Riffs Acoustic Music Bringing More Than Guitars to Bird Rock

A unique type of music store opened in the Bird Rock area of La Jolla: a shop that offers lessons, acoustic instruments, workshops and even yoga.

Last month, Riffs Acoustic Music opened its doors to its second store, located at 5510 La Jolla Blvd. Owner Steve Hart, 25, opened the original Riffs Acoustic Music with his father in Park City, Utah.

Among the services offered at Riffs is one you may not expect to find in a typical guitar shop. Riffs intertwines meditation and acoustic instrumentals to host live music yoga sessions on the outside deck, dubbed the “Yoga Yard.”

“Yoga is something that I always loved to do myself and I’d been to a session before where somebody played a song during Chakrasana at the end and I thought it was really, really cool,” said Hart.

“When I saw this location it had this really neat backyard area that I just had this vision of doing yoga back there and doing live music yoga sessions where we could have a musician accompany the yoga session. We’ve built this really nice back deck and created a Zen-like atmosphere where we can host yoga sessions and we’ve had a great response so far with that program, so I’m excited about it. ”

Riffs’ yoga classes are $12 for regular yoga and $20 for live music yoga sessions, or $18 if you purchase online. The Riffs’ website offers information on the class schedule, reservations and pricing, and yoga instructor profiles. 

The acoustic store is also unique when it comes to its musical offerings. On Oct. 12 Richard Hoover, founder of the Santa Cruz Guitar Company and an internationally known forefather of the acoustic guitar industry, will make a rare appearance for a workshop and demonstration at the store. Hoover will be showcasing some of his guitars and teach attendees how he designs his custom acoustic instruments. 

“We are so very, very, fortunate to have [Hoover] come down and do something like this for us. It should be a great event,” said Hart. 

Hoover's acoustics have attracted big-name musicians, including Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews, Brad Paisley, Doc Watson, Tony Rice, Colin Hay and Don Edwards. 

Beyond yoga and guitar-hero appearances, Riffs offers an abundance of products and services for the musicians of La Jolla including repairs, recording and jam sessions.   

Riffs Acoustic Music

• Address: 5510 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla, CA 92037
• Phone: 858-456-2477
• Website: Riffsacousticmusic.com
• Email: Steve@riffsacousticmusic.com
• Facebook: Facebook.com/RiffsLJ
• Hours: Tues-Sat noon to 5 p.m.
• Services: Lessons, recordings, repairs, workshops, jam sessions, live music yoga, meditation sessions
• Products: Guitars, mandolins, ukuleles, banjos, strings, straps, picks, amplifiers
• Parking: Street
• Handicap Accessible: Yes