Conan O'Brien's Newport Folk Festival Set Was Seriously Good

When Conan O'Brien announced he'd perform at the 2024 Newport Folk Festival, no one knew what that would look like.

Maybe, at first, he didn't either. He's a comedian, after all, used to hosting late-night talk shows and a popular podcast. He wrote for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons. He graduated from Harvard University. Surely, those are enough accomplishments. There's no way he could also carry a set at one of the biggest music events in the world. Right?

Wrong.

The tall comic wizard from Brookline stole the show on Newport Folk's closing day July 28, showing the world what longtime fans already knew: He's also pretty darn good on guitar. With his 6-foot, 4-inch frame and iconic shock of red hair, he was a sight to behold as the sun set on Aquidneck Island.

Seeing the smiling 64-year-old Massachusetts native, who also owns a home in Rhode Island but hates the accent) blast through a high-energy set of 13 rock classics would have been worth the price of admission alone -- but some sweet surprises were in the mix.

Rock band Dawes joined him for the opener, a cover of Ronnie Hawkins' "Forty Days," and played the whole way through. UK legend Nick Lowe joined O'Brien for his 1979 hit "Cruel to Be Kind." Brittany Howard, who won Grammys for fronting Alabama Shakes, performed "Come and Get Your Love" with O'Brien. Nathaniel Ratefliff and Mavis Staples then slayed the stage with Coco, followed by O'Brien's longtime friend Jack White to close the night.

White and O'Brien performed a tender "We're Going to Be Friends," which O'Brien uses as the theme for his popular podcast, Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend.

Whew.

O'Brien is a true music fan. He demonstrated that for years, showcasing talented acts regularly on his NBC and TBS talk shows, including Newport Folk alum J.D. McPherson. "I love this guy," he riffed during an introduction of a live performance in 2017, and has been spotted wearing band merch to prove it.

(Full disclosure: My brother-in-law, Doug Corcoran, is in the band, so I'm a fan, too.)

O'Brien featured a tight house band from Day 1 of his first talk show in 1993, fronted by Max Weinberg of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. During live tapings of his podcast at theaters around the country, O'Brien still features original members of that house band and, yes, picks up his guitar to play with them during breaks. One of those band members, Jimmy Vivino, was on stage with him in Newport.

O'Brien came to Newport to play music but the title of his set, "Conan O'Brien and Real Musicians," showed that his razor-sharp wit was on full display.

So, too, was his heart.

O'Brien asked that, for his appearance, a grant go to Brookline Teen Center to help students in his hometown record their own music.

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Gallery Credit: Nancy Hall