Fifty years after launching the first Newport Folk Festival, George Wein, 83, a pioneer among producers of outdoor music festivals, will return to steer another one this summer at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island. Following months of negotiations, the Newport City Council last night approved a permit for what will be called George Wein’s Folk Festival 50. Slated for July 31-August 2, the event will feature several notable established folk artists who performed during the festival’s early years, as well as some more contemporary singer-songwriters and musicians. Tickets go on sale May 6 at www.folkfestival50.com.

Although the complete schedule and artist lineup is still being finalized, Pete Seeger, who was a co-founder of the folk festival in 1959 and who turns 90 on May 3, will perform on both days. Other artists slated to perform include Joan Baez, who graced the stage during the inaugural event in 1959, and Arlo Guthrie, who has performed frequently with Pete Seeger over the years. Also on the bill are The Avett Brothers, Balfa Toujours, Billy Bragg, Neko Case, The Campbell Brothers, Judy Collins, The Decemberists, Tim Eriksen & Shape Note Singers, Fleet Foxes, Iron & Wine, Ben Kweller, Langhorne Slim, the Low Anthem, Del McCoury, Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Joe Pug, Josh Ritter, Tao Rodriguez Seeger and Gillian Welch. More artists will be announced later this month.

As previously reported on AcousticMusicScene.com, Wein sold the production company that staged both the Newport Folk Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival to Festival Network LLC in 2007. Realizing that financial concerns (including title sponsor’s decision not to renew contract) and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s termination of its license agreement for running the festivals might sink both the folk festival and the Newport Jazz Festival that he also launched, Wein stepped in to help keep the festivals afloat. The department granted him a license earlier this month, and securing a city permit represented his last major hurdle.

Founded during the era of the 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. The Newport Folk Festival was revived in 1985, with Dylan’s son, Jakob, being among its featured artists in 2008.

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. However, 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.

While mixing younger and older artists and including some more rock-influenced singer-songwriters in the lineup, Wein is committed to helping to keep the spirit of folk music alive. “The whole concept of the festival is a reunion of the old people to celebrate 50 years of folk music in Newport – and to show how many young people are involved with folk music,” Wein told The Associated Press.