Setting the Stage: Class of 2012 Induction

The Colorado Music Hall of Fame’s gala and dinner to induct music legends Barry Fey of Family Dog fame and the Denver Folklore Center’s Harry Tuft was held at the Stadium Club at Folsom Field in Boulder on Sunday, Feb. 12. The afternoon featured performances by Firefall, Otis Taylor and Grubstake with special guests Chris Daniels, Rob Drabkin and Dick Weissman, while patrons enjoyed a delicious Italian feast courtesy of Pasta Jay’s. Nick Forster of etown and Hot Rize fame gave the induction speech for Tuft, and celebrity veterinarian and comedian Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald did same for Fey.

Inductees:

• • Barry Fey began his 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. With such acts on its stage as Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Jefferson Airplane, and the Grateful Dead, the Family Dog established Denver as a “must-play” market for decades to come.
  • 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.

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