July 23, 1965, Rhode Island. It’s late afternoon at the Newport Folk Festival when noted musicologist Alan Lomax gets up to introduce the final performer at a workshop called Blues: Origins And Offshoots.
The festival has been a warm, informal affair so far, and the 1,000-strong audience has already seen acoustic performances by bluesmen Son House, Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon, plus various folkies and bluegrass founder Bill Monroe.
