\u201cI love what they do,\u201d said John Morgan, a longtime customer and retired music educator. \u201cThey are just so helpful to young musicians, helping them find the right horn. They are just a tremendous asset and so much more than most music stores.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Four decades is a long-held fermata \u2014 a long pause, for the nonmusicians \u2014 for any small business, but particularly for one that started in 1985 as Dennis\u2019 Horn Shop in the founder\u2019s Keller home. The business initially focused on brass instrument repair and instruction. As business became popular and reached a fortissimo, neighbors requested that founder Dennis Houghton consider a more appropriate location.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were tired of hearing brass instrument repair and practicing going all the time, and they politely asked him to get a proper office location,\u201d said Kacie Wright, now a co-owner along with her husband, Derek, and Dennis Houghton\u2019s son, Mark. Karen Houghton, Dennis\u2019 wife and a horn instructor, is also a co-owner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6_12Morgan-HoughtonHorns3-scaled.jpg\")
Derek and Kacie Wright are two of the co-owners of Houghton Horns in Keller. (Joseph Morgan | Fort Worth Report)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Founded when Duran Duran and synthesizers were all the musical rage, the family-run business focused on the less-trendy French horns, trombones and trumpets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In February 2025, Houghton Horns began playing a new tune with a larger, 6,000-square-foot location that offers more retail space and a performance area with a stage and a grand piano.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The former church and funeral home at 137 Hill St. in Keller is becoming more than just a site for Houghton Horns\u2019 many musician customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a space that will increase our connection to the community,\u201d Kacie Wright said. \u201cThe city is sponsoring some concerts there, so it\u2019s for our customers, but we want this to be a meeting spot for the community in general.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wright notes that she is the only nonmusician in management at the business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6_12Morgan-HoughtonHorns5-1024x575.jpg\")
Houghton Horns’ latest location is a former church with a performance space. (Joseph Morgan | Fort Worth Report_ <\/p>\n
Houghton Horns<\/a><\/p>\n 137 Hill St.<\/p>\n Keller 76248 \u201cWith a team full of musicians, you have to have someone here to pay the bills,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n But having musicians on staff who know brass instruments has been key to their success.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think our secret is our in-depth knowledge of brass instruments,\u201d she said. \u201cOur founder, Dennis Houghton \u2014 if he doesn\u2019t know it, nobody knows it. All of our staff are professional musicians.\u201d<\/p>\n Like their customers, those employees spend a lot of time performing and teaching.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are intimately connected to the musical community and personally involved. It makes a big difference in the knowledge and expertise we offer our customers,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n It was that in-depth knowledge that has sent Morgan back to Houghton Horns year after year, he said, but the company\u2019s commitment to service and to the music community also stands out.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy son was just learning the trumpet, and Houghton allowed him to take three horns home to decide which works best for him,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cThat\u2019s unheard of. And really helps young people develop their musical skills.\u201d<\/p>\n Through the decades, Houghton Horns has survived several sour economic notes, such as the global pandemic, interest rate increases, rising tariffs on imported instruments and store relocations.<\/p>\n That, along with the usual financial pressures facing most small businesses, could have been a finale for many. But Houghton Horns has, appropriately enough, found creative ways to keep quality instruments accessible and affordable.\u00a0<\/p>\n During the pandemic, for instance, Houghton\u2019s brass specialists went beyond instrument repairs and new sales and launched Zoom consultations and expanded their social media efforts. Those strategies have continued to bear fruit, as the business uses Instagram and Facebook and shares resources for brass musicians by posting product reviews, instrument repair tips and beginner practice tips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
817-993-6400<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6_12Morgan-HoughtonHorns1-scaled.jpg\")
Houghton Horns\u2019 latest location in Keller is a former church with a performance space for musicians. (Joseph Morgan | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n