Sun. Aug. 5

 We forget exactly which musician said this. but when asked what folk music was, he replied, "It's music played by folks." The Newport Folk Festival, now sponspored by Dunkin' Donuts (not long ago by Ben & Jerry's) has long operated under that umbrella idea. (Yes, it's where Dylan went "electric" - shocking the purisists more than four decades back.) At the early July dinner at the Lenox Hotel, feting the upcoming the Folk and Jazz Festivals, organizer Bob Jones noted the headlining appearance of the Allman Brothers Band Aug. 4 and said, "The Allman Brothers will be doing some acoustic music, we hope." But the Newport Folk Festival incorporates not just pure folk (acoustic-based music) but roots music of all stripes and the ABB fit that bill, with its Southern-steeped sound. Plus, they may have brough a few new fans to Fort Adams State Park, a wonderful place for a show. (We've seen half a dozen or so, never had a bad time.) Today, Sunday's,  bill is topped by Alison Krauss & Union Station, featuring Jerry Douglas. Also: Emmylou Harris, Amos Lee, Alejandro Escovedo and Carolina Chocolate Drops. (Escovedo also headlines the Harbor Stage, with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, Cheryl Wheeler and more.) Tickets for individual dates run $85-$30. Tickets can be purchased at the number or website below or at the main office at 770 Aquidneck Ave. in Middletown, RI. (For the first time, reserved tickets, with seats (!), are available on half of the lawn facing the stage - don't bring blankets if you buy these.)

Fort Adams State Park, Newport, RI 888-468-7619 (tix) 401-847-3700 (info) www.ticketweb.com and www.newportfolk.com

Some nights - if you're at the Beehive or Pourhouse in Boston - you might find Madi Diaz as your server. She is a singer-songwriter-guitarist-bandleader and a Berklee College of Music student who just put our her debut CD, "Skin and Bone." Diaz said she was recommended to the Newport Folk Festival people by "one of my teachers at Berklee. I heard no word and then all of a sudden we were playing. I found out a week before school ended." Reaction?  "Oh my God! Are you kidding me? Opening for Linda Ronstadt? I have an old 'Trio' album with her and Dolly Parton and Emmlou Harris. I have that hanging on my wall. I have to get that down to have her sign it and I'll probably give it to my mum."

At the moment Diaz admits to pre-show trepidation and calls it "nerve-wracking. Linda Ronstadt has such a reputation and who am I? I don't have a reputation. We're just excited to play for a large audience." What to expect from Diaz?  "It'll be the full band with a pedal steel player. I grew up with a lot of different things and my dad is a Berklee alum. I listened to Zappa, Metallica, Paula Abdul, Emmylou, a wide array of everything. I moved to Pennsylvania when I was 8, and listened to pop-country and then ran away from it. And then came back. (In song) I'm whining but I dont' feel bad about it.  People are willing to listen to a sob story in the cournty and folk genres. I let out as much as I can."