NEWPORT, R.I. — Singer Paul Simon made a rare public appearance on Saturday, showing up at the Newport Folk Festival to play four songs that were part of a tribute to the “Graceland” singer’s career.
Simon, 80, a 16-time Grammy Award winner, last played in public in April during another tribute to himself in Los Angeles, Rolling Stone reported.
The “Kodachrome” singer announced his retirement from touring in 2018, but he emerged onstage at Newport to join Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, according to the magazine.
In 2021, Simon sold his songwriting catalog, which includes classics like “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Mrs. Robinson,” “I Am a Rock,” “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” and “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” to Sony Music Publishing.
Accompanied by the Night Sweats and Jerry Douglas on guitar, Simon, a two-time inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, opened his set on Saturday with “Graceland,” according to Rolling Stone. Rhiannon Giddens took the lead on “American Tune,” then Simon led the crowd in “The Boxer” from his Simon & Garfunkel days.
He closed the set with a solo version of “The Sound of Silence,” Rolling Stone reported.
“It’s an honor to be honored,” Simon told the cheering crowd.
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