Historic Music of Newport

06/19/2026

A little yachting music to celebrate the start of the Newport Bermuda Race today.

A polka dedicated to James Gordon Bennett, Jr. and his yacht “Dauntless.”

06/18/2026

According to Facebook, it's International Picnic Day. But you should save your picnic for Sunday, June 21, when the Navy Band Northeast Pops Ensemble is performing at Touro Park. The concert starts at 5:00 P.M.

A perfect evening for a picnic in a historic park with live music!

We continue to add more of our archives to our online searchable page. Visit this link to see what we have added about Newport's Naval history:
https://www.historicmusicofnewport.org/archives-fullpage/category/Navy

06/18/2026

Historic Music of Newport is a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and sharing Newport's incredible musical history, and to telling the stories of the musicians who lived and performed in the city.

Help support our mission and give us the tools to bring more music home and tell more stories!

https://www.historicmusicofnewport.org/donate-today

Help support our work to preserve and share the incredible musical history of Newport, Rhode Island.

06/17/2026

Our week of celebrating Newport's Naval musical history continues as we count down to the concert on Sunday, June 21st at 5:00 P.M. Come by Touro Park and hear the Navy Band Northeast Pops Ensemble!

Our post yesterday was about a fundraising concert for the widow of Navy Bandmaster Avery W. Hayes, who died in 1882. Musician Joseph S. Peckham, a Newport native, was a member of Hayes' Training Ship New Hampshire Band.

Peckhham wrote dozens of marches and other music for bands and orchestras. We have 42 of his compositions in our archives. He composed "Our Fallen Comrade" in 1887 and dedicated it to A.W. Hayes, Late Bandmaster, U.S.S. New Hampshire.

For more on the Touro Park Summer Concert Series:
https://www.historicmusicofnewport.org/touro-park-summer-concert-series-page

06/16/2026

As we move close to the Navy Band Northeast Pops Concert at Touro Park on Sunday, June 21, we want to share an early program from another Touro Park performance by a Navy Band,

A.W. Hayes, the bandmaster of the New Hampshire Band at Naval Training Station, Newport died on April 30th, 1882, at the age of 47. A concert was given at Touro Park in the fall of 1882, to benefit his widow and young daughter.

The program for that concert appeared in the October 7, 1882, Newport Mercury.

For more about the concert on June 21, visit:
https://www.historicmusicofnewport.org/events/navy-band-northeast-2026

06/15/2026

On Sunday, June 21, at 5:00 P.M., Touro Park will come alive with the music of the Navy Band Northeast Pops Ensemble.

This week we will highlight the history of Navy music in the park beginning with this article from the Newport Daily News in 1862. The United States Naval Academy Band performed in the park in what was most likely the first performance by a Navy Band in Touro Park.

The United States Naval Academy came to Newport during the Civil War and used the Atlantic House Hotel (now Newport Elks Lodge #104) as its main home.

The photos of the Naval Academy Band in front the Atlantic House and Naval Academy cadets in front of the Old Stone Mill are from the Providence Public Library digital archives.

For more on the upcoming concert:
https://www.historicmusicofnewport.org/events/navy-band-northeast-2026

06/15/2026

We are making our archives available on our website. We are early in the process, but you can see just some of what we have acquired in our effort to preserve our city's musical history.

https://www.historicmusicofnewport.org/archives

Historic Music of Newport Archives Our Archives contains music, photos, postcards and more. Explore the archives by category below Search Bands Fort Adams Letters Mansions Music Navy Photographs Postcards Touro Park Featured Items Full Archives Music Down in Dear Old Newport Town Music Music Music L...

06/14/2026

John W. Bolton was born in England on June 14, 1864. Bolton immigrated to the United States at the age of 8. He studied music in Fall River, Massachusetts and enlisted in the Navy at 17. He rose to the rank of Chief Musician and Bandmaster of the Training Ship New Hampshire, stationed at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island.

He retired from active duty in 1891 and moved to Buffalo, New York. In 1903, he joined the band of the 74th Regimental Band, New York National Guard, rising to the rank of Lieutenant and Bandmaster. During World War I, the regiment became the 55th Pioneers and was sent to Europe. He was given command of headquarters bands in France and Germany during the war and led a massed band at an official celebration in Paris on the day the Armistice was signed.

Bolton died on October 2, 1943, in Buffalo, New York.

06/14/2026

We are excited to welcome back Owl Electric as a concert sponsor for the 2026 Touro Park Summer Concert Series. They will be sponsoring The American Band on July 19.

Our next concert is June 21 at 5:00 P.M. when we welcome the Navy Band Northeast Pops Ensemble to the Park.

We also have a few more sponsorship slots available too!

See the complete concert schedule and learn more about sponsorship opportunities:

https://www.historicmusicofnewport.org/touro-park-summer-concert-series-page

06/13/2026

From the July 13, 1958, Newport Daily News.

The obituary for Newport native Lena Finn Downs. Downs served as the director of music at the Colonial and Bijou Theatres, both on Thames Street in the early 20th century.