These Newport Folk Festival performances served up legendary music, historic events

NEWPORT – While most who attend the Newport Folk Festival go to enjoy some good music, fans are also likely to witness history, if past performances are any guide.

In the 65 years since the festival began – which include a hiatus between 1970 and 1985, plus recordings of past performances for a virtual 2020 festival during the COVID-19 pandemic – the Newport Folk Festival has generated buzz from acts both big and small. At times, these performances have left a mark on American music history.

The festival, which began a month before Hawaii became a state in 1959, has witnessed these seven historic moments, among others:

18-year-old Joan Baez debuts at inaugural Newport Folk Festival

The lineup in 1959, the festival's first year, included seasoned musicians such as Pete Seeger, Odetta, and the Kingston Trio. But Bob Gibson, a leader of the folk revival in the late 1950s, invited unknown 18-year-old Joan Baez onto the stage.

As Ted Holmberg recalled five years later in The Providence Journal, "Joan Baez drove down from Boston ... and her rise was meteoric immediately after scoring a hit in Newport."

The singer-songwriter's career has spanned six decades.

Bob Dylan goes electric, gets booed

This almost doesn't need to be recounted for music fans of most genres, but 1965 was probably the Newport Folk Festival's most influential year, as Bob Dylan, who debuted there in 1963, ignited debate about whether folk music was, by definition, only acoustic when he brought electric instruments onto the festival stage.

Dylan was booed, but it has never been resolved whether the audience revolted against the electric performance or was angry that his set was too brief.

At least one Providence Journal writer was not impressed.

"Bobby Dylan pounding away as if he were a rock and roll idol. Facial expressions. His gyrations. Roaring amplifiers," wrote M. Charles Bakst.

"'This is folk music?' someone asked."

"There was no answer."

Dylan returned to the Newport festival in 2002 but hasn't been back since, although organizers have said he has an open invitation.

Joni Mitchell comes out of retirement

Health problems had kept Joni Mitchell, a folk festival mainstay in the 1960s, from giving a full-length live performance for more than 20 years, until she appeared on the festival stage on the final day of 2022's edition.

Joined by several other artists, the 78-year-old performed a set that included "Carey," "Big Yellow Taxi," "Amelia," "Shine," "Come in From the Cold," "Love Potion No. 9" and "The Circle Game," in what some called the greatest moment in the history of the festival.

Dolly Parton surprises audience

Continuing the string of notable surprise performances, Dolly Parton took the stage in 2019, performing with the likes of Amanda Shires, Maren Morris, Brandi Carlile and Natalie Hemby.

Among the songs Parton performed were "I Will Always Love You" and "Jolene."

Paul Simon tribute turns into surprise performance

Paul Simon's surprise performance on Saturday of 2022's festival was destined to be the greatest moment of the weekend – until Joni Mitchell took the stage the next day.

Newport Folk Festival over the years: See who was there

Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats were performing a set that had been billed as a tribute to Simon when the honoree walked onto the stage and performed "Graceland," "American Tune" and "The Boxer" with other artists before closing with a solo rendition of "The Sound of Silence," according to The Newport Daily News.

James Taylor's set is interrupted by Apollo 11 moon landing

James Taylor was receiving a standing ovation for "Carolina on my Mind" on July 20, 1969, as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were landing on the moon.

Festival organizers tried to clear the crowd by announcing the Apollo 11 landing.

Newport Folk Festival 2023: Get ready for this year and relive the past

The crowd responded, "More! More! More!" according to Journal reports at the time.

The Newport Folk Festival would get more from Taylor in 2015, his next appearance there.

Mississippi John Hurt resurrects career that hadn't really gotten started

Mississippi John Hurt was a farmer who taught himself to be a musician. Or so he thought.

In 1928, he recorded 13 songs that failed commercially, so he went back to farming.

In 1963, two fans of 1920s Southern music got a tape of one of his recordings, tracked him down and persuaded him to go on tour, culminating at the Newport Folk Festival that year, where his Saturday performance vaulted him to fame.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell create music history at Newport Folk Festival