Bluegrass Parlor Information

The Bluegrass Parlor was originally conceived of as Bob's Bluegrass Parlor. However it did not remain Bob's for very long, as even before the store opened Bob was visited by Tom Henderson. Tom was already deep into the bluegrass music scene and could scarcely believe it when he passed a sign for Bob's bluegrass just a few miles from his home. Before long he had become Bob's partner in the new business and the store opened in 1980. It turned out the Tom was much better suited to the retail music store business and before long Bob sold his stake in the business and the business was all Tom's. This was just as well, because the business really struck a chord with Tom. The Thursday evening jam session got started around this time and the lesson business started to pick up at the store. The Parlor was always the place to go to find great deals on instruments and the only place in town that could help you track down those hard to find bluegrass recordings. But the soul of the business was in teaching others to appreciate and to play Bluegrass music. The lesson program was one way, but the jam session and the Bluegrass Parlor Band all help introduce newcomers to bluegrass. In 2005 Jeff Jones, a longtime fixture at the store as well as in the Bluegrass Parlor Band, purchased the Bluegrass Parlor from Mr. Henderson and for the next year and a half kept the store front going. Ultimately, for a multitude of reasons, Jeff had to make the difficult decision to close the storefront in late 2007. Since that time the focus has shifted more to the continued offering of private lessons on all the bluegrass instruments, to getting Bluegrass Parlor Band alumni together for occasional reunion gigs, and to finding new ways to introduce people to spread the good news about bluegrass music.