The group song — which also featured Nathaniel Rateliff, Madison Cunningham, Allison Russell, and others — closed out Hozier's headlining show at the annual festival.
it will not be The Newport Folk Festival is without Mavis Staples, who led the band to sing “The Weight.” Staples wasn’t on the lineup this year, so the crowd cheered even louder when she appeared as a special surprise guest during Hozier’s main set on Friday night at the festival.
Joined on stage by a host of singers including Joan Baez (who officially came to the festival to give a poetry reading), Nathaniel Rateliff, Madison Cunningham, Allison Russell, and more, Staples led the crowd in a joyful rendition of the band's classic song, trading verses with the aforementioned singers.
The performance marked a coming-of-circle moment: Hozier’s main set marked a decade since the singer first appeared at the festival, months before his debut album was released. It was at that festival in 2014 that the Irish singer first met Staples (whom Mavis calls “Hozy”), leading to their 2019 collaboration “Nina Cried Power.” 2024 also marks 10 years since Mavis performed the same song while celebrating her 75th birthday with a star-studded main set at the festival. It also marks 60 years since the Staples Singers first performed at the festival in 1964.
Hozier's main set included a duet on 2015's “Work Song” with Allison Russell as well as his current hit “Too Sweet.”
The show, held on the festival's 65th anniversary, ended with a more classic Newport moment: Baez led the crowd through an acoustic rendition of “We Shall Overcome,” trading verses with Kaya Kater and William Prince.
