If a person loves live music, original music and a quiet area that allows them to really hear the words and soak them in, the places that provide this are few and far between. House Concerts are the best, however a couple of public places are popping up that provide this too.
The Listening Room at 78 St Francis Street in downtown Mobile is devoted to the performer and puts the spotlight on them. It is small, nothing fancy to look at, except the art on the walls that was painted by local arts. Jim Pennington provides the place because he loves local talent and he wants to bolster this talent and give them a place to shine.
In addition to the music, Jim Pennington provides a place for local artists to display their art and sell their art. Occasionally Jim will have art exhibits that feature one artist, i.e. Robby Amonett who paints music scenes as they happen, in order to capture that moment in time. Robby’s art is unique and very special. He is a retired professional bull rider as well, if you see him painting at a music event, talk to him, he is an interesting guy for sure. I was recently there when Jim featured paintings by Ryan Balthrop. Ryan is not only a fabulous musician and songwriter, he is a phenomenal artist. Check him out at southernwindowart.com; you will thank me later because he is absolutely the real deal! His paintings are done on actual windows and it makes you feel you are seeing this beautiful scene outside your own window. This young man is on the come-up in his music and his art; grab some of his music and paintings while you can still afford it.
The Listening Room does support art, but primarily it is there to support local and regional music. It allows a match-up of music makers and music lovers which is a perfect marriage. It provides a place where you can relax, and hear the story behind the song, then better understand that song as it is being presented. It is a place where one can be surrounded by like-minded music lovers and spend a few hours soaking it in; its an uplifting time for everyone.
As a town that has more than their share of talent, we must appreciate the people, like Jim Pennington who RECOGNIZE our talented folks and stretch their hand out to provide them a hand up.
In Fairhope there is a place called The Book Cellar, which is part of Page & Palette Bookstore and coffee shop. The Book Cellar, at this time, has music every Monday night. They bring in local musicians (usually solo, singer/songwriter type acts). There is no cover, there is a full bar with a sweet and beautiful bartender named Molly (who happens to also be a great musician).
Every Monday for a month The Book Cellar features the same musician from 5-7pm. This allows everyone an opportunity to check them out while balancing their schedule. If they love the music and have room on their schedule, they can return to see them for all the Mondays in that month. The first Monday of each month a new musician will start their month of Mondays. These artists do not come here just for the money, it is not alot. However, the people of Fairhope are very generous and normally the artist makes as much in those two hours (through tips), as they make at a 3 or 4 hour show at a noisy venue. The real plus is that it is a listening room type atmosphere. Everyone is gracious, respectful and they cling to every word the musician sings.
These shows in Fairhope are special to the musicians and the music-lovers who attend. There is no noisy banter, smoke-filled room, pool tables with balls clanging, no screaming or loud voices that drown out the talent. It is a time and a place dedicated to our precious, talented musicians and it restores their souls. It helps them to rejuvenate, charge their batteries, and find a place of remembrance of why they are in this business. As the mother of a musician (Eric Erdman), I can tell you that it restores my faith in people. For me personally, I love books and I love live original music, so The Book Cellar and Page & Palette in Fairhope is awesomeness from the front door to the exit.
These two places are where you can go to forget all of the hate and frustrations in this topsy-turvy world. These are places that will crank your tractor and drive you right back to happy!
Support The Listening Room in Mobile and The Book Cellar on Mondays in Fairhope.
The local musicians will be forever grateful!
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