Rocky Mountain Record Show Attracts Vendors and Record Enthusiasts

Music is an integral part of many people’s lives, whether they create it, listen to it, or both. Nowadays, streaming services and the
internet have made it easier than ever before to find and access music, enabling people to listen to vast libraries of albums and songs using
only a device small enough to fit into their pockets. The Rocky Mountain Record Show, however, was proof that older mediums are far from obsolete. On August 21st, the RedLine Arts District was filled with hundreds of individuals—all masked to help stop the spread of COVID-19—looking to browse an enormous collection of vinyl records and band posters.
Ushered into the record showroom after stopping for refreshments at a number of food trucks, visitors perused through booths and boxes of records. Many customers expressed feelings of nostalgia, recounting their experiences growing up listening to records, as well as excitement
over the sheer number of records in one place. One such customer, Zach Conner, said his children also have collections of their own. Conner purchases records to both listen to them and display them, and has
gone to several record shows. Sara Villanyi, who runs a records-focused Instagram account along with her significant other (@milehighvinyl5280), started her collection with records handed down from her father and grandfather. For Matthew F., the act of listening to records is a hobby that he has engaged in since age two. Between the vibrant cover art and being able to feel the sheer weight that accompanies holding a record, Matthew said, the vinyl medium is unmatched by CDs, streaming, and any other means of listening to music. Vendors at the Rocky Mountain Record Show found that the experience exceeded their expectations. Boogie Records’ Ryan Blackwell described it as “an absolute blast, better than expected.” According to Blackwell, records are the most popular they’ve been in thirty years, and “people are really appreciating how much better things sound on vinyl.” Anthony Giannotti, a representative for Nomad Vinyl, expressed an appreciation for the organizers’ setup, dubbing it “the best record show I’ve done in years.” From the good location to the availability of food trucks to the unusually high attendance, Giannotti claimed, the Rocky Mountain Record Show was an experience that he hopes to be able to repeat. Pete Stidman from Wax Trax record shop correlated an increased interest in vinyl and more attendance at the show with the COVID-19 pandemic, a situation that may have contributed to rising record sales. Like many of the visitors, Stidman said that he saw records as a way to more fully experience music, giving listeners a tangible object and a chance to interact with the music in a far less passive way than most people do daily. Rather than being background music, Stidman claimed, “When you listen to a record, it’s like an event.” And after many months of concert cancellations and lockdowns, more people are discovering the benefits of records and record shows.