By Jessica Battisti
Herald Intern
Music lovers gathered for an afternoon of records, music memorabilia and drinks in Downtown Sanford Sunday to attend the inaugural Central Florida Record and Music Fair at Tuffy’s Music Box.
The free admission event began at 12 p.m., hosting different record vendors across Florida with drinks for sale from Orlando’s Ligature Coffee and Tuffy’s in-house bar, and food from the Burgerbach’s window in Tuffy’s Garden.
Alex Cooper, co-manager and distribution coordinator of Smart Punk Records and co-host of the event, said he was nervous about the turnout.
“I felt like a little kid who invited their friends to their birthday party and was very nervous about anybody showing up,” Cooper, 35, said. “And people did.”
Cooper has worked for the record label and store for the past nine years and was one of the self-described “in-keepers” of Smart Punk’s physical location in East Orlando since its opening in 2018. Forced to close in October 2024, Cooper said the significant rent increase and unclear motives for potential redevelopment of the complex was what led to the store’s closure.
“It was unfortunate,” Cooper said. “I liked that space. I look forward to a re-envisioned physical space, but the short version is it got too expensive to make sense of it.”
Events like this are one of Cooper’s ways of keeping the face-to-face aspect of the business thriving.
General Manager Shannon Manley and Production Manager Cliff Berman of Tuffy’s, who have known and purchased records from Cooper for over a decade, said they got the idea to host the event after Smart Punk’s closure and wanted to give Cooper the opportunity to sell his inventory.
“We wanted to kind of collaborate on something, and [we’ve] been working on trying to get some more alternative programming anyways,” Berman said. “I thought this was a good opportunity to test it out.”
Cooper said he reached out to friends, local stores and independent vendors to sell and buy from one another at the event.
Peter Cohen, co-owner of family-run Foundation Records in College Park and decade-long friend of Cooper said he was excited to be there.
“Once [Alex] reached out, it was a no brainer,” Cohen, 30, said. “We definitely wanted to set up here. Anything that Alex does, we want to be a part of so we weren't gonna miss this.”
Brandon Finley, owner of Bearded Vinyl in Glen St. Mary, drove two hours south to sell parts of his collection at the event. Although he typically specializes in modern metal, Finley brought a collection of sealed original records he bought that week dating pre-1987, including original Beatles.
Among his collection was an unsealed original of George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” for $299.
“I sell 15 to 20,000 records a year, probably see millions,” Finley, 40, said. “So when you see that many records a year, and then you run across a collection where a guy's kept it sealed for 40, 50 years, it’s insane.”
Deland resident Jacob Howard drove down to attend the event after his friend Gordon informed him of the record fair. Looking for avant garde, tape manipulation and early electronic music, Howard ended up with a total of eight folk and modern rock records instead.
Howard, 31, said he was happy with his purchases.
“Everything’s good,” Howard said. “A lot of good deals today, some stuff that was gently used or a little beat up.”
Izzy James, 17, found out about the event on Instagram and decided to celebrate her birthday at the fair.
“I just started my collection,” James said. “So I have kind of normie stuff.”
A fan of hip-hop and rap, James said she hopes to see more variety at future events, like her favorite artists Tyler, the Creator and Frank Ocean.
“I just noticed there was a lot of punk and metal, which isn't a complaint,” James said. “I just noticed that there was a lot of it. I think it's still good.”
Wrapping up the event at 4 p.m. and packed up by 5 p.m., Cooper said he was very pleased with the turnout.
“I've done record shows and festivals and stuff for a very long time,” Cooper said. “I think this format of something that can invite members of the community to buy a beer, grab some food, hang out in the courtyard, maybe buy records or kind of just like a little bit in the background even, and have a day of it is very cool for me.”
Cooper said he and the Tuffy’s team have agreed to host a few record fairs a year. Cooper said the next event will be on Sunday, April 13.
Berman said some potential matinees in collaboration with the record label portion of Smart Punk are also to be expected. Berman, who set up a booth to sell tickets for upcoming shows at Tuffy’s, said he was happy with Sunday’s event.
“There's a lot more people here than we usually have on a Sunday,” Berman said. “They're drinking, they're buying records. So I think it's a win-win for everybody.”
