Newport Mansions to Launch “Sessions” Video Series
of Live Music Performances in Historic Properties
 

Newport Mansions is expanding its digital content portfolio with a new music video series entitled simply “Sessions.” The series pairs live acoustic performances with some of the most historically significant architecture in the United States.

Invited musicians record stripped-down sets inside or on the grounds of the organization’s 11 historic properties, seven of which are National Historic Landmarks. Each set is filmed without an audience and captured in a single take, using one condenser microphone to highlight the distinctive acoustics of each location.

The recordings will be posted in their entirety on the Newport Mansions YouTube channel, @Newport.Mansions.

The series will debut on January 8, 2026, with a performance by Maine-based indie-folk duo The Ballroom Thieves, recorded last summer inside Marble House, a Gilded Age mansion once home to socialite and women’s suffrage activist Alva Vanderbilt.

Additional “Sessions” will be released as follows:

• The American roots trio The Wood Brothers on February 12, 2026, recorded live at The Breakers Stables & Carriage House.

• Local roots folk act Laden Valley on March 12, 2026, recorded live at The Elms (summer home of George and Bertha Russell in HBO's series "The Gilded Age").

Newport Mansions plans to release new installments every month throughout 2026 and is currently in discussions with a number of nationally recognized artists to record new “Sessions.”

“These recordings are unique opportunities to create something beautiful and lasting, moments where the setting becomes part of the performance,” said Ashley Bard, Content Marketing & Studio Manager for Newport Mansions.

Marketing Director Kevin O’Leary said the initiative is designed to reach audiences who may not often engage with historic sites. “Music has an ability to reframe how people experience a space,” O’Leary said. “Nothing like these sessions has ever taken place inside our properties, and we hope they inspire new interest in these remarkable places.”

Newport Mansions has partnered with Newport-based creative content agency Tandem to help produce the series.

A half-minute teaser video for the “Sessions” series can be seen on the Newport Mansions YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/QUxW3g0DddA.

For updates on upcoming “Sessions,” follow Newport Mansions on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok (@Newport.Mansions), or join the organization’s mailing list at NewportMansions.org.

The Preservation Society of Newport County, Rhode Island, is a nonprofit organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the area's historic architecture, landscapes, decorative arts and social history. Its 11 historic properties – seven of them National Historic Landmarks – span more than 250 years of American architectural and social development.

For more information, please visit www.NewportMansions.org.