Adding to legacy at Newport

Perhaps no other American music festival so strongly inspires its artists to connect the dots between their music and what preceded it. Sarah Jarosz, a New England Conservatory student and rising Americana musician, sprinkled covers of Dylan and Patty Griffin into her set Saturday morning at Fort Adams State Park. Around the same time on a separate stage, recent Berklee graduate Liz Longley sweetly said, “I’m a huge Joni Mitchell fan,’’ before playing a moving acoustic rendition of “River.’’

To celebrate Newport’s 50th anniversary, Seeger headlined both nights last year, leading nearly the entire lineup in spirited singalongs. While his presence lent the festival gravitas and cohesion, this year’s edition was more scattershot but with lively performances by the likes of bluegrass masters (mandolinist Sam Bush), indie folk-rockers (Blitzen Trapper), and soul revivalists (Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings). The variety paid off too. This year’s attendance surpassed 16,000, up 500 from last year’s count.

Pity the folks who missed an ardent set from Nneka, a singer-songwriter of Nigerian and German heritage whose hip-hop and R&B resounded with warmth and defiance. Oddly, she seemed resigned and indifferent in between songs; such is the peril of opening the main Fort stage at 11:30 in the morning.

Nneka was among a handful of artists trafficking in different sounds and moods. Calexico, an Americana collective from Tucson, emanated a lovely desert noir vibe tinged with Mexican flourishes, replete with two horn players and an accordionist. New York’s O’Death, which rightly calls its music folk metal, ignited the first fits of dancing I saw, rivaled only by the contagious fan fervor for Dawes, the California country-rock quintet that made Newport its star-making moment.