Newport Folk’s Unannounced Slots…

I received an email from my wife yesterday with an excel file attached containing day by day break downs, inclusive of ratings of bands she wants to see, ones she wants to see partial sets from, and “if nothing else is going on” kind of things…which I fully welcome, as I love the NFF app for push notifications and off the cuff announcements, but I prefer a grid format for my festy planning purposes. (Green – catch as much as possible/start there, yellow – catch most of the set, red- pass…you get it)

 

Anyway, it got us talking about those unannounced slots. For those without a smart phone or unaware: Friday from 5:30-6:30, Saturday from 3:50-4:20, then of course there is the 65 Revisited set, but I am sure we all have some ideas (and hopes) about that already.

It got me thinking and trolling some of the festival message boards for answers. Everything from Elvis Costello to Mumford & Sons and even a Tay Swift comment or two (I think she still has that giant house near Newport?).

One thought in particular that seemed interesting was the set directly before Roger Waters with no lag time…meaning the band before him will likely be his backing band. My Morning Jacket is a festival favorite and has backed Waters in the past, so it is not far fetched to think that.

Also, the Saturday slot is a quick one…so a solo performer is likely and with The Decemberists closing the day and Colin Meloy having played the festival in the past, I would put my money on a Meloy solo set.

Jay Sweet has been vocal about his desire to do the entire festival in this manner, and while my wife and I may disagree on attending a festival where no one is announced, I would gladly put my day in the hands of my folk family at Newport and be first in line for tickets.

It will be interesting to not only see “who”, but also how an audience reacts to these unannounced sets. What do you guys think?

 

P.S. if you want a copy of the grid view shoot an email to redlineroots@yahoo.com