- Emilee Atkinson
As we say every year, the holiday season is fast approaching, and you're probably scrambling to figure out what to get for your musically-inclined loved one. Fear not, for here is a big ol' list of amazing gifts you can get for them.
Gift Cards: This isn't the most innovative or creative idea on this list, but it truly alleviates the pressure of needing to find that perfect gift.Your gift-ee can go out and get what they want, and everyone is happy. Don't go out and get a gift card from just anywhere, though; get them from local music shops. Utah-based stores have such an incredible and unique variety of items, it's hard to go wrong with a gift card from one of these places.
If your person is more into vinyl, hop over to Lavender Vinyl (123 25th Street, Ogden, lavenderviyl.com) or Randy's Records (157 E. 900 South, randysrecords.com), Diabolical Records (238 S. Edison St. East, diabolical-records.square.site) and Sound Vision and Vinyl (3444 S. Main St., soundandvisionvinyl.com). These places will have plenty of crates to dig through, offering a perfect opportunity for your loved one to grab new tunes to spin. If your music person isn't interested in just vinyl, Graywhale (multiple locations in Ogden and SLC, graywhaleslc.com) stores offer more in the way of CDs, cassettes and any other types of media they may want in addition to records. On the other hand, if your musical person doesn't consume a lot of physical music, paying for the music streaming service of their choice is a major help. Getting a gift card for Spotify or Apple Music is a gift that keeps giving for the whole year. Or, however long the gift card will pay for.
Accessories: Music-lovers can always use more accessories, and there's a huge range of fun accessories you can get for your music lover. For vinyl enthusiasts, they may need a vinyl cleaning kit to help keep their records fresh, especially if they scoop up a lot of older albums. Similarly, a new slipmat for their record player can spruce things up and add some personality to their turntable. If they're new to the vinyl world, they may need a 45 adapter or some kind record display or record holder. All of these handy accessories can be found at Lavender Vinyl, in addition to so many more locally made goodies.
Memoirs: For your music-lover who's also a bibliophile, consider picking up a memoir from their favorite band/singer/musician. Plenty of big artists have written memoirs, from Debbie Harry of Blondie to Lil Wayne. There's probably a memoir for your loved one's favorite artist. It's easy to pick these up on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, but if you want to shop locally, check out The King's English Bookshop (1511 S. 1500 East, kingsenglish.com) in SLC, or A Novel Idea Book Parlor (3651 Wall Ave., Newgate Mall, anovelideabookparlor.com) in Ogden.
Ticket Stub Diary/Concert Tickets: If you have an avid concert-goer in your life, there's a good chance they have plenty of tickets from past shows lying around. They've probably stashed them somewhere out of sight, but this cute journal offers a way to store them neatly, and have them readily available to flip through when they want to walk down memory lane. The journal is $15 and can be found on Amazon. If you've got the cash to fork out on concert tickets, you can hop over to Ticketmaster or LiveNation to look for the show your musical person wants to go to the most. In addition to live shows by big artists, SLC and Ogden boast amazing local acts nearly every night of the week. Follow our Music Picks section every week for shows to go see.
Music Subscription Boxes: If you're looking for a variety of things to gift, a music subscription box is the perfect way to go, especially because it's a gift that keeps giving. Your loved one will look forward to what surprises they'll get each month. Subscriptions like Vinyl Moon (vinylmoon.co) are exciting for those who look forward to listening to different genres and exploring new tunes. "Vinyl Moon is the only vinyl 'mixtape' club that combines the best new music with original artwork to create an ultra-deluxe record experience. Every month! Each record gives you a fun, interactive and completely unique way to discover new music and wild artwork each month," says their website. Similarly, places like Earth Libraries (earthlibraries.com) offer their "Library Card'' membership, where they send out a first pressing vinyl from someone on their label. This is a great way to discover new music and support up-and-coming artists.
