Newport Folkies Go Live on the Net This Weekend. “The Answer My Friend is Backboned on the Zend”

Ahhh, it’s a cryin’ shame it’s not 1965 so we could hear Dylan get booed by the uptight folk-nazi’s frothing at the mouth over Bobby playing rock and roll on holy acoustic folkie ground. Or better yet, ‘64 with Skip James pickn’ and moanin’ to “I’d Rather be the Devil.” Well, like they say, “Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be.”

This weekend NPR will be streaming quite a few of the performances from many of the artists appearing at the Newport Folk Festival. Unfortunately a large number of the ‘artists’ gracing the stage at Newport this year undoubtedly wouldn’t know what a clawhammer was if it whacked em’ in the head like a coo-coo bird racing towards hell, flying straight out of a Kentucky coalmine disaster.

The Newport Folk Festival has a rich tradition of discovery and paying homage to the history and culture of American traditional music. Over the years the lineup at the festival would read like a who’s who of Blues, Folk and Country music greats. Gracing the stage at Newport through the decades included American music masters like Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Pete Seeger, Rev. Gary Davis, John Hammond, John Lee Hooker, Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry, Mississippi John Hurt, Clarence “Tom” Ashley, The New Lost City Ramblers, Fred Price, Doc Watson, Doc Boggs and Maybelle Carter. Whew!

The Newport Folk Festival was founded in 1959 by folksingers and managers including Pete Seeger, Theodore Bikel, and former Bob Dylan manager and “landlord” Albert Grossman. This year the festival “sponsors” include T-Mobile, Rhapsody and NBC 10 in Philly. I wonder if Phil Ochs is rolling over in his grave?

Look for sets from Gillian Welch, Steve Earle, Richie Havens and indie rock acts Calexico, She & Him and Dylan’s blue-eyed offspring Jakob Dylan. The webcasts will be streamed live on NPR.org and according to the National Public Radio website, the performances will also be archived and available online at a later date.

Here’s the list of the complete streaming schedule available live on NPR this weekend:

Saturday, August Second:

• 11:30 a.m.: Cowboy Junkies

• 12:30 p.m.: Jakob Dylan

• 1:40 p.m.: Steve Earle with Allison Moorer

• 2:00 p.m.: Trey Anastasio

• 2:50 p.m.: She & Him

• 3:30 p.m.: Stephen & Damian Marley

• 4:00 p.m.: Jim James (of My Morning Jacket)

Sunday, August Third:

• 11:30 p.m.: Willy Mason

• 12:15 p.m.: Brandi Carlile

• 1:20 p.m.: Calexico

• 2:40 p.m.: Gillian Welch

Tagged as: bob dylan, music, music business, newport folk festival