Hayley Williams Brings Jenny Lewis, Jack Antonoff & More Surprise Guests to the Stage at Newport Folk Fest

A set billed “Hayley Williams & Friends” at the 2026 Newport Folk Festival featured a long list of guests taking the stage with the Paramore frontwoman on Friday (July 24). Among the guests joining Williams for her headlining slot live at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, R.I., were Jack Antonoff, Lucy Dacus and Jenny Lewis.

During her 16-song setlist at the fest, which started with her 2025 album title track “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party” and ended with a group cover of the Bill Withers classic “Lean on Me,” Williams performed “I Wanna Get Better” with Jack Antonoff — his band Bleachers’ debut single back in 2014 — and was also joined by him on guitar for her Ego Death song”Good Ol’ Days.” The pair shared a hug ahead of “I Wanna Get Better,” which had Antonoff and Williams harmonizing on vocals.

Williams played “Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris” live for the first time ever, accompanied by Lucy Dacus — one third of Boygenius (with Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers), who originally sang background vocals on the 2020 Petals for Armor track. Dacus also had a set of her own on the Fort Stage on Friday.

In another surprise moment during Williams’ time on stage, as filmed by a concertgoer at the front of the crowd, Williams welcomed Jenny Lewis out to cover “Silver Lining” with the Rilo Kiley singer-songwriter, from the group’s 2007 album Under the Blacklight. She joined Lewis on vocals at verse three, 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 was your silver lining, but now I’m gold.”

Other musicians taking the stage with Williams Friday in Newport included Karly Hartzman, This Is Lorelei, Joy Oladokun, Liam Benzvi, Annie DiRusso, Kelsey Lu, Remi Wolf, Phoenix Rousiamanis and Madi Diaz. Newport Folk Festival shared a slideshow of pictures from the Williams & Friends set on Instagram post-show.

Friday night’s Newport Folk Festival schedule also featured a headlining set from Ms. Lauryn Hill.

This year’s lineup at the historic Newport Folk Festival continues Saturday-Sunday, with performances from The Lumineers, Nathaniel Rateliff, Brandi Carlile, Brandon Flowers, Tom Morello and more.