Yola has been added to the Sunday lineup of the 2020 Newport Folk Festival which takes place at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island July 31 – August 2.
She previously played the festival in 2019.
Yola’s debut album Walk Through Fire, produced by Dan Auerbach, is a genre-bending release from one of the most powerful emerging British voices in music today. The singer/songwriter first came to the attention of Auerbach (The Black Keys) after a chain of people, starting with her manager, forwarded a video of her performing in Nashville that eventually found itself in Auerbach’s inbox. Tastemaker media also saw promise in Yola’s early recordings and live performances in Nashville–NPR, Rolling Stone Country, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, and Stereogum all praised Yola, comparing her to a diverse range of artists from the Staples Singers to Dolly Parton.
After watching the video, Auerbach set up a call and they connected quickly. Auerbach says “The moment I met Yola I was impressed. Her spirit fills the room, just like her voice…she has the ability to sing in a full roar or barely a whisper and that is a true gift. She made everyone in the studio an instant believer.”
“We knew we loved the Everlys,” Yola says. “Soul, Americana, singer/songwriters. When Dan and I talked we thought we’d explore what we loved, really go there.”
Additional artists for the sold-out festival will be announced in the coming weeks and months.
