LINCOLN (Neb) Roots Music Shop will celebrate its Grand Opening on Saturday, Dec. 8 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 233 N. Antelope Valley Parkway (19th & Q). The celebration will include live music throughout the day, as well as refreshments and door prizes.
Performances by local musicians will include The Upstairs Blues Band from noon to 1 p.m., Blues Messengers 1 to 2 p.m., Grassfire 3 to 4 p.m., and Two Gals and a Guitar 4 to 5 p.m. The celebration is free of charge and open to the public.
Roots Music shop is a new, locally owned business that buys, sells and trades used musical equipment. It will also emphasize music instruction through the American Roots Music Education program, or Roots Ed.
Owner and long-time blues musician Ryan Larsen hopes the shop will provide support for the heritage, art and music of Lincoln and surrounding communities.
“We’re all about building long-term relationships,” said Larsen, a life-long Lincoln resident. “We want to grow the musical culture in the community by supporting live performance, music education and philanthropic efforts. We hope to eventually offer financial aid to children in need so that they’ll have access to music classes as well. ”
Roots Music Shop is located in a renovated, turn of the century building along with Monkey Wrench Cycles. In renovating the space to meet the needs of Roots Music, Larsen focused on using sustainable construction methods.
“I estimate that about 70% of our building materials are recycled. Even the décor is primarily historic music memorabilia. It just makes sense when you think about preservation of our heritage.”
Roots Music Shop will also serve as a showcase for American roots music with rare vintage instruments, musical artifacts and performance space for local musicians.
For more information, see www.rootsmusicshop.com or Roots Music Shop on Facebook.
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