Record Store Day produces big turnout in Ocean Springs

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) - It’s an annual event bringing together music fans, artists and thousands of business owners.

Record Store Day celebrates the culture of the independently owned record store every Black Friday, and this year Maynard’s Music in Ocean Springs saw quite the turnout.

“Everyone loves music so there’s always that record that someone would want,” proprietor of Maynard’s Music, Matthew Comstock said.

Scores of rare and limited edition releases, mostly on vinyl - all up for grabs on Record Store Day Black Friday. Cult figures from David Bowie, to Captain Beefheart to The Doors are represented in the rollout of collectibles.

Records are pressed specifically in honor of the shopping day. Some supplies are limited to just 500 copies and that’s for the entire country. That explains why music lovers are coming in droves to local record stores like Maynard’s Music shopping early for their treasures.

“[We have] special releases, just for physical record stores,” Comstock said. “They really line up. We opened at 10 a.m., but I had people line up probably about five or six in the morning. They only make so many of them so you’ve got to get that one.”

It makes for a unique Black Friday shopping experience, supporting a local business while putting your hands on hidden gems, you can’t find anywhere else.

“We mainly focus on vintage vinyl,” Comstock said. “Vinyl has had a wonderful resurgence in the past few years. Walmart, Best Buy and places start carrying vinyl. We focus more on the special vinyl, the vintage type stuff.”

“More specifically the really vintage stuff has come into play and in doing so they’ve released a lot of the stuff like Duran Duran, Elton John, Michael Jackson - they’ve released all that again for the newer generation so they can get ahold of it,” music lover, Jonah Schomotzer said.

If you missed the shopping day this Black Friday, more releases will hit the shelves in April for another Record Store Day.

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