Hayley Williams Brings Out Jenny Lewis, Jack Antonoff and Other Stars at Newport Folk Fest

A performance announced as “Hayley Williams & Friends” brought an impressive group of special guests to the 2026 Newport Folk Festival on Friday, July 24. Jack Antonoff, Lucy Dacus and Jenny Lewis were among the artists who joined the Paramore singer during her headline appearance at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, R.I.

Williams delivered a 16 song set that opened with “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party,” the title track from her 2025 album, and closed with the entire group performing Bill Withers’ classic “Lean on Me.” She teamed up with Jack Antonoff for “I Wanna Get Better,” the debut single released by his band Bleachers in 2014. Antonoff also played guitar during “Good Ol’ Days” from Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party. The two embraced before beginning “I Wanna Get Better,” then blended their voices throughout the performance.

Williams also gave “Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris” its first ever live performance alongside Lucy Dacus. The Boygenius member, who performs in the group with Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers, originally contributed backing vocals to the 2020 Petals for Armor song. Dacus also performed her own set on the Fort Stage earlier that Friday.

Another unexpected highlight arrived when Williams introduced Jenny Lewis for a rendition of “Silver Lining,” as captured by a fan

A performance announced as “Hayley Williams & Friends” brought an impressive collection of special guests to the 2026 Newport Folk Festival on Friday, July 24. Jack Antonoff, Lucy Dacus and Jenny Lewis were among those who joined the Paramore singer for her headline appearance at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, R.I.

Williams delivered a 16 song set that opened with “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party,” the title track from her 2025 album, and concluded with a group rendition of Bill Withers’ classic “Lean on Me.” She teamed up with Jack Antonoff for “I Wanna Get Better,” the debut single released by his band Bleachers in 2014. Antonoff also played guitar during “Good Ol’ Days” from Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party. The pair embraced before starting “I Wanna Get Better,” then shared vocal duties and harmonized throughout the performance.

Williams also performed “Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris” live for the first time, accompanied by Lucy Dacus. The Boygenius member, who performs in the group alongside Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers, originally provided background vocals on the 2020 Petals for Armor track. Dacus also presented her own set on the Fort Stage that Friday.

Another unexpected highlight came when Williams invited Jenny Lewis onstage for a cover of “Silver Lining,” as seen in footage recorded by a fan near the front of the audience. The song appeared on Rilo Kiley’s 2007 album Under the Blacklight. Williams joined the singer and songwriter for the third verse, singing, “And the grass it was a-ticking/ And the sun was on the rise/ I never felt so wicked/ As when I willed our love to die/ And I was your silver lining, as the story goes/ I

A performance announced as “Hayley Williams & Friends” brought an impressive collection of special guests to the 2026 Newport Folk Festival on Friday, July 24. Jack Antonoff, Lucy Dacus and Jenny Lewis were among those who joined the Paramore singer for her headline appearance at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, R.I.

Williams delivered a 16 song set that opened with “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party,” the title track from her 2025 album, and concluded with a group rendition of Bill Withers’ classic “Lean on Me.” She teamed up with Jack Antonoff for “I Wanna Get Better,” the debut single released by his band Bleachers in 2014. Antonoff also played guitar during “Good Ol’ Days” from Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party. The pair embraced before starting “I Wanna Get Better,” then harmonized throughout the performance.

Williams also performed “Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris” live for the first time with Lucy Dacus. The Boygenius member, who performs alongside Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers, originally contributed backing vocals to the 2020 Petals for Armor track. Dacus also presented her own set on the Fort Stage that Friday.

Another unexpected highlight came when Williams invited Jenny Lewis onstage for “Silver Lining,” as seen in footage captured by a fan near the front of the audience. The track appeared on Rilo Kiley’s 2007 album Under the Blacklight. Williams joined Lewis during the third verse and sang the section in which the narrator reflects on ending a relationship before realizing she has become stronger.

Karly Hartzman, This Is Lorelei, Joy Oladokun, Liam Benzvi, Annie DiRusso, Kelsey Lu, Remi Wolf, Phoenix Rousiamanis and Madi Diaz were also among the performers who accompanied Williams in Newport on Friday. Following the show, Newport Folk Festival posted a collection of photographs from the Williams & Friends performance on Instagram.

Ms. Lauryn Hill was another headline performer included on the Newport Folk Festival schedule that Friday evening.

The historic Newport Folk Festival continues across Saturday and Sunday, with The Lumineers, Nathaniel Rateliff, Brandi Carlile, Brandon Flowers, Tom Morello and several other artists scheduled to perform.