A ‘Good’ Farewell

The music will go on, Mike Shirkey insists. Negotiations are already under way to host music at other venues, he says, and if all goes well, the GoodFolk Productions series will return by October.

Still, there will be much to miss about the old house on Block Avenue where Shirkey has hosted concerts for the past 22 years. A show tonight by Robin and Linda Williams and Their Fine Group and another Sunday by songwriter Slaid Cleaves will serve as the venue’s last hurrah.

A house concert venue before house concerts were en vogue, GoodFolk began when Shirkey decided he wanted to bring in some of the musicians he met at the Walnut Valley Music Festival in Kansas for performances in his home state. Shirkey’s first concerts were in other facilities, but those sometimes struggled to pay the fees he was charged to rent thespace. That led him to a place where he could host concerts without paying rent - his own living room.

In the years that would follow, Shirkey left the majority of the first floor of the now 100-plusyear-old house without permanent furniture. Instead, mismatched plastic lawn chairs and the occasional padded but worn metal chair filled every inch of the floor space not reserved for the stage in the corner.

For those intimate confines, Shirkey booked about 600 shows in the past 20 years, usually taking a break in the summer to avoid the hottest days. A glance at the artist roster on GoodFolk’s website gives only a hint at the talent that has passed through this area courtesy of Shirkey and his concert series. Performers include Dan Hicks, Hot Club of Cowtown, Darrell Scott, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Norman Blake, Tim O’Brien, AprilVerch and so many others.

Many of the shows were booked on weekdays to accommodate the touring schedules of those artists passing between higher-profile gigs in Austin, Texas, or Nashville, Tenn. Shirkey says he couldn’t pay them as much money as some of the concert halls the artists were accustomed to, but GoodFolk provided refuge in one of the spare bedrooms and home-cooked meals by the host.

“When they are on the road, it’s a place that feels like home,” Shirkey says. “This is more than a house concert.”

It certainly attracted more attention than most house venues.

NPR’s “World Cafe” filmed a concert by Stacey Earle at the venue, and The New York Times mentioned it among the mustsee locations for those traveling to Fayetteville. More than one musician has told Shirkey the old house was their favorite venue, perhaps because of Shirkey’s hospitality, but also because people came to experience themusic up close.

“The bands liked playing because people were listening,” Shirkey says.

Working so closely with musicians over the past 20 years both at his home and through his weekly radio program, Saturday evening’s “Pickin’ Post” on KUAF, Shirkey has developed friendships with several of the performers who have visited. Fred Eaglesmith,for instance, emailed Shirkey to alert him to watch the “Late Show with David Letterman” for the Canadian musician’s recent performance on the program.

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott stayed in Fayetteville for a week to go fishing with Shirkey, and two other musicians have written songs about the venue after learning Shirkey was planning to retire the building.

Shirkey says he considered closing the venue several times before after periods of poorly attended shows, but that’s not the case this time around. In January, he decided to turn the building over to his daughter, who will live in the home after it undergoes a series of renovations.

The structure is in good shape, considering its age, Shirkey says.

As luck would have it, the old house always had great acoustics.

“I wish I could take that sound with me wherever I go,” he says.