Who was the first woman to headline the Newport Folk Festival?
Were a genie to grant me three wishes and provide me the opportunity to see three iconic gigs from music history, I would admittedly be paralysed by the choice; however, one such show that may make it into my shortlist would be Bob Dylan’s 1965 gig at the Newport Folk Festival.
It was a true moment in musical time as he abandoned the folk sensibilities so many critics were keen to pigeonhole him into and went electric. A truly seismic artistic shift that many music fans weren’t yet accustomed to, and one that arguably granted him a career of long-term freedom. But the appeal for me exists more in the crowd atmosphere, in the growing sense of tension that existed within disgruntled folk fans and a mood that gave his songs an extra bite.
In perhaps a bitter twist of irony for those who founded the festival, Dylan’s rebellious performance probably remains its most iconic show of all time. But of course, beneath the shadow cast by his life-changing turn is a catalogue of performances from artists who have some place in the conversation around its iconography.
Of course, one such artist was Joan Baez, whom you could almost consider a Dylan’s counterpart in the industry, challenging him on his genius and battling him onstage, as the pair engaged in fierce duets during the pomp of New York’s folk scene.
Perhaps one of their most famous was their rendition of ‘It Ain’t Me’ at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, where they together gave what the folk scene thought was a window into the future, with these two young original voices taking it forward with their unique relationship.
“Joaney was at the forefront of a new dynamic in American music,” Dylan said of the songwriter, “She had a record out that was circulating in the folk circles, I think it was just called Joan Baez, and everybody was listening to it, me included, I listened to it a lot.”
Continuing his praise, he added, “She had that heart-stopping soprano voice, and I couldn’t get it out of my mind”.
Was Joan Baez Newport Folk Festival’s first female headliner?
Keeping in mind Dylan’s praise, Joan Baez was the perfect candidate to headline the event, and so she did in 1963, four years after she made her debut at the event, as a mere 18-year-old who would go on to shock the folk community with her undeniable talent.
That evening, she performed a string of her own hits, but once again invited her lover and musical adversary Bob Dylan onstage to perform ‘Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright’ and ‘With God On Our Side’. Ever since those early years of the festival, where Baez’s name ranked high on the bill, she continued to return and has become a treasured name for the event. Playing over a dozen times, she showed a faithfulness to the festival when many believed Dylan had abandoned it.
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