BEYOND NEWPORT
United Folk Festival has something for everyone – at a price that can’t be beat
If you don't have a ticket to the Newport Folk Festival, you're out of luck. The onceagain hot and hip summer fest sold out months ago. You can, however, make tomorrow's United Folk Festival, across the state in Westerly, R.I., at Wilcox Park. And don't worry, it won't sell out. It can't.
United Folk Festival is a free, family-friendly, open-to-anyone concert with a sound akin to Newport. But the organizers of the party are quick to point out, they're not trying to compete with Newport.
“I'd call it a free alternative to Newport if you want to see similar music in a similar environment,” said Tony Nunes, who is helping to organize the event.
Nunes programs The United Theatre, an arts space in Westerly that is behind the festival. Last year, Nunes and a small team of music fans tested the waters with a smaller concert featuring three bands on one stage. This year has been jacked up significantly: indie rock champions Blitzen Trapper, Rhode Island heroes The Low Anthem, The Barr Brothers (whom New Englanders may remember from the awesome band The Slip), and nine other artists on two stages.
For a free concert, the list of artists is impressive.
“I had to call in a lot of favors,” said Sean W. Spellman, who plays in the band Quiet Life and headed the United Folk Festival's artist advisory committee. “We have a limited budget, but I tried to give the lineup as much of a national feel as I could. I think we did a great job of finding artists that sound different but work well together. I tried for a lineup that would appeal to all ages and all generations, some folkie stuff, some classic rock stuff, that somethingfor-everyone approach.”
While United doesn't have the firepower of Newport (yet), Spellman believes the unique setting makes it ideal. Unlike larger events, nobody needs to miss a moment of music. The two stages will face each other and sets won't overlap, which means all you need to do is pick up your chair, do a 180, and you're in position for the next band.
“People are going to love the site,” Spellman said. “Wilcox Park is a national historic landmark and an arboretum. It's not like seeing something in some dusty fairground. It's a really cozy place.”
Currently, Westerly's biggest musical legacy is Taylor Swift and her vacation home. Part of the mission of the fest is to highlight the resurgent downtown and growing artistic community.
“Swift lives just down the road from The United Theatre and is famous for these July 4th parties with all of her friends,” Nunes said. “We kind of wanted to reclaim the holiday for Westerly and for our guests. We wanted to show them the town has a lot more to offer than the beach.” The United Folk Festival, featuring Blitzen Trapper, The Barr Brothers, Langhorne Slim and more, at Wilcox Park, Westerly, R.I., tomorrow, free; unitedtheatre.org.