Twinkling lights lined the inside of the house of local performer Chuck Levy as Autumn, his calm and fluffy dog, greeted audience members at the door before they sat down, ready to take in the quaint, eclectic and romantic country ambiance of Jeni & Billy during a concert Saturday night.
Jeni Hankins, 40, is the singer and songwriter for the folk duo, while Billy Kemp, 60, focuses on the musical art of the performances.
Hankins and Kemp have been on the road almost 10 months out of the year in their little red car they call Mr. Tomato.
Hankins bases her songs on characters she knows and places she has been. She said her music concentrates on telling stories and painting a picture.
Mountain music is focused on ballads brought over from Britain and Ireland to settlers of the Appalachian Mountains, making it rich with history.
“Sometimes people will come up to me and say, ‘You are an ambassador for your culture and the Appalachian Mountains and represent where I come from, and at the same time tell a universal story,’” Hankins said.
Kemp said he thinks Hankins is extremely talented.
“I feel really privileged to tour and work and play with someone like Jeni,” he said.
Hankins and Kemp said their music is heartwarming with comedic stories and are meant to separate the songs, in hopes of touching the audience’s soul with beautiful harmonies to bring listeners to the mountainside.
“One of the most important things to us is to tell a really good story, to make people feel glad they came and that something stayed with them,” Hankins said.
Haley Simmons, an 18-year-old UF dance freshman, said she enjoyed the intimacy of the show.
“I think it was more intimate because of the story-telling aspect and the proximity, being that close to the artist,” she said. “Usually at a pop concert, it’s more of a show business than bonding with the artist.”
[A version of this story ran on page 10 on 2/12/2015 under the headline “Folk duo stops in GNV to perform at house concert"]
Jeni Hankins, 40, is the singer and songwriter for the folk duo, while Billy Kemp, 60, focuses on the musical art of the performances.
