Fogartyville Rebuilt Its Room for the Nights Without a Headliner
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
The listening room at 525 Kumquat Court in the Rosemary District reopened in July. It got a level floor, a new bar with beer taps, three new bathrooms and a high-powered HVAC system. Most of that won't be what you notice at a sold-out folk show. You'll notice it on a Monday night when ten people are waiting their turn at an open mic, or when the chairs get pushed aside after a documentary so a panel can take questions.
That's the real story of this fall at Fogartyville. When Impact100 SRQ funded the work, it described the goal as turning Fogartyville from a fairly static listening venue into a fully equipped, flexible space run by and for the community, according to Suncoast Post's July coverage. The calendar running from now into December reflects that goal. Free and five-dollar nights sit right beside touring acts.
The nonprofit WSLR+Fogartyville runs the center along with WSLR 96.5 LPFM community radio. It closed the room for more than a month in June and early July 2026 for the first phase of its Built for Belonging campaign. The first audience back came for Remi Goode, a Nashville-based indie folk artist, on July 12. Then the grand reopening came on Oct. 3 with a free open house, a vinyl and CD sale, radio-studio tours led by programmers, and live sets from Trevor Bystrom and Nora Bear.
According to WSLR+Fogartyville, this work is finished:
The bigger technology package is part of the project's funded scope. Impact100 SRQ's project summary lists modular seating and tables, lighting and sound equipment, hybrid streaming, mobile video and presentation displays, floor-based electrical infrastructure, signage and a marquee. When the room reopened in July, WSLR said there were "more upgrades still to come," without saying which ones.
Look at that equipment list and you'll see who it's for. Hybrid streaming, mobile displays, power outlets in the floor and furniture you can move around serve a nonprofit board meeting, a workshop or a screening with a panel afterward. Suncoast Post listed exactly those uses when it described the renovation: concerts, community gatherings, nonprofit meetings, workshops, rentals and cultural events. The funding came from a $108,000 Impact100 SRQ grant awarded in January 2026, with more support from the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation, The Patterson Foundation and individual donors.
The community mission goes back further than the venue's current address. WSLR's own history traces Fogartyville to a café that opened in Bradenton in 2002. Its founders closed it and moved to Sarasota in 2007. The radio station moved to Kumquat Court in October 2011. Fogartyville came back as a nonprofit community space in 2013, and WSLR has run it since 2018.
So the renovation finishes something the building was already trying to be: a radio station and a performance room sharing one address, with programming that includes art exhibitions, films, educational programs and civic discussions as well as concerts.
Ticket prices on WSLR's event pages show the same priorities as the equipment list. Most listings have three prices: members, "not-yet-members" and students 13 and older.
| Upcoming night | Date | Member | Not-yet-member | Student 13+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fogartyville Songwriter Series | Mon., Nov. 9 | $8 | $10 | $5 |
| Hiroya Tsukamoto | Fri., Nov. 6 | $20 | $25 | $12 |
| Very Merry Jerry Day | Sun., Nov. 1 | $20 | $25 | $12 |
| The Strangeways | Sun., Nov. 8 | $20 | $25 | $13 |
| Joe Crookston | Thu., Nov. 5 | $22 | $27 | $13 |
| Sam Morrow Band | Sat., Nov. 7 | $25 | $30 | $15 |
| Daniela Soledade & Nate Najar Trio | Thu., Nov. 12 | $25 | $30 | $15 |
The two ends of that table are the point. A student can catch three local songwriters for $5 on a Monday. A non-member pays $30 for a Brazilian jazz night, which is still about what a ticket cost at October's priciest show on the calendar, Al Ernst & The Jester Dogs at $35. Some nights cost even less. The Oct. 27 screening of "Lightworkers" was free with a suggested $10 donation.
Touring acts come and go. Recurring series are what fill an empty Monday on a regular basis.
"The Sandbox" Open Mic. This one is set for the fourth Monday of every month, from 7 to 9 p.m. It's free for members and performers and $5 for everyone else. Each performer gets two songs or ten minutes. Musicians, poets, comics and performance artists are all welcome. The October session took place on Oct. 26. Going by the fourth-Monday pattern, the next two fall on Nov. 23 and Dec. 28. The event page is the place to confirm.
Fogartyville Songwriter Series. Spring Pace hosts the Nov. 9 edition, which features Nora Bear and Splice the Ruthless at 7 p.m. Nora Bear also played the Oct. 3 reopening, so locals who missed that party can catch her up close in November.
Drink & Draw Sarasota. The October edition ran Oct. 21 from 6 to 8:45 p.m., at $5 for members and students and $10 for everyone else. It's the clearest example of a night where the new bar and the movable tables matter more than the stage.
Film with conversation. On Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m., the room screens "First They Came for My College," followed by a panel. WSLR hasn't set a regular film night, but two screenings in three weeks show how the room is being used.
After the Nov. 12 jazz night, WSLR's event listings keep going into December.
Prices for these later dates are on each show's own page. WSLR's listings change, so check the event page before you plan around a date.
Getting in: the performance space is entered from the alley, not the Kumquat Court frontage. The center's phone number is 941-894-6469. If you want to support the place beyond buying a ticket, the People's Patio sells custom bricks that become part of the patio.
For an early bite downtown before a Thursday show like Joe Crookston on Nov. 5, there's Tastes of the Philippines at 1987 Ringling Blvd. It opened in September and, according to the Herald-Tribune, drew a big crowd its first weekend. SRQ Daily's Oct. 13 dining feature describes a $20 box: your choice of protein with garlic fried rice, two lumpia and two turon. Owner Patrick Takano told SRQ Daily, "It takes three minutes to get your order." It's open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and closed Sundays, so plan elsewhere before the Nov. 1 and Nov. 8 shows.
Places like Fogartyville are part of what makes a neighborhood feel lived-in, and knowing them is part of how I advise clients across Sarasota and the barrier islands. If you'd like to talk through how downtown's cultural spaces fit the way you want to live here, Cindy Fischer is glad to share what she knows. Let's Connect.
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