At Bryan’s local record store, shelves of vinyl, CDs and cassettes line the walls. A record spins slowly on a black turntable, and the whole room is perfumed with the distinct papery, musky aroma of antique album sleeves. While a fan-favorite destination in the community, the store is even more crowded than usual. It’s the third Saturday of April, and this means that the Bryan-College Station’s analog music community is celebrating Record Store Day.

Record Store Day is a nationwide event created to commemorate the culture of independently owned record stores across the country with special vinyl releases. This year’s release lineup included Pink Floyd’s “Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena” — a new collection of 16 recorded and remastered songs from its iconic April 26, 1975, concert — a deluxe version of Paramore’s “All We Know is Falling” and the 45th anniversary edition of Mötley Crüe’s EP “Live Wire,” among hundreds of other exclusive vinyl releases.

In the Bryan-College Station area, Record Store Day is exclusively celebrated at Curious Collections Vinyl Records & More, a family-run analog music store. Owner Mary Beth Jean ‘16 takes great pride in being a pillar of the local analog music community.

“We are the only record store within almost 100 miles of this town that participates in this,” Jean said. “So this is a really big deal for us as an independent store here in this area.”

Curious Collections was conceptualized 10 years ago, when Jean was sorting through her late father’s storage units. Of the seven total storage spaces, two were packed with vinyl records, and the idea for her store was born. 

However, running a small business wasn’t without its challenges.

“I’m a two-time cancer survivor, and I like to say my store survived as well,” Jean said. “So my store is a two-time cancer survivor and also a COVID survivor. It’s been quite the interesting ride.”

Curious Collections has been hosting Record Store Day since shortly after its opening. From then, it has expanded its festivities every year, especially with the introduction of a Friday night preview party with food trucks and entertainment.

Employee Jordan Hanson, who joined the staff almost four years ago, explained that a lot of care goes into preparing for Record Store Day and making sure the store has what customers want in stock.

“It’s busy for sure,” Hanson said. “I feel like there’s a whole lot of preparation and a lot of customer service, too. … The days before it is a whole bunch of unboxing, counting, making sure nothing’s damaged.”

On the day of the event, the line stretched beyond the entrance even before the doors opened at 7 a.m.

“We have a DJ that comes in, and we have drinks and food trucks,” Jean said. “We are very fortunate that we have that extra listening room on the side that we can literally transform into a Record Store Day room, and it allows us to have the extra space to display the albums.”

Christine Brown is a regular customer at Curious Collections. This Record Store Day, she waited in line in the early morning for new releases from singers Jeff Buckley and Bruno Mars.

“I used to collect records when I was younger, in high school and college, and that was kind of before the record resurgence,” Brown said. “My record player broke, and then I just kind of got out of it. And then records started being popular again, and I thought, ‘You know, I need to get back into this.’”

For Jean, that nostalgia is what makes vinyl so special; she believes that there is a relationship between artist and listener that modern streaming services can’t exactly replicate.

“I love the fact that when you put a record on, it’s a unique experience every single time,” Jean said. “So when you hear a record in a record player, it’s exactly like the artist is playing a personal concert for you in your living room. And that is not an experience you can get with any other music.”