Folk Festival set to take place July 27-29 once again at the picturesque Fort Adams State Park. Saturday and Sunday Newport Folk Festival sessions are sold out, while tickets to Wilco's Friday, July 27, evening performance are still available at http://www.newportfolkfest.net and http://www.ticketmaster.com.

In a nod to the Newport Folk Festival's legacy of melding musical legends with the new voices of folk, Del McCoury and Tao Rodriguez Seeger will join the lineup as special guests of Preservation Hall Jazz Band, performing as Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Friends featuring the legendary Del McCoury and Newport Folk Family member Tao Rodriguez Seeger.

At age 73, McCoury remains at the forefront of American bluegrass, is a recipient of the National Endowment of the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a member of the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.

As Pete Seeger's grandson, Tao Rodriguez Seeger was not only born into the Newport Folk Family, but has come into his own within it as well - having performed on his own and as a guest of a number of other musicians throughout the years.

Traveling the world with a mission to nurture and perpetuate the art form of New Orleans jazz, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is no stranger to both familial and musical traditions, themselves. Celebrating their 50th Anniversary, the band is named for the famed French Quarter music venue charged with protecting one of the last pure music experiences left on Earth. Founded by Allan & Sandra Jaffe and, now directed by their spirited son Ben Jaffe, members of The Preservation Hall Jazz Band have passed down musical lessons and traditions through the generations.

The Martin Busking Series, presented by 2012 Newport Folk Festival guitar partner Martin Guitar, welcomes two promising, local, up-and-coming musicians, Jonah Tolchin and GraveRobbers, to the grounds of Newport. True to Folk traditions, these two artists will appear both on stage and periodically throughout the grounds during the weekend - exposing festival goers to the spontaneous, impromptu nature of the art of "busking."

C.F. Martin & Co. (www.martinguitar.com) has been creating the finest instruments in the world for over 175 years, introducing techniques and features that have become industry standards. One of the world's leading acoustic instrument makers, Martin guitars are hand-made by skilled craftsmen and women, who use a combination of new design and techniques along with those introduced by the company founder.

At age 15, Jonah Tolchin shared the stage with the legendary Ronnie Earl, and has since taken to playing everything from Americana and old time folk to acoustic blues and whatever he finds in between. Tolchin plans to fit right in at Newport - he recorded with Newport Folk alumni such as Joe Fletcher, members of The Low Anthem, and Brown Bird on his latest album, "Criminal Man."

New England locals GraveRobbers are as eclectic as they are ambitious. Their latest release, "Burgundy," balances elements such as blues electric guitar with acoustic strumming and a near-mournful harmonica on tracks such as "Rochester, NY," and then mixes it up with a signing saw and banjo on "Clarisse McClellan." Singer James Maple is joined by bandmates Will Houlihan, Ryan Briggs, and Lauren Maloney.

In connection with newportFILM's screening of the Sony Pictures documentary film "Searching for Sugar Man" on Saturday, July 28, at the Jane Pickens Theater in downtown Newport at 8pm, Newport Folk Festival will bring Rodriguez, "the greatest '70s rock icon who never was," to the festival the next day, Sunday July 29th.

Having once been thought of as the finest recording artist of his generation, Rodriguez was dropped from his label following the commercial disaster of his first album "Cold Fact." Disappearing into oblivion amid rumors of his death, most commonly thought to have been an on-stage suicide, a Rodriguez bootleg became a phenomenon in South Africa. It was then that two fans set out to find out what really happened to their hero. "Searching for Sugar Man," depicts the surreal story of Rodriguez and the search led by his dedicated fans, and is a 2012 Sundance Film Festival & Tribeca Film Festival award winner.

newportFILM was founded in 2010 to serve and celebrate film artists and enthusiastic audiences of the medium, and expands on Newport's proud history of culture and artistic patronage.

With the addition of the intimate Museum of Yachting Stage, the Newport Folk Festival finalizes its 2012 plans for the picturesque grounds of Fort Adams State Park. The festival's fourth stage will provide yet another historic backdrop for its performers. The indoor stage will feature mostly singer/songwriters in a cozy, unplugged setting.

Often likened to "coming home" to the very roots of the folk-music tradition, the Newport Folk Festival is an annual favorite of fans and musicians alike. The laid back, at home feel has been known to inspire artists' spontaneous, on-stage sit-ins as well as unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime, impromptu performances throughout the festival grounds.

Since 1959, the Newport Folk Festival has presented the very best of this country's blues, roots, gospel, country, bluegrass, Cajun and traditional folk music. This year's edition once again pays tribute to the great performers who wrote the proud history of this festival. As in recent years, the festival continues to welcome the next wave of folk voices.

The Newport Folk Festival welcomes the return of Alex and Ani as sponsor of the Harbor Stage. Alex and Ani offers eco-friendly, positive energy infused products that adorn the body, enlighten the mind, and empower the spirit, designed by Carolyn Rafaelian and Made in America with love.

The Newport Festivals Foundation was founded by George Wein in 2010 to build up and continue the legacies of the famed Newport Folk Festival and Newport Jazz Festival. Under the auspices of the Foundation, the Newport Folk Festival presents performers who respect and honor folk music traditions, and at the same time reflect the changes in today's musical trends. Through the establishment of partnerships with local schools and colleges/universities, the Foundation will present programs to educate young people primarily from RI and New England, but also from around the globe, about folk music as presented at the annual festivals. For more information, please visit http://www.newportfestivalsfoundation.org.

TICKETS & OTHER INFORMATION

Tickets to the Friday, July 27, evening Wilco performance at Fort Adams are available for $45.00 at http://www.newportfolkfest.net and http://www.ticketmaster.com. Children under 3 are free. Service charges apply to all tickets purchased on-line or by phone.
Newport Folk Festival Saturday and Sunday tickets are sold out.
For more information, log on to http://www.newportfolkfest.net.

*The 2012 Newport Folk Festival is a production of Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc., a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation, under license from Festival Productions, Inc. and George Wein; all rights reserved.