Janis Joplin’s performance at the 1968 Newport Folk Festival (July 27, 1968) was a pivotal moment in the festival’s history. Appearing with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Joplin arrived just as the band was on the verge of superstardom – their iconic album Cheap Thrills was released only a month later.
Despite the “folk” branding of the festival, Joplin and Big Brother brought a loud, electric, and raw blues-rock energy that polarized the traditional folk audience but captivated the younger crowd. The performance was high-intensity, featuring several of their most famous tracks: “Piece of My Heart,” “Summertime,” “Coo Coo,” “Combination of the Two,” “Ball and Chain” and “Down on Me.”
Closing out the Saturday evening program, the band was credited with “saving” the festival from financial ruin that year due to their massive drawing power. As the group left the stage to a mix of thunderous applause and boos (due to the strict curfew ending the show), Janis famously shouted to the crowd, “You’re so groovy, man! Thank you!”
At the time, Newport was still reeling from Bob Dylan “going electric” in 1965. Joplin’s 1968 set pushed those boundaries even further. It was one of the last major festival appearances for the original Big Brother lineup before Janis left to pursue her solo career with the Kozmic Blues Band later that year.
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