The Newburyport
Riverfront Music Festival 2008

Friday, July 11th & Saturday, July 12th

Mark your calendars for a great
weekend of music in Newburyport!

This year's performers include:

Friday, July 11   8:00pm
Martha Wainwright 
A ticketed performance
at The Firehouse Center for the Arts, Downtown Newburyport
Click here for ticket info

Saturday, July 12     3:00-7:00pm
The Brother Kite 
Matt Nathanson 
Need to Breathe
Blind Melon 
An outdoor performance
at Waterfront Park, Downtown Newburyport
Free and open to the public!

The Riverfront Music Festival is presented by:
The Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce & Industry
and  WXRV  92.5 The River

Lead Sponsor  

Also Sponsored by  

Friday, July 11
at The Firehouse Center for the Arts:

Join us on Friday night for a special ticketed performance at the Firehouse Center for the Arts with Martha Wainwright. 

In the three years since her critically-acclaimed debut, Martha Wainwright has toured and recorded with acts ranging from Neko Case to Snow Patrol. She has performed Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall, and appeared on the big screen in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator. But her greatest achievement is, undoubtedly, the creation of her sophomore record. Entitled I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too, it is a musically and lyrically ambitious effort, from understated ballads to intense rock numbers. Wainwright offers new takes on a couple old classics as well: Pink Floyd's "See Emily Play" and the Eurythmics' "Love Is A Stranger." With I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too Wainwright has created a masterpiece that will further establish her as one of the most exciting and brilliantly creative songwriters of her generation.

Call the Firehouse Box Office for ticket information at 978-462-7336.

Saturday, July 12
Free Concert at  Waterfront Park:

Brother Kite Video

Matt Nathanson doesn't waste any time setting the tone for his transfixing new album, Some Mad Hope. Diving headlong into a sea of chiming guitars, the San Francisco-based singer-songwriter breathlessly declares "I'm wide awake and so alive" -- the opening lines of "Car Crash" serving as a statement of emotional clarity that permeates the disc's every groove.

Some Mad Hope, Nathanson's sixth studio album (and first for Vanguard), is in many ways his most fully-realized work to date. Recorded over the past two and a half years, the 12-song set displays a sonic depth that dovetails perfectly with what he admits is a newfound songwriting confidence.

Led by brothers Bear and Bo Rinehart, Need to Breathe has already earned a fervent following throughout the Southeast. The widescreen melodic rock of their Lava/Atlantic debut, ‘DAYLIGHT,’ should see the South Carolina-based quartet spreading their majestic noise even further. Songs like ‘Shine On’ and the powerful first single, ‘You Are Here,’ are rich with sweeping sonics and heartfelt emotions that are both deeply individual and wholly universal. With its expressive sound and confident worldview, DAYLIGHT marks the coming of Need To Breathe as a genuinely moving, often inspiring new band.

The Rineharts grew up in the small town of Possum Kingdom, South Carolina, where their pastor dad ran a local church camp. Both parents instilled a love of music in their boys.

In recent years, the tale of Blind Melon has taken a dramatic turn – from an abrupt and tragic end, to a rebirth and reconnection with their legion of fans. No matter how you slice it, the group was responsible for some of the most memorable and pure-sounding rock music of the ‘90s. And with their reformation in 2006 with singer Travis Warren, Blind Melon are poised to pick up exactly where they left off a decade earlier – as evidenced by their new single, “Wishing Well.”

New This Year!
Visit the Ipswich Ale Beer Garden located directly behind the 
Custom House Maritime Museum.

The Beer garden will be open to patrons 21 years of age or older.

FROM ROUTE 95:
Take exit 57 and follow signs to downtown Newburyport. 

FROM BOSTON:
Take Route 1 north to Route 95 north to exit 57. Follow signs to downtown Newburyport.

FROM ROUTE 495:
Follow to Route 95, then  south to exit 57. Follow signs to downtown Newburyport.

Waterfront Park is located directly behind the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Market Square.

PARKING
There are 3 municipal lots downtown - which are free. 
They are located at Green & Merrimac Streets, State and Harris Streets (next to the Library) and on Prince Place.

There are 2 lots run by the Newburyport Redevelopment Authority which will be charging $8 for parking. They are located at either side of Waterfront Park along Merrimac Street (West Lot) and Water Street (East Lot)

You may also park in legal spots on the street. If you park in a nearby neighborhood, please be respectful of residents and all parking laws - do not block fire hydrants or driveways. Police will ticket or tow all cars which are parked in illegal spaces.

Past Riverfront Music Festival Artists

Jonatha Brooke
Bruce Cockburn
The Damnwells
deSoL
EJ Ouellette & Crazy Maggy
Joe Firstman
Jesse Harris
Hybrasil
James Hunter
Sonya Kitchell
The Low Millions
Raul Malo
Abra Moore
Shawn Mullins
Johnette Napolitano
Nickel Creek
Chad Perrone
Grant Lee Phillips
Stephanie Schneiderman
Maia Sharpe
Sleudian Frip
The Subdudes
Vienna Teng
The Young Dubliners