BIG SANDY — In an old brick church along U.S. 80 where Baptist parishioners once belted out heavenly hymns, music is filling the sanctuary once again.

On select Thursday nights, singers and songwriters pour their hearts out for crowds large and small at the Big Sandy Music Hall, a former church-turned-musical venue that is now among a handful of places in East Texas for people to hear live music written and performed by local artists.

Since 2016, Andrew and Kate Kirby have been using the former First Baptist Church in Big Sandy as their platform to play original songs and make music with their friends. They’ve also begun offering musical lessons to those interested in learning to play an instrument, use recording equipment and more.

The music hall, however, doesn’t offer the kind of concert folks find at large stadiums or a bar where a band is playing. Styled as a listening room, it’s designed to give people a more intimate musical experience, where distractions and audience noises are minimal. The focus is on the music.

“There’s a culture shift that needs to happen,” Kate Kirby said. “Going and listening to the concerts and hooting and hollering and having a good time is important, but also people like a more quiet, intimate experience. … People aren’t used to that so much out here.”

And that’s what the Kirbys hope to change.

Heard it in a love song

The Kirbys’ life story sounds like a song. They grew up in Garland and went to school together, but Andrew wound up attending a private school thanks to his behavior. The two went their separate ways, but in 1997, they got reacquainted at a musical store Andrew was managing.

“He recognized me from eighth grade, and so we got together at that point and been together ever since,” Kate Kirby said.

The Kirbys moved to East Texas in 2014 to help Andrew’s parents as they aged, and they fell in love with the area, Kate Kirby said. Two years later, they were helping a musical event promoter who was hosting Gospel music shows at the former First Baptist Church at 100 S. Tyler St. The promoter became ill, and he encouraged the Kirbys to buy the building.

“We started doing all sorts of different shows, including Gospel shows, but we’ve always had a really strong heart for songwriters and original music,” Kate Kirby said.

The Kirbys welcome performers from across the region and the country to their Thursday Night Live performances at the music hall. Singers perform on the stage, illuminated by colorful lights, while concert-goers sits in the well-worn but, thankfully, padded wooden pews where parishioners once congregated.

The Kirbys feature local singers and songwriters such as Meredith Crawford, a self-described “velvet voice from the Piney Woods of East Texas,” and Heather Harper, a 2022 Josie Music Award winner.

“This area is actually rich with original music, and you don’t see it when you go out to wherever you go to see music,” Kate Kirby said.

Why not?

“Because people identify emotionally with a cover song because they they’ve grown up with that,” she said. “So, we [performers] all tend to … cover songs so that we can connect with the audience.”

But performing one’s own music at festivals and other venues is the dream all songwriters have, Kirby said, and they can make it happen at the Big Sandy hall.

“That’s kind of what we try to do is just make sure people are aware of all the great talent that Texas has to offer,” Kirby said.

Local performers aren’t the only ones who can pick and sing at the hall. The Kirbys welcome traveling artists, such as those who pass through the area while on tour. Jeff Coffey, a bassist and co-lead singer with ‘70s rock band Chicago, and his pal Chris Rodriguez, who sang with metal band Megadeth, once dropped in to do a couple of shows.

A new way of listening

The performances at the music hall are more personal than those music-seekers would discover at other venues. The close proximity of the stage to the audience, the performers’ engagement with the crowd and the pace of the show combine to form a unique listening experience. There’s no rowdy bar crowd, no massive standing pit where people scream throughout the show. No hype — just music. That’s what the listening room style of venue offers people.

To be clear, Andrew Kirby insists that people won’t hear chatter like this: “’Hey, Fred, give me a bowl of red sauce’ or, you know, whatever’s going on in your typical restaurant.” (But at an April show, they did have a charcuterie tray available for members of the local chamber of commerce.)

The Kirbys also are taking part in another musical phenomenon called the house concert, which is exactly what it sounds like: a small gathering of folks at a residence to hear a performance. They host some of those, too. They wrapped up their “Java Nights” series of house concerts in June, which take place in the basement at the music hall.

The Kirbys’ goal is to help people enjoy live music once again. When the coronavirus pandemic forced the cessation of large events and gatherings, musical venues suffered. So, the Kirbys began streaming their performances online, as did countless other artists. They still stream their shows on Facebook, and locals are tuning in. During an April performance, they greeted Big Sandy Mayor Linda Baggett and fellow familiar faces who listened online.

The Kirbys began a summer tour July 2, and it will take them to locations across Texas, California and Colorado through the beginning of September. That’s when their regularly scheduled performances at the music hall will begin again. A full schedule of their tours and fall performances at the music hall can be found on their website.

Where else can people find live, original musical performances in East Texas like those at the music hall? The Kirbys have a few suggestions: the Winnsboro Center for the Arts, Liberty Theater in Tyler and the Longview Museum of Fine Arts.

“We’ll play at some of the local bars and fellowship halls,” Andrew Kirby said. “We like a good potluck, so we play churches and whatnot.”

This year, the couple decided to put an emphasis on teaching others to make music. As of April, they had about 15 students who were taking music lessons from them, and they hope to have as many as 30. They can teach people to play guitar, bass, piano and “anything with keys,” Andrew Kirby said. Kate has a bachelor’s degree in music education from Texas Tech, and Andrew studied at Abilene Christian University as a vocal major.

“We kind of take people where they’re at. A lot of people have had music lessons or they learned a little bit online, and now they’re just a little dangerous,” Andrew Kirby said. “Some of them might be in their 70s, and they’re like, ‘Man, I need to play. I’ve wanted to do this my whole life.’ So, we’ve got -year-olds all the way to 70-something.”

Whether through a performance or a music lesson, the Kirbys said they hope to “feed the younger generation” with quality music.

To learn more about the music hall and the Kirbys, visit thekirbysmusic.com/.