Denver Folklore Center

Brian and Mark were «instrumental» in giving me a confident start on the journey to play the banjo. They are easy-​going, fun guys who will give you all the facts and opinions you want/​need, but never rush or push you into a purchase decision. The rent-​before-​you-​buy option gave me the opportunity to try two types of instruments at an incredibly reasonable cost. Thanks for the non-​intimidating warm welcome to all of us beginners, Denver Folklore. Here’s hoping some of the amazing talent-​energies within your store soak into me :)

Buying a guitar.
This place is awesome.
They love music.
Are super friendly.
Not pushy.
Ask go Brian!
They also support Swallow Hill.
The best around

I went here a week ago to get myself a mandolin. I wish I remembered the guy’s name that helped me out but he was helpful and let me get my hands on a bunch of them. That said, it was a great shopping experience and I love the instrument he helped me decide on. I took it home and got a better feel for it. I lowered the action on it and I still feel like this plays almost as well as some 4 figure mandolins. I will come here for all of my guitar and mandolin needs in the future. A total gem of a store.

If you play an acoustic type stringed or wind instrument this is your goto place. The people there are very friendly and extremely knowledgeable about everything they sell. The also have student discounts.

I’ve had good experiences at the Denver Folklore Center and found them to be a nice place to do business. Today’s experience changed my opinion. We rented an instrument for my son’s class and bought extra strings for it. I prepaid for the entire rental term and left my credit card number in case of damage. During the rental period my card was breeched and I received a replacement. Two days ago someone from Denver Folklore Center called to ask for an updated card. I explained we were bringing the instrument back right away as the rental term was up. He generously told me there would be no additional charge since we were bringing it back. Today, two days after that conversation, we returned it to the store. My son asked if we could return the unused strings for a refund. The employee’s response was «normally we would but we’ve been calling you for days since you gave us a bad credit card number.» I told him I had received one call and didn’t need to be criticized as we had returned the instrument as promised. His explanation was that he was speaking to my son and not me. He really tainted my experience with what has otherwise been good.

You need picks? They got picks. Thick, thin, large, small, all colors, most brands, thumb and fingers or plectrum style. You need literature? They got lit. Fake books, beginner instruction manuals, TAB transcriptions, artist specific song books, and the like. You need a resonator ukulele? Wait, what?! Yes, they actually had a couple in stock on the wall. They also have a ton of acoustic instruments that fit any budget or style. Plenty of Martins just sitting around waiting to be loved. This is a charming store that should be required browsing for any of you pickers out there.

Thank you. Novice musician and picker inspired by my 5 year old daughter to learn how to pick and play some good olé Americana, ala Woody & Pete. Brother found an old used banjo which he bought but it turns out was unfixable. Not knowing nuthin, first took it first to Old Town Picking Parlor in Arvada which frankly couldn’t have given a crap, then took it to DFC who actually looked at it, gave me the real scoop (not worth investing in — cause neck is warped and there’s no fixing that, and you’ll never get your $ 70 back it will take to make it semi playable when you go to sell it) and then rented me a beautiful sounding instrument for a reasonable $ 30 a month, part of which earns you a credit to purchase an instrument at their shop. All the while wise cracking «oh lord, we’ve turned loose another banjo player in the world. Some say there’s already too many…» plus they were very sweet to my girl who was highly enamored of the rainbow, no, pink, ukelele hanging up on their wall…

A wonderful, one-​of-​a-​kind store. Where else in Denver could you walk in and buy accessories for a banjo or a mountain dulcimer? There’s always somebody in there making music, and it’s a pleasure just to stop by. I can’t say enough positive things about the DFC.

This is one of my favorite shops in Denver. Harry Tuft, the owner is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet and he and his store are local legends. The Denver Folklore center has been in existence since the 60’s. He has acoustic instruments in price ranges from beginners to professional and a nice selection of accessories as well and as a former large chain music store employee, I know how reasonable his prices are. I’m surprised there aren’t hundreds of reviews for the DFC here but maybe that’s why he was on this list of Denver’s unsung heroes


support the little guys!

If you are in search for a Mandolin, Banjo, or a good acoustic guitar then I recommend checking this place out. They have a very knowledgeable staff that is always happy to answer questions. Also, they have a good selection of folk sheet music and cd’s. I almost bought a banjo last weekend but decided to save up a little more for a different model.

Hands down the best place to buy or rent a guitar or any stringged instrument really. Lots of sheet music to thumb through.