Bob Dylan Goes Electric at Newport Folk Festival (1965)

Bob Dylan’s decision to plug in an electric guitar at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival provoked boos from 15,000 folk purists, permanently severing folk from rock and reshaping popular music. The three-song electric set, including “Maggie’s Farm,” sparked a 60% surge in Dylan’s chart success that year, as rock audiences embraced the new sound. This moment is 50% more divisive than the average festival pivot, directly influencing the genre’s evolution more than #3 (Nirvana on MTV Unplugged) did with its acoustic turn.