Berklee Instant Strings Sweetens Newport Folk

The student ensemble returns to Newport to perform with Lucius, Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam, and This Is the Kit.

July 27, 2018

Berklee Instant Strings, a student quartet led by faculty member Greg Liszt, is headed to the storied Newport Folk Festival this weekend to perform with three of the festival’s biggest acts. The festival, a three-day New England tradition that began in 1959, will welcome thousands of concertgoers to Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island, to see artists such as Margo Price, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile, Courtney Barnett, and Ben Harper.

The students—Cecilia Vacanti, Louisa Byron, Felix Herbst, and Parker Ousley—will perform alongside Lucius (featuring alumni Jess Wolfe B.M. ’07, Holly Laessig B.M. ‘07, Dan Molad B.M. ‘04, and Peter Lalish B.M. ‘05), This Is the Kit, and Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam on Friday, July 27, and Saturday, July 28. 

Berklee Instant Strings performs with touring artists who don't have their own string sections. Its members are chosen by the Strings DepartmentLiszt, the group's faculty advisor, assisted in the selection process and rehearsed the group for the Newport performances. Berklee Instant Strings performed alongside Margo Price, Suzanne Vega, and Aoife O’Donovan at the festival in 2016 and 2017.

In addition to Lucius, the Newport Folk Festival will feature Berklee alumna Annie Clark ’04, also known as the Grammy-winning performer St. Vincent.

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