For the Love of Bob

Red House Records founder and president Bob Feldman died unexpectedly on January 11, 2006—but, as expected, his friends have not forgotten him. On September 9, many of the artists Feldman worked with over the years—including Greg Brown, John Gorka, Peter Ostroushko, Claudia Schmidt, Tony Glover, and Dean Magraw—pay tribute to him at Celebrating a Life in Music, a special concert at the Fitzgerald Theater.

Feldman got into the music industry in 1983, when Garrison Keillor invited Iowa folk artist Greg Brown to become a regular on A Prairie Home Companion. Brown moved to the Twin Cities and soon enlisted Feldman, a fan of Brown’s music, to re-release two out-of-print LPs that Brown had self-released on a grassroots label he called Red House. In 1984, with Feldman’s encouragement, Brown released an all-new record under Feldman’s new label, which Feldman called Red House Records. It was Feldman’s way of saying thanks. Known for giving artists a great deal of creative control over their work, Feldman saw many of his artists win national music awards for their recordings. Just months after he died, Red House received its own recognition with a Folk Alliance Music Award for Label of the Year.

Marian Moore, Prudence Johnson, and Marge Ostroushko, all longtime friends of Feldman’s, are coproducing the tribute. The idea for the show came not long after Feldman’s funeral, when many of his friends and colleagues agreed that because his life was so dedicated to music, the grieving process wouldn’t be complete without a celebratory concert. 

“Music is healing and so is community,” Moore says. “Perhaps we can transform the tragedy of Bob’s death into greater connectedness and vision for the future.”

Proceeds from the concert benefit the Bob Feldman Redwood Forest Fund, which helps conserve redwood trees—another one of Feldman’s passions.