FM Music Vintage Sounds

North Kansas City’s first record store, FM Music Vintage Sounds is a 600-square-foot mom-and-pop shop run by Faron and Holly Meek — a community anchor for vinyl hunters, local-music devotees, and KC-band archivists.

Description

FM Music Vintage Sounds occupies a compact but densely stocked 600-square-foot storefront at 206 E 18th Ave in the RiverNorth District of North Kansas City. The shop carries a broad multi-format inventory: over 6,000 used LPs, 1,500 new LPs, 3,000 used CDs, 1,500 used cassettes, and hundreds of 45s spanning rock, pop, country, jazz, blues, and classical. Alongside the back catalog, FM Music consistently stocks new releases by local artists, making it one of the few dedicated retail points for Kansas City-area musicians in the metro’s north sector.

The store has earned a reputation as the definitive retail home for several iconic KC bands. FM Music is described as the shop that handles the entire catalog of both The Rainmakers and The Elders, along with material from The Nace Brothers and other area acts — a curatorial posture that places it in a distinct lane from larger used-record operations focused solely on mainstream volume. Owner Faron Meek is known for building wish lists for customers and hunting specific titles to complete collections, offering a personalized service model uncommon in the format.

FM Music is a registered Record Store Day participant and has hosted live in-store performances during Second Saturdays events, situating it within the broader NKC arts-and-retail district. The store also carries music-adjacent gift items — t-shirts, prayer candles, and goods by local artisans — reinforcing its identity as a community gathering space as much as a retail shop.

Ownership and history

FM Music Vintage Sounds was founded by Faron Meek and his wife Holly Meek, operating as a true mom-and-pop partnership from day one. The shop opened in July 2017, with a formal grand opening celebration held August 5, 2017 — making it North Kansas City’s first dedicated record store. According to the RiverNorth District, the business grew out of Faron’s personal record collection, which expanded into a full retail operation.

In March 2020, Faron closed FM Music ahead of Kansas City’s stay-at-home order — a decision shaped in part by his own health circumstances, as he is immunocompromised following a prior bout with leukemia. Facing capacity restrictions during reopening, he implemented a creative speakeasy-themed model: customers texted or called to obtain a password and book a half-hour or hour-long private shopping slot. The approach attracted regional press coverage from The Pitch KC and KSHB.

Year	Event
July 2017	FM Music Vintage Sounds opens at 206 E 18th Ave, NKC — first record store in North Kansas City
August 5, 2017	Grand opening celebration
March 20, 2020	Voluntary closure ahead of COVID-19 stay-at-home order
2020	Speakeasy-style appointment reopening, covered by The Pitch KC and KSHB
2026	Continuing active operations; Yelp listing updated May 2026

Faron Meek’s KC-area roots and hometown are — no biographical source confirmed whether he is a Kansas City native or long-tenured KC resident.

Links

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FMMUSICNKC/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vintagefmmusic/
• Email: vintagefmmusic@gmail.com
• Phone: (816) 716-2770

Sources

Supporting sources:

• https://www.thepitchkc.com/record-store-fm-music-to-reopen-as-a-speakeasy-says-owner-faron-meek/ — Asserts: Faron Meek is immunocompromised (leukemia history); speakeasy reopening model; co-owner Holly Meek; closed March 20, 2020.
• https://www.kshb.com/news/coronavirus/businesses-come-up-with-creative-ideas-to-re-open-follow-guidelines — Asserts: Speakeasy reopening; appointment-based half-hour/hour slots; Faron Meek quote on safe reopening.
• https://recordstoreday.com/Store/23604 — Asserts: FM Music Vintage Sounds is a registered Record Store Day participant.
• https://citylifestyle.com/articles/opening-the-vinyl-vault — Asserts: Faron Meek owns FM Music; “great music is timeless”; loyal cross-generational customer base.

Disputes

None at this time. Note: a “Closing Soon” label appeared in a Facebook search snippet but was not corroborated by any announcement, post, or directory update. Assessed as a platform artifact.