Music Mountain opens on Gay Street in downtown Erwin

By Richard Rourk

Music lovers and buyers of vintage musical instruments have a new haven in downtown Erwin.

Music Mountain, 214 Gay St., opened on Thursday, September 9, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“We are very happy to have you here,” Unicoi County Chamber of Commerce executive director Amanda Delp said at the ceremony. “It’s such a nice addition to downtown.”

The music store specializes in guitars and other musical instruments.

“We have old Martins, old Gibsons and Epiphones from the old Kalamazoo factory,” Music Mountain co-owner Joel Janis said.

“We have a lot of midrange guitars,” he added. “We have guitars from the Fender and Mexican series as well as several types of vintage amps and keyboards. Everything we have has been handpicked.

Music Mountain co-owner Lori Janis is excited to put down roots in Erwin.

“My husband and I both have musical backgrounds,” said Lori Janis. “I studied music in Memphis, while Joel, originally from Chicago, studied at Belmont.

The couple lived in Tennessee for a time, but had been in the north for several years.

“We really missed the south,” said Lori Janis. “The mountains really attracted us here.

Lori Janis, originally from Michigan, is ready for the citizens of the area to come and discover the love of music.

“We feel inspired,” she said. “We sell old and new instruments, but we also focus on music lessons. We offer courses for beginners to experts. We will offer acoustic guitar, bass, mandolin, ukulele and piano lessons.

The Janises hope to appeal to all genres of music.

“We understand that this region is rich in musical history, and we hope to respond to bluegrass and country, but we will also have an indie influence,” noted Lori Janis.

For more information, including course registration, please visit www.musicmountaintn.com and follow Music Mountain on social media.