The 2023 Newport Folk Festival in Photos

Whether by design or by circumstance, the 2023 Newport Folk Festival marked a departure from recent years’ editions, with no blockbuster surprise appearances from giants like Joni Mitchell or Chaka Khan (although James Taylor did some emergency fill-in duty and was an unexpected favorite of at least one 15-year-old journalist). There were so many notable moments, though. The Hold Steady nearly blew the canvas roof off the Quad Stage—lead singer Craig Finn quipped that he always thought the band was too loud for Newport, but that seeing Dinosaur Jr. at last year’s fest assuaged his concern. Two African bands—Mdou Moctar and Jupiter & Okwess—turned in joyous, raucous sets we’ll be remembering for a long time. More traditional acts like Jaime Wyatt and Willi Carlisle wowed, too. And Billy Strings ended the festival with a bluegrass set that would have been right at home in a Newport 50 years ago. Here are some of our favorite images from the weekend.

Aimee Mann