The Fort Adams Bandstand
Newport, Rhode Island
(This postcard from the early 1900s is part of our Archival Collection)

Dear friends,

July was an incredible month for us at Historic Music of Newport and for the musical life in Newport. The Newport Folk Festival has just ended and the city is getting ready to host the Newport Jazz Festival next weekend. Fort Adams is buzzing musically, which is the way it was always meant to be. This month’s newsletter highlights some of Fort Adams’ musical history, including a photo and architectural drawings of the Fort Adams Bandstand which was constructed in the late 19th century. You will also get to hear music composed for the bands at Fort Adams and music related to Newport’s Army history.

We concluded our Touro Park Summer Concert Series with two wonderful concerts in July. In this newsletter, we have included some photos and a thank you to our sponsors for helping to bring this concert series to life for the 3rd summer.

We are very grateful to have been featured on MVYRadio’s Cape Cod Current recently. You can hear that interview here. Thank you to Joe Stickles for bringing us on the show and for his work highlighting nonprofits and musical programming throughout the region. If you don’t already listen to MVYRadio, you really should explore their incredible programming.

But July isn’t over yet and we have a very special collaboration with the Preservation Society of Newport County happening on Thursday, July 31. It is a great program for kids that you don’t want to miss. Read about it in the next section below.

Thank you for joining us on our musical journey,

Dr. Mark A. Stickney
Founder, Historic Music of Newport

Upcoming Events

Peter and the Wolf at
Green Animals Topiary Garden

Join musicians from the Gilded Age Orchestra of Newport as they present Peter and the Wolf at Green Animals Topiary Garden in Portsmouth on Thursday, July 31 at 10:30AM.

This program is part of the Preservation Society of Newport County’s Thursdays in the Garden family programming. Children will love hearing this classic music and get a chance to meet the musicians and learn about the instruments during the “Instrumental Petting Zoo.” Email programrsvp@newportmansions.org if you are interested in attending tomorrow’s program!

The 2025 Touro Park
Summer Concert Series

In June and July, we welcomed three bands for our summer concert series. Over 400 people of all ages enjoyed free concerts in Newport’s historic Touro Park and on the grounds of Salve Regina University. Thank you to our sponsors: The Fitzpatrick Team REMAX Results, Kirby Perkins Construction, Owl Electric, and to everyone who donated to make our 3rd year at Touro Park a fantastic experience. We can’t wait to be back at the park in 2026.

Help Support Our Mission

Our mission is to preserve and share the diverse musical history of Newport, Rhode Island and to tell the stories of the musicians who lived and performed in the city. We need your help to fulfill our mission. Every donation, no matter the size, goes a long way.

Working with the platform Givebutter, we have set up a nonprofit page which highlights the different areas in which you can help us. You can also give to the general fund.

Click on the link below, explore our page, and consider Historic Music of Newport in your giving.

Help us reach these goals.
Thank you.

The Music of the Army
and Fort Adams

Music has been a part of daily life at Fort Adams since the first days of the Fort. Explore our YouTube channel dedicated to music with ties to Fort Adams going back to the 1850s. Included on the channel is a piece written for Rhode Island’s own General Ambrose Burnside, who was stationed at Fort Adams in 1852.

In the News

The Fort Adams Band had a little trouble at their concert in Battery Park out on The Point. I wonder how the officers were trying “hard to insist that the crowd listen to the concert…”

You can explore our blog posts about music and musicians at Fort Adams here.

Help us Preserve Newport’s
Diverse Musical History Today