Leading up to the Newport Folk Festival, headliner Roger Waters assured prospective concertgoers that he crafted a "very special" set for the Rhode Island gig on Friday. The bassist followed through with three covers, solo cuts and a new track—after joining My Morning Jacket on stage earlier that day, they came to return the favor as a surprise backing band.
The former Pink Floyd bassist kicked off the unique, all-acoustic set with a fresh track titled "Crystal Clear Brooks," a track musically adapted from a poem he penned about the children of Gaza. Waters followed up with "Mother" and "The Bravery of Being Out of Range," the latter from his recently reissued 1992 solo LP, Amused to Death. Next on the set list came the album's title track, making his Newport Folk Festival appearance the only gig to boast live performances of the Amused to Death tracks since 2002, notes Rolling Stone.
The 71-year-old revealed a cover of "Hello in There" by John Prine, the first of three covers spanning the 10 song set. He continued on to perform "Wide River to Cross" alongside Amy Helm, reports NME. Her father, Levon, recorded the cut for Dirt Farmer, his 2007 solo LP. Waters and Amy Helm previously teamed up to perform a live rendition of the track at the Love for Levon tribute gig.
Over the years, Waters has kept a low-profile other than touring and promoting his iconic The Wall shows, which have seen little to none classic Floyd tunes. For his Newport set, he ended his six year draught and dusted off three fan favorites, "Brain Damage"/"Eclipse" from the critically acclaimed Dark Side of the Moon and "Wish You Were Here" from the album of the same name, accompanied by Jim James and Sara Watkins.
Bob Dylan notoriously plugged in his electric guitar at Newport Folk Festival exactly 50 years ago on Friday, which inspired Waters to honor Dylan by wrapping up his set with a cover of Planet Waves' "Forever Young."
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