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Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Wooly and Arrow’s Aim Records host Gainesville's bi-annual record fair

<p><span>Music lovers of all ages gathered at The Wooly to sift through countless records for vinyl treasures.</span></p>

Music lovers of all ages gathered at The Wooly to sift through countless records for vinyl treasures.

Music brings generations of Gainesville locals and UF students together at Gainesville’s record fair twice a year at The Wooly, hosted by Arrow’s Aim Records.

On Sunday, patrons bonded over some of the greatest music artists as they fumbled through vinyls, deciding which of the rare and precious albums to snag before vinyl becomes completely obsolete. The irony? Vinyl is making a comeback in terms of quality and popularity according to Jeff Smith, the owner of Arrow’s Aim Records, located next door to The Wooly.  

“Vendors come from all over the Southeast, and they buy, trade and sell records and memorabilia,” Smith said.

Music vendors from all over the Southeast region and North Florida gathered to compete for the best bargain amongst the masses. Who were the masses? Well, a variety of students, locals and even people just passing through Gainesville in search of some classic albums that have hardly been touched. The stage of The Wooly was filled with brand new record players with high-quality needles and gadgets, selling for some steep prices but filled with buried treasures.

Vendors sold vinyls, cassette tapes and CDs featuring music from all generations. Imagine everything from Sinatra to Jimi Hendrix to Dr. Dre all in one room! Music fanatics were practically drooling. Many customers were on the prowl for the perfect records to complete (or begin) their collection, whether it be Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” or Led Zeppelin’s “Houses of the Holy.”

For these music lovers, this was not a casual perusal for some cool albums. This was a hunt, an archaeological search for artistic fossils. Many customers claimed that it is one thing to know what you’re looking for and another to dig for it … it can take hours to find that one album that separates you from eternal musical bliss. It requires patience, especially when that one album is hidden amongst at least a thousand others in a low-lit room full of people pleading for bargains with men rocking long, white beards.

Smith said interacting with customers was the best part of working the event.

“The social part of it is great.” Smith said. “I get to see people that I haven’t seen before. It’s twice a year, so it’s just enough.”

The most exciting aspect of the event was seeing that there are still people out there with good music taste. While “good” music taste is subjective to each individual, many at the event claimed that it is important to have diversity in artists and genres, to listen to different types of music from all eras. You could find students flipping through stacks and stacks of Fleetwood Mac and Abba, while adults checked out the latest Arctic Monkeys collections.

Music lovers of all ages gathered at The Wooly to sift through countless records for vinyl treasures.

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