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- Newport Folk Outlives Woodstock
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- Rhonda J. Miller
Speaking out against the madness has been part of the Newport Folk Festival since it began in 1959. This legendary music festival started 10 years before Woodstock and has lasted 40 years later. And it's still going strong.
That makes its significance in American culture both historic and contemporary.
At the 50th anniversary of the Newport Folk Festival in August 2009, legends like Pete Seeger, one of the festival's founders, took the stage with Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Arlo Guthrie.
Festival founder, producer and musician George Wein says politics, sociology and a personal message add to the essence of folk music.
A new generation of musicians drew big crowds at the 50th Newport Folk Festival. Rhode Island bands Deer Tick and The Low Anthem made their marks as hometown successes. Ben Kweller, Fleet Foxes, Gillian Welch and some who don't like to label their music attracted teenagers, families, college students and many who came to previous Newport Folk Festivals.
Rhode Island reporter and producer Rhonda Miller eavesdrops on a Newport Folk Festival from decades ago when America was rattled by political and social troubles, then spends a weekend at this year's folk festival, a gathering that keeps on giving, decades after Woodstock is but a memory.
The music spans traditional folk to pure "now."
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Related Pieces
Piece Description
Speaking out against the madness has been part of the Newport Folk Festival since it began in 1959. This legendary music festival started 10 years before Woodstock and has lasted 40 years later. And it's still going strong.
That makes its significance in American culture both historic and contemporary.
At the 50th anniversary of the Newport Folk Festival in August 2009, legends like Pete Seeger, one of the festival's founders, took the stage with Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Arlo Guthrie.
Festival founder, producer and musician George Wein says politics, sociology and a personal message add to the essence of folk music.
A new generation of musicians drew big crowds at the 50th Newport Folk Festival. Rhode Island bands Deer Tick and The Low Anthem made their marks as hometown successes. Ben Kweller, Fleet Foxes, Gillian Welch and some who don't like to label their music attracted teenagers, families, college students and many who came to previous Newport Folk Festivals.
Rhode Island reporter and producer Rhonda Miller eavesdrops on a Newport Folk Festival from decades ago when America was rattled by political and social troubles, then spends a weekend at this year's folk festival, a gathering that keeps on giving, decades after Woodstock is but a memory.
The music spans traditional folk to pure "now."
Broadcast History
WXIN 90.7 Providence/Folk River/Aug.15,2009
Intro and Outro
INTRO: Ten years before Woodstock and 40 years after, there's a weekend festival that's been a long time mixing politics, music and community.
Speaking out against the madness has been commonplace at the Newport Folk Festival, which marked its 50th anniversary this August.
Rhode Island reporter Rhonda Miller eavesdrops on a past festival and spends an August weekend at the 2009 Newport Folk Festival, where some say folk music changed their lives and some say the new generation of musicians doesn't need a label.
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Willing Conscript | Tom Paxton | Newport Broadside. | Vanguard | 1963 | 00:00 |
| Song About A Man | Deer Tick | Live at Newport Folk Festival 2009. | 00:00 | ||
| Fighting For My Rights | The Freedom Singers | Newport Broadside. | Vanguard | 1963 | 00:00 |
| Blind Walk the Blind | The Low Anthem | Live at Newport Folk Festival 2009. | 00:00 | ||
| If I Had A Hammer | Pete Seeger & Friends | Live at Newport Folk Festival. | 00:00 | ||
| Friend of the Devil | Paul Knox | Live at Newport Folk Festival 2009. | 00:00 |
