Evans Music City Inc.

Music city? More like guitar city just fewer selection and rude service. I went in really wanting violin strings and they didn’t have them. Told me to pick up a fiddle instead. Um what. I was watched and when I went to the back to look at the guitars one of the staff members came running over, not to ask if I needed help. No just to see what I was doing.

Brian and Hazel Evans have been in the music business for years. Their track record of helping their customers get exactly what they need is unmatched. The professionalism and the knowledge of their team is unmatched in the industry. If you need/​want guitars, amps, or audio equipment, Evans Music is the place to go.

You really want to give a place like this your support. It’s a shame they make it so damn hard.
Guitars? Just a few. And they’re dropping Fender. No Gibson, no Gretsch, no Rickenbacker, no PRS. maybe a Peavy on the wall.
Amps, yeah a few. It seems music city has become focused on mixers, lights and dj equipment. They don’t wiggle in prices and cry they’re cutting to the bone when charging full suggested retail.
Hate to admit it, but Guitar Center (which actually carries guitars) is just down the street. Saved close to $ 300 off Evans’ rock bottom prices. And the Guitar Center salesman was willing to demo the product while Evans was selling «as is».
Not likely I’ll be back.

This place is a buried treasure — Houston’s best kept music secret. They have it all. Guitars and other instruments at fair prices? Check! Helpful, profession and courteous staff who don’t judge or make you feel stupid? Check! Knowledgable and patient teachers? Check! The only negative that I can think of is the amount of time I spend there lusting after new instruments instead of working. But that’s my fault, not theirs. Highly recommend to all musicians whether you’re a beginner or your fingers have been calloused for years.

Friends and I recently threw a Blues music birthday bash for Mr. V of KPFT at Mr. Gino’s in Houston, to celebrate his 75^th birthday and 24 years as Sunday morning Blues DJ on KPFT. Trudy Lynn and Steve Krase opened the show, with Kenny Neal of Baton Rouge, LA as the featured band. The club was packed and the show was a success! Kudos go to Joe with Evans Music City for ensuring the show was perfect.
Gigs can be stressful to put together but this show ran smoothly because of the full support and assistance of Joe with Evans. We knew we had to supply the standard backline but were surprised with a last minute request for additional equipment including two specific types of keyboards and guitar amps. Not a problem for Joe — he checked with us twice prior to the day of the show to verify the equipment list and the time for band sound checks to ensure all the equipment would be set up and ready when the bands arrived.
On the day of the event, Joe arrived promptly at the time we agreed to. He set up the equipment to meet the stage plot specifications. Both bands were pleased with the equipment and the sound — that Blues juke joint absolutely rocked! Kenny Neal and his band played twice as long as expected, which was a winner for the fans but made for a very long day for Joe. He agreed to wait the extra time for the show to end in order to break down and load the equipment. He then called the next day to check if we were pleased with the equipment and sound, which we confirmed we were. Next gig, we will definitely rent from Evans Music City and ask that Joe oversee our rental order.

With a music industry that is constantly changing, it is becoming harder and harder to find guys in the business that are the real deal. The guys at Evans Music City are just that.
My company had a big party planned in Beaumont, TX last night and the feature of the evening was a live band. We went with Evans for their rental services — a full back line of instruments including everything from a full drum and percussion set to amps to a yamaha motif keyboard — the whole 9 yards. We also rented a full PA system complete with mics, mixing console, etc.
I spoke to Brian Evans throughout this process, who was very helpful. A special thanks to Joe, the head of the rental department, who was very professional and patient in answering all of my questions. He arrived at our party in a van full of the equipment on time with all of the things we discussed. He also mixed throughout the party, and worked very hard setting up equipment — not to mention he drove all the way from Houston! I could tell Joe has been doing this for a long time and his experience was greatly appreciated. The gear we got in our rental package was top notch and everything worked excellently for what we were trying to accomplish.
Evans Music City helped make this private event a success. I highly recommend Joe and Brian and the rental services at Evans Music City! Thank you!

Full service music store from drums, guitars, keyboards, speakers to music lessons.
The staff was very helpful to me and showed me around the place like I was on a tour. Mr. Evan’s himself can also be found in the store still running the show.
They have a full service guitar repair & customization service on site as well.
The front of the store is painted blue with Evans Music City in large white letters on top. You can’t miss it.

I feel sort of bad giving this a low rating when I’ve only been in a few times. But both times I felt like there really wasn’t much in the store at all. The small inventory that IS in the store is sort of the off-​brand small shop stuff that is probably more suited for beginners or those who aren’t as serious about gigging and recording. I’ve been told that they can/​will order ANYTHING for you regardless of brand, but with Guitar Center down the road and some other local shops with a deep inventory only miles away, I’m not sure that it would be worth that for me.
The stars it DOES get go to the staff members that I spoke with on one occasion. The first occasion was the run-​of-​the-​mill disinterested music store type, as was expected. The second time I had a really great conversation with one of the guys that worked there about my amp and he showed me some great amps they had in a special room. Other than him, though, I’m just not feeling it.

Good ol’ Evans Music City: it’s like an old friend –or better yet, an old friend’s cool, older brother. Like another reviewer mentioned, this shop still has a great Old Skool feel to it, as though some classic rock blood still pumps through its veins deep under the foundation. This is a Good Feeling, and one of the reasons I love the store.
Being a guitarist for over 20 years, I have to admit that I’m not very impressed with the selection they offer me – not very impressed at all. The flip side is that they can pretty much order anything you like.
They’re fully stocked with a decent selection of mixers and boards, as well as plenty of speakers, etc., for your sound reinforcement needs. They have a decent amount of drum equipment, and a pretty good keyboard selection. Accessories for all types of musical/​audio needs are also plentiful.
The staff may not win any awards for friendliness, but they know their stuff and they’ll help you understand yours.
While Evans isn’t what it used to be back in the early 90s, it’s still going strong. From custom orders, to repairs, to checking out the latest high-​end gear –Evans has a little bit of everything. They’re no «super-​store» by any means, but they can hook you up.

Need a decent microphone for podcasting? Need an inexpensive acoustic guitar? Need a new music keyboard? What about a new drum set?
For sixty years, Evans Music City on Westheimer has provided Houstonians with all of these things and a lot more. For anything to do with popular music, jazz, country, electronica, and anything else except classical music, Evans is your place to go, though they do not deal with school band/​orchestra instruments except for drums and drumsticks, and then not as much as other places in town might.
But if you’re in the mood for new computer speakers and anything else electronic, Evans is your first place. The staff seem to know what they are about, and their prices are reasonable.
Yesterday, I went there hoping to purchase an internet USB microphone that would help me do better with voice recording, particularly for the limited work I do for Snapecast (
) than the Skype-​branded headphones/​mic combo I have been currently using.
The staff person with whom I spoke (after taking my backpack and putting it behind the front counter, with which I had no problem) immediately offered me a mic/​headphone/​mic stand/​podcasting software set by Alesis which retails for about $ 169 – 179. He offered it to me for $ 129.00.
The headset and microphone work beautifully for my purposes, but the mic stand and the microphone did not fit each other. Additionally, the audio software that came with the product was none other than the free-​of-​charge Audacity (
) software I’ve been using for Snapecast since I started with it back in summer 2006.
I was less-​than-​pleased with my interaction with the staff person there, but it was partly my fault for not slowing things down and asking more questions. When I left the place, I felt like I’d been at Radio Shack, having walked in for a ten dollar item, and end up spending about a hundred for extra things the store people suggested would go well with my purchase.
I think if I’d asked more questions, I would have perhaps made an even-​more intelligent buy than I did, though I was in need of the headphones as well.
As for the ambience of the place, I always feel like the spirit of the now-​defunct 101 FM KLOL «album-​rock» is alive and well there. And even with my less-​than-​stellar experience, I cannot imagine any other place being possessed of as much concentrated brainpower for these sorts of things as Evans Music City.
Rock on!