Guitar Shed is having a grand opening celebration on Friday, August 28 at their new studio located in Kirkwood. Acoustic music will be provided by Elegant Bachelors along with a raffle, hors d’oeuvres and libations from 8-11 pm. Click here to RSVP to the Facebook event.

Read below for the press release…

Atlanta native Parker Smith has announced the opening of a modern, innovative music lesson studio in the historic Kirkwood neighborhood of Atlanta, GA. Guitar Shed provides instruction on guitar, piano, bass and ukulele with plans to offer more instruments. 

Smith has long been a fixture in the local music scene and educational community. The 29-year-old musician/entrepreneur, who recently completed his Masters in Music at the University of Texas in Austin, decided to found Guitar Shed as a collaborative and educational space for musicians of all ages.

Shedding is musician slang for practicing but Smith puts a double emphasis on the word “Shed” as a “…comfortable low-key place to come and be yourself. There are no grades here and this is not a stuffy music school. Each student learns at their own pace.”

I have been a fan of Spotify since it was some far off Swedish musical myth in 2008. Almost 10 years later and it seems more and more that streaming music seems to be the way of the future these days. Despite Neil Young’s criticism of sound quality and my roughly 1/2 cent that I get from royalties from each play on my albums, it’s still my primary source of listening to music. Tidal, Neil Young’s Pono, and Apple Music are all getting in on a piece of the pie, making everyone up their game. The other day I got the following notification from one of my favorite artists, Jason Isbell.

“With Something More Than Free coming out next Friday, July 17, here are some of Jason’s favorite songs created in his hometown of Muscle Shoals, AL. Listen to the singles “24 Frames” and “Something More Than Free” on Spotify now.

What’s better than having every song at your fingertips and being able to share them instantly with whomever you want?…. Having your favorite artists share their favorite songs with you! Listening to this playlist you realize why everyone from The Rolling Stones to Etta James wanted to record at Muscle Shoals. For those of you who think that Muscle Shoals is some type of clam, do yourself a favor and watch the 2013 documentary of the same name. There certainly was magic in those walls and equipment.

In addition to the well known classics, “Still Crazy After All These Years”, “Wild Horses”, “Hey Jude” (featuring Duane Allman on guitar)…. Isbell included some deeper cuts that I hadn’t heard before (selections from Percy Sledge and Aretha Franklin). And you can’t leave out “I’ll Take You There” by the Staple Singers. From the first note, that songs plasters a smile across my face that doesn’t leave for 3 minutes. Every instrument and part is full of feeling and in the right place. I listened to Jason Isbell’s album last week on NPR’s first listen and I ensure you he is in the right place too. Keep an eye out for this album that drops tomorrow, July 17 and this triple threat guitar player/singer/songwriter. Looks like he’s playing a new festival in Piedmont Park on October 18th in Atlanta. Might want to put that one on the calendar.

 

 

I am very excited to announce that we will be opening in August in Atlanta! This has been in the works for a while and I can’t wait to share the new space with all of you. Guitar Shed will be located in the historic Kirkwood neighborhood of Atlanta (est. 1899). The official start date is August 1, but I am pre-enrolling students for lessons now. REGISTER HERE to guarantee a lesson time. The address is:

1610 Hosea L Williams Dr NE (Suite E)
Atlanta, GA. 30317

 

Kirkwood is centrally located and bordered by the neighborhoods of Candler Park, Lake Claire, Edgewood, Oakhurst and East Lake. The neighborhood has a rich history and the studio is directly across the street from Coan Park. Below are some pictures of the space, but I will be posting some more pictures once we move in and get things up and running. Stay tuned for more information about the grand opening party!

IMG_5230 (1)

First look at the space

IMG_5228

Interior view from the lobby

IMG_5229

Exterior view from the lobby

IMG_5233

View of the back room

coanpark_zps81da01b4

Coan Park is directly across the street!

IMG_5250

Mural across the street