Lana Del Rey packs Fort Adams as the Newport Folk Festival comes to a close

Supporting sobriety in a festival setting

Nestled deep within the viewing space for the main Fort Stage, one large white tent advertising mocktails drew a small crowd to shade beneath its canopy. People ate food purchased from nearby trucks on tables and others settled in on the comfortable chairs and couches while sipping colorful mocktails. This is sobriety advocacy nonprofit The Phoenix’s Sober Tent, an initiative in collaboration with the 1 Million Strong campaign and the Stand Together Foundation to provide a safe haven for those wanting an alcohol-free space to hang out at Newport Folk Festival.

“The vision of the campaign is to change the culture in the music business as it relates to how addiction and recovery is celebrated, talked about, and supported in the music space which traditionally can be a very challenging space if you’re in recovery,” said Bill Taylor, the music director for The Phoenix.

The tent featured non-alcoholic beverages, and mocktails, courtesy of the company Teas for Torie. The two mixologists behind a table poured drinks like Vagabond Dreamin’, a mix of blackberry, lime, aromatic bitters and sparkling water; La Bomba, a hibiscus tea with orange juice and ginger; and Summertime Sadness, a Lana Del Rey-themed drink with rose, lemon juice, lemon balm and sparkling water.

This is the sober tent’s first time in Newport, but the campaign has stationed the tent at other festivals such as the New Orleans Jazz Festival. Taylor said Newport Folk Festival is actually a better environment for sobriety than some other music venues because there are designated spaces for drinking and the environment is so welcoming.

“Most music environments are not that way, where you walk into them and you’re surrounded by drinking and there’s so few options in many cases for what’s available to you if you’re choosing not to drink alcohol,” Taylor said. 

To learn more about the Newport Folk Festival, click here.