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\n\tMention this summer\u2019s Newport Folk Festival<\/a> to S.G. Goodman<\/a>, and she\u2019ll lead with a sports story. \u201cOh, I kicked Kevin Morby\u2019s ass,\u201d she says, faster than it took to bring up the fest in the first place.<\/p>\n \n\tGoodman was the captain of the winning team in the Newport All-Star softball game, getting the best of Morby\u2019s group. A day later, she found herself on the Harbor Stage, covering the Butthole Surfers\u2019 \u201cPepper\u201d and inviting Dan Reeder on stage to play on \u201cI\u2019m in Love,\u201d one of the signature tunes on Planting by the Signs<\/em>, Goodman\u2019s third studio album, which dropped in June. She also found time to sit in during MJ Lenderman\u2019s set.<\/p>\n \n\tDays after that Newport whirlwind, Goodman holed up in a coffee shop in Midtown Manhattan to while away the hours before opening for Patty Griffin at Sony Hall by reflecting on Newport and the weeks since Planting by the Signs<\/em> hit streaming sites and record stores.<\/p>\n \n\tHer overarching assessment of Newport was that she was a lot more nervous than she let on.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cDuring my set, or bringing Dan up and sitting in with MJ, the nerves didn\u2019t hit,\u201d she recalls. \u201cWhen they really hit was when I knew I was sitting in with Lucius, who are just masters at harmonizing. I was basically subbing in on this wonderful song they did with Madison Cunningham. It\u2019s a complicated song, and it was maybe going past my abilities as a vocalist to do it seamlessly. Then, when I walked up to the stage, I was handed the setlist, and right under me was Mavis Staples. I just went, \u2018Jesus Christ. Here I am, gonna be really putting myself out there, and right after me is gonna walk a living legend.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tGoodman\u2019s re-telling may be self-deprecating, but it reflects the Kentucky native\u2019s slow, almost grudging, acceptance of the spotlight. Even before Planting by the Signs<\/em>, Goodman\u2019s star power was growing more quickly than at any point since her 2020 solo debut, Old Time Feeling<\/em>. She had a long post-pandemic run of opening for Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and was named the 2023 Emerging Artist of the Year at the Americana Honors & Awards. But it was Tyler Childers covering the heart-wrenching love ballad \u201cSpace and Time\u201d from that debut album, including it on his 2023 release Rustin\u2019 in the Rain<\/a><\/em>, that broadened Goodman\u2019s fan base exponentially.<\/p>\n