Fifty years after launching the first Newport Folk Festival, George Wein, 83, a pioneer among producers of outdoor music festivals, hopes to return to steer another one this summer at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island.

Wein sold the production company that staged both the Newport Folk Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival to Festival Network LLC in 2007. Upon learning that financial concerns and the agency’s reported declaration that the current license agreement for running the festivals was null and void might sink both events, Wein stepped in to help keep the festivals afloat. He received approval this week to negotiate with the state for a new music-festival license to produce both festivals in the park.

Founded and co-produced by Wein and Albert Grossman during the era of the so-called folk revival, The Newport Folk Festival helped launch the careers of such artists as Joan Baez and Bob Dylan during the 1960s. Financial problems forced its cancellation in 1970, while a last-minute license rescission by the Newport City Council the following year was followed by a 15-year hiatus for the Newport Folk Festival. It was revived in 1985, with Dylan’s son, Jakob, being among its featured artists in 2008.

Although some have questioned the application of the “folk” label to a festival that last year featured Jimmy Buffett and The Black Crowes among its headliners, the Newport Folk Festival has stretched the genre-boundaries to some extent since its inception — having featured country artists like Johnny Cash and blues artists like Howlin’ Wolf in its early days. Of course, those artists still fell within the broader context of folk and roots music.

Although this year’s lineup has not yet been announced, perhaps George Wein will be more inclined to remain true to the festival’s roots and book a large number of folk artists and more contemporary singer-songwriters and musicians whose music reflects the spirit of the broader folk and roots music community.