Not Just Another Brick (and Mortar) in the Wall

I had a problem. 

One minute, I’m happily strumming my acoustic guitar, and the next, my little E string snaps. After a quick scan of my studio, I’m left with the disheartening realization that I have no replacement strings. Zero. Where does one even purchase guitar strings in Santa Barbara these days?

I will not give my money to Jeff Bezos if I don’t absolutely need to, and this certainly isn’t worth bothering my Sweetwater.com rep (shout-out Randy). 

The sadly shuttered Jensen Guitar & Music Co. comes to mind immediately. A go-to spot for so many musicians in town, the Santa Barbara musical mainstay closed its doors after 53 years just last September. Gone, but truly never forgotten (we’ll come back to that in a bit). 

With the seemingly David and Goliath struggle of online versus IRL, it might be hard for some to see the appeal of an honest-to-god music store as a consumer in 2026. But try-before-you-buy can make or break a musical purchase, and demoing a variety of gear can lead to satisfying discoveries. It’s my firm belief that a brick-and-mortar music store has the potential for unquestionable good in a day and age when the internet threatens to monopolize our collective attention, both economic and social. 

Enter: Riviera Music. 

Tucked into a second floor corner of upper upper State’s El Mercado shopping center, Riviera Music isn’t hard to find if you know where to look. And let me tell you, it’s well worth searching out. 

The brainchild of musician and producer Emile Millar, Riviera Music officially opened its doors in July 2025. Millar, feeling the exhaustion that can come with producing other’s art for so long, began to find personal reward in teaching music part time at Vieja Valley School, even starting an after-school ensemble program. His favorite part? Sharing his love of music with students. 

“Their lives changed because they discovered something that they love and that they’re good at,” Millar told me, with a sparkle in his eyes, as he showed me around the shop. 

This educational philosophy, paired with a 40-plus-guitar collection that his wife needed out of her office, inspired the music store at 4141 State Street, Suite B-13, that after a renovation early this year now includes multiple lesson rooms and a repair workshop in addition to its original retail space. Miller cites the heartbreaking closure of Jensen Music as the impetus for the expansion.

Millar’s wife, Crista Fleming, the restaurateur behind downtown brunch staple Scarlet Begonia, also lent inspiration to Riviera in another critical way: After seeing how Fleming thoughtfully selected and sourced ingredients for her restaurant, Millar aspired to mirror this approach with his music shop. 

“When I thought about the different guitars and brands and things that we wanted here, I wanted to make sure that these were things that I trusted and liked,” Miller shared. “Even if I had to pay a little bit more money for it, I just kept to my rule of just, you know, carrying things and offering things that I care about and trust. The builders and factories that we buy from all are top-notch.” 

And the proof is in the musical pudding. 

Guitars of all kinds (Fender, Gibson, and Martin, oh my!) line the walls and a series of shelves house boutique pedals, from JHS to Strymon to Earthquaker Devices (shout-out to my gear heads: I see you). Another showroom houses a vintage keyboard collection (et tu, Yamaha DX7?) and high-end Taylor acoustics. All this in addition to the usual music store odds and ends: plectrums (or to the layperson, picks), instrument cables, guitar straps, drumsticks, and strings (bet you’d already forgotten why I was there in the first place!). 

Without a doubt, Riviera Music is providing an importantly offline retail space for the musicians of Santa Barbara, from beginners to professionals. Case in point: While I was in the shop, a gentleman purchased a pair of MIDI cables for a private performance at the Rosewood Miramar that very night. He couldn’t reveal who the artist was, only that they played an accordion and was not Weird Al.

But for Millar, selling instruments feels like a means to an end. The end in question? Spreading the joy of music. 

“Something we say around here a lot is that we don’t sell guitars; we sell stoke.” 

To encourage said stoke, Riviera Music offers a wide range of lesson options. Millar explained that, while he wasn’t intending Riviera Music to be a high-end learning facility, he did want to offer something that felt more boutique than walking into a garage to learn from some guy. 

Private lessons are available for guitar, piano, ukulele, and bass, and there’s even an after-school group lesson program for kids ages 5 to 13. The program, which runs for eight weeks, familiarizes students with the piano and introduces them to reading music. Plans are in the works for a summer program as well. 

What appeared to be a waiting room adjacent to the lesson spaces was just that: a comfortable and unpretentious space for parents to decompress while their dependents are musically educated, an amenity I’m sure my parents would’ve appreciated back in the lesson-taking days of my youth. It certainly beats waiting in the car. 

Millar is quick to assure me that lessons aren’t just for kids. 

“There’s a huge community of adults, and also adults in their golden years, who are retired and discovering music, art, and community. Working together in workshops and writing and creating. We have just as many adult lessons as kid lessons. It’s awesome.” 

The cherry on top? Riviera Music boasts a robust instrument repair bench manned by John Mooy, formerly of Jensen Music. “I’ve seen him do restoration projects on guitars that have literally been run over by cars,” said Miller of the seasoned guitar tech, “he has a huge history of guitar repair and building. He’s a really incredible asset.” 

Speaking of Jensen Music (see, I told you we’d come back to that), Millar shared that the display case in Riviera’s repair shop was gifted to him by Chris Jensen; it was the original case Jensen had purchased for his shop in 1973. 

Miller had this to say when asked if Riviera Music would be filling the void left by the former shop’s closure: “If we are even a percentile as cool as Jensen’s was, then we’re going to be cool. That place was an institution. It was a community hub, and people, including myself, loved that shop.” 

And a community hub is precisely what Riviera is becoming. 

Working at the counter on the day I wander in to meet Millar is none other than Santa Barbara legend Brad Nack. I end up hanging around for an hour, past the shop’s closing time, as conversation with Nack and Miller vacillates from the former’s early days in The Tan to the daily struggles the latter faces running a small business in a city that often seems more interested in catering to the high-end whimsies of its tourists than supporting its business-owning residents. Stories are exchanged, laughs are had, and all the while, Elliott Smith’s XO spins on a turntable in the showroom’s corner. 

This is what Riviera Music is all about. 

The stoke. 

It isn’t until I’m driving home that it hits me: I got so caught up in trading tales and talking shop that, wouldn’t you know it, I completely forgot to grab new strings. Guess I’ll just have to go back. 😉 

And what better time to return than during Riviera Music’s opening party this Saturday, May 9, noon-4 p.m. Billed as a “Gear Swap and Bluegrass Spectacular,” Millar promises deals on new and used gear, and of course, great music. 

Broken string? 

No problem. 

Riviera Music, El Mercado Shopping Center, 4141 State St. (Ste. B-13); rivieramusicsb.com.