Saturday at Newport Folk Festival found a host of unique acts coming to Newport as well as a few familiar faces, as the likes of Patti Smith, Ryan Adams, Norah Jones, Graham Nash and many others highlighted Saturday’s musical slate.

Early on, Amy Helm dazzled with her rendition of The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and Matthew Logan Vasquez helped Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats cover another Band tune, “The Shape I’m In,” which Rateliff has turned into a mainstay and previously covered with Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready at Sasquatch Festival. Other early highlights included Father John Misty, Del McCoury and David Grisman’s “Del & Dawg” project.

Also on the cover front, Norah Jones made her return to Newport Folk with a set highlighted by a take on the Grateful Dead’s “It Must Have Been the Roses.” Kris Kristofferson returned again for his second appearance in as many days, sitting in with the Texas Gentlemen for a set that also included Margo Price joining in on “Me & Bobby McGee” meanwhile Newport mainstays Deer Tick backed Ruby Amafu for her set.

As they day wound to a close, Graham Nash took the stage for his solo acoustic set and delivered “Back Home,” among others, a tune he co-wrote with Amy Helm for her late father and Band drummer Levon Helm. Nash also touched on various eras of his career with songs like “Military Madness,” “Marraskesh Express,” “Our House” and “Teach Your Children,” among others.

Ryan Adams also appeared with his second collaboration with The Infamous Stringdusters and Nicki Bluhm. Adams injected some of his sense of humor into the set, opening with a bluegrass-tinged rendition of Slayer’s “South of Heaven” as well as Black Sabbath’s “The Wizard.” Adams also improvised a song about Frightened Rabbit, who was playing on an adjacent stage, and also mixed in cuts from his days with the Cardinals “The End” and “Let it Ride” to go along with classic DRA standards “My Winding Wheel,” “New York, New York,” “Oh My Sweet Carolina” and others.

The day closed with Patti Smith and Her Band, playing one of her only shows in the U.S. this year. Smith worked in a number of covers like “My Generation,” Allen Ginsburg’s “Holy, Holy, Holy,” Prince’s “When Doves Cry” and a special nod to Newport’s history with Pete Seeger’s “If I Had a Hammer.” Smith also highlighted her set with “This is the Girl,” written for the late Amy Winehouse who passed away yesterday in 2011.

Newport Folk concludes today.