Located at 300 E. Grand Ave in Ponca City, Shanghai Music is run by Joel Gibbs and his father Jay. The store offers a variety of guitars, cables, amps, school and orchestra band items as well as instrument repair, entry level and up lessons and a recording studio in Osage County.

Joel Gibbs first opened the store at 101 W. Grand Ave in 1999 after he got out of college at Oklahoma State.

“[We] started with just one brand of guitars and amps and then moved out [from there],’” said Gibbs.

The name of the store actually has nothing to do with the city of Shanghai or China. Instead, the name is derived from an in-joke about being in your mid 20’s and the need to make money dragging one into adulthood whether they wanted to or not. Or being “Shanghai’d” so to speak.

Gibbs has a background in music, playing guitar since the age of 6 and playing in bands before he could even drive in the late 80s.

When the COVID-19 pandemic first struck, Gibbs was initially worried about what shutting down could mean for the business.

“At first it was doom and gloom since you couldn’t open, and when you’re self employed you can’t just sit around,” said Gibbs. “At first we thought it was going to be bad, but that first summer was busier than we thought. We actually did okay. Tricky part is going into post pandemic and factories are delayed with inventory.”

Shanghai Music saw an increase in people who had never played an instrument gaining an interest during the pandemic, a common phenomena where people tried to pick up new talents amidst the lockdown.

This same uptick has been noticed on the store’s Facebook page, where they saw more hits during the pandemic and an uptick in site traffic.

“It was interesting seeing a lot of faces you’ve never seen before,” said Gibbs.