A Flight of the Conchords reunion tour has been promised and re-promised over the last few years. Most recently, Jemaine Clement told Consequence of Sound that he and partner Bret McKenzie were plotting a big comeback, with the mention of a full-scale tour and new film. Today, the comedic pair announced their first official US date in three years, and it’s a big one: They’ll headline the iconic Newport Folk Festival on Friday, July 22nd.
Newport has enjoyed major success in recent years by pushing the boundaries of what sort of acts played the festival, leading to them being named our 2015 Festival of the Year. Comedy is certainly new territory for the event, but if there’s anyone who can make it work it’s New Zealand’s fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo. (John C. Reilly played in 2014, but he delivered a set of simple folk standards, his banter the only real comedic element.)
The announcement signals that a full Flight of the Conchords tour could be imminent, though there’s no word as of yet. It would be their first such trek since joining the Funny or Die Oddball Festival in 2013.
Newport Folk Festival will be held July 22nd-24th in Newport, Rhode Island. Other artists already announced include Father John Misty (solo), Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Ray Lamontagne (with My Morning Jacket sans Jim James backing him up), The Oh Hellos, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, and others. The festival will continue to slowly roll out its lineup over the coming weeks. Keep an eye on Festival Outlook for new announcements.
Revisit Flight of the Conchords’ classic “Business Time”.
