Tennessee
Trish Montgomery is the Accounts Manager for Amro Music, a 100-year-old music retail store in Memphis, Tennessee. She began working for Amro in 1990 when Chip Averwater, the grandson of the founder, hired her to do data entry as the company updated their computer programs. The position soon grew to...
Nick Averwater is part of the fourth generation of the Averwater family to be working at Amro Music in Memphis, TN. Nick fondly remembers his time as a kid running around the store and working odd-jobs for extra money. After obtaining his MBA with a focus in finance and completing an internship...
Marjorie Jones and her husband opened the Bill Jones Music store in Knoxville, Tennessee back in 1973. She joined Bill full-time in 1989 after raising their children, and in 2011, Marjorie became the manager of their music lessons. Over the years, she has developed deep relationships with their...
Max Jones is the official greeter at Bill Jones Music in Knoxville. He does his best to meet each person as they enter the store and won’t mind if the customers take a moment to rub his belly. The founders of the store, Bill and Marjorie Jones, adopted Max when he was just 3 weeks old and he grew...
Pamela Cole played trombone in school and learned firsthand the importance of supportive people in the formative years of a young musician. After graduating from Belmont College in Nashville with a degree in music business, she and Leigh Maples opened their female friendly music store in Nashville...
Leigh Maples played her ukulele as her sister sang when the two were small and remains an important memory for Leigh. She later played guitar in high school and went on to study music business in college. In 2009, Leigh and Pamela Cole, who she met in college, opened a music store in Nashville. ...
C.J. Averwater recalls the story of his great grandfather, M.J. Averwater, a music teacher who decided to open a small store in Memphis called Amro Music. C.J. grew up in the business and learned from his grandfather, M.J.’s son, Robert, the history of their family owned and operated store. C.J....
Susan Carson opened her first music store, Taylor Guitar Shop, at just 18 years old in Johnson, Tennessee. Taylor Guitar Shop became the local hangout spot for bluegrass pickers and those looking to jam every Saturday. Susan sold the store when she married her husband, Bill Carson, and he took a...
Lynn Sheeley Jr.'s father opened a small piano store in east Tennessee in 1908. After serving in D-Day during World War II, Lynn returned home to work in the store, which he later took over. Along the way, the business grew to four locations, two of which are in Knoxville and that Lynn managed for...
Christie Carter and her husband, Walter, are the proud owners of Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville, which has a family friendly feeling by design! Christie wanted to help create a place that would be as welcoming to women musicians just as much as it would be for men, as well as wives and...