Music museums across the country often have a focus on the visual.
Think of instruments and iconic costumes like the famous white Elvis jumpsuit along the walls, with a button to press for a few snippets of a well-known tune.
That’s not what you’ll find at Kelsyn Rooks’ new Leawood space, which opened Saturday. At The Listyning Room, the main attraction is for the ears.
“We wanted to create a place that actually gives reverence to the thing which we all fell in love with, which was the music first,” he said. “Typically, almost everybody falls in love with the music, and then they discover the artist.”
Serving as an extension of the Kansas City nonprofit The Center for Recorded Music, the Listening Room contains an extensive music archive and lots of space to listen to it.
The Listyning Room is at 3510 W. 95th St.
The Listyning Room operates out of a space at nbkc bank at the Ranch Mart North shopping center.
It will operate there for roughly a year as part of the bank’s office giveaway program, which provides businesses and organizations with free commercial space for a year.
“We were inspired to learn of C4RM’s passion for recorded music and creating interactive experiences in spaces that accommodate listening and programming,” said Melissa Eggleston, executive vice president at nbkc bank. “Our Leawood branch is very visible and accessible, and the 3,500 square feet we are providing C4RM should enable it to engage more people and broaden its impact.”
Online marketplace Shop Local KC previously occupied that space.
At the shopping center, the bank neighbors Lash and Company, just off West 95th Street and Mission Road.
The Listyning Room contains more than 10,000 music recordings
The music library’s recordings can be played on various mediums, from Victrola and Edison Cylinder record players to newer digital and streaming methods.
“We’ll be able to kind of go through the whole history of how the recorded music industry has evolved,” he said. “We will have examples of every format that you can check out and test.”
Most of the collection currently on display is focused on jazz and R&B, Rooks said, though music lovers can find a little bit of everything on the shelves. Staff will be on-site to help with the listening equipment, but otherwise, guests are free to browse the shelves on their own.
“We’ll be rotating and bringing more music in all the time,” he said. “We want people to be able to come in and actually take a record out and look at it and flip through it.”
Inside the 3,500-square-foot room, guests can use seating areas to enjoy music from the archive either alone or with friends.
Between the high-quality tech component and the communal setting, Rooks said the Listyning Room creates a unique opportunity for music enthusiasts.
“Part of the fun is listening with people and seeing their reactions,” Rooks said. “There’s just something different about it versus sitting at home with your headphones on.”
The space will also host events with guest speakers and workshops, including partnered movie-and-music-themed events with the Glenwood Arts Theater across the street.
The Listyning Room also has a retail component, with items like T-shirts and tote bags for sale. Rooks also plans to partner with local music stores to offer records for sale at the Leawood spot.
Music runs in the Rooks family
Rooks’ parents Ron and Nancy Rooks ran the popular Music Exchange record store in Kansas City for more than two decades.
The Listyning Room’s shelves and walls contain several nods to the Rooks’ familial history, including a framed concert poster from Ron and Nancy’s first date in 1969.
His father, as Kelsyn puts it, was known for being a colorful and “notoriously quirky” guy who knew music like the back of his hand. The record store closed shortly before Ron passed away in 2006.
“After (my dad) passed away, I started digging out my record collection and kind of reconnecting with him,” Rooks said.
So really, it makes sense for Rooks to be surrounded by records. In founding The Center for Recorded Music, he said he’s discovered how easy it is for people to form friendships through music and their own histories with it.
With the new Listyning Room, he hopes to keep that going.
“Music is a great way to build bridges with people,” he said. “Food and music are probably two of the most universal things out there.”
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