LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When you step inside the shop at 1006 Barret Avenue, you’ll hear the fleeting sound of music.
“This store is about turning people on to music,” Craig Rich said.
In two months, Underground Sounds will bid farewell.
Rich, who owns the shop, said it is bittersweet. He said if there were music that defined the pending closure, it would be something slow and melancholy like jazz pianist Bill Evans.
He said his new landlords informed him they would not be renewing his lease.
Originally a mail-order company that Rich had since he was a teenager, his business has withstood the ever evolving technologies and trends for 28 years.
Underground Sounds will close before May 1. While it faces an uncertain future, Rich said it will not be the last of it.
“Now I’m going to have to find another location. I’d like to keep the store in the Highlands area – Germantown, Crescent Hill, you know. That’s where it started, and I think that’s where it should remain,” he explained.
Longtime customer Brian Leonard, who is now 35, has been coming to the record shop since he was 17.
"It was the first place I felt comfortable in the city. You know, being an awkward little kid," he said. "They were also looking after ya' and making sure dumb kids from the country weren't getting themselves in trouble."
He highlights the importance of Underground Sounds in the community.
"It's a safe spot for the community. You know? You come here and you know that you know. You're not going to be hassled, you can look around for music for hours--nobody is going to bother you," Leonard said. "You can have a conversation with somebody for hours. Everything is going to turn out okay."
Rich says there are plans to turn his space into a new bar.
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