There, she made friends with semi-professional folk musicians. She started playing at coffee shops and at numerous clubs. She was invited to sing at the Newport Folk Festival in 1959 where her music career took off. This performance gave her the opportunities to make recordings and concert tours, but she turned the opportunities down and went back to her coffee shop performances. She was invited to sing at the Newport Folk Festival again in the following year where she made her first album with Vanguard Records. Joan Baez, the name of her first album, was successful.
