[newportfolk] Ramblin' Jack Elliott talks Woody Guthrie, plays with Pete Seeger, covers Bob Dylan

 Amongst the younger acts on the line-up of Newport Folk Festival's first day -- many of which play folk-influenced music rather than purely straight-up "folk" -- it was exciting to see legendary American folk singer Ramblin' Jack Elliott represent the festival's deep-rooted history, playing a set of traditional songs originally written by the Carter Family, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and other singers. For the beginning of his set, Elliott was joined by folk legend Pete Seeger; the above video features Elliott recalling a story of visiting Woody Guthrie before he and Seeger play "Hard Travelin."

Between each song, Elliott told stories of decades of freewheelin' travels around America, hanging with cowboys and picking up songs wherever he went. He ultimately closed his set with a cover of one he picked up from Bob Dylan -- the 1962 song "Don't Think Twice It's Alright." Before starting the song, Elliott asked all of the photographers in the room to chill out and stop taking pictures because it would make him forget the words. (As is now a typical request from him during performances.) About halfway through, some photog was snapping shots up close when Elliott pulled the plug on his guitar and left the stage. Here's about a minute and a half of the cover, before that went down: