Newport & The Great Folk Dream

Guests Expected

Director Robert Gordon, Producer Joe Lauro, and Producer/Editor Laura Jean Hocking will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A.

Description

Robert Gordon and Joe Lauro’s comprehensive archival assemblage of the seminal Newport Folk Festival from 1963-66 covers the history of the festival, the importance of folk music in America, how race and culture were brought to bear, and finally and most importantly, the glorious music. A list of featured performers is a veritable who’s who of the era’s notable musicians (Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Odetta, Seeger, The Staples Singers) alongside lesser-known revelations such as The Chambers Brothers, Bessy Jones, and a group from Cape Breton that manages to use a piece of cloth as a musical instrument. While the music remains central, politics is a key facet of the genre and Gordon’s film examines vital issues of equity and inequity that swirled around Newport in these four years. The inimitable Pete Seeger sums up the range of amazing music presented, stating, “Is all this folk music? Well, yeah, this country is full of lots of different kinds of folks.” – Rod Armstrong

Film Details