Folk Fest: Folks, Leave the Selfie Sticks at Home

When you pack up for music and fun at the Newport Folk Festival this summer, be sure to bring some sunscreen, a small cooler, a lawn chair and a blanket.

There’s one thing that you probably shouldn’t bring: your selfie stick.

The folks behind the Newport Folk Fest have responded to an increasing number of inquiries about their stance on selfie sticks — two-to three-foot long rods for mounting a smartphone to make taking self-portraits easier.

“Please leave them at home,” the Folk Fest tweeted on Monday.

The reasoning is simple. Hundreds of people carrying rods doesn’t sound very compatible with large crowds, especially when the crowd gets pressed together near the stage.

Second, there’s a strict policy against video and audio recording and hand-held cameras are banned. It’s to protect the musicians’ copyright and prevent unauthorized recording. A selfie stick pointed away from the “self” would make a pretty slick workaround, woudn’t it?

And then there’s the whole obnoxiousness factor. While there’s nothing wrong with a selfie, it can be a distraction at a musical venue, especially if a view is blocked. These days, it’s hard to enjoy a public performance of any sort without a sea of screens in front of you. Now imagine if those screens were a few feet higher!

Finally, isn’t the point of going to the Newport Folk Festival to forget about all the gizmos, gadgets, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and so on? It’s hard to lose yourself in the music, the incredible ocean views, the history of Fort Adams — when you’re manipulating a selfie stick. The festival is about having fun, but it’s really about the music.

This doesn’t mean that nobody should take any selfies at the festival. The festival organizers have a keen solution: “meet fellow folk & have them take a pic for you” they tweeted.