On Jan. 3, the Leesport Farmers Market banquet hall will be lined with the vinyl equivalent of gold.
Over 30,000 records, many of them rare, are slated for display at “Record Riots,” a traveling event featuring the collections of local record stores, independent dealers and more.
“The event that they have is pretty impressive, to say the least,” said Charlie Eshbach, who owns Homer & Forkie’s record store in Leesport. “For anyone who has any inkling into vinyl, this is the place to be.”
Eshbach said the event is like putting 30 or 40 record stores in one place.
The event will feature multiple independent record dealers offering over 35 tables of records, CDs and cassettes.
In addition to Homer & Forkie’s, three other local stores will also be putting their collections on display: Everlong Records, of Hamburg; Haul House Records of West Reading; and What a Crock Records, Schuylkill County.
Owner Steve Gritzen said Record Riots first came about in 2008 in Brooklyn, at a time when record shows were few and far between.
“Just the popularity of vinyl (motivated us to start the event),” Gritzen said. “Giving people the opportunity to come to one spot and see multiple dealers. We have people coming (to Leesport) from six hours away to sell records.”
After the initial event saw over 900 people packed into a club in Brooklyn, Gritzen decided to take the event elsewhere.
Today, the traveling show moves throughout dozens of locations annually across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia and Ohio.
A few events, like the Leesport show, have become semi-annual fixtures, while other show locations vary.
Gritzen said the January Leesport event usually sees a decent turnout.
“It’s right after Christmas and New Years,” Gritzen said. “We usually see about 400 people.”
He said the beauty of Record Riots is that you never know what dealers will bring to the table.
“Think of it like a flea market,” Gritzen said. “You don’t know what you’re going to find. It’s always interesting.”
He said rare finds like Beatles albums and first pressings of Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd aren’t out of place at shows.
Gritzen and Eshbach said there is a vintage quality to vinyl recordings that cannot be matched by modern technology.
“With (modern recording tools) it became a lot easier to get the sounds you want,” Eshbach said. “The ease of making recordings has traded off quality and just the integrity of the musician…The musician doesn’t have to earn the recording anymore.”
Gritzen said there is an old school fun and nostalgia that listening to a record elicits.
“The cover, the label, the crackling of the record once in a while,” Grizten said. “People love it. It’s a fashion. And the older stuff, vinyl sounds better.”
The event will take place on Sat., Jan 3 at the Leesport Farmer’s Market banquet hall.
Regular admission will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and costs $5. Early bird admission is at 9 a.m. and costs $15.
For more information, contact recordriots@gmail.com or text or call Gritzen at 609-468-0885.
