By Maggie Pruitt
Tucked away behind a purple door in downtown Navasota lies an art gallery decked out with paintings and eclectic couches. Owner of The Gallery Pattie Pederson calls it “Navasota’s largest living room.”
Within the last year, The Gallery has been bringing in singer-songwriters to perform on their stage. The concerts started out as true house concerts: invitation and donation only. However, as the popularity of the shows rapidly rose, The Gallery began to host concerts every weekend.
In August of 2018, Navasota native Joe Falco and Pederson met over a shared love of yoga only to discover another passion they had in common: live music. Together, with Joe’s daughter Ashley Falco, they began contacting artists and inviting them to the stage at The Gallery. Guests sit on couches beside one another as they listen quietly to the performers play original music and share the stories behind their songs.
“The catch for a lot of people is having an audience that will listen,” Pederson says. “We stay true to our [house concert] roots. The only thing we put on stage is singer-songwriters.”
The artists who have played at The Gallery have been impressed with the small-town hospitality offered at the venue.
“We take care of them because it’s nurturing the artist,” says Pederson.
Joe says it’s just as important to tend to the needs of the performer as it is to care for the audience. The Gallery has been forming relationships with artists who will tell other artists about the venue.
“I will help people bring [equipment] up the stairwell and they just can’t believe it,” says Joe.
The Gallery has experienced the benefit of their congeniality, as artists have begun to spread the word about the venue, which has started to attract more performers. Ultimately, the trio hopes to use live music and performances at The Gallery to promote the revitalization they see growing in downtown Navasota.
“When I was growing up, downtown was just kind of dead,” Ashley says. “Now, there are shops that I shop at as a twenty-something and there are two coffee shops.”
The Falcos and Pederson see the venue as a means of bringing vibrancy to downtown and want live music to be a way to bring the community together to restore pride in Navasota.
“I grew up here and apart from football, there wasn’t a lot of pride in Navasota. I loved growing up here. But now, I can see that people that live here have more pride whether it’s in the live music that we have, or the theater alliance, or the wedding venues,” says Ashley. “In my opinion, there is a greater sense of community now. There was prior to this, because it’s hard to live in a small town and not have a sense of community — but now, you see people walking down the street to businesses now. You get to know people. It benefits everybody.”
Pederson and the Falcos are committed to building up downtown Navasota to become a place people will want to visit on weekends and holidays. By doing this, they hope to maintain Navasota’s small-town charm while bringing in beneficial revenue for the city.
“Your neighbor is not your competition. Your neighbor is your destination,” says Pederson. “Create a destination and the people will go.”
Finally, in cultivating community and pride in Navasota by building up downtown into a tourist attraction, the three remain devoted to a love for the city of Navasota.
“If these things are going to work, there has to be love in it,” says Joe.
Pederson says it isn’t always easy, but it’s always fun.
For more information about The Gallery or to buy tickets to a show, visit www.houseconcertsatthegallery.com.
