Why Common Fence Music was forced to pivot and is now known as Newport Live

Facing financial issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the nonprofit organization Common Fence Music was in need a rebirth.

And it recently got one.

The concert series now will be known as Newport Live, with four performances scheduled in the coming months at the Norman Bird Sanctuary, and one at Newport Vineyards.

Common Fence Music was established in 1993 by Ed Nary with a goal of bringing folk music to Portsmouth. Previously, all events were held at the Common Fence Point Community Hall, but as ticket sales slowed and the pandemic didn't allow for indoor performances, Executive Director Dick Lynn, who’s been on board for about a year and a half, knew a change had to be made.

It started by venturing out last summer with a concert series at the Norman Bird Sanctuary. Based on the success of those events, and others in the fall at the Casino Theater in Newport, Lynn and the other members of the board started to examine a rebrand.

“The suggestion was made to us a name change would make sense,” said Lynn, who has a history of booking and managing national acts dating back to the 1980s.

Using funds from a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, Lynn and his team began conducting market research and ultimately decided on the name Newport Live. The new brand and logo were announced in a press release last week.

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“The name Newport carries a lot of meaning nationally, and we do national acts,” Lynn said.

Being Newport Live also gives the concert series the freedom to move away from the Common Fence Point Community Hall exclusively and hold events in other venues around Newport County. Lynn said he’s already been in touch with Rough Point and Salve Regina for future performances.

As executive director, part of Lynn’s goal was to bring in a diverse group of performers, and that can be seen in the five concerts slated to take place between June and September.

It starts June 10 with Kyshona, an “African American artist who is one of the new generation’s protest singers, which has been dormant for a bit,” Lynn said.

On July 8, Newport Live welcomes Mark Erelli, whose new record, Lynn says, reminds him of Tom Petty’s first record. Lisa Morales, a Latina performer from Nashville whose cousin is Linda Ronstadt, is scheduled to perform Aug. 5, followed by The Suitcase Junket on Sept. 16.

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Folk country artist Laura Veirs will appear at Newport Vineyards on July 21.

"It's been work," Lynn said of the reincarnation of the music series. "We had to take some time off, and it's been some work, but I think we're there ... and we're there with a great slate of artists."

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Common Fence Music pivots and becomes Newport Live