By Paul Robicheau

Newport Folk Festival will likely never deliver cameos as ground shaking as those in 2022, when stars aligned for Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon to grace separate tributes. But it doesn’t have to, given that there’s so much talent already on-site.

Jesse Welles at Newport Folk. Photo: Paul Robicheau

Like a complete unknown, Jesse Welles made his case as the new face of the Newport Folk Festival this past weekend. Sporting a fluffy mane that said early ’80s Metallica, Welles wielded an acoustic guitar in brashly clever songs that said early ’60s Bob Dylan, skewering United Health and Walmart and calling attention to Gaza in satirical encore “War Isn’t Murder” before Saturday afternoon’s main-stage crowd at Fort Adams State Park.

Like brethren old and new, Welles sat in with other musicians throughout the weekend. For Sunday’s sprawling covers finale, Jesse went electric at his Newport debut, singing the Beatles’ “Revolution,” then smashing that guitar to the stage, stomping on it in a final gesture. Already honored as Newport’s 2025 John Prine Songwriting Fellow, the Arkansas native was also named MVP at the fest’s delightful inaugural charity softball game (held in a downtown field the evening before the music began), flashing a mean throwing arm at third base, showing off a sharp swing, and even sliding home for a run.

Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe of Lucius with Mavis Staples at Newport Folk. Photo: Paul Robicheau

Of course, Welles wasn’t the only one scoring at Newport Folk, which sells out in a flash, before its performers are announced. This year’s lineup bustled with other head-turning newbies, from singer-songwriters Jensen McRae (serving a tartly resonant “Savannah”) and the heartbreaking Ken Pomeroy to the giddily charismatic indie-rockers Flipturn and Indiana late bloomer Stephen Wilson Jr., who served an emotive ode to his father as well as memories of grunge-era inspirations in “Year to Be Young 1994.” Surprising newcomers included the softly healing Afro-Appalachian folkie Mon Rovia (a childhood refugee from civil war-torn Liberia) and Tyler Ballgame, a bearish Rhode Island native blessed with an art-soul voice. The fest also featured African artists BCUC (a percussive sextet bringing rock attitude to ritualistic songs that will also hit Newport Jazz this weekend) and Obongjayar, who stalked the stage with pretzel-like mic grips. And queen diva Big Freedia brought New Orleans bounce to Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock.”

They were balanced by disparate heavyweights in stadium country act Luke Combs and old-school rap revolutionaries Public Enemy, respectively closing the Fort and Quad stages on Saturday. Combs displayed a hearty sandpaper voice and reverence for Newport’s legacy with the Appalachian tune “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” and Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin” (albeit patterned after Keb Mo’s cover). He choked up halfway through his personal song “Fathers & Sons,” but took comfort from fans’ empathy. But favoring low-key, contemplative tunes while sitting on a stool for most of the set kept the energy low. Until Combs cranked up “Fox In the Henhouse,” cutting loose some electric guitar for a rowdier final stretch capped by “Fast Car” (without writer Tracy Chapman to fulfill hopes of reprising their Grammys duet).

Chuck D and Flavor Flav of Public Enemy at Newport Folk. Photo: Paul Robicheau

On the other hand, Public Enemy met the moment in surprisingly vital form. Now in their mid-60s, rappers Chuck D and a rejuvenated Flavor Flav (less cartoonish with a smaller stopwatch necklace) locked in as a tag team with robust, well-enunciated raps, backed by two DJs and a tight live drummer. Chuck D hotly denounced global conflicts, and they hit a mid-set swing of “911 Is a Joke,” “Welcome to the Terrordome” (with a Newport namedrop), and “He Got Game,” which interpolates Stephen Stills’s “For What It’s Worth.” They ended with “Fight the Power,” Flav stage-diving into the SRO crowd.

At the other end of the spectrum, ’70s folk-pop veteran and ’80s soundtrack king Kenny Loggins, now 77, was shortchanged by Friday’s hour-long shelter order for a thunderstorm, but he sang “I’m Alright” and “Footloose,” then joined the time-restrained jam band Goose for “Danger Zone.” Only singer Jessica Pratt lost a chance to perform because of the storm, as the small Harbor stage returned to life with the woozy orchestral sound of ex-Pixies member Kim Deal’s new 10-piece band (which included strings and horns), from the carefree new “Coast” to her old Breeders splash “Cannonball.”

Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Newport Folk. Photo: Paul Robicheau

Yeah Yeah Yeahs closed Friday’s mid-sized Quad stage with the core trio fronted by the flamboyant Karen O, likewise expanded by a string quartet, piano, and second acoustic guitar. Slowing down tunes, the group took the edges off “Isis” (not the Dylan song) to haunting effect, showcasing Brian Chase’s classical training on drums, but “Maps” never swelled to potential.

Jack Antonoff closed Friday’s opening day with a Newport edition of his Ally Coalition Talent Show supporting LGBTQ causes. Though buddy Taylor Swift, who has a mansion in Westerly, didn’t make it, the set served the fest’s first true guest parade. Weyes Blood (Natalie Mering) sang a creamy “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” then she was joined by Waxahatchee (Katie Crutchfield) to join Antonoff and his band Bleachers on Roy Orbison’s “You Got It.” Droll songwriter Dan Reeder and his daughter Peggy sang “Maybe,” noting of dead people, “When they’re gone, they’re gone.”

Kevin Morby with Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee at Newport Folk. Photo: Paul Robicheau

Then came the night’s biggest surprise guests. Rufus Wainwright chose to sing a Dylan song at Newport, bringing his dramatic style to “Not Dark Yet,” adding the kicker, “but it’s getting there.” And Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams bounded out to sing her new solo tune “Mirtazapine” and Modern English’s ’80s hit “I Melt with You,” spinning with glee. By now it was getting dark, with a soft orange sunset. Friday’s final set sailed well past its expected curfew by about a half hour due to the storm.

Newport will likely never spring cameos as ground shaking as those in 2022, when stars aligned for Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon to grace separate tributes. But it doesn’t have to, given that there’s so much talent already on site. Newport Folk operates as a family of returning and developing artists who’ll gladly fill a bevy of guest appearances. In addition to Welles (whose rounds included Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” with lively singer Sammy Rae and “Maggie’s Farm” with Margo Price), some artists made several cameos in addition to their own sets. Among them were Maren Morris, Jeff Tweedy (mostly tapping tunes by his main band Wilco, including a strings-cushioned “Jesus, Etc.” with Lucius), S.G. Goodman, Lukas Nelson, and Nathaniel Rateliff, who opened the fest with a semisecret solo set at the Harbor stage, then sang with Hannah Cohen.

Jeff Tweedy and Remi Wolf at Newport Folk. Photo: Paul Robicheau

Remi Wolf took guest-hosting honors on Saturday, her midday Quad set devoted to classic covers, from Canadian pop singer Saya Gray splitting Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” to Morris helping to slay Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery” (a song Welles sang earlier with John’s son Tommy Prine). The day also included sets from Newport veterans Bonny Light Horseman (particularly shining on “Old Dutch”), Iron & Wine (fest producer Jay Sweet announcing leader Sam Beam’s birthday to a serenade by fans), and I’m With Her, the bluegrassy folk trio of Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O’Donovan, who tucked Sabrina Carpenter’s “Expresso” onto their set list. Brazil-based Boston native Evan Dando seemed a bit distracted when he began a set with the resurrected Lemonheads by himself, though his trio mates tightened the punch of favorites like “It’s a Shame About Ray.” But the first Quad set on Saturday proved one of the weekend’s best: after hosting the pedal-powered Bike stage for four years, Virginia rock duo Illiterate Light seized its opportunity by thrashing in sync like Neil Young’s Crazy Horse shot through a light socket. Guitarist Jeff Gorman played synth bass with his feet and standup drummer Jake Cochran leapt offstage mid-song to ride a bicycle around the tent before returning to lash into his kit again.

Margo Price at Newport Folk. Photo: Paul Robicheau

Sunday took cameos to another level, first with Lucius on the Harbor stage, which was way too small for enough people to catch such an essential set.  After their dalliance with dance pop, Lucius was at peak power with singers Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe backed by a trio swapping guitar, bass, and tribal drums. The secret was out that Mavis Staples was in the house; the soul legend oozed excitement as she was slowly helped onstage to join “Go Home,” completing a picture of cross-generational sisterhood. And, to round out guest turns, Rateliff joined the Lucius duo for a resonant take on R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts.”

But the main event was the collaborative finale “Songs for the People,” steered by Bonny Light Horseman’s Josh Kaufman with a house band that included keyboardist Phil Cook, drummer Joe Russo, and Lake Street Dive bassist Bridget Kearney. At times it seemed to be a showcase for protest music, given emcee John C. Reilly’s calls for unity, resistance, and helping people in need (on a weekend where several artists called for a free Palestine). That was underscored through songs like Tracy Chapman’s “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution” (sung by Hurray for the Riff Raff’s Alynda Segarra) and two Woody Guthrie numbers, “All You Fascists Bound to Lose” (fired up by Mary Chapin Carpenter and Goodman) and particularly “Deportee,” tenderly unspooled by Price after she yelled “Fuck ICE!” to the crowd of about 10,000.

But other featured songs were popular classics, such as Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic” (with vocals by the Swell Season and horns from the funk outfit Snacktime), the late Brian Wilson’s “God Only Knows” (led by Lucius), and Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee,” split by Morris and Nelson. Trombone Shorty pumped life into Allen Toussaint’s “Yes We Can Can” (sung by Amy Helm) and the Grateful Dead’s “Eyes of the World,” sung by Eric D. Johnson and Leslie Mendelson along with Goose guitarist Rick Mitarotonda and Mt. Joy front man Matt Quinn (whose band covered “I Know You Rider” during the previous set, showcasing a stronger guitar presence as Mt. Joy heads to TD Garden Sept. 20).

Snacktime horns, Josh Kaufman, Lukas Nelson, and the Swell Season’s Glen Hansard at Newport Folk. Photo: Paul Robicheau

Not everything worked well. Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” benefited from gospel singers the Union more than Rateliff’s shouted climax (no one should really cover that song other than the late Jeff Buckley — except for Wainwright, and he had left). And the National’s Matt Berninger made the Flaming Lips’ “Waiting for a Superman” a momentum killer near the end of a long weekend.

But the homestretch picked up, topped by Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” as a searing set-closer of dual guitars where Wilson Jr. lent distorted contrast to singer Nelson’s clean leads. And before everyone assembled for the traditional folk closer “Goodnight, Irene,” Matthew Logan Vasquez belted out the Who’s “My Generation” as a final exclamation point.

With Staples slowing down at 86 and new stewards such as Rateliff reaching middle age, it’s clear that the Newport Folk Festival needs to belong to the younger generations, something increasingly evident with both the performers and fans. Seeing artists such as Welles and Goodman step to the fore alongside Rateliff and Lucius offered fresh hope.

Paul Robicheau served more than 20 years as contributing editor for music at the Improper Bostonian in addition to writing and photography for The Boston Globe, Rolling Stone, and many other publications. He was also the founding arts editor of Boston Metro.