Deconstructing Folk Music: Multimedia Presentation by PBS Series Host Scott Freiman

As a tie-in to its "Going Electric: Bob Dylan ’65" exhibition, on view through July 5, the Bob Dylan Center is pleased to present an evening with Scott Freiman, host of the popular PBS series “Deconstructing the Beatles.” For this special multimedia event, Freiman will deconstruct folk music, exploring the genre’s roots and evolutions in both the U.S. and U.K. — from ancient British ballads and Appalachian work songs to the thriving folk revival scenes of the 1950s and ‘60s — as these traditions led to the chiming guitars and literary lyrics of folk rock.
Showcasing rare audio and video clips, Freiman will highlight the ways in which visionary artists Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly and Pete Seeger laid the groundwork for the folk revival that transformed popular music on both sides of the Atlantic. From the coffeehouses of Greenwich Village — where Dylan, Phil Ochs and Dave Van Ronk redefined American song — to the vibrant scene overseas where trailblazers such as Ewan MacColl and Martin Carthy forged new musical territory, Freiman will trace how these parallel movements ultimately intersected to create an entirely new sound, leading to Dylan’s “going electric” moment at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, the revolutions of the Beatles, and the twelve-string jangle of the Byrds.
Freiman’s entertaining and enlightening presentation also will cover the Buffalo Springfield, Simon & Garfunkel, the Mamas & the Papas, Donovan, Fairport Convention and other favorite artists, and will conclude with a look at the enduring legacy of folk rock.
About Scott Freiman:
Scott Freiman is a composer, musician, software entrepreneur and creator of “Deconstructing the Music,” a series of multimedia presentations about the composition and production techniques of the Beatles and other musicians. Freiman has presented to sold-out audiences across the country, taught a course on the Beatles at Yale University, and led Beatles-themed group tours in Liverpool and London with fellow musicologist Kenneth Womack, with whom he also co-authored “The Beatles, the Touring Era: Inside the Fab Four’s Musical Artistry, Song by Song, 1962–1966,” forthcoming from Bloomsbury Press in September 2026. The second season of his popular PBS series “Deconstructing the Beatles” premiered in March 2026.