Instruments: Acoustic guitar + classical guitar

Locations: Bojangles Heights + Bojangles Rockin’ Robin

Shawn Parks

Founder

Shawn Parks founded Bojangles Music School with the wild hope that he could build a haven for students and teachers of music to come together, get better, and ensure Houston’s rich artistic legacy doesn’t just last, but grows. Shawn’s expertise is primarily acoustic guitar, and his students benefit from that focus, as well as his building-block approach.

Shawn is a rare blend of classically and barroom trained: after studying with Ray Wylie Hubbard, he was accepted into the private studio of Dr. Alejandro Montiel, a founding member of the Texas Guitar Quartet, with whom he studied classical guitar. He has also co-written songs that have been recorded by others including critically acclaimed artists Matt Harlan and Brad Absher. A staunch believer in continuing education, he recently studied voice under Dr. Sharon Radionoff and music theory with Hunter Perrin.

In 2017, Shawn and Matt Harlan launched A Night for Guy, an annual gathering featuring performances from Houston’s finest musicians and special guests, to honor the life and music of Guy Clark. In 2020, Shawn was selected as one of the Houston Business Journal's 40 Under 40, an annual list celebrating the city's top business talent younger than 40-years-old. “Most of all, I want my students to gain a deeper appreciation for how powerful and even magical music is, not just in the ways we create it, but also in the ways we enjoy it,” Shawn says. “Love of music is primal. I believe we were all meant to make it.”