Physical media lovers prowled the tables Saturday in a Cambridge hall, browsing vinyl-stuffed milk crates and pausing at listening stations staffed by the vendors and DJs who pack the biannual Recordville fair.
“It’s great to see fellow music lovers and connect over these little esoteric things that we all love,” said Emmett McCleary, owner of Waltham’s Circular Logic Records.
His table held a handpicked selection from his collection – almost all fully used vinyl. Like many of the sellers, he had inventory ranging from higher-end collectibles to more widely available selections, offering customers a range of prices.
McCleary said he enjoys being able to recommend music that customers haven’t heard and “set people up with some music that they may really love.”
Recordville happens twice a year at the Dante Alighieri Society Center in Kendall Square, with the next event planned for March 13.
The fair featured 45 vendors, many of them record store owners who “come from all around” the Northeast, said Janice Chaka, co-organizer of the 12-year-old events with Justin Cohen. “They’re kind of a tight-knit community. Everyone attends everyone else’s record fairs.”
Eight local DJs took the stage for 40- to 60-minute time slots including Vic “Crown Vic” Ducette. She was tabling with Gus Polstein, her business partner at Hand to Hand Records, an Allston pop-up and by-appointment record shop specializing in electronic dance genres.
“The function of the shop is to plug people who like this kind of music in with other people who are doing the things that they’re interested in,” said Polstein, though there’s a social function too – to be a part of “the ecosystem of the greater city at large.”
Hand to Hand educates people about the birth of house music and has a very heavy electronic focus because “not many people are really doing that,” Ducette said.
Since they can’t predict what every customer will want, Ducette and Polstein bring a range of albums and a record player and headphones, so customers can listen before committing to a thoughtfully recommended purchase.
Polstein said the event is a great way to learn about “a lot of music” and interact with the community. “I meet people who don’t know that I exist and want to hang out,” he said.
Charles Manzella and Pierson Cooke, music enthusiasts who met a few weeks earlier at a similar event, bumped into each other at Recordville.
Cooke said he finds community at events like the fair and enjoys being able to learn from other people. “Everyone who sells here is superknowledgeable,” he said. “It’s a really good way, even if you’re not into buying physical media, to come in and learn more about different types of music.”
The event was sponsored by record stores in Cambridge, Somerville and Boston. Raffle prizes included $50 shopping sprees at the fair.
Ducette said it’s important to meet people and create something that is community oriented – in this case, because people share a mission to “keep physical media alive.”
“It’s a great example of building connections with the community. It’s so much more than just selling records,” she said. “We are connecting with people who also love music and have the shared passion, and we just end up having a great time.”
This story is part of a partnership between the Cambridge Somerville Independent and the Boston University Department of Journalism’s Newsroom program.
