How 2 record stores are fostering Salt Lake City’s all-ages music scene

This story is jointly published by nonprofits Amplify Utah and The Salt Lake Tribune to elevate diverse perspectives in local media through student journalism.

A crowd of young adults nod their heads in time to a jazz trio as it weaves through its set on the stage at Fountain Records.

The dimly lit underground venue at 202 E. 500 South in Salt Lake City buzzes with energy. The place is small enough to create an intimacy that seems to unite the room. While timeless music and old brick walls elicit the past, the space allows young adults to connect, live and in person.

That has been Adam Terry’s goal since COVID-19 halted live performances and similar gatherings, particularly in small spaces. Terry, the store’s owner and founder of the creative label FOUNTAINavm, said bringing musicians and audiences back together has been crucial to redeveloping a community around music after the pandemic pulled many people into solitude and dependence on technology.

“I hope these third places get you off your phone and into the world more,” he said.

Researchers have found many communities and people are still recovering from the months of isolation brought on during the pandemic. Fountain Records and other spaces away from home and the workplace, for which American sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term “third places,” offer venues for socializing with others around shared interests as a way to build community. Cultivating such social connections, according to the Centers for Disease Control, can stave off chronic illnesses like heart disease, stroke, dementia and depression.

Fountain Records, said Ashby Worth, a Brigham Young University student who attended the jazz show, is “a great place to meet people with similar interests. … There’s definitely a crowd of regulars. [The event] just attracts a fun group of people, and it’s easy to make friends here.”

Music, Terry said, has always been a vessel through which culture and community have thrived.

“Anyone can make music, anyone can play music,” Terry said. “You don’t need anything. If you look at any culture in the world, the music is there in the middle, and anyone can contribute.”

Building community, large and small

Since the end of lockdown, as restrictions have been lifted, people have returned to the public sphere, creating their own communities of fandom.

One of the best-known examples is Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour,” which ended its nearly two-year global run in December. The tour famously built community among the singer’s fans — the Swifties — who traded friendship bracelets, copied the singer’s outfits and sang along to every song.

On a more intimate scale — without the thousands of dollars needed to buy a ticket to hear Swift — Salt Lake City residents can find another sense of fellowship through the local music scene in local record shops that double as low-cost venues, keeping music accessible.

“That was part of the original model, to create a third space,” Terry said of the Fountain Records space, which opened in November 2023.

Fountain Records hosts jazz nights most Thursdays, at 7 p.m. Admission is $5 at the door.

Randy’s Records, which opened in 1978 and remains one of the city’s oldest local record shops, strives to keep music accessible by hosting warehouse sales, said Eric Whisamore, an employee at the store who has been involved in the local music-selling industry for the last decade.

Whisamore said that every few months, Randy’s sells a variety of LPs, CDs, DVDs and cassette tapes for two dollars or less. These sales are an opportunity for listeners to meet new people with similar interests and discover new music, he said.

“It’s cheap enough that people buy stuff on a whim and explore new types of music,” Whisamore said. “Trying to keep things affordable is a really difficult part of maintaining a community.”

For Whisamore and the rest of the Randy’s Records staff, the community formed makes the active effort it takes to keep prices affordable worth it.

“Building a sense of community with people surrounding music is an easier way to build a community. People already have that common ground,” he said.

The store’s founder, Randy Stinson, died Dec. 14 at the age of 83. His son, Sam, told The Salt Lake Tribune that connecting people with music and introducing them to new artists and albums were his father’s favorite parts of owning the shop.

“Whatever culture that Randy brought to the city and the local community, it was just a place for music lovers,” he told The Tribune.

How musicians build community

Sam Hurtado, founder of the Salt Lake City alternative band Hurtado, said he recognizes the value of the local music community in both his life and the lives of others.

“I was hit super-hard by the pandemic. I loved going to shows and talking to people and meeting new people and seeing new bands,” he said. “Live music is the best thing that you can do with your time, to be honest.”

Since the band’s formation — the band’s first gig was at Kilby Court on April 27, 2023, according to their Instagram account — , Hurtado has seen a community form.

“The band is very much me, because I write all the stuff, but [I appreciate] whoever can be involved in it,” he said, “whether that’s taking video or making art for it or taking pictures or playing or collaborating on stuff. I feel very blessed to have a community of people that stands behind it.”

Amelia Lepore, Hillcrest High senior and guitarist with the band Dr. Teeth, said she has already begun to see more people seeking out the local music scene in response to hyper-expensive arena tours.

“As quarantine stopped and people are getting out, more people are seeking local shows rather than huge arenas, due to the huge price increases in popular shows,” she said. “It’s so accessible and cheap to go [to local shows].”

Lepore said she also thinks people would benefit from experiencing new bands, even if they’re unfamiliar with the work.

“Sometimes we see posts and think, ‘I don’t know any of these bands … I’m going to be left out.’ [But] there’s always room for everybody and anybody,” she said.

The best way to get involved with and support the local music, Lepore said, is by attending events at some of the city’s smaller, unexpected venues.

“Just go to a show. Even if you’re by yourself. Just being able to be in a room and stand there and appreciate the music,” she said. “That’s what it is at its core, right?”

Grace Pruden wrote this story as a journalism student at the University of Utah. It is published as part of a collaborative including nonprofits Amplify Utah and The Salt Lake Tribune.