Backstage with KOTO: Tim & Denise Duffy on Keeping American Roots Music Alive

Behind every musical tradition are people who carry it forward. In the second episode of Backstage with KOTO, Music Maker Foundation co-founders Tim and Denise Duffy join us at Telluride Blues & Brews Festival for a conversation about supporting those people and making sure their music continues to be heard.

Watch the full interview below to hear how their work connects generations of musicians, preserves American roots traditions and brings artists to new audiences.

Supporting the People Behind the Music

Music Maker’s story began with relationships. As a folklorist documenting musicians in North Carolina, Tim met blues artist Guitar Gabriel, who introduced him to a community of extraordinary musicians whose talent and cultural knowledge often went unrecognized beyond their hometowns.

Many were also living in poverty, facing obstacles that made recording, performing and meeting everyday needs difficult.

Tim and Denise built Music Maker around a practical question: What does a musician need to create?

Sometimes the answer is an instrument or an opportunity to perform. Other times, it’s a safe place to live, help filling a prescription or support through an emergency. In the interview, the Duffys explain why caring for artists and preserving their music go hand in hand.

Keeping Traditions Alive Across Generations

Throughout the conversation, Tim and Denise return to the importance of passing knowledge from one generation to the next.

Through recordings, books, photography, museum exhibitions and performances, Music Maker documents artists whose work might otherwise go unrecorded. Bringing younger musicians together with elder artists creates opportunities to learn directly from the people who have carried these traditions throughout their lives.

Music Maker artists and Founder Tim Duffy pose for a photo in their Lounge at the Blues Stage.

The Duffys share stories of musicians including Albert White and Little Willie Farmer, explore the deep musical roots of the American South and discuss their work documenting the Parchman prison band.

Together, these stories offer a reminder that music history is still being made—in homes, churches, small communities and places where audiences might not think to look.

A Connection to Telluride

The conversation also touches on Music Maker’s relationship with Telluride Blues & Brews Festival and the community that has embraced its artists and mission.

For Tim and Denise, bringing musicians to Telluride means more than booking a performance. It’s an opportunity for artists to connect with listeners, share their stories and build relationships with one another. That sense of belonging is an essential part of the work.

We’re grateful to Tim and Denise for sharing their perspective, and to KOTO for helping bring these conversations to our festival community.