This weekend and next will be hot — outside and on the radio. New England’s two major music festivals, the Newport Folk Festival (Friday through Sunday) and its big brother, the JVC Jazz Festival Newport (August 8-10), will offer streaming Webcasts on the Internet and radio broadcasts on two NPR stations in the New York area, WFUV and WBG0.

Newport Folk Festival, founded by George Wein in 1959 (five years after he introduced the jazz festival), is struggling with the issue of whether or not to present pop acts, a conflict that the jazz festival went through in the 1960s and ’70s. This year, the headliners include Cowboy Junkies, a Canadian group described as variously country or rock but less so as folk. Also performing will be Steve Earle and Allison Moorer, a pair of singer-songwriters with an occasional political bent. Though they too are more often considered country or rock, there’s no doubt that they’ll fit into a folk event.

Still, it’s the more traditional folk artists who make up the real meat of the festival. Onstage will be Gillian Welch and Richie Havens, a star from the early decades of this event, who is making his return to Newport for the first time in 17 years. One name that will provide continuity with the beginnings of the folk fest is Jakob Dylan. Although best-known as a founding member of the rock band The Wallflowers, he is doing his own gig — one that may remind longtime festival attendees of his father, Bob Dylan, who launched virtually all the phases of his early career with his performances at Newport.

Listeners will be able to hear Jakob Dylan, Steve Earle and Allison Moorer live on WFUV (90.7 FM New York) on Saturday. NPR and WFUV will webcast more than 10 performances over two days — Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. — including the Cowboy Junkies.

The JVC Jazz Festival Newport, which kicks off next weekend, has also traditionally included its share of copacetic pop acts. This year, the headliner is the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. Saturday night, August 9, will be distinguished by a number of specially formed, possibly once-in-a-lifetime all-star groups led by legendary bassists: the quartet of Dave Holland with Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, tenor saxophonist Chris Potter, and drummer Eric Harland, as well as the trio of Charlie Haden, pianist Ethan Iverson (of The Bad Plus fame), and guitarist Bill Frisell.

In terms of regularly working groups, the Brian Blade Fellowship boasts a consistently excellent roster of proven talent. Chief among those talents is the leader, Mr. Blade, who also serves as a drummer in Wayne Shorter’s current quartet. Incidentally, that’s the single most essential act to catch: This tenor saxophonist-composer is almost always doing something surprising.

August 9 also boasts a miniseries of three different trumpters: Chris Botti, a jazz player with enormous pop appeal; the nascent New Orleans brassman Christian Scott; and the often-awesome Warren Vaché, one of the most colorful and expressive musicians out there on any instrument.

The evening of August 10 will feature two of the biggest stars of the contemporary jazz world: Herbie Hancock and Sonny Rollins (who will be in New York at Central Park SummerStage this coming Wednesday). Mr. Hancock is continuing his “River of Possibilities” tour, springing from his two recent albums, in which he plays jazz in such a way as to be well within reach of pop music listeners. Mr. Rollins is, as always, predictable — in the sense that he’s always great. He’s the kind of musician that even non-jazz fans should try to catch regularly.

August 10 includes two piano-led bands that are well worth listening to: the tuneful, accessible Los Gauchos, led by the Argentine pianist and composer Guillermo Klein, and George Wein’s Newport All-Stars, featuring the exceptional guitarist Howard Alden and the hard-swinging, Israeli clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen.

Chris Potter, a tenor player worth hearing under any circumstances, is appearing in his second and third bands of the festival, namely keyboardist Marco Benevento’s techno-experimental trio and the saxophonist’s own ensemble Underground. Soul trombonist Fred Wesley is also spotlighted with two groups, the ensemble Lettuce on August 9 and the funk jazz organ trio Soulive on August 10. For jazz fans with an appetite for the international, there are two bands led by string players worth catching: African guitarist Lionel Loueke and Spanish-styled bassist Esperanza Spalding.

NPR and WBGO will Webcast live all the main stage acts at the festival on August 9 and 10. WBGO (88.3 FM, Newark, N.J.) will broadcast live acts — including Messrs. Hancock and Wein — on the radio from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on both days.

For more information, visit nprmusic.org.