There’s something sacred about a listening room that actually listens. For the past month-plus, Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center went quiet while renovations transformed the 525 Kumquat Court space into something bigger than itself—not in square footage, but in possibility. Now it’s ready to reopen, and the venue’s first show back is a masterclass in what made Fogartyville worth renovating in the first place.
Indie folk artist Remi Goode will take the stage on Sunday, July 12, at 7 p.m., with local singer-songwriter Emily Frost opening. It’s a pairing that feels deliberately chosen: touring artist meets Sarasota roots, both bringing the kind of intimate, guitar-centered songwriting that thrives in a room built for the music, not the noise. Goode’s background blends classical guitar training with contemporary indie folk sensibilities—influences that range from Suzanne Vega to Kathleen Edwards—giving her nylon-string work a technical foundation that rewards close listening. Frost, a Sarasota native performing here since 2015, brings her own soulful acoustic tradition, with comparisons to artists like Alison Krauss and Norah Jones.
But the real story isn’t just the music. Fogartyville’s Built for Belonging campaign landed a $108,000 transformational grant from Impact100 SRQ in January 2026, plus support from the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation and The Patterson Foundation. The result: a simplified entrance, new bar with beer taps, a level floor, three new bathrooms, upgraded HVAC, modular seating, lighting and sound enhancements, hybrid streaming capability, and technology improvements designed to turn what was already a beloved listening venue into a fully flexible community space. For a nonprofit arts organization in a town that’s always negotiating between tourism and authenticity, these upgrades aren’t luxury—they’re infrastructure for survival.
What makes this reopening worth marking on your calendar isn’t nostalgia. It’s the fact that in an era when live music venues are either gentrifying upward or fading out, Fogartyville doubled down on staying affordable, artist-friendly, and community-driven. The renovations prove it: they’re not about maximizing bar revenue or packing in bodies. They’re about making a mission-driven space work harder, reach further, and welcome more voices—artists, nonprofits, educators, community groups, and audiences who still believe music deserves a room where people actually pay attention.
Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets run $20 for WSLR+Fogartyville members, $25 for not-yet-members, and $13 for students 13 and older. Enter from the alleyway. Call 941-894-6469 or visit WSLR for more information and to purchase tickets.
