2026 Newport Jazz Festival, Part 2

Jazz at Newport has always been about more than keeping a tradition alive. It is also about seeing where the music is going. At the 72nd Newport Jazz Festival, that was clear in the wide range of music heard throughout the weekend, from jazz and soul to R&B, hip-hop, funk and experimental music.

Artists from different generations shared the stages at Fort Adams. Herbie Hancock and Charles Lloyd represented generations of jazz history, while artists such as Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington and Thundercat have helped shape the sound of contemporary jazz. Alongside them were younger performers such as Leon Thomas, Mei Semones, Celeste and Arlo Parks, whose music draws from jazz but also from R&B, soul, pop, indie music and bossa nova. Little Simz brought a hip-hop perspective to the festival, showing how far Newport's definition of jazz has expanded.

Butcher Brown was another good example of that musical range. The Richmond, Virginia, group moves easily between jazz, funk, hip—hop, soul and rock, creating a sound that is rooted in jazz but does not stay within its traditional boundaries. Their music reflects the same spirit that has helped make Newport a place for artists who are willing to experiment and borrow from different musical worlds.

Some of the festival's most unusual acts pushed those boundaries even further. Flea, best known as the bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, brought his new jazz project to Newport. Anoushka Shankar brought Indian classical music and the sound of the sitar, while groups such as Snarky Puppy and Chicago Underground Duo moved between jazz, funk, rock and experimental music.

Perhaps the most unexpected booking was Angine de Poitrine, a masked duo from Quebec whose music is closer to experimental and math rock than traditional jazz. Guitarist Khn de Poitrine and drummer Klek de Poitrine performed in oversized papier-mâché masks, combining complex, microtonal guitar lines with powerful drum grooves. Their Newport appearance was also their first U.S. performance. They quickly became one of the weekend's more memorable surprises, demonstrating just how willing the festival is to make room for music that does not fit neatly into a traditional jazz category.

This year's festival was also the first under new artistic director Nate Smith, the Grammy-winning drummer, composer and bandleader who took over from Christian McBride. Smith brought his own perspective while continuing Newport's tradition of bringing different generations and styles together. His first lineup suggested a broad view of jazz—one that respects the music's history but leaves room for artists who are changing it.

For those of us photographing the festival, that range can also be a challenge. Photographers are given only 10 minutes in the photo pit for each performance. With so many artists playing across the festival's stages, scheduling can sometimes mean choosing between sets or missing an artist altogether. There is barely time to get settled before it is time to leave the pit and move on to the next stage. It is a reminder of just how much is happening at Newport at any given moment—and how impossible it is to capture all of it.

That may have been the clearest message of the 72nd Newport Jazz Festival. Jazz at Newport is not one particular sound. It is a place where musicians with very different backgrounds can share the same stage, experiment and find connections between styles. The festival looked back at jazz's history while also offering a glimpse of where the music may be headed next.

Following are photos of some of the performers at this year's festival.