LOCUST — After half a year of preparation, Ronnie and Christina Black’s plan to open up a music store in Locust is coming to fruition this weekend.
The husband-and-wife owners of the upcoming rBc Music Store — along with representatives from the Stanly County Chamber of Commerce — are holding a ribbon cutting ceremony on Aug. 7 at 10 a.m. to celebrate the grand opening of what will be Locust’s first music store in many years.
Located among the businesses that populate Locust’s Town Center at 150 Ray Kennedy Dr, Saturday’s kick-off event for the new business will feature a meet-and-greet with the Blacks, as well as a variety of food, t-shirts and other freebies.
With raffle tickets at $5 dollars apiece, a Takamine acoustic guitar and a Ludwig snare drum will both be awarded to participants in a random drawing.
“I’m excited because we’ve been wanting to do the grand opening since April,” Ronnie Black told SCJ on Aug. 2. “It’s been hard getting all the work contracted out and finished. A couple weeks ago, we were able to get all the painting done so now we’ve been able to see a light at the end of the tunnel; now we’ve been working to get all the inventory done.”
Ronnie and Christina Black first talked about the idea of collaborating to open a music shop back in January. A month later, their plan was set into motion as they began the long process of ordering inventory items — a strategy that left their home filled with boxes of guitars, drums and other instruments until now.
“It’s nice to be able to get our house back,” Ronnie Black said.
Over the past few months, they have transported their purchased musical equipment to their new showroom and have been busy setting up the final touches of the building’s arrangement and computer database. They have also designed a performance stage complete with lights and a sound system in order to host monthly open-mic nights as the year progresses.
In addition to selling a selection of guitars, drums, keyboards, amplifiers and accessories, the shop is offering sign-ups for guitar and piano lessons by Ronnie Black and Drucie Eudy, respectively.
Another feature of the new business will be a partnership with Veritas Instrument Rental Incorporated (VIR), a program that will allow the store to help music departments in high schools throughout Stanly County refurbish their instruments in an attempt to give back to the community.
Ronnie Black, a West Stanly High School graduate, said he recently visited his alma mater’s music department and that the trip inspired him to assist in updating the school band’s facilities and equipment.
“We have a lot to offer — from band instruments for students to equipment for someone to play a gig on a Saturday night. We’re kind of a one-stop-shop, like a mini-Guitar Center,” he said. “When I was younger, my brother and I used to go to a music shop in Charlotte called Reliable Music, and we loved that place…. That store’s atmosphere has really stuck with me, and that’s where I got this idea.”
This Saturday’s grand opening event (Aug. 7) for the rBc Music Store is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and run through 5 p.m.; promotional items and food will be available to the public while supplies last.