50 years in, Buckdancer’s is still Portland musicians’ guitar shop of choice
PORTLAND — When I was 14, I walked into a guitar shop at the Union Station Plaza that still looks — and smells — much the same today as it did 25 years ago.
I didn’t really know what I was looking for other than something I could attempt to play Nirvana songs on, and sure enough, I walked out with a cheap Epiphone S-series guitar and a Fender Frontman practice amp. Thanks, Dad.
The shop, of course, was Buckdancer’s Choice on St. John Street, and my story has no doubt been repeated thousands of times over by Mainers of all ages since it opened in 1976.
Last week, Buckdancer’s celebrated its 50th anniversary with a weeklong sale, and its co-owners have been reminiscing on a half-century in business amid breakneck changes in the industry.
Co-owners Phineas Martin, 73, and Tim Emery, 62, think about the future from time to time, but for now, they are riding the wave of support the store gets from regulars, touring musicians and a few of Maine’s most well-known artists who credit Buckdancer’s with getting them started.
When I asked what keeps them going, Emery replied, “It’s still fun.”
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Spencer Albee, a Maine musician known for leading bands like As Fast As and The Walrus, which puts on the annual Beatles nights in Portland, said Buckdancer’s is a central piece of the music community.
“I feel like when I’m in there, I’m amongst my people, even if I don’t know them,” Albee said. Now that he lives in Rockland, going to “Buck’s” makes him feel like he’s home.
NOSE FLUTES
The beloved guitar shop started with a much lesser-known instrument: the nose flute.
Martin said he and another co-founder of the store, Peter Bass, had committed to performing a rendition of a song using only nose flutes — a piece of plastic that’s played exactly how it sounds — but couldn’t find them at any music stores for miles. So, Martin suggested opening their own.
Buckdancer’s Choice is celebrating 50 years in business this month. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
The store’s name comes from an instrumental guitar tune original recorded by Sam McGee in 1926, which has since been covered by countless musicians, including blues icon Taj Mahal.
“At the time, we figured we’d only be in business a year or two, so who cares what we call it,” Martin told me.
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The first Buckdancer’s location was on Moulton Street downtown before a move to Longfellow Square in 1979, when the store added electric guitars and amplifiers to its inventory. Emery joined the staff in 1982.
The store didn’t make the move to Union Station Plaza until 1990, a few months after a fire ripped through a neighboring business. The fire didn’t destroy the gear, but the water did. So, staff held a “fire sale” with the gear they could salvage and moved to St. John Street a few months later. (That’s also when Emery became a co-owner.)
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Since then, Buckdancer’s has become the unofficial home for musicians in Greater Portland, even as national chains like Guitar Center moved in and the internet offered places like Sweetwater, Reverb and eBay.
Emery told me that the store’s always been confident in its ability to compete with chains — people always seem to be passionate enough to buy another guitar or pedal — but that the internet has been a tougher battle.
“You basically have to get the point across that people should be holding their guitar before they buy it,” he said.
Martin said people often come in with instruments they’ve purchased online, either looking for alternatives or with questions.
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COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Late Thursday morning, John Frederick was pawing through some patch cables. He started coming to the store about a dozen years ago and bought an acoustic guitar. As time went by, he accumulated more.
“It’s comfortable, it’s easy and the people are good,” he told me.
A few years ago, Union Station Plaza, the site of a historic train terminal demolished in the 1960s, was purchased by MaineHealth. But Emery’s not worried about being forced to move in the immediate future.
Phineas Martin tells the story Thursday of how he and Tim Emery decided to open Buckdancer’s Choice, a musical instrument store in Portland, which included a search for nose flutes. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
The store has roughly a dozen employees, mostly longtime staff on floor sales, technicians doing gear repairs and teachers for music lessons. One of their former teachers gave me my first set of lessons (I definitely should have had more) and their techs have fixed my amp more than once.
Albee said the staff at Buckdancer’s has found solutions or fixes for gear that no one else would even attempt. He once broke the headstock off a Les Paul, so they let him borrow a guitar for the weekend. He and Emery completely took apart a Hammond organ and Leslie speaker and created a “Frankenstein” version that worked wonders.
“They have helped me solve so many problems,” he said. “I spend legitimately every music dollar I can possibly spend there.”
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When musicians play the State Theatre, the info packet they’re provided lists Buckdancer’s first. Some will come in looking for gear or repairs.
Jackson Browne stops by every time he’s in town. Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top was in a few years ago. G.E. Smith, a guitarist who’s played with Hall and Oates, Bob Dylan and the “Saturday Night Live” band, has also been in multiple times; one time he stayed half the day, then bought half a dozen guitars on his way out, Emery said.
Rick Gore, of Wilmington, North Carolina, plays a guitar Thursday while visiting Buckdancer’s Choice. Gore grew up in South Portland and Freeport and spent a lot of time at the store, where he got his first guitar when he was 15. “It is still the best guitar store that I have been to,” he said. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
Through the decades, the staff has seen several customers come in as kids and go on to become national touring artists.
Amy Allen, who grew up in Windham and South Portland, now writes songs for the likes of Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo. After winning a Grammy for songwriter of the year in 2025, she told the Portland Press Herald that Buckdancer’s has been her favorite guitar shop since she was a kid trying to play “Hotel California” on her first guitar.
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Martin told me that Allen still comes in to visit.
“Their support has meant a lot,” Emery said of the Maine musicians who have found success. “People see those things happen, and they get the desire to do the same thing. Who’s to say the next star isn’t one of those guys, you know?”
After meandering around the store and looking at the endless case of used pedals, I finally headed for the exit. I told them I’d probably be back in soon for some strings and maybe a new acoustic guitar.
As I walked onto the pavement, a teenager entered the store with a sparkle in his eye.
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Tagged: local music, maine businesses, music, music education
Andrew Rice is a staff writer at the Press Herald covering the city of Portland. He's been working in journalism since 2012, joining the Sun Journal in 2017, then the Press Herald in 2026. He lives in. More by Andrew Rice
