This year’s Southwest Record and Vintage Fair marks the first year the summertime event will take place in an air-conditioned space — live music and entertainment venue La Rosa. For La Rosa owner David Slutes, the event is a delightful outing for everyone — not just avid collectors of retro music. 

“It’s just sort of a nice Sunday afternoon event, just to poke around,” said Slutes, who considers himself a “vinyl junkie.” “You don’t have to be a serious collector to enjoy it — people come to browse, discover something they’ve never seen before or just spend time around others who love music.”

The Southwest Record and Vintage Fair will take place on Sunday, July 19 from noon to 5 p.m. La Rosa is partnering with Tucson record store Desert Island Records to host the event. The event gathers various vendors selling music in multiple formats — vinyl records, 45 RPM singles, CDs and cassette tapes. Slutes said the companies will include local businesses such as Zia Records and Wooden Tooth Records, but there are also vendors from different parts of the state — such as Stinkweeds Record Store. Beyond selling music, the event will also include music books, posters and T-shirts for guests to browse. Local DJs will perform, the venue will stream the FIFA World Cup finals and Sisters restaurant and bar will be open next door as well. Admission is free and free parking will be available in La Rosa’s lots on a first-come, first-served basis.

In years past, Slutes said the Southwest Record and Vintage Fair was hosted at Hotel Congress. He said bringing the event to La Rosa, roughly one year after it first opened its doors, felt like a natural extension of the venue’s role in Tucson’s music community. La Rosa, Slutes said, offers a larger, air-conditioned space that has allowed the venue to host concerts and other music-centered events.

While casual browsers are welcome to attend the fair, Slutes said it also reflects the resurging popularity of physical music formats. The experience of listening to music on a vinyl record, he said, is entirely different than listening to a digital recording. 

“You’re more engaged with it, you’re actually flipping the record over, you’re paying more attention and you’re more present with the music,” Slutes said. “Vinyl records just sound different — there’s a warmth and an analog to them that is undeniable.

“Music’s great in any form, but there’s something particularly experiential and personal about analog media.”

 The Southwest Record and Vintage Fair is ultimately about more than buying music, Slutes said. For the owner of La Rosa, the event gives collectors, casual listeners and newcomers an opportunity to connect over a shared appreciation for music. 

“It’s a social gathering as well, because you’re hanging around a lot of people with a bunch of records under their arm saying, Oh, I love that record,’” Slutes said. “A summer record fair is hard to do here in Arizona, unless you have the right place — and I think we have the right place.”  

Southwest Record & Vintage Fair
WHERE: La Rosa, 800 N. Country Club Road, Tucson
WHEN: Noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 19
COST: Free admission
INFO: larosatucson.org, 520-222-9833