A family workshop in Nashville

The Piano Shell Company is a family-owned business based in Nashville, TN, dedicated to building high-quality, handcrafted piano shells for stage, studio, and home. Our upright shells are made by converting real pianos into lightweight, portable shells—giving your keyboard the presence and feel of a full acoustic piano while bringing new life to unused uprights. Our MINI shells are built entirely from scratch using premium materials, designed to offer the same classic look in a more compact, light and road-friendly form.

It all started with a simple question: Why wasn’t there a better way for musicians to get professional-grade piano shells built by people who actually understand what it’s like to play, tour, and perform?

Before we ever built shells for others, Kelby—a touring artist and producer—struggled to create his own. He picked up a free upright piano off Craigslist and spent days figuring out how to gut it and make it work for his rig. It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done. People asked about it at every show. When it became clear that others were looking for the same thing, we decided to see if we could turn the idea into something real.

In 2016, Kelby teamed up with his dad Wesley, a retired veteran and quality woodworker with a talent for precision and craftsmanship. We built a single shell and listed it on Craigslist. It sold in under 30 minutes.

From there, we got to work.

Since then, we’ve had the opportunity to build for artists, venues, and organizations across the country—including Disney Cruise Lines, Morgan Wallen, Yungblud, Collective Soul, Lady Antebellum, Florida Georgia Line, Young the Giant, Hillsong, and many more.

The MINI Shell was born out of a real on-the-road challenge. Kelby didn’t have room in the trailer for a full upright shell, so we designed a compact version. That became the MINI Shell, and it’s now our most popular model.

Today, every shell we build is handcrafted with care, using real materials and a musician’s mindset. Whether you're outfitting a worship space, heading out on tour, or simply want your keyboard setup to look and feel great, we’re here to help you do it right.