Chattanooga, TN | Spin your Sundays away with Yellow Racket Records’ new hours: Starting on September 1, local vinyl record store and venue Yellow Racket Records will be open on Sundays between 12:00pm and 4:00pm. “Many of you have expressed a desire to while away your Sunday afternoons flipping through records, and we finally seem to be at a point where we can accommodate,” said a post from the shop’s Facebook page. The change in hours is not yet permanent, so the store is asking for all vinyl fans and audiophiles to come visit throughout September and share whether the extra hours benefit them. There are a few concerts coming up in the next few months.
Chicago, IL | Bridgeport Records Brings House Music Vinyl Shop To The South Side: Owned by a house music DJ and longtime political operative, Bridgeport Records opened on the 45th anniversary of the infamous Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park. A new vinyl shop in Bridgeport is carving out space for house music and other genres of dance music, with a pioneering house DJ at the helm. Bridgeport Records opened in July at 3336 S. Halsted St., establishing a record store and community for house fans in the city that birthed the genre of electronic music. The business was founded by Vick Lavender, a longtime house DJ, producer and record label owner, and Jerry Morrison, a former labor leader who was “one of the most powerful political operatives in Illinois,” Politico wrote upon his retirement from his previous career in 2023. Both owners grew up in the same Chicago house music scenes and decided to work together a year ago to get a record shop up and running, playing the records that stuck with them.
Hanover, PA | Hanover vinyl record store to close its doors at the end of September: After five years of operation, a downtown Hanover record store is closing its doors. Vinyl Visions, 10 York St., announced that the store will be closing at the end of September. The store, which sold vinyl records, CDs, DVDs, rock and roll posters and other items, first opened at the location in April of 2019 by Perry Musselman. In 2023, the store was sold by Musselman to Nicholas Malinowski, the most recent owner. “I wanted to thank all the wonderful customers I have met over the past year and a half who have shared their love of music with me,” Malinowski said in the post. “We would entertain selling the business outright if there is an interested buyer who could keep the business open,” a second post read. A closing sale will begin at the store on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, including 50% off used vinyl, equipment and art, $10 off all new vinyl, used CDs all for $2, and back stock vinyl for $1, the post announcing the closure said.
Pharr, TX | Pharr Out Records Spins South Texas Tunes: Vinyl shops in the RGV specialize in vintage Mexican American finds. Vinyl collectors accustomed to dusty, sweaty crate digging are in for a surprise at Pharr Out Records. A cheery interior mural featuring citrus trees, monarch butterflies, and a music-loving giant named Melódico greets visitors and hints at a different experience. Opened last year in Pharr’s historic downtown, in the Rio Grande Valley, Pharr Out is already a destination for a variety of genres and eras. The owners—married couples Isaac and Jade Herrera and Zach and Rebecca Myers—provide an interactive record store experience. They’re as happy to engage aficionados in esoteric conversations about underrated musicians and regional labels as they are introducing neophytes to the influential regional Mexican American music they specialize in. “Folks who are just starting out—or if you’re a collector who’s not extremely savvy in Tejano music—they really benefit from having somebody who can tell them, ‘If you like this band, you’ll like this,’” says David Flores, a customer from Raymondville, 45 minutes away.
Manchester, UK | Oasis fans gather outside record shop immortalised in Shakermaker as excitement builds over band’s reunion: Oasis fans marked the band’s reunion today by descending on a record shop immortalised in their hit, Shakermaker. Sifters Records in Didsbury, Manchester, was where the Gallagher brothers first started buying music as youngsters. It is referenced in the Definitely Maybe track in the line written by Noel which goes: ‘Mr Sifter sold me songs when I was just 16, now he stops at traffic lights but only when they’re green.’ Superfans pitched up this morning to take in the small piece of music history as the famous brothers unveiled a mammoth run of stadium tour dates next year after a 15 year hiatus, including four dates each in Manchester and London. Sports writer Razz Ashraf, 29, drove down to the store before work and said the reunion was a ‘monumental moment.’
Princeton, NJ | For a New ‘Empire Records,’ Zoe Sarnak Set Out to Write a ’90s Anthem: The composer is breaking the rules of musical theater and finding an increasingly warm welcome this year for her rock sound. Next up, “Empire Records: The Musical.” …The story is about a time when young people figure out who they might be, or perhaps, in a more bittersweet way, who they might have been. The protagonists of “The Lonely Few” are a little older, but are also fumbling to figure out who they are — and who they want. In both shows, “there’s a through line that music is such a powerful tool towards self-identification,” Cullman, the director, said. It’s also a tool that helps connect, and for Sarnak, taking a direct approach that embraces melodicism and catchiness is sometimes the most effective. “It’s my goal to allow an audience to feel like they know the song by the end, not to distance them from music,” Sarnak said. “Music, to me, is communal in its best form.”
Los Angeles, CA | A Visit To Japan Inspired Atlanta Native TJ Johnson To Open A Vinyl Café And Restaurant In Los Angeles: A trip to Japan led TJ Johnson into a unique business. Essence reports the Atlanta, GA, native is now the proud owner of Wax on Hi-Fi. It was while in Tokyo, Japan, that she was able to immerse herself in the country’s vinyl bars. So much so that when she moved to Los Angeles, CA, her interests beyond DJing and software engineering broadened to include entreprenuership inspired by this concept. “It’s a very calming and peaceful experience, Tokyo record bars,” Johnson told Essence. “The people there are very disciplined, and the employees are very exact. They wear gloves and aprons, and when they put the record on, they put on a flashlight to make sure it’s in the right groove. It’s a very technical experience. And I guess when I’m thinking about bringing it back here, I’m kind of trying to fit it for the American palate a little bit because I know that when we go out to listen to music, we go out to have fun and socialize.”
Washington, DC | 10 Exciting Restaurants Coming Soon to the DC Area: Press Club. A bit less buttoned-up than the National Press Club, this basement cocktail lounge will bring intricately crafted drinks from Will Patton (beverage director at Bresca and Jônt) and Devin Kennedy to a fun, record-shop-like space in Dupont Circle. An eclectic selection of vinyl will spin while you sip drinks with seasonal ingredients and snack on Japanese-inspired bites. Estimated opening: Fall.
Chennai, IN | At Chennai’s Vinyl & Brew, choose your coffee and music: Recreating the romance of old school vinyl, the cafe curates speciality beans from across India. We try a fermented coffee that tastes of roses, pairing it with papaya toast and Elton John. Can you build a cafe on hopes, dreams and the sound of music? Ragu Muthiah day-dreamed about a community space filled with the sound of vinyl records and the scent of coffee for years. Finally, he opened Vinyl & Brew. Standing in his new cafe, which already buzzes with energy, thanks to Elton John playing in the background, the hum of quiet conversation and hiss of the espresso machine, Ragu beams. Between guiding customers through the coffee menu, he suggests I pick a vinyl record to play. The soundtrack, shaped by the diners, shifts gently between jazz, pop and the Blues. “I have no background in coffee, or restaurants. I work in advertising and I run a production house,” Ragu confesses, then adds with a chuckle, “That’s the fun part.”
