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• The Newport Folk Festival is an annual music festival that highlights a variety of Folk, Blues and Rock musicians from around the world. Started in 1959, the Newport Folk Festival is held each year in Newport, Rhode Island and attracts some of the top performers in the Folk music scene. The festival's heyday occured in the mid-1960s when such musical luminaries as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash and Howlin' Wolf gave some of their best known performances. After a decrease in interest during the 1970's (no festival was held between 1971 and 1984), it was revived in 1985 and has continued uninterrupted through the present. Some of the headliners at this year's festival include Jimmy Buffett, Cat Power and Levon Helm.

• Electric Dylan

  One of the most famous performances in the history of the Newport Folk Festival occurred in 1965 when Bob Dylan performed with electric instruments for the first time in his career. While Dylan was heavily criticized within the Folk community for supposedly abandoning his Folk roots, the performance is often cited by historians as one of the seminal moments in both the genres of Folk and Rock.

• Fast Facts

  1. First year: 1959
  2. Founded by: Theodore Bikel, Oscar Brand, Pete Seeger and George Wein
  3. Location: Newport, Rhode Island
  4. Frequency: Annual
  5. 2008 Dates: August 1-3
  6. 2008 Sponsor: Dunkin' Donuts
  7. 2008 Lineup

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Newport Folk Festival 2008 Lineup | Bob Dylan | Joan Baez | Johnny Cash | Howlin' Wolf | Rhode Island | The Black Crowes | Cat Power | Damian Marley | Cowboy Junkies | Jakob Dylan | Jesca Hoop | My Morning Jacket | She & Him | Zooey Deschanel | M. Ward | Jimmy Buffett | Levon Helm | Gillian Welch | Brandi Carlile | Kaki King | Jake Shimabukuro | Bob Dylan 1965 Newport Folk Festival | South by Southwest 2009

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