Southwest Florida Record Show to showcase vintage music and memorabilia

Writer: Matias Abril
Published: Updated:
CREDIT: Southwest Florida Record Show

Music lovers, get ready for the Southwest Florida Record Show, which will showcase all things music, including vinyl, CDs, ticket stubs, vintage T-shirts and high-end hi-fi record players.

Think of it as a music garage sale, giving vendors the opportunity to clear their attic to sell or trade to those seeking a vintage find.

The semi-annual show will be held on March 2 at the Moose Lodge in Port Charlotte from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Regular admission is $4, and students and children are free.

There will be roughly 30 to 40 tables full of everything music from vendors all over Florida.

Mike Cline, who runs this event, has always been an avid music fan and loves collecting and buying records.

“Since I am retired, I thought maybe I could dedicate some time to it,” Cline said.

He came to Southwest Florida from Indiana with his wife, Dian, eight years ago. He hosted similar music-related events in the Midwest and found a need for them in the Port Charlotte area.

He wanted to get into vintage music in the area, and through networking, he found collectors who would be open to participating in the event.

“Generally, when you start talking and networking in these kinds of situations, you end up getting introduced to all kinds of music and maybe different ways of playing your music that you might not have found otherwise. I enjoy the social aspect, and you are just immersed in the amount of music available to you in a day,” Cline said.

Cline hopes to bring in a younger crowd and expose them to the vintage music collecting scene.

“If we could get a maybe not as versed music fan that isn’t aware of these kinds of events, they would realize that if you go to these things, there’s lots and lots of bargains, and there’s a wonderful market for used music out there,” he said.

For this show, Cline said they are going to have new collector/vendors.

“Essentially, it’s just folks like me that have way too freaking many records, and you’ve fallen out of love with a few, and let’s see if we can turn a few into this and that,” Cline said.

The current lineup for the SWF Record Show is stacked. According to the event’s Facebook page, expect to see some records from familiar artists such as Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Iron Maiden.

Cline is looking forward to seeing records and memorabilia from bands that he already enjoys and follows.

He said that he is looking for foreign-pressed records. These records could have a slightly different album cover than they do in the United States, maybe with extra or extended versions of songs. He said that outtake albums are becoming very popular now.

The last one he bought was Black and Blue by the Rolling Stones from 1976. If you didn’t know yet, the album cover’s picture was taken on Sanibel Island, giving Southwest Florida a Rolling Stone connection.

Black and Blue CD. CREDIT: Rolling Stones

Moving here, Cline didn’t expect to see so many foreign presses.

“I was surprised [after] moving to Port Charlotte, the amount of foreign pressing records there are in the Florida area until I realized what a large military presence and retired military presence [we have] here, and all those folks did their stints in places that pressed records, and they brought those records back or shipped them in their hold baggage,” he said.

Cline said he did the same thing. He was stationed in Germany from 1974 to 1977 and brought English pressings back to the States.

“Not really thinking anything more about it other than that was the record I wanted. That is a fun aspect of coming to Florida. It’s really cool. Back then, it was hard, way hard, to get them,” Cline said.

This is what holds the SWF Record Show up.

“You just never know what’s going to show up. People see our event advertised, and they’ll bring in Uncle Jim’s record collection; that kind of thing happens as well. I mean, you just never know what’s going to come in through the door,” he said.

“You have to be a shopper and you have to be patient and diligent and do the work. Record buyers are called crate diggers for a reason.” Cline said when talking about the vintage record shopping culture.

Prior to the event, Cline has been previewing pictures of what the vendors will be bringing. Cline requires pictures of their items for his Facebook page. He does it to help promote the event and show attendees what they’re in for.

The Moose Lodge is located on 3462 Loveland Blvd., Port Charlotte, FL 33952.

For more information on the event, click here.

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