At Pickin In Nac, a new showcase organized by serious music lovers for serious music lovers, the songs will take the spotlight.
The monthly event begins Aug. 22 in the Old Mill Room at Banita Creek Hall with a song swap by Hill Country songwriter Adam Carroll and Michael O' Connor, an in-demand sideman who has played guitar for Ray Wylie Hubbard. Nacogdoches' own Keith Whitton will open. Proceeds from the first show will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the audience will receive free T-shirts.
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Adam Carroll
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Contributed Photo |
Michael O'Connor
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Future shows will feature Texas Hall of Fame inductee Gary P. Nunn, Kerrville New Folk Competition winner Idgy Vaughn and critically acclaimed songwriter Slaid Cleaves.
Organizers Grant and Kati Harris have a very specific vision for Pickin In Nac; they want to clear away the extraneous trappings of a night on the town and focus on the connection between the audience and the performers.
"It's a very intimate setting," Kati said. "Everyone has a good seat. If you've just been to the bar side at Banita Creek Hall, this is not what you're going to expect."
Every aspect of event has been planned to create a comfortable atmosphere. No jostling for position near the stage, no fighting your way to the bar, no chattering hordes there just to see and be seen. Space is limited to 200 people, and the shows will be sit-down affairs, with table cloths, candles, servers and an expanded wine list. During intermission and after the headliner, the audience will be able to meet the performers and get autographs.
"We're being very deliberate in our decisions," Kati said. "This is an event that you buy a ticket for, not a bar you pay a cover charge to get into. The college crowd already has plenty of places to go. This is going to be totally different."
For the monthly headliners, the couple is tapping into the wealth of talented Texas musicians who are well-respected by aficionados but often fly under the radar of the general public.
"The artists we pick aren't mainstream," Grant said. "That's on purpose."
While the performers' styles may vary, from blues to bluegrass to jazz to country, they all fit under the categorical umbrella of "roots music" and, more importantly, share a devotion to the craft of songwriting.
"It's all music that makes you think a little while you're tapping your toes," Kati said.
And finding a place to tap your toes is really what Pickin in Nac is all about. After a stint in Houston, the Harris', both die-hard music lovers, moved back to Nacogdoches in April. As glad as they were to return home, they missed going to shows, so they began planning their dream venue.
"We'd go to the Mucky Duck in Houston or someplace in Austin, and think 'We should be able to do this in Nacogdoches,'" Kati said. "If Camp Street Cafe in Crockett can fill their venue, we don't see why we can't do the same thing here. No offense to Crockett, but we feel like Nacogdoches has much more to offer."
East Texas has plenty of roots music fans, and the couple thinks the shows will fit in well with the town's other musical assets while adding a new dimension to Nacogdoches nightlife. They want the music scene to grow, so they're doing what they can to build it up.
"We want it to complement what's going on at The Fredonia and at the Pineknot," Kati said. "If we can bring more people to Nacogdoches to hear music, it's not going to hurt."
"If you're going to plan a weekend in Nacogdoches, why not do it when you can see a great musician?" Grant added.
While their main motivation is the music, the couple hopes the events can have a wider impact on the community.
"We want to get more going on downtown," Kati said. "If you go to downtown Austin or downtown San Antonio, no one is doing poorly because all their neighbors are doing well."
"And if you look at downtown Ft. Worth, there's not much more storefront space than in downtown Nacogdoches," Grant said. "We want to keep people there by providing entertainment and nightlife in a responsible way."
The couple has booked the space for the rest of the year, and they have high hopes for 2010. Lloyd Maines, the legendary Texas music producer and father of the Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines, has contacted Grant, saying he had heard about the venue and had some artists he wanted to book.
"January and February may surprise you," Grant said.
In the meantime, the couple is busy with all the last-minute details that come with promoting and running a music venue. Their goal is for Pickin in Nac to support itself so they can continue to bring their favorite musicians to town.
"It's our field of dreams," Kati said. "We hope if we build it, they'll come."
