Singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers delivered a captivating performance at the Newport Folk Festival, featuring a debut of her shoegaze-influenced track “Mirtazapine.” The song, which Bridgers recently premiered on Nashville public radio station WNXP, appears to be an ode to an antidepressant, with lyrics stating, “I could never be without her / I had to write a song about her.” A formal release date for “Mirtazapine” has not yet been announced.
bridgers also treated the audience to a rendition of Modern English’s “I Melt With You,” enthusiastically dancing along to the song’s iconic synth melody. Her set included collaborations with other notable artists,with Weyes Blood’s Natalie Mering joining her for a duet of Ella fitzgerald’s “Dream a Little Dream of Me.” Mering remained onstage to perform Roy Orbison’s “You Got It” with Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield.
The festival also saw Morris make a guest appearance, drawing excited cheers for her contribution to bleachers’ performance of “Don’t Go Dark.” Rufus Wainwright impressed the crowd with his powerful vocals during a rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Not Dark Yet.”
Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, who was scheduled to perform later that day, contributed to Bleachers‘ cover of Lana Del Rey’s “Margaret.” He also offered a lively performance of Wilco’s own track, “Kamera.” The festival’s closing moments featured a performance of The Waterboys’ 1980s hit “The Whole of the Moon,” a song that Bleachers has been performing live in recent years.
The Newport Folk Festival continued with performances from artists including Luke Combs, Public Enemy, Saya Gray, Remi Wolf, The Lemonheads, adn Iron & Wine.
