On this day in 1965, Bob Dylan changes the face of folk music entirely by going electric at the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island.
Back in March of 1965, Bob Dylan released his fifth studio album, Bringing It All Back Home. Featuring an electric and acoustic side, fan reaction was divided at the time, with many feeling alienated by the sudden shift in the artist’s sound.
Just a matter of months later, on July 20th, Bob Dylan released the first single from his upcoming album, Highway 61 Revisited. The single was ‘Like A Rolling Stone’, and in addition to being one of the most important songs of all time, the track was a marathon six minutes in length, and featured a sound more akin to a rock band than a folk singer.
Days later, on July 24th, Bob Dylan was performing songs in preparation of his set at the Newport Folk Festival when he made the decision to perform with electric instruments for the first time. According to Jonathan Taplin, a roadie at the festival, Dylan’s exact thoughts were “‘Fuck them if they think they can keep electricity out of here, I’ll do it.’ On a whim he said he wanted to play electric.”
The next day, Dylan took to the stage at the Newport Folk Festival where he performed an abnormally short set of just five songs, two of which as an encore. Audience reception to the set was mixed, with reporters later noting that Bob Dylan “electrified one half of his audience, and electrocuted the other.”
Historical reports have noted that the performance was also marred by poor sound quality, leading to some musicians, such as Pete Seeger, explaining that this was the reason for the set’s mixed reception.
Following his return to the stage for the encore, Dylan noted that he didn’t have the right harmonica on hand to perform ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’, at which point countless audience members threw their instruments on stage to aid the musician.
While fans applauded Dylan’s the culmination of his performance and begged for more songs, Bob Dylan would not return to the stages of the Newport Folk Festival until 2002, where he performed in a wig and fake beard.
Dylan kicks off national dates on 8th August. Check here for full details.
Check out Bob Dylan’s electric performance of ‘Like A Rolling Stone’:
Bob Dylan @ Newport Folk Festival, USA 25/07/1965 Setlist
‘Maggie’s Farm’
‘Like A Rolling Stone’
‘Phantom Engineer’ (later renamed ’It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry’)
Encore:
‘Mr. Tambourine Man’
‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’
