When it comes to holiday shopping for vinyl collectors, it’s pretty easy to find the perfect present – they generally have a running list of albums they’d love to add to their collection.
And when it comes to collectors buying gifts for themselves, it’s even easier.
The Four Corners Vinyl Record Club is making it even easier for everyone with its latest swap on Tuesday at Ska Brewing Co. (on the second floor). Because we’re quickly rounding the corner to the holidays, the club is getting an early start on spreading the holiday cheer, said Phil Gallacher, the club’s president.
There will be 12 vendors at the swap, spanning all genres of music, he said, adding that with every swap, local momentum for vinyl grows.
And this growing popularity is reflected across the country; older people are rediscovering the medium and younger people are getting into it. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, vinyl record sales were up 22% in the first half of 2022.
If you go
What: Durango Record Show, hosted by Four Corners Record Club.
When: 4-7 p.m. Tuesday.
Where: Ska Brewing World Headquarters, 225 Girard St. (second floor).
More information: Email animasman@hotmail.com or call 749-4446. For more information about the Four Corners Vinyl Record Club, visit its Facebook page: https://bit.ly/3TkfddT.
At the swap, Gallacher said enthusiasts can expect to see vendors selling a mix of both vintage and new albums. “Each vendor has their own taste, and so these older vendors typically like their ’60s and ’70s music. ... One vendor said, ‘Do people still buy jazz records anymore?’ And I was like, ‘bring your jazz because people do buy jazz,” he said.
If collectors are looking to cull their albums, he said to call him to get on the vendor list for the club’s next swap. There’s also the club’s Facebook group, which all vinyl enthusiasts are encouraged to join, Gallacher said, because it’s a great way – along with in-person events like the swap – to build local connections through the shared love of vinyl.
“It’s fun to be able to go in there and geek out with other people,” he said. “The thing about the music is that it’s the memory you have with it. So the time and place and space you were when you first bought it or the emotions you felt during it, and so for the older people that are getting back into it, a lot have sold their collections and now they regret it, and now they’re getting back into it. ... So you see posts on the club page, like where do you buy records in this town? I just moved here.’ We’ve got older folks that still do listen to records, and then you’ve got this wave of young adults that are coming to hear the cool sound quality and then geeking out about the technological, the sound is better, and there’s the mechanics of putting it on and watching it spin.”
katie@durangoherald.com
