Joan Baez proved she can still cut a rug during the closing moments of the 2026 Newport Folk Festival.
During Nathaniel Rateliff & Friends’ festival-closing set on Sunday, July 26th, the 85-year-old folk legend danced on stage as Rateliff performed a new song titled “It Surprises Me.” After deciding she wanted a partner, Baez waved over Dave Matthews and pulled him onto the stage as an adoring Mavis Staples looked on.
The moment came during a star-studded finale that saw Rateliff welcome a rotating cast of guests including Baez, Matthews, Staples, Brandi Carlile, Brandon Flowers, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, and more. Baez, whose history with Newport stretches all the way back to the festival’s inaugural edition in 1959, later helped close out the weekend with a group rendition of “America the Beautiful.” Watch Baez and Matthews get down below.
