The first rule of Guitar Club: you tell everybody about Guitar Club

By Matthew Young, RealWV

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – For the past several months, Folklore Music Exchange in downtown Charleston has been hosting semi-monthly gatherings of like-minded musicians for their “Guitar Club.” And as the headline says: the first rule of Guitar Club is to tell everyone you know about it.

“It started off with a couple guys who would come in every Tuesday evening,” said Justin Puett during Saturday’s meeting of the club. Justin, along with wife Jodie Cox-Puett, are the owners of Folklore Music Exchange. “One day one of them showed up with a really cool guitar they had found at a pawn shop.”

“He was showing it off, and we were all excited about it,” Justin added. “So we were just sitting around playing it, and talking about it, and then we met up the next Tuesday. We were having fun, so we decided to keep doing it.”

Justin, also once again with wife Jodie, are founding members of “The Parachute Brigade” – West Virginia Living Magazine’s “Best Band in WV,” for 2018.

“A friend of mine had the idea one day that we should start promoting this, and actually spreading the word,” Justin explained. “I thought it was a cool idea. We love doing community things. Anyway we can get people coming in, and just hanging out and giving people something to do – especially gear-related.”

To get the Guitar Club up and running, Justin and his friend would bring cookies, drinks and pizza to add to the sense of community – a feature of the club that still continues.

***Kevin Arbogast, Justin Puett, J.T. Lewis, Tim Dorsey. Photo by Matthew Young, RealWV.***

“He started off by building pedals, and he would give one away,” Justin added. “He would build a pedal, and we would do a drawing. Basically if you’re here you get to put your name in a hat, you get to draw to win some free stuff – which is awesome.”

“I think this is about the fifth or sixth one we’ve done so far,” Justin said. “We do it every two months. That way it’s not too much, but it gives everyone something to look forward to.”

The Guitar Club, Justin says, is for every skill level – from beginner to expert.

“We’ll have sections set up where people bring in really cool amps and guitars just to try out,” Justin noted. “The way it is, is feel free to play whatever you want to. If you want to come in and try out a really cool, expensive Les Paul, go for it. If you wanna come in and play a metal-riff on a Jackson, come do it.”

“Mostly it’s just a thing where guitar nerds can get together and nerd-out about guitars.”

The next meeting of the Guitar Club has not yet been scheduled, however it will occur during the month of January, 2026. In the meantime, the Folklore Music Exchange has a full December schedule of music to brighten your holidays.

On Friday, December 5, Darrin Hacquard will be performing with his band, followed by a fresh episode on Mountain State Music on December 12, featuring Brad Goodall and Chris Haddox. Both shows are free to attend, with donations gratefully accepted.

On Saturday, December 20, Kentucky-duo The Local Honeys will perform on the Folklore Stage. Tickets for the show are $18, and can be purchased by visiting thelocalhoneys.com.

For more information about the Folklore Music Exchange, visit folkloremusicexchange.com.