In this case study, we dig into the moment Bob Dylan went electric at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, and why it still feels like a cultural fault line. We talk myth vs reality, the folk scene’s “moral ecosystem,” the clash between authenticity and evolution, and how one short set helped turn rock into a serious art form. Along the way we hit Greenwich Village, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Mike Bloomfield, and the very real practical problem of trying to blast an electric band through a primitive festival PA.

On this episode of Walls of Sound, we sit down with Brendan Canty, drummer, producer, composer, and a central figure in the D.C. music community through Deadline, Rites of Spring, Fugazi, and The Messthetics.

We recorded this conversation a good while ago (as you can probably tell from the Kennedy Center discussion), back when we were still finding our footing with the podcast. Brendan reflects on formative spaces like Fort Reno, DC Space, and the 9:30 Club, along with free shows, all ages rooms, and the strange, fragile ecosystems that let scenes actually take root. It’s a wide ranging conversation about touring, venues, and why the places still matter as much as the music.

On Part Two of our Honky Tonk case study, we pick up when the genre hits the national spotlight. We start with Urban Cowboy and Gillies in Pasadena, when a real club turned into a movie set and the movie turned into a blueprint. Neon spreads, mechanical bulls become symbols, and the honky tonk stops feeling local.

From there, we follow how honky tonk starts pulling in opposing directions. One side leans toward polish and crossover. The other stays tied to the barroom roots. We talk about how venues change when entertainment competes with the stage, how tourism districts turn into curated versions of themselves, and how the culture keeps pushing back through new traditionalists and smaller scenes.

Part Two is about that tension, and why honky tonk never really disappears, even when it gets dressed up and sold back to us.