News : Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals Ink Exclusive Deal With Ticketer Dice

The legendary Newport Jazz and Newport Folk Festivals in Rhode Island have entered into an exclusive agreement with ticketing and discovery platform Dice. Both festivals, which take place at Fort Adams State Park, will be ticketed by Dice starting this year.

“The most important thing to us is that the fans have a fantastic experience and we know that experience starts long before doors open to our event,” said Newport Folk executive producer Jay Sweet in a release. “In a year where fans deserve to get out and go see the music they love, we know Dice is the right partner to make things as easy as possible, fair, transparent and intuitive for our Newport Family. We want these tickets in the hands of our fans and not on the secondary market.”

Dice works with over 3,600 venues, festivals and promoters globally and has sold tickets to fans in nearly 180 countries. Founded in 2014, its mission is to remedy the opaque world of ticketing with its transparent, fan-first model. The technology includes upfront pricing and features such as refunds on sold-out shows and a “waitlist” that helps fans get into in-demand shows and ensures venues are at capacity to increase revenue. Dice also combats for-profit resellers by preventing secondary resale of tickets.

“Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals have an unmatched legacy as two of the most celebrated music events in US history and it’s an honor for Dice to be named their partner,” said Dice president Russ Tannen in a release. “At Dice we love working with the most ambitious operators in the world, whether that’s rising independent venues through to legendary festivals that continue to push the boundaries.”

The Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals are two of the longest running music festivals in the country – created by George Wein in 1954 and 1959, respectively. The festivals have been home to legendary performances by Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, John Coltrane, Pete Seeger, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Dolly Parton, Mavis Staples and more.

The long-running festivals were postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic, but returned in the summer of 2021. Just months after both festivals took place in late July, Wein passed away at the age of 95.

The Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals are set to return to Rhode Island this summer from July 22-24 and July 29-31, respectively.