Chattanooga on Vinyl: Scenic City Records Brings New Opportunity to Local Music Scene

Scenic City Records is a new local group that creates vinyl records for local bands; their first set of records is set to release this July.

Vinyl has exploded back into popularity, and it seems like everyone is trying to get their hands on a record player. While many are using the vinyl craze as a chance to relive the oldies or get modern songs put into the classic format, a new organization in Chattanooga is taking things in a different direction: local vinyl.

Scenic City Records was founded in March 2020 by Rob and Laura Strong. Rob and Laura moved to Chattanooga in 2017, and they instantly fell in love with the city and its music scene. They quickly noticed how local bands creating vinyl records seemed to be incredibly rare and wanted to find a way to help with that. With the help of the ArtsBuild Artist Emergency Fund, they were able to create a run of vinyl records showcasing exclusively local musicians.

“We hope that people like it and that it’s well-received,” Rob said. “If people do like it, we will make more.”

Bands and songs that will be featured are:

Nick Lutsko "Sideshow"

Behold the Brave "Peaches"

Sleazy Sleazy "Citafect (Side Effect)"

The Fridge "Strut"

The Mailboxes "All I Know"

The Afternooners "Materialism"

Lenox Hills "I Feel It Coming On"

Oweda "Pool Jam"

Ashley and the X's "The Black Cat Sings"

Iron Fez "Irish Song"

The record is currently set to release in early July. It will then be available for purchase online through the Scenic City Records store and in-store at Yellow Racket Records, For The Record, and Inherent Records.

"Enjoy the experience,” Rob said. “That's what is so great about vinyl. It involves the listener. After you put the record on, drop the needle down, and get all comfy in your favorite chair check out the bands on the inner sleeve. Enjoy the album art. We hope that listening to these great songs by these great bands serves as a testament to how good we have it in the Scenic City and how far we can go—musically and otherwise.”

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