Al Haug and the New Riverside Café Collection
Scope and Content Note
The bulk of this collection contains many audio cassettes of performances at the New Riverside Café. Additionally there are reel-to-reel tapes of performances, many of which are unlabeled and unidentified. The collection contains some administrative paperwork regarding the management of the New Riverside Café including charters, a business plan, financial correspodence, annual meeting newsletters, calling lists, and more. Promotional materials for the New Riverside Café include menus, flyers, posters, and postcards as well as newsletters and calendars. Other promotional materials include submission portfolios, brochures, demos, and letters from prospective performers as well as flyers and postcards for other local or regional events and venues. Additionally there are some miscellaneous items such as Al Haug's personal date books, photographs, poems, and artwork. The majority of this collection is from the 1980s-1990s.
Dates
- Creation: c. 1960-2012
Language of Materials
English
Restrictions on Access
The collection is open and available for use by researchers in the Andersen Library Reading Room.
Restrictions on Use
This collection may be protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law.
Biographical Note
Alan Haug was born May 4, 1948. He was a lifelong resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota and graduated from Roosevelt High School in the 1960s, going on to study journalism and sociology and graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Minnesota.
His affinity for music led to more than 20 years booking performers for West Bank venues such as Coffeehouse Extemporé, where he was General Manager from 1976-1980, and the New Riverside Café, where he began as a collective member serving as a cook and maintenance worker in 1975.
The New Riverside Café was the first full-service vegetarian restaurant in Minneapolis, opening in 1970 and located (beginning in 1971) on the West Bank at 329 Cedar Ave. S. A collectively managed organization, "The New Riv" made all of its administrative decisions based on consensus and was dedicated to a non-profit-driven business model and community activism. The Café closed it doors in 1997.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Haug also hosted programs for KFAI Radio (90.3 and 106.7 FM) called "Walk Right In" and "Folk Roots", highlighting lesser-known and forgotten folk performers. Additionally he played the harmonica, jug, and washboard, and was for years one of the chief organizers of the local annual Battle of the Jug Bands.
In 2010, Haug received a service award from the West Bank Community Development Corporation, for which he served in the roles of Secretary, Vice President, and President over a period of more than 20 years. The award acknowledged 45 years of contributions to the music scene, political activism, and community building in the Cedar-Riverside Neighborhood. Al Haug died of prostate cancer on February 2, 2013 at the age of 64.
Extent
18 Linear Feet boxes (24 boxes)
Abstract
Collection includes audio cassettes and reel-to-reel tapes primarily of performances and practice sessions held at the New Riverside Café. Additionally, there are posters and flyers from performances [circa 1970s-1997], newspaper clippings about the café and performers who played there, some administrative paperwork regarding the management of the collective, and promotional materials and correspondence from musicians interested in performing at the venue.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into three series:
- Administrative
- Miscellaneous
- AV
Physical Location
High Bay
Acquisition
Collection was donated to the Performing Arts Archives by the Estate of Al Haug.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and the finding aid written by Elena Carrillo, 2014, with generous support from Creative Heritage Initiative donors.
Subject
- Haug, Alan, 1948-2013 (Person)
- Title
- Al Haug and the New Riverside Café Collection
- Author
- Elena Carrillo
- Date
- May, 2014
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Collecting Area Details
Contact The Performing Arts Archives Collecting Area
