Restoring a legacy. Reviving a community.
How a jukebox rental company became a cornerstone of Delta blues — and why it's being brought back to life.
Gist Music is founded as a jukebox rental company.
Gist Music has been credited for the rise of many musicians, as their jukeboxes contained previously unknown local musicians such as BB King.
The store adds instruments and music lessons.
Famous customers included Levon Helm, Elvis Presley, Sonny Boy Williamson, and CW Gatlin.
The doors close.
Gist Music closed in 2015 after the death of the co-founder.
A community campaign to bring it back.
A grassroots fundraising effort rallied musicians, alumni, and neighbors around restoring the building rather than losing it — building the momentum that led to its next chapter.
The Music Education Initiative takes the helm.
The Music Education Initiative is currently working to restore and preserve the historic Gist building in downtown Helena. Our goal is to make Gist Music a live music venue, recording studio, and speakeasy. The music store will be preserved and continue to sell instruments and records, as well as host music lessons — alongside workforce training for the next generation of sound engineers, stagehands, and studio talent.
A stage for the Delta's next chapter.
Every live event at the restored Gist does four things at once: honors the building's history, trains the crew running the show, brings in revenue for the restoration, and adds another chapter to the Delta's recorded music legacy. Blues Music Award winner D.K. Harrell has already played the room, and the venue is planned as a satellite stage during King Biscuit Blues Festival week each October.
