In the hands of John McCauley — who initially founded the group Deer Tick as a solo project — playing rowdy, free-wheeling rock 'n' roll is a feat free of self-importance. Even as his band has taken off, and even as McCauley himself has formed hit side projects with his pals in Dawes and Delta Spirit, the Rhode Island singer remains the sort of guy who chooses to busk in front of portable toilets for kicks.

These days, it wouldn't be a Newport Folk Festival without some representation from the Deer Tick-Dawes-Delta Spirit triad, but unless you count Blake Mills (who used to play in an early iteration of Dawes), McCauley is it for 2013 — and he's even shed the Deer Tick moniker for the occasion. Hear his performance, recorded live on Friday, July 26 in Newport, R.I.

Set List