What do you think?
Rate this book
Music / Interview
I Got a Song: A History of the Newport Folk Festival
The first book-length history of an essential American music festival
The first-ever book exclusively devoted to the history of the Newport Folk Festival, I Got a Song documents the trajectory of an American musical institution that began more than a half-century ago and continues to influence our understanding of folk music today. Rick Massimo's research is complemented by extensive interviews with the people who were there and who made it all the festival's producers, some of its biggest stars, and people who huddled in the fields to witness moments―like Bob Dylan's famous electric performance in 1965―that live on in musical history. As folk has evolved over the decades, absorbing influences from rock, traditional music and the singer-songwriters of the '60s and '70s, the Newport Folk Festival has once again become a gathering point for young performers and fans. I Got a Song tells the stories, small and large, of several generations of American folk music enthusiasts.
Hardcover is un-jacketed.
The first-ever book exclusively devoted to the history of the Newport Folk Festival, I Got a Song documents the trajectory of an American musical institution that began more than a half-century ago and continues to influence our understanding of folk music today. Rick Massimo's research is complemented by extensive interviews with the people who were there and who made it all the festival's producers, some of its biggest stars, and people who huddled in the fields to witness moments―like Bob Dylan's famous electric performance in 1965―that live on in musical history. As folk has evolved over the decades, absorbing influences from rock, traditional music and the singer-songwriters of the '60s and '70s, the Newport Folk Festival has once again become a gathering point for young performers and fans. I Got a Song tells the stories, small and large, of several generations of American folk music enthusiasts.
Hardcover is un-jacketed.
260 pages, Paperback
Published June 6, 2017
4 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 8, 2025
Written from a deep fund of knowledge about the festival
This absolutely brilliant book does a complex job of interweaving the known and the unknown, the canonical and the fresh. The author covered the festival for 8 years and knows it very well. This is an essential book, with important interviews.
This absolutely brilliant book does a complex job of interweaving the known and the unknown, the canonical and the fresh. The author covered the festival for 8 years and knows it very well. This is an essential book, with important interviews.
June 17, 2017
As the title indicates this book is a history of the Newport Folk Festival and all the changes it has undergone since it's inception in 1959. It's a great look at a wonderful music festival. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is fan of folk music and this festival in particular.
September 29, 2021
The Newport Folk Festival holds a special place in my heart, so it was a lot of fun to learn more about its history.
February 20, 2023
3.5, the compilation of information was super interesting and comprehensive, but the style was like reading a long newspaper article and could be very dry in parts.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews