A Complete Unknown

A Complete Unknown is a biographical drama film that tells the story of Dave van Ronk, a Minnesota-born folk musician who set out for New York City in the early 1960s. The movie is set against the backdrop of a vibrant and eclectic music scene that was flourishing in the West Village, as well as the cultural upheaval that was sweeping the nation. Van Ronk's arrival in New York marks the beginning of an extraordinary journey that would shape the course of American music. He is 19 years old, and possessing an extraordinary talent that sets him apart from his peers. His early life was marked by a love for music that was instilled in him from a young age by his family. His parents were aficionados of traditional music and encouraged him to play the guitar from an early age. As van Ronk arrived in the West Village, he was immediately drawn into the vibrant music scene that was thriving on MacDougal Street. Folk music, which had its roots in traditional ballads and nursery rhymes, was going through a revival, and van Ronk was at the center of it. His talent and passion for music caught the attention of many, including an older musician named Toshi Arai, who introduced him to the legendary 1950s folk singer, Oscar Brand. Brand, who was hosting a popular radio show that featured a folk music segment, took van Ronk under his wing, introducing him to key figures in the New York music scene, including folk singer Woody Guthrie and Dave Van Ronk is even turned on by Bob Dylan who in the beginning for a time, a couple years that were less than two in order to have not more than it had in its way. In the beginning, although however van Ronk's genius lay elsewhere -in a field which he had picked. But in that short period in New York, Dave had picked many things that Dylan and he and had worked with before the connection became but this time in later years and after years had actually become the basis for almost all of Van Ronk 's music, that were not usually and on one record. However van Ronk's own contribution to American music would eventually become, and establish him in at the top of American music story, far beyond that of any musician that had come out during those uncertain times. As a founding figure of new style of folk music known as the "New York folk revival," Van Ronk, along with fellow notable folk musicians Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Jonny Rivers, played a significant influence role in shaping this cultural and artistic movement in the early 1960s.