What is new for Northwoods Drifter in 2026
Frank Coffen slides a knife through packing tape and peels back the cardboard flaps. Inside, wrapped in bubble wrap and a dark blue bag, sits a Norwegian pine banjolynn—a fully wooden banjo with a solid oak neck. “What a funky instrument,” he says, grinning.
This is the kind of moment that makes running a music shop worth it. Come March, Coffen and his wife Sylvia Knust will open Island City Acoustics at 201 Front Street in Minocqua, bringing acoustic string instruments and a refreshingly beginner-friendly vibe to the island downtown.
But here’s what makes this place different: the owners barely know how to play themselves.
Coffen spent 31 years as a carpenter in Lake Tomahawk, drawn to the way wood comes together in homes and buildings. Now he’s applying that eye for craftsmanship to guitars, banjos, mandolins, and ukuleles.
The transition wasn’t entirely by choice. After developing diabetes, working three stories up in the rafters became too risky. “I need him on the ground,” Knust explains. The couple started thinking about what retirement could look like—something safer, but still hands-on.
Music made sense. They’d both picked up instruments just a few years ago, fumbling through chords and discovering the joy of making sound. “People expect us to be virtuosos because we’re opening a music store,” Knust laughs. “But no, we’re learning too.”
That inexperience? It’s actually the point.
Walk into most music shops and you’ll feel the weight of expertise—employees who shred on every instrument, walls lined with gear that screams “professional only.” Island City Acoustics is taking a different approach.
The store will offer:
“We want you to take an instrument off the shelf and just sit with it,” says Knust. “Come back next week and play it again. That’s how we learned—by going back to the music store over and over, trying different things.”
It’s the kind of space the Northwoods could use. Between the tourists and retirees, there’s a quiet hunger for community connection that goes beyond Friday fish fry and snowmobile trails.
Island City Acoustics joins a slowly building cultural ecosystem in Minocqua. The Campanile Center for the Arts recently upgraded its 400-seat auditorium with better sound and lighting, hosting everything from theater to concerts. Summer brings events like Concerts by the Lake, where groups like the Squid City Slingers blend bluegrass, folk, and gypsy jazz on the waterfront.
There’s something about acoustic music that fits the region. Maybe it’s the way unplugged sound mirrors the quiet of a dawn paddle. Maybe it’s the communal feel of gathering around a guitar, everyone fumbling through “Wagon Wheel” together.
“For us, it was about going back to the music store again and again, trying different instruments. We want people to have that same experience.” — Sylvia Knust
The shop’s location on Front Street puts it right in the walkable heart of Minocqua’s island downtown, where Lake Minocqua wraps around century-old storefronts and the historic railroad trestle marks the start of the Bearskin Trail. It’s the kind of spot where you can grab coffee, browse some guitars, and still catch the sunset over the water.
Coffen and Knust aren’t just selling instruments. They’re betting that enough people in the Northwoods want to learn, to gather, to make music badly and laugh about it. The lesson room isn’t about churning out professionals—it’s about giving folks permission to be beginners.
That matters in a region where winter can feel long and social outlets lean heavily toward bars and supper clubs. Music offers something else: a creative outlet, a reason to gather indoors when it’s ten below, a skill that grows slowly over time.
The couple is still figuring out exactly what the community wants. They’re listening. Open mics might happen weekly or monthly. Jam sessions could focus on bluegrass, folk, or whatever people show up wanting to play. Workshops might cover basic chord progressions or how to change strings without cursing.
“It’d be nice to sell some instruments so I can order more,” Coffen admits with a chuckle. “That’s kinda the plan.”
Island City Acoustics opens its doors on March 28, 2026. Whether you’ve played for decades or never touched a guitar, the message is the same: come in, pick something up, see what happens.
The Northwoods has always been a place for quiet craftsmanship—ice fishing shanties, handmade canoe paddles, whittled decoys. Adding music to that tradition feels right. And if the people running the shop are still learning themselves? Even better.
Stop by Front Street this spring. Try a banjolynn. Sign up for a jam session. Make some noise. After all, the best time to start playing was years ago. The second best time is now.
Written by
Mike has been coming up or living in the Northwoods since his childhood. He is also an avid outdoorsman, writer and supper club aficionado.
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