Photos by Dean Budnick

Newport Folk Festival’s second run on Folk On events kicked off on Tuesday, July 27 with a slew of performances, including a headlining set by Beck surprise performance by Jack Antonoff.

Early-day highlights included Langhorne Slim ending his set by walking into the audience while seated on the shoulders of JP Harris, performing “You Are My Sunshine.”

Allison Russell’s set was also memorable, as she was joined by her Birds of Chicago bandmate (and husband) JT Nero.

Jack Antonoff’s last minute appearance certainly channelled Newport’s “anything can happen” spirit. He performed alongside a stripped-down version of his Bleachers band, even debuting a new song – “Big Life” – from Bleachers’ forthcoming album Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night, due out this Friday. Later, he gave fans a cover of The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” and closed with “Goodmorning” off his 2017 sophomore offering Gone Now.

Beck’s headlining set, on the other hand, opened with an archival take on “Pay No Mind (Snoozer)” off 1994’s Snoozer.

The trips down memory lane continued with a mid-set take on Prince’s “Raspberry Beret” and – a few songs later – a version of his 1994 original “Asshole” featuring Sharon Van Etten.

Antonoff and the Bleachers horns even emerged from the wings to play with Beck on The Korgis’ “Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime.”

Beck closed his set with “Debra” and “Loser,” both featuring comic/musician Fred Armisen. (“Loser” also included Antonoff and his horn section.)

Check out some photo highlights below: