From: martin@bootes.cis.umassd.edu (Gary Martin)
Subject: Re: Newport Folk Fest info???
Organization: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1992 05:54:23 GMT

In article <2880031@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com> skurz@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com (Jan Skurzynski) writes:

   Hi folks!

   Looking ahead into the summer months I am considering making my first trip
   to the Newport Folk fest weekend of August 8.  Thanks to good old United
   Frequent Flyer tickets I'll be bringing my partner (we have an accoustic
   duo that plays around Idaho regularly) as well as a couple of friends who
   are good pickers and back us up on occaision.  So with that as an intro I
   have a few questions for those "in the know" about Newport:
	   *What dates (exactly) does the festival run?
If you know it's the weekend of the 8th, then it's Saturday and Sunday of that
weekend (assuming no change from the pattern of the last 3 years - haven't
heard anything definite yet).
	   *What kind of facilities are nearby for lodging, airports, etc.
	    and how early do you need to book them?
Don't know lodging precisely, but it's a posh resort town, so there's bound
to be plenty of expensive hotels, but book well in advance.  I'd guess that
there are some cheaper places up near me in Fall River, MA, like the Hampton
Inn (508-675-8500) or the Best Western Airport Inn (800-528-1234) etc.  This
is about 45 minutes north of Newport.  How many airports would you like?  
There's T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, RI, which would be your best choice
for Newport, and Logan in Boston.  Several tiny local airports offer direct
flights to Boise :-)
	   *Is there much jamming around campfires type of stuff at NFF?
I don't think you have an accurate picture of this festival.  It's strictly
"pop-folk" from one big stage aimed at an oversized crowd packed too 
tightly in an otherwise ideal setting.  There are so many distractions 
from audience members who obviously aren't there for the music that it's
difficult to get involved with the performances.  No camping, no campfires,
no participation.  You pay your money, you sit on the ground, and you eat
Ben & Jerry's ice cream.  Oops - I forgot - you wait for a long time at the
gate while they check to make sure you aren't carrying any bottles.
	   *How much are the tickets this year?
Probably quite a bit.  They were around $22 per day plus $5 to park when
I went in '89.
	   *Is there anyplace in the (semi-) near vacinity that we could
	    try to line up a night or two of gigging (demo stuff available)?
There's a club in Newport called the Blue Pelican (sorry, I don't have a
phone number or address for them) that has acoustic music and blues.  About
1 hr 30 min north, in South Easton, is the Blackthorn Tavern, which has
folk performers (low pay, no cover, bring your own sound system).  They are
at 402 Turnpike St., S. Easton, MA  (508-238-9017).  There's a club called
CAV (14 Imperial Pl., Providence, RI 401-751-9164) that might be worth a
try.  But most of the music in New England is in the coffeehouses in 
Unitarian churches, and most of these close during the summer festival 
season.
	   *Any new word on confirmed line-up? -I've heard that Little River,
	    David Wilcox, Patty Larkin and Suzanne Vega are confirmed already.
	   *Anyone have an address/phone number for folks in charge that I 
	    can call and get tickets/info from?
These numbers are from 3 years ago, but they might still be valid:
PO Box 1221, Newport, RI  401-874-2840  or 212-496-9000.
	   *Any suggestions for other things to do or places to see while 
	    there? (I am planning on renting a car).
Haven't done much in the area myself yet :-), but there's supposed to be
a nice tour at the Sakkonnet Vineyards in Little Compton, RI, the Whaling
Museum in New Bedford is probably worth a trip, and then there's Boston.

   Thanks for any help that you can give....
Hope it helps. And hope you enjoy it more than I did.  And speaking of
hope, hope you try Hope Beer, from a rather good Rhode Island based
microbrewery.
   Jan Skurzynski

--
Gary A. Martin, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, UMass Dartmouth
Martin@cis.umassd.edu