“There is only one VIP and that is the person who bought the ticket”
-Barry Fey

“Selling tickets wasn’t our (The Who’s) job. In Denver that was Barry’s job and what a job he did. We have been able to build an entire West Coast leg of almost every tour we’ve ever done around a single Denver show…We relied on Barry and Denver, and they never let us down”
-Pete Townshend

Concert promoter Barry Fey was one in a million… as brash as he was brilliant. He sold more concert tickets than any promoter in the history of music. Loved by rock stars and adored by audiences, Barry Fey undeniably reached legendary status before his untimely passing in 2013.

There wasn’t anyone like him “then” and, due to the ever-changing concert business, there won’t be anyone like him in the future.

U2’s Bono once described him in a personal letter as, “A voice louder than any rock ‘n’ roll band.”

If you saw a show at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado from 1968 to 1997, you had Barry to thank as he promoted almost a thousand shows at the venue during his illustrious career. Barry once said, “All these venues were made by men, but Red Rocks was made by God.” There are “The Gods of Rock” and this is the “Rocks of God.” His first show at Red Rocks in September of ’68 was headlined by Jimi Hendrix and, as they say, “the rest is history.”

Since it’s establishment in 1967, Feyline has been synonymous with music culture in the United States. It was that year rock & roll legend Barry Fey threw his first show in Denver, becoming the first promoter to bring The Doors outside of the state of California. Soon after, in 1969, Barry became the first promoter to bring Led Zeppelin to North America. Feyline and Barry Fey would continue to build upon it’s accolades within the industry, always keeping in mind, what for him was the most important aspect – The Fans.

Through Feyline, Barry Fey helped usher in a golden era of touring in Rock & Roll and simultaneously produced many notable events across the country. In 1983, Steve Wozniak and Feyline hosted the ‘US Festival,’ featuring Rocks biggest stars, an event that brought out 375,000 people that Sunday, and set the single day attendance record for a concert in the United States. Simultaneously U2 and Barry Fey produced the famed “Under A Blood Red Sky” concert film that Rolling Stone has coined as one of the top moments in music history.

In the summer of ’69, Barry promoted the Denver Pop Festival at Mile High Stadium (marking the last performance of The Jimi Hendrix Experience) and continued to bring the Colorado music masses great shows throughout the 70’s.

He would create “The Red Rocks Summer of Stars” concert series in 1976 and would be named “Promoter of the Year” by Billboard magazine for three consecutive years beginning in 1978.

Fast forward to 1983 where he put on, perhaps, his most well-known show with a band on the rise at the time called U2.

The spectacle at one of the world’s premiere outdoor concert venues would result in the epic concert film, U2 Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky, that would be produced by Barry, Island Records founder Chris Blackwell and the band, itself. Rolling Stone selected the film’s performance of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” as one of the “50 Moments that Changed the History of Rock and Roll.”

Just a week prior to the U2 concert at Red Rocks, Barry helped Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak put on one of the greatest four-day concert festivals in the history of music called the US Festival. With 670,000 people in attendance over the four-day event (Memorial Day weekend), the US Festival would be the largest single show that Barry ever promoted.

In September of that same year, Barry teamed up with such baseball legends as Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, to bring The Denver Dream old-timers game to Mile High Stadium in Denver, opening up the doors for Major League Baseball in the state of Colorado. Barry, an avid sports fan, called it, “Without a doubt, the finest thing I’ve ever done as a promoter was on September 30, 1983.” The event drew over 58,000 people. And that was all in 1983!

Upon Barry’s initial retirement in 1997, President Bill Clinton thanked Barry for his contributions, “Dozens of the artists who are now in rock’s pantheon were first booked by Barry. Music lovers all across America, and all around the world, have been the beneficiary of Barry’s good instincts, his hard work and his creativity.”

This same year, Barry would be inducted into the Touring Hall of Fame by Performance magazine.

He went from a small town to the big time and the accolades he received during his career were numerous. From his first show in Rockford, Illinois on Easter Sunday 1965 to his final show in Colorado more than three decades later.

In early 2012, Barry released a book called Backstage Past (Forewords by Pete Townshend and Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne) that chronicled his journey.

He hung out with “The Gods of Rock” and, ultimately, became a rock star among rock stars.

Colorado. Rocky Mountain Way. He came, he saw, he conquered.