Editor’s Note: On September 27, 2025, the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame in partnership with the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music held a collaborative symposium entitled Wasn’t That A Time: The Boston Folk Revival 1958-1965. Over the course of the day, attendees at the Arrow Street Arts Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, enjoyed sessions and panels on such subjects as Club 47, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan at Newport Folk Fest, a conversation with Peter Wolf, and much more. The symposium programming was captured and filmed, and over the course of the next few weeks we’ll be sharing select sessions with our audience right here on BGS. Tune in and enjoy learning more about how Boston was at the epicenter of the folk revival in the ’50s and ’60s.
Our third installment focuses on Dylan’s 1965 appearance at Newport Folk Festival. Watch above, learn more below. (Watch the first in the series here. Watch the second in the series here.)
“Dylan Goes Electric at Newport ’65”
Speakers: Bob Santelli (moderator), Elijah Wald, Douglas Brinkley, Jeannie Brand, Court Carney.
About the Video: When Bob Dylan traded his acoustic guitar for electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, he ushered in a shift to the traditional folk scene. How did the audience and his fellow performers respond, and why? How did this change folk at the time and continue to influence the genre?
“Continuing the series from our Symposium, we tackle one of folk music’s defining moments: Dylan going electric at Newport ’65. What followed changed everything. This panel brings clarity, context, and insight to a moment that continues to shape American music.” – Casey Soward, President and CEO of the Boch Center
Check out the latest exhibits and events happening at the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame here. Learn about the 2025 inductees to the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame here.