Pair of record shops spin competition into collaboration

LACONIA — The teams at neighboring shops New Hampshire Vintage Vinyl and Defiant Records & Craft Beer are coming together to sell music downtown.

Vintage Vinyl and Defiant are located at two corners of Main and Canal streets, directly across from one another, and a collaboration between those two businesses seems natural. 

Circumstances were changing for the way Defiant sources their records, which they display and sell inside the craft beer bar. A sales representative they’ve worked with for years moved on, and so the team there turned to Dan McLaughlin, owner of Vintage Vinyl. He’ll supply Defiant with high-quality records from here on out. 

“I think it’s a good partnership,” Kristin Bastille, owner of Defiant, said on Wednesday. “It’s definitely brought in more of a rotation.”

“They always had records, and I always want to collaborate,” McLaughlin said. “I felt like it could only help both of us.”  

Defiant is known, among many things, as a place with great music. They frequently host live performances and, during the times without them, play myriad rock music, cultivating a vibe that’s unique in the Lakes Region. Vintage Vinyl staff, for their part, know music like the backs of their hands. 

The craft beer spot has got a slightly different “flavor” than his records shop does, McLaughlin said, and he’s working to tailor the selection there to the customers who frequent the bar, turning Canal Street into a vinyl destination, which he said could bring “more character or culture” to the area.

He’ll put up a collection a wide audience would be familiar with, and lean into the culture Bastille has long established at Defiant. That means cleaned and resleeved records with new outers and inners, a good selection of classics for both casual and seasoned collectors, and a regularly-rotated inventory so the collection stays fresh. 

It’s a perfect arrangement, because hardcore collectors will still come into Vintage Vinyl to find what they’re looking for. More casual collectors and general music appreciators will find collections at Defiant are more than adequate, because McLaughlin will bring records over there that match their vibe. 

“He’ll always know what’s over here,” Bastille said. 

The record collection business is an interesting one, and McLaughlin is constantly buying both new and old records. 

“There’s a lot of reasons why people collect,” he said, noting some collectors want absolutely perfect, original records, while others want other items. “It’s two totally different customers — being able to cater to everybody.”  

Starting Jan. 8, and recurring on Thursdays, McLaughlin will spin records at Defiant, and patrons are encouraged to bring their own. 

“That’ll be fun,” he said.

“It’s more community-driven,” Bastille said. “We’re working together.” 

McLaughlin has also been adding display posters and other visuals to Defiant. 

“It made perfect sense,” he said.

Collaborations between downtown businesses are important and successful, Bastille explained. And these two businesses in particular have been doing it a long time — their Concerts on Canal series has proven popular in the summer, and they’re working to make it even better next year.

They’ll be teaming up again this summer, and coordinating with the Belknap Mill during their Arts in the Park events to try to prevent overlap, ensuring events for the public occur regularly downtown.  

“There’s been a lot of good energy downtown,” McLaughlin said. “It’s happening, it’s working.” 

“We have the most supportive downtown business owners,” Bastille said. “Anytime we need anything, it’s a never-ending support system. It’s amazing.”