ANNA MARIA – Terri and Paul Davis are creating a new after-hours listening room and live music venue at Ginny’s and Jane E’s Café & Gift Store, 9807 Gulf Drive.
Operating as Black Bones Music, the west Bradenton residents will host their first show on Friday, Jan. 12 with the Trevor Bystrom Trio as the headliner and 10-year-old singer-songwriter “Nora Bear” as the opening act. Bystrom will be accompanied by Judit Maldonado on vocals and percussion and Benny Maldonado on percussion. Bystrom’s stepdaughter, Nora, will open the show with an hour-long set at 6 p.m., followed by the Trevor Bystrom Trio from 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Light snacks, coffee drinks, beer, wine and soda will be available before the show and during intermission, but the kitchen will be closed. Tickets are $25 and available at the Eventbrite website at www.blackbonesmusic.com.
Paul is a sergeant with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO). He’s currently assigned to the Internal Affairs Unit and he previously led the MCSO Anna Maria Unit. Terri is a paralegal for a law firm in Sarasota. They were interviewed on Dec. 20 during a private Christmas party at Ginny’s and Jane E’s hosted by owners Paul and Tammy Foster. The event featured Christmas music performed by Just The 2 Of Us.
An idea blooms
When asked why they’re launching a listening room, Paul and Terri simultaneously said, “We just love music.”
“We’ve been to a couple different listening rooms and we don’t have anything like that here,” Paul said. “Terri and I would go to different restaurants and bars and some of the bands were really good but they get drowned out by the conversation and other noise. The perfect example is Trevor Bystrom. You can go to different places on the Island and listen to Trevor, but it’s more like background music. His Caribbean/African-influenced music has strong lyrical messages that can get lost in the noise. We want to give Trevor and people like him a place where people can experience the music and the musicians rather than just hearing them.”
“The goal isn’t to have people come in and drink. It’s to have them listen to the music. It’s all about the music,” Terri added.
Using Ginny’s and Jane E’s is the result of Paul and Terri’s friendship with the Fosters and the trips they took to New York City together. During one visit, they were looking for something to do on a Thursday night and fate stepped in.
“Singer-songwriter Matt Walden was playing at The Bitter End in New York City,” Paul Davis said. “We’ve known Matt since he was a young kid, through the Del Couch Music Education Foundation in Palmetto that we’ve been part of for years. Paul and Tammy had never been to a place like that before. We’d talked about listening rooms with them but they never experienced one. When they went to The Bitter End, they got it. Shortly after that, Paul said if you guys are serious about doing this, why not do it at Ginny’s and Jane E’s.”
“Terri and I planned on doing something like this on a larger scale before COVID, but when COVID hit, that all went away. We took that same concept and we’re going to do it on a smaller scale,” he said.
“Our goal is to promote local Florida bands and singers and all different types of music,” Terri said. “We’ve seen Trevor for years and I told Paul he needed to be our first concert. Trevor was all for it. Then we found Trey Wanvig.”
Wanvig is a Sarasota-based blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter who will headline the Friday, Feb. 2 show.
“Trey’s 21 years old and he’s a phenomenal blues guitarist,” Paul said. “Then we have Matt Walden (Friday, Feb. 16 and Friday, March 29) and up-and-coming country star Andy Pursell (on Friday, April 12), who we also met through the Del Couch Foundation. Andy’s too big for a place like this, but he wants to play here because he knows us. We haven’t had our first concert yet and bands are already contacting us.”
Drunken Shrubbery will headline the Friday, March 15 show and Passerine will headline the Friday, May 3 show. The local, regional and touring bands performing Black Bones Music shows will primarily play their own songs and occasionally cover songs written by others.
“I want original music because that’s what I’m attracted to. I want to listen to Trevor Bystrom, Trey Wanvig and Andy Pursell, but I don’t mind them throwing in a couple covers,” Paul said.
Black Bones Music also wants to bring in young local musicians as opening acts to give them exposure and experience. They’re working with the Del Couch Foundation and plan to reach out to a couple more music education programs as well.
Black Bones Music is named after the couple’s beloved black cat, Bones, whom they adopted and then rescued again after he ran away.
Fostering environment
When asked about Ginny’s and Jane E’s doubling as a listening room, Paul Foster said, “Paul’s a friend of mine. I knew him when he was a deputy out here. This is a Paul and Terri thing. They love local music. We went to New York with them and they showed us The Bitter End, where Bob Dylan played.
“I do these invite-only Christmas shows every year. Paul and Terri were here last year and they said they thought they could do something with this room. They see this as a listening venue like The Bitter End, not a bar. They want to make the artist the center of attention and let them interact with the audience in a smaller setting. I said I’m not interested as a business partner, but if you want to use the venue you can. Look out for my products and here’s the keys. I’m happy to provide the space to friends of mine so they can pursue their passion,” Foster said.
