Mavis Staples, Robert Glasper Confirmed For 2021 Newport Jazz Festival
Newport Jazz Festival has revealed their 2021 lineup, featuring Mavis Staples, Wynton Marsalis, Khruangbin, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Andra Day and Robert Glasper as headliners. The festival is set to take place on July 30-August 1, 2021 at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, RI.
Robert Glasper will be playing sets on all three days, the first as Dinner Party with Terrace Martin, the second as his Robert Glasper Acoustic Trio + DJ Jahi Sundance and the third as A Black Radio Production: Robert Glasper with Special Guests. Dinner Party is his newest project, a soul/jazz supergroup between Glasper, Terrace Martin, Kamasi Washington and 9th Wonder, who put out a popular self-titled album in 2020. ‘A Black Radio Production’ refers to his popular 2012 release as Robert Glasper Experiment, Black Radio, which featured many major artists including Yasiin Bey, Erykah Badu, Lalah Hathaway, Lupe Fiasco, Bilal, We Are KING, Meshell Ndegeocello and a few others.
Mavis Staples has managed to consistently remain one of the most popular soul musicians with each new release since she began releasing music with The Staple Singers in 1956. She went solo with a self-titled debut in 1969, and has been regularly releasing new music since then. Her latest album was 2019’s We Get By. Recently, she’s collaborated with artists including Norah Jones, Jeff Tweedy and Run the Jewels.
Khruangbin released their third album in 2020, Mordecai, which proved to be their most eclectic and vocal release to date. They also collaborated with Leon Bridges on a popular EP titled Texas Sun. In support of those releases, the Texan psychedelic rock trio will be going on tour in Fall 2021, including stops at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, CA and Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheatre in Austin, TX.
Other artists announced for the festival include Christian McBride, Cory Wong, Yola, Makaya McCraven, Ledisi Sings Nina Simone, Chris Potter Circuits Trio, Charles Lloyd and more. Notably, Yola will be the sixth artist in Newport Folk & Jazz Festival’s history to play both the Folk and the Jazz festivals. She’s a country-soul artist with a new album on the way on July 30 through Easy Eye Sound. The rest of the lineup can be found below, plus more artists that have yet to be confirmed.
Tickets will go on-sale Thursday, June 3 at 11 a.m. EST through Eventbrite. Single-day passes begin at $79, and 3-day passes at $199, with discounts available for students and children. Visit the festival’s official website for further information.
On the topic of COVID-19 prevention, the festival stated, “Our goal is to keep our ecosystem going until we can gather our entire communities next summer! We are working hand in hand with state and local government and various health officials to ensure that what we present will set a benchmark for safety and transparency through our protocols and communication. We will be sharing more details on what to expect to members and fans very soon.”