Newport Folk Festival Will Welcome Conan O'Brien, Surprise Guests

The Newport Folk Festival's 2024 lineup just got 100 percent funnier thanks to the unexpected addition of a comedy icon.

Conan O'Brien will appear on stage on Sunday, July 28, the festival's final day. While the Massachusetts native will likely crack some jokes while up there, all signs point to him showing off his music chops, too.

O'Brien, 61, transitioned from a nearly 30-year run as an irreverent late-night talk show host to a successful podcaster (Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend) and world traveler (Conan O'Brien Must Go). He's also a huge music fan who is more than halfway decent on the guitar.

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This should be interesting.

The performance, billed as "Conan O'Brien and Real Musicians," will feature rock band Dawes and multitalented musician Jimmy Vivino, who played in O'Brien's late-night studio bands from the start. A promo also teases "very special guests," leaving the window open for, well, anyone to appear.

The appearance will benefit young people in O'Brien's old stomping grounds. The star asked that a grant go to Brookine Teen Center to help students record their own music.

"I'm happy to support such a worthy organization in my hometown," O'Brien said in a statement. "Who knows -- if this had been available when I was a teenager, I might have amounted to something."

There's that classic O'Brien self-deprecation. The truth is, the tall, freckled guy Tom Hanks famously dubbed "Coco" is quite accomplished. A Harvard University graduate, he wrote for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons before he was tapped to take over Late Night following David Letterman's departure from NBC in 1993. He briefly hosted The Tonight Show post-Jay Leno amid upheaval at the network before landing on TBS with Conan. He wrapped that show in 2021 but returned to TV in 2024 with Conan O'Brien Must Go, a new travel series.

O'Brien seems to find any excuse he can to pick up a guitar. He was known to fiddle with one during rehearsals for his TV show. He plays with the band during special podcast tapings at theaters. Now, he'll have the chance to shine with a full set at Newport.

Festival tickets are sold out but that doesn't mean you won't get the chance to see O'Brien enjoying Rhode Island elsewhere. He's 6 feet, 4 inches tall, with an iconic shock of red hair, so he sticks out in a crowd. He also has a family home in Westerly, Rhode Island, so perhaps he'll enjoy some time there before and after his Newport Folk debut.

You know where you probably won't catch him? Cranston.

O'Brien is as friendly as he is funny, so if you meet him, be prepared for a pleasant (and perhaps awkward) experience.

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Gallery Credit: Nancy Hall