I Am FUV: Steve Lurie

A few times every year we like to profile one of our loyal WFUV members. With Clearwater's Great Hudson River Revival happening this weekend at Croton Point Park, let us introduce you to the man who puts together the amazing lineup of performers: Steve Lurie.

Occupation: Owner of Music Without Borders, which produces concerts for venues and festivals in the Tri-State area.

I live in:  North Stamford, CT

How long a listener: 20 years

How I found out about FUV: When I was a co-owner of Al Franklin’s Music World in Greenwich, CT, many customers would come in looking for the music that FUV was playing.  After a short while we had a WFUV section in the store and began underwriting on the station as well.  

Songs I heard on FUV that define my life: David Gray’s “Sail Away,” Damien Rice’s “The Blowers Daughter,” Patty Griffin’s “Burgundy Shoes,”
 
Passions: Music and my two-year old daughter, Jadyn Rose.  

Something cool that happened through my work: Three come to mind: Mavis Staples impersonating all of the South Park characters (Rita Houston was there as well); standing in Levon Helm’s dressing with Donald Fagen (who had just performed with him) when Levon gives a him new pair of shoes and says, “Thanks for playing the gig, I’ll see you around town”; being the director of a festival that Pete Seeger founded and sharing many conversations about the festival and artists from around the world.
 
What I like most about FUV:  Aside from the great music, the personal relationships I’ve built over the years with FUV’s on-air personalities and staff.   

What FUV means to my life:  FUV pervades both my personal and business life. I’ve built my entire company, Music Without Borders, on producing concerts and festivals with  artists that WFUV plays. I’ve discovered many artists through FUV that I have fallen in love with as well as presented in concerts for many years.

A defining moment from my life I associate with WFUV: It was either my first or second year as Director of the Clearwater Festival when John Platt, who was about to bring an artist on stage, said, “Who needs to go to the Newport Folk Festival with the Clearwater Festival right in your own backyard?”  In many ways I’ve tried to make the Clearwater Festival “The FUV Festival.”    

A world without WFUV would be: Unacceptable, both personally and professionally.