Tarrytown’s Main Street got a little bit hipper this November when The Tarrytown Music Hall opened its doors to a permanent used record shop. Located in second floor office space, Marquee Records is run completely by volunteers, with a surprising selection of donated records from all over Westchester.
The shop is the brainchild of singer-songwriter Greg Jacquin, who first sprung the idea of a pop-up record sale this summer to benefit The Music Hall after it reopened. With a team of volunteers, he raised over $2,000 selling donated albums for a dollar, then another $6,000 in a second sale over Halloween weekend. They still had hundreds of records on hand when Jacquin suggested they make it an ongoing thing.
Today, the store’s packed with crates of records as well as CDs, cassette tapes, some record players, and more recently, posters and photography donated by local artists. There’s a crate of newly donated gems sitting outside, with classic rock like the Beatles and the Stones, along with fun finds that could only come from someone’s random record collection. Perched over by the checkout table, Jacquin brought in a personal record player so he can spin some of his favorite donations while working volunteer shifts.
A Tarrytown native, he has a connection to The Music Hall dating back to his childhood, when he would see Christmas shows or movies like King Kong there. Before the record sales, he volunteered as an usher over the years and supported the Hall by playing livestreams during lockdown. “It’s got such a history in the music industry,” he said of the non-profit space, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. “So many amazing artists have performed here. I don’t think people realize the history, who’s performed here.”
Jacquin attributes much of the interest in vinyl stemming from quarantine. As people stayed indoors, some turned back on their record players and began collecting again, while others found it the perfect time to clean out their garages and part ways with albums. The donations they’ve received span all genres, and they have “hundreds of Barbra Streisand albums” stored away. Jacquin said their rock selections go quickest, but given the wide variety of The Music Halls’ supporters, there’s also a demand for show tunes and big band-era sounds, while customers also find that occasional gem they didn’t know they were looking for.
He also considers it a bonus that they can control their prices. While they sell most records for $2-$10, Jacquin will research and price the rarer finds that come in. “We will find out what it is going for in the inflated market and then we can sell it for half right now, right off the gate, and give people a fair price and a good memory of something, an album that they had when they were kids or that their parents had. It’s special to them.”
While Jacquin and company are trying to keep the doors open to the public Tuesday through Saturday starting at noon, the shop is volunteer-run and sometimes runs into hiccups. Check out Marquee Records’ social media accounts for store hours – on Facebook marqueerecordstarrytown/ and Instagram @marqueerecords. When visiting, you’ll enter the shop through the green set of doors to the right of the Music Hall’s front entrance (make sure to wear a mask). To donate records or learn more about volunteering, contact: tarrytownmusichallrecords@gmail.com.
