Moog Music celebrated its Third Annual Moogfest in style with a sold-out performance at B.B. King’s Blues Club in New York. Notable were the announcement of an important new fund for electronic musicians, while two legendary performers were honored with a new lifetime achievement award. The event also included a house-rocking inaugural performance of the Little Phatty, but everyone there knew down deep that this was a farewell tribute to Bob Moog, the man who put the power of a brand new technology in the hands of musicians everywhere and forever changed the face of modern music.
Matt Moog, Bob’s son, announced the introduction of The Bob Moog Memorial Fund for Electronic Music, which was created by the Moog family and friends to honor Bob’s legacy as an electronic music pioneer and innovator by supporting need-based scholarships at the University of North Carolina-Asheville, Berklee College of Music, and Cornell University; The Bob Moog Electronic Music Museum; and Electronic Music Outreach Programs to disadvantaged children. Moog Music also recognized two of the most celebrated 20th-Century keyboardists with their first ever lifetime achievement award, lovingly dubbed “The Bob.” Roger O’Donnell of The Cure and Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater presented the awards to Jan Hammer and Keith Emerson respectively, two true innovators who proved a simple voltage-controlled oscillator could make great music. Wish we coulda been there!
