Fey To Fair

Denver legend Barry Fey has reportedly come out of retirement, yet again, to take on a variety of duties – including concert production – for the new Denver County Fair.

Fey will advise fair officials on the finer points of promotion, serve as musical director for the fair’s July 28-31 run at the National Western Complex and produce the marquee concert of the event July 30, according to Denver’s Business Journal.

“Ordinarily, since my retirement, I turn all such offers down,” Fey said in a statement. “And I initially started to turn this down. But after I realized the significance of a Denver County Fair, I started getting excited about it. I think it has a kind of a magic to it. So I agreed to work on it.”

The fair marks at least the second time Fey, a promotion legend since promoting shows at Denver’s Family Dog nightclub in the late ’60s, has come out of retirement. The colorful Fey headed up House of Blues Denver, which booked or co-promoted several venues in the area including Red Rocks and Fiddler’s Green amphitheatres, for a time in the early 2000s after his 1997 retirement. 

Fey has since reportedly fought a bout with cancer and is rumored to be writing a memoir.