Crossroads Music Co.: News

January 26^th,  2010                                                                                                            Contact:  Stephen Marshall, Operations

                                                                                                                                                                   Crossroads Music Company

                                                                                                                                                                   903- 342.1854

                                                                                                                                                                   www.CrossroadsMusicCompany.com

 

News Release

For Immediate Release

Crossroads Music Company is moving to the Arts District in Winnsboro.

WINNSBORO, TX. -- Crossroads Music Company has partnered with Winnsboro Center for the Arts to lease and restore an historic building to turn it into a musical sanctuary.

The 106-year-old building located at 204 Market was donated to the Winnsboro Center for the Arts (WCA) by the Leaton family in honor of their son to be used for arts purposes.   WCA is allowing Crossroads owners Stephen Marshall (art/photo/film) and Denice Grugle (Piney Woods Live) to lease and restore the building in order to keep quality music alive and available in Winnsboro.

 

The Leaton Building is currently a shell but an exact duplicate of the building that currently houses Crossroads.  Restoring this building will be a community effort.  Professionals have already volunteered services from sound engineered design to swinging hammers; musicians have offered to help raise money to buy supplies and music-loving   residents have offered their complete support.  

 

Founded by Lynn Adler & Lindy Hearne, Crossroads has hosted hundreds of talented musicians during the past few years.  The artists travel the world but love coming to Winnsboro.  Performers such as Ruthie Foster, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Billy Joe Shaver, Terri Hendrix, Big Wide Grin and so many more have enjoyed the Crossroad’s audience.  The spirit and history of Crossroads will continue.  Plans include preserving the listening room style with the hardwood floors and high ceilings while enhancing sound, comfort and overall listener experience.  The new design will allow Marshall (art/photo/film) to capture high quality sound and video for professional reproduction.  Marshall has aptly described Crossroads as “feeling like you are inside a guitar with beautiful music surrounding you.”

 

There are only three more concerts scheduled on the original stage at 216 N. Main Street and the February 13^th attraction, Rhett Butler - sponsored by Mayor Carolyn Jones, will be the final show in this building.  The WCA stage, located at 200 Market Street, will be enhanced and upgraded to be utilized for Crossroads performances during the renovation period.  This partnership allows collaboration on grants and combined support for all downtown events.  Marshall & Grugle plan to have their first concerts in the Leaton Building around mid-summer.

 

One of the first, “Crossing the Road” concerts will host Billy Joe Shaver, sponsored by Don Roberts Abstract and Bank Texas.   Shane Shepard, Winnsboro Economic Development Director state,  “Crossroads has become the destination venue for live music entertainment.  The casual listening room experience appeals to both patrons and performers.  This collaborative effort demonstrates the spirit of Winnsboro and its support for Crossroads. “

 

Crossroads has truly been blessed by their many supporters and volunteers and looks forward to welcoming everyone in their new and improved location.  To volunteer or for more information about Crossroads “Crossing the Road” contact Stephen Marshall or visit www.CrossroadsMusicCompany.com

 

 

 

 

Currently: 216 North Main Street.  Soon to be: 204 Market Winnsboro, Texas 75494

 

 

# # #

 

 Winnsboro Center For the Arts Facts Sheet

 

Fact Sheet:  Property at 204 Market Street

• In 2004, the Leaton family graciously donated an adjoining building at 204 Market Street to the Winnsboro Center for the Arts (WCA) to use for the arts and for future expansion. 
• The building had been used for storage for several years and WCA intended to bring the circa 1901 building up to code to make it habitable.  Unfortunately WCA was unable to secure the necessary funding. 
• The building continued to remain vacant and be used for storage during the ensuing years.  This was a continuing concern to WCA.
• In 2008, WCA conducted a series of strategic planning sessions and the 204 Market Street building was discussed in detail at the time.  Some Board members felt it would be in the best interest of the Art Center to sell the building; other Board members wanted to keep the building for future use.
• The Board discussed alternative uses for the building - art studios, a possible museum or renting to another arts-related business.  The Board determined a criterion should they choose to lease the building – they would consider a lease-only arrangement to an arts-related business.
• The Winnsboro Economic Director attempted to help with leasing and a couple of non-art businesses expressed interest in the building, but nothing was pursued.
• In November 2009, Denice Grugle and Stephen Marshall of Crossroads Music Company approached the Executive Committee of WCA with a detailed proposal to lease the building for a period of 7-years.  The owners of Crossroads were interested in bringing the building up to code and making lease-hold improvements en lieu of a reduced monthly rental.
• The WCA Executive Committee reviewed the proposal from Grugle/Marshall, determined that it met the criteria and decided to recommend it to the full Board at their scheduled January 2010 meeting.
• The WCA Board voted to enter an “exploratory phase” to obtain a legal opinion on several points, then proceeding to a Letter of Intent.  A notice was placed in the Winnsboro News to announce the possible rental of the building.
• After reviewing the legal opinion letter and lease prepared by the attorneys, the WCA Executive Committee voted to proceed with the lease.
• The WCA Board is very excited about partnering with another arts-related group.  This seems to be an ideal solution to benefit Crossroads, WCA and the community – the circa 1901 building would be renovated and brought up to code; Grugle/Marshall would use the building for arts-related purposes and the Arts Center would retain ownership for future expansion; Crossroads would have an affordable home and remain active in Winnsboro; and the new Cultural Arts District would be enhanced by the two groups working together.

The following is a reprint of the email / news release that went out on Wednesday, April 29, 2009. VERY happy news indeed regarding Crossroads continuing, rather than closing (as formerly announced and reported). Shew!!!

CROSSROADS' NEW LIFE CHAPTER...

Dear Crossroads Family, Friends & Fans,

It is our extreme pleasure to formally announce that Crossroads will officially begin a new life chapter on June 1, 2009.

We want to facilitate this transition by introducing you now to the man who is committed to take the reins of all things "Crossroads" -- and more -- in the coming days. In keeping with the name of Crossroads' current web site, the new business name will be Crossroads Music Company, though all sorts of serendipitously related happenings will fall under that umbrella name.

(photo of Stephen)

MEET STEPHEN MARSHALL, former Fort Worth baker and longtime photographer. (We like to call him "Even Stephen.") Any way you look at it, this man loves to mix GOOD things together, and watch them develop. (By the way, here's the poster Stephen designed for THIS Saturday's May 2, BettySoo concert at Crossroads!)

(poster)

We've been getting to know Stephen during the past several weeks now.

(You KNOW we couldn't adopt out Crossroads to just anyone!)

This man is truly talented. An artist. (See links to his work at the foot of this email.) He's business savvy, compassionate toward others, and passionate about art, community, faith, family, food, history, music, and people's songs and stories.

Stephen has been a photographer for more than 25 years. He studied graphic arts at the American Trades Institute. Graduated with a 4.0 in 1990. His work has been featured in a number of exhibits and photography projects.

He owned the Kolache Shoppe bakery in Fort Worth (actually founded in 1977, and still going!) for 10-plus years, and did call that his “real job,” but not since he sold the bakery in 2007, and relocated to his native East Texas to be closer to family.

In fact, Stephen graduated in 1989 from Mount Pleasant High School, and he has family and friends all around these piney woods and beyond. He understands how bittersweet it feels to let go of something built from scratch.

The sweet part for us is that he has asked Adler & Hearne (as Crossroads' co-founders), to remain "related" to Crossroads as honorary artists in residence.

We like the feel of that very much. We welcome the continued relationship, and will do all we can to help further the growth and development of Crossroads through our personal musical endeavors in the coming days and years, as we continue to tour, teach, and record.

We're delighted to tell you that Stephen has soulful plans for bringing FOOD back to the Crossroads! Since he had such a successful business in Fort Worth for so many years, we can all expect what unfolds to be really GOOD.

Stephen tells us he plans to put an especially healthy spin on things, which is great. As far as we know, he'll be providing a daily (most likely Tuesday through Saturday) lunch offering, plus food on music/event nights at Crossroads. Watch for future updates from Stephen about all this.

Also, you should know, Stephen will show and sell his work and services at Crossroads when he moves in with his comprehensive art, photo and film business in June. In fact, through the years his work has evolved from various styles of photography, to short film, and to music production too. He also paints, and uses other mediums in his art.

Link to his YouTube site posted below for a soulful experience of his connection to things musical, and to things rooted in East Texas -- specifically Winnsboro!

One of the things we love about Stephen's art is that he is all about capturing moments of beauty. That's his "thing."

Now is that cool, or what? For those of you who have experienced one or more nights of live music on the Crossroads stage, you UNDERSTAND what inspiration and true BEAUTY Stephen will be a part of in the days to come.

Wearing his "photographer" hat, Stephen captures priceless images from weddings, birthdays, family reunions, location photography, photo restoration, graphic art services, and DVD slideshows. Also Family History Preservation on DVD, such as grandparents telling stories about their photos, etc.

We encourage you ALL to be patrons of Stephen's photographic services. This, in addition to his food service, will contribute to the NEW Crossroads' bottom line. It all works together. It takes a VILLAGE to keep the musical and visual arts aLIVE and well in rural East Texas.

Stephen is hard at work preparing to bring exciting new, day-to-day livelihood into the Crossroads space at 216 N. Main Street.

In addition to the food component, he says he's got ideas revolving around things such as possible film nights, dance nights, special events, and all sorts of serendipitous activities.

As mentioned above, catch a glimpse of Stephen's photography and film work online via the sites posted below. Also, FYI, his photos are among those on exhibit inside Winnsboro's own, newly remodeled, always-fashionable place to see and be seen -- Winnsboro Bakery & Cafe, and soon-to-be-added Brewbaker's Pub.

We trust many of you will be pleased to hear that in Stephen solemnly vows to uphold Crossroads' tradition of hosting the finest national touring artists on its stage, in a true listening-room fashion. He's got a number of exciting new ideas up his sleeve to go along with that. But we'll let him reveal those things to you in time.

Most importantly, he's going to need the encouragement and support of the most awesome audience in the world. YOU.

Keep in mind, Stephen is beginning a new life chapter too. We think you're going to like this Stephen Marshall, and this new chapter in the life of such an historic, downtown Winnsboro building where 100-plus years of diverse life chapters have been written in the businesses, lives and memories that have crossed paths here.

WRITE ON, Stephen Marshall!

Warm regards to all,

Lynn, Lindy & Kate

Crossroads Coffeehouse & Music Co.
216 N. Main St., Winnsboro, TX 75494
903.342.1854 / 888.342.1854
contact@CrossroadsMusicCompany.com

HERE'S WHERE TO ACCESS STEPHEN'S ART, and WHERE TO CONTACT HIM. We KNOW you ALL will make Stephen feel welcome as Crossroads' new guardian angel!

Stephen Marshall Photography
www.myspace.com/artphotofilm http://smarshallphotography.spaces.live.com www.youtube.com/artphotofilm email: stephenmarshallphotography@hotmail.com

Crossroads Coffeehouse & Music Co. is closing

To link to blog site click here:
http://musicblog.guidelive.com/
1:08 PM Fri, Feb 27, 2009

Photo: The great Radoslav Lorkovic plays the accordion during a Crossroads concert by Jimmy LaFave

Blog by Michael Granberry

It's a sad moment for the devotees of acoustic music. Lynn Adler and Lindy Hearne, co-founders of Crossroads Coffeehouse & Music Co., in the Piney Woods town of Winnsboro in East Texas, announced Friday that they will close the venue in mid-May. Crossroads served as a beacon of terrific music for more than three years in Winnsboro, about 100 miles east of Dallas. Adler and Hearne brought to its backporch-like stage such names as Jimmy LaFave, Eliza Gilkyson, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Billy Joe Shaver, Ruthie Foster, Kinky Friedman and Steven Fromholz. The venue's final show will be Saturday, May 16, with a concert by John Gorka. Adler and Hearne recently released their own album, To the Heart, and Adler says it was less the economy and more the desire to pursue their own music that led to the closing. "It was a very organic feeling," she said of the decision to close the venue, which operated in a turn-of-the-century hardware store on Winnsboro's Main Street. "It was like a season. It was our season to do that, in terms of our own personal story."

Hearne described as magical the sense of "knowing that special music was coming to our little town every weekend for the last three and a half years ... knowing these artists travel the world but loved coming to our place. They loved the ambiance, the audience, the sound ... There was always this anticipation, even when we were so tired we didn't know if we could do another show. But by the time the show arrived, we were geared up and ready to go." Before it closes, Crossroads will host concerts by Pierce Pettis (Saturday night, Feb. 28), Betty Soo and actor Ronny Cox (Deliverance), who doubles as a folk singer. For those interested in catching one of the final shows, call 903-342-1854 or visit the Crossroads Web site by clicking here. I strongly recommend it -- it will be bittersweet, but some of the best shows I've ever seen happened at Crossroads. I fondly remember several killer shows by Austin's Jimmy LaFave. That was the beauty of Crossroads -- where else in East Texas could you drive to a small town and see shows by Jimmy LaFave, or Ruthie Foster, or Eliza Gilkyson, or John Gorka? I used to think that, if Crossroads existed in Dallas, it would be one of the city's hottest venues. I'm not alone in saying I will dearly miss it.

Click the the link to see photos from our May 16, 2008 appearance at the Franklin County Arts Alliance in Mount Vernon.

http://www.franklincountyarts.com/
The folks in Mount Vernon have an awesome arts alliance, and we enjoyed bringing a taste of Winnsboro's Crossroads to our sister town just 20-some miles north of our home on Winnsboro's Main Street.

We often tell folks coming from out of town to take the Mount Vernon/Hwy 37 exit off I-30, south into Winnsboro because it's such a beautiful drive.

Hats off to the Hopkins County Arts Alliance for inviting Crossroads to its beautiful downtown Mount Vernon courtyard for what was a lovely spring evening under the stars.

FUN NOTE per our 1-5-08 KINKY FRIEDMAN & STEVEN FROMHOLZ "bonefit" concert benefitting the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch: Dallas Morning News photo editor Guy Reynolds was in the audience and got some awesome shots from his front row seat! Here's a link here's a link to a slide show he's posted on his personal Flickr site (just copy and past the link into your favorite browser -- enjoy!) :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/guyr/sets/72157603671430681/

Entering its third business year, Crossroads is stepping up promotional efforts to encourage folks to "meet at the Crossroads!"

The 100-year-old former hardware store turned music sanctuary -- with its large dining/dancing hall, stage, and full sound system -- provides the ideal setting for organizational meetings, family reunions, anniversaries, birthdays, etc. With Winnsboro's diverse restaurant mix, the catering options range from casual buffet style to formal gourmet dining. Crossroads provides access to a variety of audio-visual resources

For more information on scheduling a special event at Crossroads, contact Lindy Hearne or Lynn Adler at (903) 342-1854, or at contact@crossroadsmusiccompany.com with the subject line reading "RE: SPECIAL EVENT BOOKING."

Once again The Dallas Morning News has found our little venue to be newsworthy! This time it was in the form of a full-blown feature story that appeared on the FRONT PAGE of the October 14, 2007 Sunday paper. The story, written by Michael Granberry, was titled "Cozy concert halls draw big names to small-town Texas." Mr. Granberry and photographer Randy Eli Groethe caused quite a fun stir at Crossroads the night they covered the Jimmy LaFave concert on our stage September 22, 2007. We're so pleased with the resulting story and all the positive vibes that have come our way -- and to our entire town! -- since it was published. THANK YOU, THANK YOU to The Dallas Morning News for recognizing the newsworthiness of live music's powerful draw. You can read the complete story at our REVIEWS Press page, or we invite you to link directly to the STORY and VIDEO either here, or from the REVIEWS page.

To read the STORY: http://www.guidelive.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/101407glsmalltownmusic.37ea315.html
To view the VIDEO:
http://www.dallasnews.com/video/index.html?nvid=183013

We were delighted when THE Dallas Morning News published a "Road Trip" feature story on our venue in the Weekend GUIDE of the Friday, June 16, 2006 edition of the paper. This bit of news continues to draw folks to Winnsboro to enjoy the amazing line-up of national touring artists who appear on the Crossroads 'front porch' stage each week. Hope the story inspires YOU to make a road trip out our way soon. (See our REVIEWS Press page for the full story!)

Lynn and Lindy headed the Crossroadsmobile to Austin on Friday, February 10, and returned on Monday, February 13. Sandwiched between was an intense two days of reconnecting with old friends and making LOTS of new ones. Thanks to our good friend and resident videographer Conrad, the Adler & Hearne "Crossroads Coffeehouse & Music Co." exhibit featured a continuous-playing DVD compilation of performances given on our 'front porch' stage since our opening Thanksgiving weekend '05.

Musicians from Australia to Arkansas discovered our new venue and learned about Winnsboro, Texas, right there at our little corner of the world in the "Indie Artists" area of the Folk Alliance Exhibit Hall at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Austin. Highlights of the weekend: 1) reunions with treasured friends, 2) Lynn getting to meet and hear a performance by Chuck Mitchell, former husband of none other than Joni Mitchell (Lynn's "patron saint"), and 3) personally handing Adler & Hearne's CDs to the editors/CD reviewers of such iconic music publications as Dirty Linen and Sing Out!

Crossroads' proprietors - performing songwriters Lynn Adler and Lindy Hearne - head south by southwest on Friday, February 10, bound for the 18th International Folk Alliance Conference, which is being held in Austin this year. They'll be showcasing their music and their venue in the "Indie Artists" area of the Folk Alliance exhibit hall, February 11-13. In addition to promoting their own music, as well as the appeal of the new venue to touring aritsts - the two plan to do their share of promoting Winnsboro, which was founded as "Crossroads" in 1854, and is today a growing haven for artists, nature lovers, and those seeking refuge from big city life.

Today is our first day in our new home, with our new business venture - Crossroads Coffeehouse & Music Co.! Between now and the day after Thanksgiving, we will be working around the clock to transform our wonderful building (the original R.H. McCrary Hardware Store building) into a musical coffeehouse environment - complete with stage and music store, and continuing operation of the wonderful soda shop business that's been a favorite in Winnsboro for 15 years! Stop by for a cup of coffee and enjoy the craze!