We're giving our funds to artists: “If you can do the festival, I need you to have this. If you can’t do the festival, I need you to have this.” Jay Sweet was shell-shocked.
On Monday (March 30), the producer of the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals scrolled through the list artists who had applied for the Newport Festivals Musicians Relief Fund.
The tally was long -- and all of the names were familiar. “You think you know how much need is there,” he said, still scrolling. “And then you realize how much more is needed.” The Newport Festivals Foundation, the nonprofit that sustains both Rhode Island festivals and a number of musical education programs, had launched the fund to alleviate the financial impact of the global coronavirus