Scan the roster of artists playing the Newport Folk Festival next week and you’re gonna see some pretty big names: Maggie Rogers, Billie Strings, Noah Kahan, CAAMP – the list goes on and on.
You’re also gonna see this name: Dan Blakeslee. That’s because the southern Maine troubadour has been booked to play the legendary festival on the MAIN STAGE!
That’s right, the very stage where Bob Dylan went electric and Mississippi John Hurt finally found an audience after years of toiling away in obscurity is going to be home to Blakeslee’s compelling blend of insightful songwriting and soulful performance.
For a musician, it’s a pretty big deal, and no one deserves it more than Blakeslee.
The man’s a road warrior who plays literally hundreds of shows throughout New England each year. And when he’s not on stage in some club or theater, he’s often out busking somewhere here in Portland: Tommy’s Park, Wharf Street, wherever there’s decent foot traffic and room for him to play his guitar. He’s a master of his craft, and his audience is growing as more and more people get hip to his authentic sound.
But the Newport gig is something special.
“I have been attending Newport Folk Festival for well over a decade now,” Blakeslee writes on his website. “In 2010 I started busking at the festival end and every year I would do the same. I was asked a few times to do a short set at the ‘Family Stage’ and a couple songs at the ‘Museum Stage’ and a few years ago dubbed the ‘Official Busker of The Festival.’
“I’ve made poster art for NFF a number of times. Each one of these experiences has stayed with me fully and completely, and with each year feeling more a part of the NFF folk family. This year I am playing Newport Folk Festival ‘Fort Stage’ — the Main Stage … I am beyond elated, and words cannot express the gravity of this moment I’ve been dreaming for as long as I’ve been making music. Thank you Newport Folk Festival many times over for believing in me.
If you want to catch Blakeslee’s set at Newport, but you don’t already have tickets, you’re SOL. The festival’s been sold out for a while now. Of course, you could always get on the waiting list and hope for something to break your way, but a better choice would be to save your dollars and pick up his new record, which drops on Aug. 25.
Called Road Hymns, it’s a collection of tunes that are road- and tour-related, recorded at various locations as he traveled from gig to gig.
Or you could just catch him out on the street, busking somewhere. Just remember to drop a few bucks in the case when you see him.
Dan Blakeslee plays the Newport Folk Festival on Sunday, July 30, at 11:25 a.m.
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