PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is issuing the following statement regarding the death of George Wein. Mr. Wein, 95, created the Newport Jazz Festival in 1954 and the Newport Folk Festival in 1959. The festivals play at Fort Adams State Park, which is managed by DEM.
"George Wein was a gentleman and a legend whose genius consisted in presenting music on a grand scale in the open air. Nobody put on shows quite like him. Ultimately, his greatest creations – the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals – found their home at Fort Adams State Park, which DEM is proud to manage. Thanks to Mr. Wein's vision, the Newport Festivals Foundation (NFF) and DEM entered into an agreement in 2018 to continue presenting the iconic festivals at Fort Adams until 2043. Mr. Wein's civic-mindedness was evident in NFF's expanding philanthropic music education and artist relief programs. DEM offers Mr. Wein's family and friends, his colleagues at the Newport Festivals Foundation and throughout the music industry, and his legions of fans around the world our sincerest sympathies for your loss."
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