Newport Folk Festival

Imagine the very iconic Bob Dylan gracing the stage with throngs of people anxiously awaiting his performance. The year is 1965. Bob Dylan is only 24 years old.

Now imagine Bob Dylan being booed off-stage.

It happened at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. Bob Dylan's first electric set ever was met with great animosity. Some fans believed he "abandoned" folk music altogether while others believed the sound quality was less-than-stellar. What was known was that the fusion of folk and rock was born that day.

Forty-seven years later, I will be attending the same festival and see the stages greats like Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Johnny Cash and George Wein among others. 

For months, I have been counting down to the Newport Folk Festival. It's my first time not only heading to the Folk Festival but actually staying in Rhode Island. (up until this point I merely used Rhode Island as a welcome mat to get to Massachusetts.) I'll be attending the festival on Saturday. The stellar line-up includes My Morning Jacket, Iron & Wine, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, First Aid Kit, City & Colour and even a group of young kids (aged 8-14) called the Sleepy Man Banjo Boys. 

Sadly, the weather in Newport is going to be far from ideal. I packed promotional umbrellas and custom imprinted rain jackets and ponchos. These jackets are great because they will keep the rain off while not overheating me from the already high temperatures predicted.