Although the venerable festival is accustomed to a buzz surrounding the annual event, this year’s show is being billed as something extra special as the grandaddy of modern folk music, Bob Dylan, is making his long-awaited return.

It’s been 37 years since Dylan last performed at Newport – a performance that simultaneously changed the music world and left an immediate bitter taste in the mouths of folk music purists.

Dylan was a three-year veteran to the 1965 event when, backed by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, he strolled onstage toting a Fender electric guitar. He plugged in and tore into a raucous version of “Maggie’s Farm” stunning the crowd and inciting boos from the audience who were expecting to hear the acoustic strummings Dylan was known for.

He played three songs before leaving the stage only to return a few minutes later, stripped of his electrics and sporting a plain ol’ acoustic guitar and harmonica.

Since then, Dylan, a leader in the folk movement, has been absent from the Newport festival’s roster, citing touring schedule conflicts and demanding a fee that was too high for the festival organizers, according to event producer Bob Jones.

Along with Dylan, this year’s fest, which runs August 2-4 in Newport, R.I., includes Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Jonatha Brooke, Shawn Colvin, Blind Boys Of Alabama, Bruce Cockburn, and Natalie MacMaster, to name just a handful.