Hayley Williams welcomed Jack Antonoff, Lucy Dacus, Jenny Lewis and a host of other special guests at Newport Folk Festival – watch footage below.
The Paramore frontwoman performed a collaborative set billed as Hayley Williams & Friends on the festival’s Fort Stage at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island yesterday (July 24).
After opening with ‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’ and ‘Kill Me’, Williams brought out Wednesday singer Karly Hartzman for a performance of the heavier ‘Mirtazapine’.
She then welcomed This Is Lorelei – the project of Water From Your Eyes’ Nate Amos – to cover ‘I’m All Fucked Up’, before being joined by Joy Oladokun for a rendition of Oladokun’s own ‘I’d Miss The Birds’.
She played a duet of ‘Thin Air’ with the original artist Liam Benzvi, while Annie DiRusso, who supported Williams across much of her recent North American tour, later emerged for ‘Disappearing Man’.
Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis joined Williams to perform ‘Silver Lining’, and Kelsey Lu accompanied her on the first live performance of ‘Leave It Alone’. Lu remained on stage as Lucy Dacus joined them for the live debut of ‘Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris’.
Remi Wolf was next to appear, using Williams’ set to debut a new song titled ‘Twiggy Little Butt’. Phoenix Rousiamanis then joined for ‘True Believer’, while Madi Diaz and Kelsey Lu assisted on the first live performance of ‘Find Me Here’.
Towards the end of the show, Williams reunited with longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff for an acoustic cover of Bleachers’ ‘I Wanna Get Better’, and he stayed on stage to accompany her on the breezy ‘Good Ol’ Days’.
Williams closed the set by inviting many of the afternoon’s guests back to the stage for a communal cover of Bill Withers’ ‘Lean On Me’.
Check out footage from the performance below.
The full setlist was:
‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’
‘Kill Me’
‘Mirtazapine’ (with Karly Hartzman)
‘I’m All Fucked Up’ (This Is Lorelei cover with This Is Lorelei)
‘I’d Miss The Birds’ (Joy Oladokun cover with Joy Oladokun)
‘Thin Air’ (Liam Benzvi cover with Liam Benzvi)
‘Disappearing Man’ (with Annie DiRusso)
‘Silver Lining’ (Rilo Kiley cover with Jenny Lewis)
‘Leave It Alone’ (with Kelsey Lu)
‘Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris’ (with Lucy Dacus and Kelsey Lu)
‘Twiggy Little Butt’ (Remi Wolf cover with Remi Wolf)
‘True Believer’ (with Phoenix Rousiamanis)
‘Find Me Here’ (with Madi Diaz and Kelsey Lu)
‘I Wanna Get Better’ (Bleachers cover with Jack Antonoff)
‘Good Ol’ Days’ (with Jack Antonoff)
‘Lean On Me’ (Bill Withers cover with Medium Build, Lucy Dacus, Remi Wolf, Liam Benzvi, Karly Hartzman and others)
Williams recently completed the UK and European leg of her ‘Hayley Williams At A Bachelorette Party’ tour. It saw her covering Sinéad O’Connor’s ‘Mandinka’ in Dublin, while she was joined by Wet Leg’s Rhian Teasdale for ‘Parachute’ at London’s Roundhouse. The xx’s Romy also appeared at the previous London show to sing Prefab Sprout’s ‘Wild Horses’.
NME awarded Williams’ recent Manchester Academy concert five stars, describing the intimate show as one that balanced “joy and rage” and “felt like an old-school reunion with family you only see once every five years”.
Williams officially released her third solo album, ‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’, last August, having initially surprise-released 17 songs through her website. In a five-star review, NME said the record saw the singer “fearlessly stepping between familiar and fresh influences”.
Williams will return to the road in September for ‘The Hayley Williams Show’, with further dates scheduled across North and Latin America.
