Two Colorado legends, Barry Fey of Family Dog fame and the Denver Folklore Center’s Harry Tuft, will be recognized and inducted by the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in a very special dinner on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012 at 3:00 p.m. at the Dal Ward Athletic Center (on the north end of Folsom Field on the CU Boulder campus).
According to CMHOF chairman Chuck Morris, “This induction will be a night to remember, with Fey introduced by celebrity veterinarian and comedian Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald, and Hot Rize member and etown founder Nick Forster welcoming Tuft.”
The gala will also include entertainment and a historical array of exhibits and archival photographs to be relocated to the CMHOF’s home at 1stBank Center in Broomfield.
Fresh from Chicago and a stint in the Marine Corps, 27-year-old Barry Fey began his extraordinary career as one of rock’s most prolific promoters by opening the Family Dog concert hall in 1967, debuting with Big Brother & the Holding Company fronted by singer Janis Joplin. In ten months of its existence, the venue gained national attention as did Fey’s knack for booking the right bands at the right time. Acts such as Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Jefferson Airplane, and the Grateful Dead, the Family Dog established Denver as a “must-play” market. Fey’s company Feyline Presents came into being soon thereafter, promoting top grossing tours for the Who and the Rolling Stones, and his “Summer of Stars” at Red Rocks Amphitheatre became his signature series. Fey also rescued classical music in Denver with the creation of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and his old-timers baseball games set the table for major league baseball in Denver.
It has been said that all acoustic musicians worth their salt have made the pilgrimage to Harry Tuft’s Denver Folklore Center to buy a guitar or soak up knowledge from the dean of Colorado’s folk scene. In 1960, Tuft traveled from his native Philadelphia to Colorado to ski, landing a jack-of-all-trades job at the Holy Cat in Georgetown. He ran into Hal Neustaedter, the owner of the Exodus, Denver’s premier folk club, who suggested Tuft might want to start a Folklore Center in Denver, which he did in March of 1962. Tuft brought many folk artists to Colorado, including Joan Baez after her Red Rocks appearance with the Beatles at their Aug. 26, 1964 date. A multiinstrumentalist, Tuft formed Grubstake in 1972 and made several albums with his band mates Steve Abbott and Jack Stanesco; he has recorded as a solo artist as well.
Tickets (cash only) on sale now at Pasta Jay’s in Boulder and Lone Tree, Twist and Shout, and the Denver Folklore Center. Premium “gold circle” tickets are priced at $175.00, which will include a delectable meal and beverages courtesy of Pasta Jay’s along with an autographed copy of Fey’s new book “Backstage Past,” a copy of Tuft’s latest CD “Treasures Untold,” a pair of tickets to a 2012 CU football game and two 1stBank Center shows (subject to availability). General admission tickets available for $75.00 and will include the meal and beverages. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Colorado Music Hall of Fame, a non-profit organization that benefits the CU School of Music. For more information, at
Way to go Barry!