Swicegood Music Company moves from longtime Beaumont location to Nederland

After decades doing business in the same Beaumont location, Swicegood Music Company has made a bold move to a brand-new storefront in Nederland.

Established in 1953 by celebrated band director Roy Swicegood with help from his friend and colleague Alto Tatum, the Swicegood Music Company has been serving Southeast Texas ever since, supporting school programs and individual musicians in need of instruments, instrument repair, sheet music, band supplies and other items that help bring music to the masses. Another former band director and a talented musician himself, current owner and Eazy the Band member Kurt Killion continues the company’s mission of pairing clients with the perfect instruments and providing full-service instrument repair when needed.

“Swicegood’s started in downtown Beaumont. The first store was at the corner of College and Orleans,” Killion said, sharing some of the business’s history. “That’s a parking lot now. It’s the parking lot of the postal processing facility downtown. The store was there until the early 60s. Then it moved to 3685 College St. in Beaumont.”

And that’s where it stood for close to 60 years, until recently. The store became a landmark for Beaumont residents, and Southeast Texans from all across the region visited the College Street business to check out the musical merchandise available, like guitars, drum sets, brass and woodwind instruments, mixers, speakers and more.

Killion, a Nederland High School graduate, was born and raised in Southeast Texas. He fell in love with music at a young age and joined the Nederland band program. His parents helped develop that passion when they bought him his first saxophone from, none other than, Swicegood Music Company.

“I was a music major in college, and I taught band for 10 years. I taught in Port Arthur and Nederland, and I was a customer of Swicegood Music,” Killion said, adding that he is thrilled to continue encouraging young musicians by connecting band students with quality instruments. “A lot of parents who come in tried band when they were in school but quit. I always hear them say, ‘I wish I would have continued learning music.’ It’s really funny because their kids typically are really successful band kids because those parents realize what they missed, and there’s some motivation and some encouragement in all that.”

Killion started working for Swicegood Music Company in 1992. He and Dan Veen bought the store in 2005, and in 2015, when Veen retired, Killion bought his partner’s share of the corporation. Killion also owned the storefront and property on College Street. According to hiam, he started getting a lot of offers for the property after College Street was “revitalized” by the demolition of the old Baptist Hospital and new construction of an HEB at the corner of College and 11th Street.

“I was getting a lot of offers, but I wasn’t really looking to sell at the time,” he said. Eventually, one of the calls got his attention, making him an offer that would ultimately allow him to move into a new building on a new road in Nederland, his hometown.

Swicegood Music Company’s new location is 1505 Lone Star Drive in Nederland, just off State Highway 347, or Twin City Highway. Passersby can clearly see the Swicegood sign on the metal building serving as the storefront, and visitors will find a wide array of musical instruments, equipment and accessories. Swicegood Music is an authorized instrument dealer of Conn-Selmer, Yamaha, Jupiter, Buffet, Leblanc, and Gemeinhardt and offers a wide range of guitars, keyboards, amplifiers and drums from dealers such as Peavey, Roland and Pearl, among other high-end brands. The business provides a rental purchase plan to aid parents in obtaining beginning band instruments, whether they are new or used. Swicegood staff is “well versed” and can assist clients with all their music needs.

“We sell guitars, sheet music and a lot of things that the general public will come in and buy, but the majority of my business is school related. We don’t have a lot of walk-in business, but we do have some, and it’s important to have a nice place for customers to come,” said Killion. “It’s only 8 minutes away from our old location, so it’s still convenient for our customers. It’s a really nice space.”

For more information about Swicegood Music Company, visit the new Nederland location, find them online at https://www.swicegoodmusic.com/, call (409) 833-8603 or email sales@swicegoodmusic.com.