In 1962, a young folk singer named Harry Tuft used his life savings, $900, to open the Denver Folklore Center. From the start, the small shop, just east of downtown, was more than a place to buy guitars and banjos. It was a kind of a musical living room, where you might drop by for an afternoon jam session. Early on, Tuft even slept in a small loft inside the store. Fifty years later, the Denver Folklore Center is alive and well, though in a different part of town, and Harry Tuft is still the man behind the counter. In February, he was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. The Folklore Center’s 50th anniversary will be celebrated with a series of concerts over Memorial Day weekend. Tuft talks to Ryan Warner.
[Harry Tuft. Photo courtesy of Fender Musical Instruments.]
[Denver Folklore Center, circa 1980. Photo courtesy Larry Shirkey.]
