Suzanna’s Kitchen returns with the tunes

After a two year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Susanna’s Kitchen is back in action for their monthly concert series beginning June 16 with plans to run at least one musical act once every month through December.

Not only is Susanna’s Kitchen making its big return, but the event is also celebrating nearly 30 years of service to the community and to musicians near and far.

Though the exact date is unclear to when Susanna’s Kitchen started, what is known is that the idea was started between then Wimberley United Methodist Church Preacher Fletcher Pool and Valerie Denn who was a musician and booking agent.

“Out of that conversation was an idea of ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be nice to have a place where people can gather early in the evening for food and music in a place that isn’t a bar that is also smoke and alcohol free and serves snacks like a coffeehouse,” Perry Raybuck said.

The name of Susanna’s Kitchen ties itself to the Methodist Church as it is named after Susanna Wesley, the mother of John and Charles Wesley who helped start the Methodist movement. Susanna is also considered to be the “Mother of Methodism,” as it would be her kitchen where the children were taught, music was played and songs sung while also forming a family community.

“Susanna’s Kitchen is that metaphor for gathering in the kitchen to experience community, family, music and fellowship,” Raybuck said. “That is how the whole idea came to be, which is a great metaphor, because that is what we are trying to be, a family and a community.”

The first musical act of Susanna’s Kitchen was blues musician Steve James who performed in September and was followed by Shake Russell, Dana Cooper, and Ray Wiley Hubbard.

Because of Denn’s ties to the Austin music scene, many prominent musicians have and continued to play at Susanna’s Kitchen from Jimmy LaFave, Willis Alan Ramsey, Eliza Gilkyson, Hal Ketchum, Dale Watson and Ruthie Foster.

Even though Denn no longer works with the event, Susanna’s Kitchen continues to bring in musicians from all over the state and has garnered a reputation for being a top rated venue for musician’s to play at.

“I went to a house concert up in Manor,” Sharon Reece said, “They had different people introduce themselves if they had music venues,and when I stood up and said that I was with Susanna’s Kitchen, the whole room gasped and said ‘Oh! How wonderful!’ because Susanna’s Kitchen is known for musicians all over the state for its great venue.”

As Raybuck, who is also a musician, explained, what makes Susanna’s Kitchen a great venue for musicians is the fact that the building that hosts the event, the fellowship hall of the Wimberley United Methodist Church, is a great listening building that commands its audience to listen to the musician themselves.

“It’s a really nice listening hall,” Raybuck said. “It can hold over 150 people… But it’s a listening place. It’s not like a bar where people are still talking while the musician is playing. People here go there to listen and gather. We built a solid group of regulars.”

“It’s interesting,” Reece added. “Because if somebody is whispering, someone in front or behind them will shush them so people cannot be allowed to talk during a performance.”

Because of the reputation of the Susanna’s Kitchen audience for not allowing talking during a performance, it makes the experience for both the musicians and the audience much better and Raybuck explained.

“As a musician myself, if you play in bars or somewhere else people will not always be paying attention to you,” Raybuck said. “The greatest gift you can give a working musician is to give them your attention. It doesn’t mean you have to enjoy their work, but you are respecting their craft and you are listening to what they are doing. It makes the experience so much better.”

But despite Susanna’s Kitchen being a top venue for musicians, many of the organizers wanted to make sure that some of the money was to go back into not only the church but to the community as well, which was sought after by Reece.

With the musicians taking 90% of the gate, the other 10% of the gate and the money made off of the concessions is then put back into the community through donations to local nonprofits.

“It’s really important to know that the money we make off of concessions and the 10% we take from the gate that we try to figure out how we use that money to go back into the community,” Raybuck said. “We support several nonprofits from Barnabas Connection, which is a referral network within the community for good services and grew out of the Wimberley United Methodist Church, Bright Beginnings School, Operation Good Shepherd to name a few. But we are always trying to give back to the community. Plus when people come through our doors and into a church, we want to welcome them with open arms, hearts and minds that we are not trying to proselytize, but rather welcome them back into this community.”

Susanna’s Kitchen continues to serve coffee, sodas, pizzas, tamales, and their highly renowned pies.

Tickets are only sold at the door ranging in price from $20-$25 depending on the musician. Cash and checks are currently accepted. Students under 18 are $5. Concerts are not appropriate for small children, as there is no childcare.

Come early to ensure a good seat, as some concerts sell out. Ticket sales begin by 6:30 p.m.

For more information about Susanna’s Kitchen, which kicks off with Slaide Cleaves on June 16, visit www.wimberleyumc.org/susannaskitchen.

Susanna’s Kitchen Line Up

June 16th: Slaid Cleaves

July 21st: Shake Russell

August 18th: Adam & Chris Carroll

September 15th: Ray Wylie Hubbard

Oct. 20th: Bob Livingston

Nov. 17th: Teri Hendrix & Lloyd Maines

Dec. 15th: Austin Lounge Lizards.