Newport Folk Festival, where Bob Dylan played.
The Newport Folk festival was founded in 1959 by George Wein and his Partner, Albert Grossman who had already been made famous with the Jazz Festival of the same name. Albert Grossman was Bob Dylan's manager in the sixties.
Bob Dylan
became famous when he appeared in 1963 and 1964, accompanied by Joan Baez. He played with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 1965. He was booed as he was regarded as betraying his folk songs by playing electric guitar. Bob Dylan left the stage, as a result of the booing, but returned after he was persuaded by Joan Baez to return. He sang the songs, "It's all over now" and "Baby Blue" at The Festival. The festival closed in 1971, and George Wein moved to New York City with his company, Festival Productions Inc. The Newport Folk Festival, reopened in 1986 and many of the artists who had performed in the sixties came back, among them were, Joan Baez, Bonnie Raitt, Judy Collins, Mimi Farini, Jim Rooney and many other singers. In the nineties artists, such as
B.B. King,
John Lee Hooker, Janis Ian, John Hiatt, Dr John and many others played music at the festival. In the Nineties, The Indigo Girls played at the Festival and sang their hit song, "Strange Fire". In 1993, Sarah Mc Lachlan sung her hit song, on stage. In 1998, James Taylor performed on the stage with artists such as,
Van Morrison
and Jerry Jeff Walker. James Taylor had not played since 1969 at the festival. The Newport Folk Festival continues to be one of the major folk music festivals in the United States.
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