Rapunzel's toasts 10 years, 1,000th show

There’s a sweet moment in every good show when a musician realizes that everything has come together at last.

At Rapunzel’s Coffee and Books in Lovingston, that moment’s easy to recognize: It’s when Cleo, or another of the venue’s three resident dogs, joins you on stage.

The canine vote of confidence is just one of the feel-good factors that has kept customers coming for a decade now to the Front Street landmark about 35 miles south of Charlottesville.

Rapunzel’s is marking its 10th anniversary with music, and tonight’s evening of bluegrass by the James River Cutups will be the venue’s 999th show. Then, on Saturday, the 1,000th show will bring in Bobby St. Ours, Chamomile and Whiskey and Trees on Fire.

“We’ve finally crossed that threshold, and it feels like we’re finding our niche,” Bob Taylor said. “New talent, and local talent.”

Taylor is proud of the family business the place has become.

Sara Taylor, proprietor of Rapunzel’s, is his daughter. Gabriel Taylor, his son, runs the venue’s sound and heads up Packing Shed Records, which recently expanded its recording studio upstairs.

Bob Taylor’s roles are many, but “I don’t have a title,” he said. “I do whatever [Sara] lets me do. I am in charge of the open jam, though.” (That weekly open jam starts up at 8 p.m. Wednesdays.)

“This place is a joy to me,” Taylor said. “I’ve not lost that glow. After ten years here, I still look forward to weekends.”

He looked back fondly to the venue’s first show, by Tiger Lily, and its second, in which guitarist Eli Cook opened for the Hogwaller Ramblers. Over the years, the stage has welcomed everything from Nelson County youth drama productions to crowd-pleasing belly dancing. And last weekend, the quarterly Poetry and Prose event sold out as folks gathered to hear Mariflo Stephens and Lynn Martin.

Rapunzel’s also is home to a popular annual songwriter’s contest and to the Further Ado Foundation, which aims to provide residents of rural Nelson County with access to the arts while giving artists opportunities to perform.

Saturday’s shindig will give newcomers a quick glimpse of the diversity of Rapunzel’s lineup.

Trees on Fire has been a favorite guest for years. And if you’re new to Chamomile and Whiskey, “they are the new up-and-comers right now,” Taylor said. “They’ve been packing them in here. They combine Celtic music and rock and roll. It’s pretty cool.”

St. Ours, returning to the venue’s stage after what Taylor calls way too long an absence, “has that ‘it’ factor. We’ve found that there aren’t a lot of solo artists who can carry an evening, but you just don’t want it to be over when he plays.”

Every successful hangout has its own trademark points of etiquette, so here are some tips to keep in mind:

» Give new acts a chance. Taylor got tired of hearing listeners use “I’ve never heard them before” as an excuse for not coming. So when an act comes along that Taylor believes folks really ought to hear, he proudly offers a money-back guarantee.

No one has taken Taylor up on the offer yet. “We’ve never had an awful act,” he said.

But if you truly don’t like the show and feel you’ve wasted your time, he said, “I’ll give you your money back, and a sticker that says, ‘I have no soul.’ ’’

» Aspiring to take the stage at Rapunzel’s? Then take a test drive at the monthly open mike night; the next one is Feb. 10.

Open mike night, on the second Friday of each month, brings in everyone from comedians to belly dancers to spoken-word artists. Taylor still yearns to see “a sword swallower and a tap dancer” someday. Not necessarily as part of the same act, but who knows?

As many as 25 acts may be scheduled at any given event, with some performers driving in from Richmond, Lynchburg, or points farther afield; the members of After Jack, which won last fall’s songwriting contest, attend Ferrum College. And if you’re hoping to break into the music scene, it’s a way to get on the radar.

“We encourage people to come and play for open mike, and we can get a song or two out of them,” Taylor said. “Almost every month we find someone and we say, ‘Keep coming back and playing a few songs, and we’ll hire you.’ ’’

» If the spot on the couch you’ve got your eye on already has a dog on it, “you’ve got to ease them over,” Taylor said.