Newport Folk Festival 1963

Newport was the most important gathering of the folk revival, and in 1963 Dylan arrived there as its rising star. His second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, had come out that spring, and Peter, Paul and Mary had turned "Blowin' in the Wind" into a hit. Joan Baez, already famous, brought him on stage with her and championed his songs, and the two became a public pairing. The closing scene, with the Freedom Singers, Pete Seeger, Baez and others singing together, tied his music to the civil rights movement in the public mind. Baez soon invited him on her own tour as a guest, introducing him to larger audiences. He returned to Newport in 1964 and again in 1965, when his appearance would go very differently.