Sunny, warm weather, large crowds and live music helped the second annual National Record Store Day at Village Green Records attract hundreds of people, building on the foundation set by last year's event.
Village Green Records owner Travis Harvey said despite a few "hiccups" early in the day, he was happy with the way the day went. He said he had to change the band lineup for various reasons but it didn't significantly affect the timing. He said about 300 people showed up, with about 150 at any given time who took advantage of a 10 percent-off sale and Record Store Day exclusives.
Harvey said Springfest may have affected turnout. A few of his regular customers told him they would go to Springfest rather than Village Green, he said, but it didn't have a significant affect. The most important thing was for people to enjoy the weekend, he said. People from Springfest offered to combine efforts, he said, but he declined because he felt he should have his event at Village Green.
Harvey was "running around mad" all day, he said. A few of his friends helped run the event but Harvey organized everything. He said he had more time to plan this year, leading to a larger lineup and Mark Carter selling his World Famous Hotdogs.
"As a whole, everything about this year's was far more focused and far more grandiose," he said.
Carter said the event went well and gave him good business. People were having a good time with the music and each other, he said.
"They picked a nice day to have it," Carter said. "It's kind of nice to be outside and listening to some tunes."
Harvey said all of the feedback he got was positive. A few bands from Europe performed and told Harvey they hadn't seen an atmosphere like that one.
David Dunnington said he went to the show for the 10 percent discount at the store. He said he enjoyed the music because the underground scene has more freedom than mainstream music.
Events like that help bring people together and strengthen the local scene, he said, because people at shows like that all share in their creativity and like-mindedness.
Harvey said he appreciated all the people who went to the concert and store and showed they wanted events like that. Business was better than he expected, he said. Last year's sales were good, but this year people seemed like they came with the intent of buying things. Harvey said independent record labels released exclusives for the day as well, which sold well.
"It was a much needed day for the store," he said. " ... It takes days like this to take a little bit of the edge off. Record stores are really more of a community service than they are a profit business.
The event was scheduled to end at 11 p.m. but lasted about a half hour longer, Harvey said. Afterward several bands played second sets at a house party.
Record numbers
- About 1,000 indie music retailers have gone out of business since 2003, but 2,000 still remain open today.
- This year Record Store Day was celebrated at more than 1,000 independent record stores in the U.S. and in 17 countries.
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