Bob Dylan’s Newport Guitar to Be Auctioned Off

If you’ve spent any length of time immersing yourself into the folk and Americana scene, you’ve likely heard the story of Bob Dylan’s 1965 performance at the Newport Folk Festival. It was at this concert that Dylan first switched to an electric guitar, which at the time was a fairly controversial move. In fact, as the legend goes, the transformation from acoustic to electric was too much for one fan, who reportedly was caught trying to cut the cables of Dylan’s guitar.

That story has circulated the folk world for years, but for one lucky fan, things are about to get more tangible, as the exact guitar from that fateful performance is slated to be auctioned off. Most speculators are saying the instrument should sell for somewhere around a half million dollars, but it’s really anybody’s guess. The guitar is a standard Fender Stratocaster with a sunburst finish. Also up for sale is fragments of paper with lyrics written by Dylan himself, which were in the case with the guitar. Most of these are priced from $3,000 – $5,000.