Mumford & Sons Welcome Many Guests For Surprise Newport Folk Festival Set

When organizers of the Newport Folk Festival confirmed the schedule for this year’s three-day event at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island there was one slot that particularly piqued interest. The Saturday headlining performance was listed as “UNANNOUNCED.” Turns out Mumford & Sons were the Saturday headliners last night and they were joined by an impressive array of guests throughout their 15-song set.

Mumford & Sons’ “superjam” of sorts began with Brandi Carlile, Maggie Rogers and Jerry Douglas adding to “Awake My Soul” from the London-based band’s debut studio album Sigh No More. What followed were six songs from throughout Mumford & Sons’ career, which may have led some to believe a typical set from the band was in store. However, all bets were off when Phoebe Bridgers emerged for a debut cover of Radiohead’s “All I Need.”

Carlile returned to the stage after “Ghosts That We Knew” to augment Mumford & Sons on both Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Boxer” and “Kansas City” from Marcus Mumford’s The New Basement Tapes project. Next came “Dust Bowl Dance” ahead of Maggie Rogers leading Mumford & Sons through her own “Alaska.” The grand finale was joyous version of “The Weight” by The Band featuring MC Taylor, Phil Cook, Mavis Staples, Carlile, Douglas and Rogers among those that filled the stage.

The 2018 Newport Folk Festival concludes on Sunday.

Watch a series of fan-shot videos from Mumford & Sons’ set captured by rac3m:

[All I Need w/ Phoebe Bridgers]

[The Boxer w/ Brandi Carlile]

[The Weight w/ MC Taylor, Phil Cook, Mavis Staples, Brandi Carlile, Phoebe Bridgers & More]