The guitar that Bob Dylan used to go electric at the Newport Folk Festival 50 years ago is back in Newport.

“Dylan’s guitar is home,” festival producer Jay Sweet said through a spokeswoman Friday, the opening day of this year’s three-day outdoor festival.

Bob Dylan plays an electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival in 2002. The 1965 festival marked the first time he went electric publicly. The Associated Press

Dylan used the Fender Stratocaster in his performance on July 25, 1965, when he strode on stage in a leather jacket and launched into the song “Maggie’s Farm.” The performance drew a mix of boos and cheers from the audience, from some who were thrilled by the performance and others who felt abandoned by someone who until then had been known for singing protest songs with an acoustic guitar.

The moment is considered one of the most important in rock history.

Jim Irsay, owner of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, bought the guitar in 2013 for $965,000. It was the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction. The curator of his rare guitar collection brought it to the festival Friday.

This weekend’s festival is paying tribute to Dylan’s performance in a number of ways, including a still-secret lineup of around a dozen acts Sunday that will not be revealed until they step on stage. The festival is also hosting a discussion of a book out this month that examines the performance, and what led up to it, “Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night that Split the Sixties,” by Elijah Wald. The last time Dylan played at the festival was in 2002.

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