Music Fans Turnout for Record Store Day in Dearborn

Independent record stores in Dearborn enjoyed a vinyl revival Saturday when music fans came out in droves to support international Record Store Day.

Customers stood outside Dearborn Music and Stormy Records on Michigan Avenue from early Saturday morning, hoping to nab one of the many limited-edition releases by The White Stripes and other national artists.

"We had a great customer turnout," Rick Leannis of Dearborn Music said. "A lot of people got what they wanted; it's like Christmas."

Leannis said the store was open by 8:30 a.m., but by 8 a.m. a line of roughly 125 people was already forming.

"Our earliest customer was standing at the door at 3 a.m.," he said. "The whole event can be stressful because we want to make sure we have the products in stock that people want. At the same time, it's a lot of fun."

Windy Weber, co-owner of Stormy Records, said this year's popular item was the 10th anniversary re-issue of the White Stripes "Elephant" album.

"We were sold out by 11 a.m.," she said.

Weber said the store had roughly 200 customers throughout the morning, and at least half were first-time visitors.

Both Dearborn Music and Stormy Records had their best sales day of the year.

"Imagine Black Friday for music fans," Leannis said.

Editor's note: Dearborn Patch Editor Daniel Lai would like to thank Bonnie Schippling and Amy Gray for the additional reporting for this story.