A Guitar Collection That Tells Stories

Fondren Guitars is staged as a museum of strings. Guitars are on the ceiling, on the floor, and mounted on walls. They're old, new, vintage, used, and never touched. It's a smorgasbord of instrumental bliss. Each guitar is special to the owner, Patrick Harkins, but he is most fond of older guitars and classics made by Fender, Gibson, and Martin.

When Harkins looks at the instruments, he sees history. Stories about the music that was played on it. The artist who owned it. Even the most subtle differences in each one.

The Gibson Les Paul That Started It All

The six-string with the most sentimental value is the first guitar he worked odd jobs and saved money for when he was 13—a Gibson Les Paul. Magnolia Music store owner at the time, Paul Champagne, saw how much Harkins wanted it and let him make payments on a long-term layaway.

"The life lesson I learned was working, setting a goal, and trying to accomplish it and get something for it," said Harkins, who now has no idea how many guitars he has. "It's one of those hard-work-pays-off kinds of things. It's something that I can apply for the rest of my life."

From Customer to Owner: A Musical Journey

Harkins often hung out at that music store, and by the time he was 14, he had convinced Champagne to hire him. That teenage motivation culminated in an enduring career, hobby, and pastime. It was a driving force that propelled him to perform, sell instruments, teach guitar lessons, and assemble bands. All of which he does at Fondren Guitars, but it's not lost upon him that he wouldn't be the performer he is today if it were not for his parents feeding his passion with support by taking him to the most popular live music scenes in Jackson.

Jackson's Live Music Scene Shaped a Musician

"Every Tuesday, my parents took me to Ole Tavern," said Harkins. "Monday nights, we went to Fields Cafe, but now it's F. Jones Corner. On the weekends, they took me to the Subway Lounge. I would play with The House Rockers. I remember eating (the famous) Blues Dogs. And I played at Hal & Mal's weekends."

Giving Back to Jackson's Music Community

Harkins is still on the music scene and is currently the new music director for Wellsfest. He learned everything he knows about music in Jackson. It was important to him that when he moved back after attending St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas, he bring that same opportunity to those coming behind him in the same place that invested so much in him. He intentionally made Fondren Guitars a place where you can buy a guitar, learn how to play it, perform, and get exposure.

Building Tomorrow's Musicians

"We teach young musicians and adults, and we teach them how to be in a band together," said Harkins, creator of The Fondren Guitars Band, comprised of five of his best students. "Buying this building (at Old Canton Road and Lakeland Drive) was me doubling down in Jackson."