Episode 55: Jay Sweet

Speaking of the Arts

Welcome to Speaking of the Arts. Today’s guest is Jay Sweet. Jay is the Executive Producer of The Newport Folk Festival ( https://www.newportfolk.org ), The Newport Jazz Festival ( https://www.newportjazz.org/ ) and Newport Festivals Foundation ( https://www.newportfestivals.org/ ), a 501(c)(3) which expands the impact of its Festivals through music education initiatives throughout the United States. During his tenure, the Newport Folk Festival has won five Pollstar awards for Music Festival Of The Year; and America's original music festivals have regained their stature as premier happenings. Our conversation took place approximately 48 hours after Jay and his team had to make the announcement they were cancelling both festivals this year and I am grateful to Jay for taking the time to speak with me during that difficult period. Jay spoke to me about several important things that are very timely for our industry including how we can support artists now, even if you can’t give them money. By the end of our conversation, I was impressed at how positive Jay came across for both the future of Newport and it’s incredible history, and you will hear some great stories from Jay.