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Date: 1/2/2024
NORTHAMPTON — After a four-year hiatus, over 40 vendors offering a variety of music genres are ready to return to the Union Station Banquets for the Northampton Record Fair on March 3 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
According to Justin Cohen, an organizer of the event, the fair will feature 55 tables of vinyl records and CDs sold by local and regional small business owners.
“This year’s vendor lineup is the cream of the crop of record dealers from around the northeast,” said Cohen, a Springfield resident who DJs and co-runs the record label Peace & Rhythm under the name Studebaker Hawk.
Included in the vendor lineup are brick and mortar stores like Spin That Records, Greenfield Records, Redscroll Records, Want List Records, Vinyl Destination and Records the Good Kind, and independent record dealers that can only be found at fairs, like John Bastone of Record Riots, Bonnie and Scott of Starry Night Records, Meredith of Sleepy Jean Records and Northampton legends Main Street Records.
Cohen, who deals records himself, will have three tables in the front of the hallway at Union Banquets.
“With 40-plus vendors, there’s so much variety; some vendors specialize in different genres,” Cohen said. “Some specifically sell 45rpm records, or specifically sell CDs, some cater to DJs, some to deep collectors, some bring out $2 records. And not just used records, many vendors will have new releases as well if you’re looking for the new Khruangbin or Taylor Swift.”
According to Cohen, the crux of the fair is the bevy of musical tastes on display. At one point during the day, you might be digging through “beautiful bossa novas” in a jazz box; the next; you are perusing through a rap crate looking for various mashups or searching for some fuzzed-out garage rock. Eventually, you will probably come across that Fleetwood Mac LP you have not heard since 1987.
It is safe to say, there is something for everyone.
“Having the fair in our community not only brings music lovers from our community together, it also brings in vendors and attendees from all over the Northeast,” Cohen said. “I strive to create a welcoming inclusive atmosphere for everyone to hang out, hear and talk about great music, while top notch vendors provide a wide selection no matter what you’re looking for.”
This fair is far from Cohen’s first rodeo as an event organizer and record dealer.
A full-time record dealer since 2008 and former record fair organizer for his old radio station at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Cohen moved back into Western Mass. in 2015 after moving away for four years. When he came back to this area, he realized there were no record fairs going on in Western Massachusetts, so he started this one in December 2015.
For five years, the fair ran two to three times a year until COVID-19 shut things down in March 2020. In 2021, Cohen said he worked with the Northampton Arts Council to run some outdoor Northampton record swaps, which were smaller versions of the fair with around a dozen vendors at each event.
With the full fair on the verge of returning, the widespread excitement is palpable and reflected in the 646 people who have already responded to the event’s Facebook page.
The broad interest is a testament to the fair’s multi-faceted spirit. Not only is it a centralized place to find any kind of music; it is also a community-connector at heart.
“I have lots of friends I basically only see at record fairs because we live hours apart,” Cohen said. “In additional to the community and great company, of course we’re all there because we love records and we’re excited to find great new music to listen to.”
Early admission to the fair from 9 to 11 a.m. is $8 and comes with a raffle ticket to potentially be one of the winners of gift certificates to local record stores and three $50 shopping sprees for the fair. The raffle will be called at 11 a.m.. Early admission attendees will also have the ability to scope out the records early before the actual fair begins.
For those coming during the actual hours of the fair, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., admission is $3. All ages are invited.
A group of DJs will also be there spinning an eclectic mix of records. The full vendor and DJ list will be out soon.
The fair is sponsored by local record stores Turn It Up! Northampton, Newbury Comics Northampton, Electric Eye Records in Florence and Spin That Records in Springfield.
With the return of the event, Cohen said the fair will happen in March and December moving forward.