When it comes to individuals who have helped make the Eau Claire area a popular tour stop for national music acts, it’s difficult to overstate the influence of Larry Barr.
“Larry was always a visionary, looking for the next big thing,” said George Roberts, a longtime friend and former employee of Barr, who died July 8 in Eau Claire at the age of 78.
“In some ways, I always felt that he was our area’s Walt Disney; a man who could envision something and then bring it to reality. He (also) taught me a great work ethic. If there was a hole to dig, manager or not, we all grabbed a shovel.”
Barr grew up on a mink and cattle ranch in Greenwood. In his early 20s, his father built him a drinking establishment in Eau Claire, The Barr, that opened in 1969 and targeted the college crowd.
“The idea was to book music right from the beginning,” Barr said in 2017 in an interview for Sounds of Eau Claire, a UW-Eau Claire-led project that collects the oral histories of prominent members of the local music scene. “That’s what it was built around.”
Barr said the London Inn provided local music acts at the time, but he would draw groups out of Minneapolis, Chicago and Canada. One example was Rufus, which featured lead singer Chaka Kahn.
It was the first of many entrepreneurial efforts by Barr that yielded such businesses as Country Jam USA, Houligans, She-Nannigans and Fanny Hill Victorian Inn & Dinner Theatre (formerly The Barr). He also started the music festival Shake, Rattle & Roll that began in 1987. Its lineup three years later included The Grass Roots, The Turtles, Fabian, Sha Na Na and Bobby Vee.
Roberts worked in radio before joining Barr full time as entertainment director for She-Nannigans, Fanny Hill and Houligans. And Barr’s musical reach wasn’t just limited to Eau Claire.
“We created the first and biggest mobile disco during that stint called SAMM (Sound Around Music Machine) and did shows throughout the region,” Roberts said.
Roberts would eventually return to radio but continued as a consultant to Barr. He recalled the conceptual stages of Country Jam, which was first held in 1990.
“I got a call from Larry asking me to collaborate on a country festival,” Roberts said. “He drove me to a farm field on the Chippewa River and said, ‘Here’s where the festival will take place.’
“What a visionary; and thus the beginning of Country Jam USA.”
Barr laughs in the 2017 interview about two acts he wished he had brought in during the early days. Ike and Tina Turner and Garth Brooks were turned down because they wanted $7,000 and $4,000, respectively, to perform. Nevertheless, the roster of artists he’s brought to the region, especially in country and old-time rock ‘n’ roll, features a long list of A-listers.
A 16-year-old LeAnn Walbeck first worked for Barr in 1981, bussing tables at Fanny Hill.
“Throughout the next 43 years, he took me under his wing to teach me all areas of the restaurant industry at Houligans, Fanny Hill and then on to the festivals he created,” she said. “We worked together throughout the years, creating business proposals and securing sponsorships.
“He was a creator and visionary, to say the least.”
Barr produced more than 50 music festivals during his career, including Country Thunder USA in other parts of the country. His résumé features other business ventures as well. Christmas and Halloween events were among the well-attended programs he organized locally.
Roberts, who lives in Eau Claire, visited with Barr just a few weeks ago.
“Even though I’m retired, we reunited over the past several years and I’m so thankful that our friendship continued,” he said. “What a terrific individual.
“I must mention his partner and wife, Sheila, a wonderful person and an important asset to all of Larry’s success. He was a great man and I will miss him.”
Rodney Schultz, who also resides in Eau Claire, was a disco DJ for Barr. The businessman returned the favor years later as a guest speaker for Schultz’s business management classes at Chippewa Valley Technical College.
“Unfortunately, many people do not know the footprint of the shaping of the restaurant and entertainment industry Larry created in the Chippewa Valley that still stands today,” Schultz said.
“When I worked at Fanny Hill, Larry was the first to bring in disco music into west-central Wisconsin, which packed the dance floor and created memorable experiences for many.”
Helping to create such memories was important to Barr.
“Eau Claire’s been good to me,” he said in 2017. “I always told people who worked for me ... Your money and your friends are probably going to come and go, but your memories are going to last forever.
“And the memories you can create in the Eau Claire music scene, believe me, they go pretty deep.”
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