By Grace Lawson
Tucked away on the corner of 4th St., among the sound of families leaving church and people dining on restaurant patios, was a collection of vintage vinyls, CDs and cassettes for sale at the second annual Record Fair on Dec. 8.
Between 12 and 4 p.m., tents alongside 4th St. and Saint Louis Ave. offered posters, t-shirts and magazines in addition to the music selection.
Music poured to the edges of the street from a DJ booth and friends combed through selections together, excitedly showing off their finds.
Collectors targeted specific booths in hopes of finding a certain artist, while others marveled in finding albums that their parents once owned.
Among them was record collector Alex Garcia Davis, who said that they are drawn to events like the Record Fair because the selection tends to be wider and cheaper in comparison to a normal record store.
Though Davis was not looking for any specific artists, they said that their favorite genres are classic and psychedelic rock.
“It’s more than just looking for specific albums…’cause with ’60s psych, they are usually more obscure because they’re smaller bands,” Davis said. “So it’s usually one album that they release.”
Other than the selection, Davis said that they recognize the uniqueness that comes with frequenting vinyl-centered events like the Record Fair.
“When you get to know more vendors, then you sort of get to know the community more and like to look for specific records, because some shops specialize in different things,” Davis said.
A Record Fair patron browses the selection of vintage vinyls offered at one of the booths on Dec. 8. Photo credit: Grace Lawson
The record fair, according to organizer Isaak Navarro, was born from a post-pandemic business decision to assist his family’s restaurant while celebrating a shared love of music.
Navarro’s family owns the restaurant Social List on 4th St. Meanwhile, Navarro himself is the founder of the Good Luck Vinyl Club, which highlights local DJ sets and music events.
Following the pandemic, Navarro’s family was looking for a solution – an X factor to have their restaurant stand out from others.
Choosing to combine his love for music, and the restaurant’s access to the side street, Navarro’s family persuaded him to host the Record Fair last year.
From there, they purchased a sound system for a DJ booth and focused on building their own little community, by bringing people together through a love of music.
“Nowadays I feel like in the digital age it’s like, so saturated, everything’s overstimulating, so the fact people are kind of going back to vinyl records, it’s for a reason,” Navarro said. “People are searching for something real, trying to find and connect with people who are like-minded.”
Another shopper, Julie Marquez, attended the record fair with her son. Between the selection, Marquez found an album that her father once owned.
The biggest thing that she noticed while at the fair, Marquez said, is the importance of having events that bring a community of passionate people together.
“I like a lot of everything, my older son got that from me,” Marquez said, speaking about her music taste. “A little bit of everything is good music. Music is universal.”
For future events like the Record Fair, check out @GoodLuckVinylClub and @4thstreetlb on Instagram.
