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Fans dance in front of the stage at the Newport Folk
Festival. (Photo courtesy of Ben Weitzenkorn/WERS)
By Ross Dallas
In an era when some bands won’t take the stage without a synthesizer and drum machine—a time when sampled sound often replaces traditional instruments—it’s hard for young music fans to understand why people were angered to see Bob Dylan strumming an electric guitar here in 1965.
In 2008, at the same festival where Bob Dylan went electric 43 years ago, the boundaries are still pushed. Burgeoning artists share the stage with older acts like Richie Havens and Jimmy Buffet, and there remains no simple definition of folk.
This was originally produced for WERS.org in August 2008.