Roundabout Music Company - Whitesburg, Kentucky

What's the first thing you think of when you hear "Eastern Kentucky"?  What ideas and images leap through the synaptic gaps of your brain when those two beautiful words are bestowed upon your ears?  Rolling hills?  Flowery meadows?  Beautiful women?  Horses?  Cornbread?  Coal?  Ale 8?  VINYL RECORDS?  For those of you that answered "cornbread", nice try, but this time around, we're not delving into the world of hillbilly cuisine.   If your response was "vinyl records" followed by a raised eyebrow (as should have been the case, based on the title and first picture of this blog entry) then good for you! 

In a world thought to be dominated by digital media; a world full of mp3s and Ipods, Spotify accounts and satellite radio, Itunes and Youtube.  In a world where physical media was thought to be 10 stages past dead and forgotten relics of the past...emerges Roundabout Music Company, nestled in the last place on Earth you might would expect such a niche outlet to be located.   I say "might", because to the outside world it may seem a bit strange and out of place...but to the residents of Whitesburg, Kentucky and surrounding areas, a record store finally popping up was inevitable, and all but surprising.  As of a few years ago, Whitesburg has really emerged as a beacon of hope for this area.  It's a very reliant, progressive, unique little town that has taken on a personality all its own.  It was once thought to be dead end and destined to be a ghost town, like so many of our precious townships as of late.  Now, the residents have taken it back, and they've absolutely turned it around, relying on the arts and its own brand of Appalachian History and heritage.  It has become economically self sustaining, and Roundabout is one of many businesses in town that have emerged seemingly out of nowhere, owned and operated primarily by the employees themselves.  It's a business model that's risky, but by golly it's working.  And it's working WELL.

Roundabout opened last Summer, and as a music lover and vinyl collector myself, it was somewhere I knew I had to visit.  The store has 4 owners, one of which is actually the husband of a long time friend of mine by the name of Lacy Hale.  To call Lacy a brilliant artist would be the understatement of the century.  She's making quite a name for herself in the world of folk art, and is a member of several different art related councils and commissions.  Before I start to gush too much and skew off into a tangent, please take a moment and visit her website here.  She's incredible, and she and her husband have been vital assets to transforming Whitesburg into the unique powerhouse that it's becoming.

If you think I'm exaggerating in any way, shape, or form about her artistic abilities, I assure you I'm not.  These photo quality images were hand painted with a brush on the side of a bumpy brick wall in Knott County.

I started collecting vinyl in 2006, during the time, according to various data sources, that vinyl sales were at the lowest in history.  I wasn't just following some random trend.  I started because I missed it.  I missed the art work, I missed the liner notes, I missed the SMELL, I missed the history; the fun of discovering who owned an old forgotten album in some dusty milk crate at an off road yard sale somewhere.   I missed all these things from my childhood...all these things that you simply can't get from digital media.  I just like having something tangible, something that I can enjoy in different ways, creating a multi-sensory experience, and not just an auditory sensation.  With vinyl, I can look, see, feel, smell, AND hear my music.  I might could even taste it, but that would be weird, so I'm not going to do that.  Bottom line; no one has ever walked into my house and said "holy crap, your MP3 collection is sick!  Look at all those files!"  However, with my record collection, it's a whole different story...because there actually IS a story.  It would appear that many other people have shared that same sentiment, because as of 2014, vinyl sales have SOARED, increasing nearly 300% since I started back in '06, and overall sales being the highest since 1991.  It's back, and not even I expected it to happen.


These gentlemen who put all their faith and love into this store, however....they knew.  They knew that their hard work and focus on something they believed in would pay off in so many different ways.  Hats off to them for being such an inspiration to the rest of us.


So, that brings us to Record Store Day, 2015.  April 18th, 2015 to be exact.  Yes there's a Record Store Day, and yes it's like Christmas for us.  We dig it, and we get involved however we can, which includes supporting mom and pop record stores such as Roundabout, and getting our hands on many Record Store Day exclusives, which are released only to stores such as this, and only on this day.  I figured it was as good a time as any to pop in and see what's up.

Awesome.

Awesomer.

More Awesomer.  Seriously, every genre and sub-genre you could possibly think of!

The wall of amazing.

Pretty bustling and busy!

That's actually my cousin Angie who just happened to be there with her back turned to me...but don't tell her I told you that.

YES.

Wait...LOL...what??

Whaaa...??

Ok, this is clearly much more than just a "music store".  This is an eclectic collection of EVERYTHING APPALACHIA.  This is our heritage, our folklore, our customs, and our everything, all rolled into one unique palette of amazingness!  It has already been worth the trip just to look around and all this great stuff, all created by local artists.   

Personalized tote bags are always a nice touch.

...and instruments!  FOLK instruments! 

...and Roundabout Swag!

...and perhaps a little something for myself?  Perhaps a local boy from over in Breathitt that has been proclaimed the "savior of county music" and has received an insane amount of exposure and publicity all over the country?  Yeah, maybe.

Maybe a little more something for myself?  Yeah maybe.

Very cool, an in store performance by a local artist!  I wonder if if this Wayne Graham fellow is any good?

Yep...he is.  Check out this performance!

And check out this dude's shirt.  OOOOO YEAHHHH

and...ohh dear....FREE Ale 8, just for stopping in.  Gracious me.

Roundabout Music Company is a true testament to the Appalachian spirit of never giving in and never giving up.  It's a spirit that endures, whether in the coal fields, in the gardens, in the faces of ignorant media critics, and in the case of successful small businesses.  It's quirky, it's cool, it's independent, it's a nexus of culture, and it was a pure joy getting to finally make a visit.  For music lovers, for art lovers, and for culture junkies, it's a place you must make time for as soon as possible.  I was treated just like family, as expected. It's as if it were more of a social gathering with hosts and guests, than customers at a business.  Now that these folks have opened a few doors, and have provided a platform and venue for local, regional, and even national music acts, things could get even more interesting in our little part of the world pretty quick.  Thanks for reading, and have a great night!

Thanks Lacy :)

For more info on Roundabout Music Company, check their Facebook page out here.

In addition, for more info on Appalshop and WMMT FM, two organizations instrumental to everything I have mentioned in this blog entry, click here and here.