Ever since Daniel “Rudi” Ruddell gathered with his fellow Farm and Wilderness crew members to play music some 40 years ago, he’s had a passion for jamming.

“I think at heart I’m a campfire musician,” said Ruddell in a phone interview.

Ruddell long has been an integral part of the Upper Valley folk scene, playing in the five-piece string band Haywire, and later in Turnip Truck, which he’s been a part of for over eight years.

So when Ruddell, and his wife, Lisa Kippen, a visual artist, lost their uninsured Tunbridge home in a fire in late November, a benefit concert, scheduled for 7 p.m on Friday, Jan. 31 at the Chandler Center for the Arts, felt like an obvious way to help.

“Playing music is so much a part of what (Ruddell) does to take care of his soul,” said Andy Mueller, who plays fiddle in Turnip Truck. “It was a no-brainer.”

Ruddell, and Kippen, who have lived on Monarch Hill Road in Tunbridge since the late 90s, are both pillars of their community.

Ruddell, 65, referees high school soccer, while Kippen, 74, leads after school art programs at the Tunbridge library, including one planned for this March.

“Lisa’s always been a huge supporter of the library,” said director Mariah Lawrence.

Since the fire, which claimed Ruddell’s guitar and much of Kippen’s artwork, the community has rallied around the couple.

Trifolium — a group that includes Mueller, Justin Park and Chloe Powell, Chandler’s executive director — donated their earnings from an early December concert at the Rumney Barn in Barnard.

The Tunbridge Town Hall also hosted a benefit concert earlier this month with music from Latin soul group, Carlos Ocasio and the Frydaddy band.

“Living in Tunbridge is just a shining beacon of hope for me,” Ruddell said.

A GoFundMe campaign has also raised over $160,000, a little over half of its $300,000 goal.

The couple currently plans to rebuild their home, as the foundation remains intact.

Kippen’s son, Brian, who owns an ad vanced manufacturing business in East Randolph, is setting up a s tudio for her.

Friday’s concert has been in the works since the day after the fire, when Mueller got a call from Adam Smith, the couple’s neighbor and a former Haywire bandmate.

“The first thought he had … was to do something musical,” Mueller said.

Mueller, a board member at Chandler, offered the music center as a venue.

The concert will include six Vermont-based acts including Turnip Truck, Trifolium, Mountain Dog and beloved songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bow Thayer.

“We’re all bits and pieces of each other, and we all have a musical connection to Rudi,” said Mueller.

Park plays in Mountain Dog with Mark Burds, who will both join Brian Carroll, another member of Turnip Truck, on stage at Friday’s concert.

All musicians are invited to jam with Turnip Truck at the end of the night.

Carroll hopes the familiar lineup with offer the couple some respite.

“It’s about bringing them joy and filling the Chandler with love and connection,” he said in a phone interview.

Friday’s concert-goers are encouraged to donate cash or contribute to the GoFundMe campaign in lieu of buying a ticket.

“At first with these things there’s always a big rush of people who want to help, and we’re trying to keep that momentum going,” said Carroll, who designed “Lil Rudi” stickers of the musician playing the harmonica for people to take home on Friday.

“Those stickers really capture a lot of the spirit of what it’s like to play music with Rudi,” Mueller said.

“You can see from the little lines that he’s shaking his body.”

Mueller has long admired Ruddell’s passion for sharing music with friends. It reminds him that “This isn’t about the ego … it’s really about ‘get out of the way and let the music happen,’ and I’m expecting that that’s going to happen a lot on Friday night.”

Donations are being accepted at gofundme.com/f/help-rebuild-rudi-and-lisas-home.

Marion Umpleby can be reached at mumpleby@vnews.com or 602-727-3306.