Dr. Music Records in Fairhope is celebrating 30 years as a Baldwin County staple in the local music community.

To commemorate the occasion, a public event was held at the District Hall in Fairhope on Saturday night, May 30, featuring performances from local bands, free merch and an air guitar contest.

Despite opening in 1996, owner Wade Wellborn said he is surprised he has been running it for 30 years, saying he believes it’s a sign of the fact he loves it and has been very fortunate with running the business. He also continues to learn what people are looking for and how he can help them on their musical journey as physical media sees a revival, especially with vinyl records.

“It’s interesting because things have happened along the way that I had no idea that they were coming,” Wellborn said. “CDs and records pretty much died in 2004 for us due to several factors; downloads, iTunes, CD burners, things like that, but then again, in 2010, when people started coming back to the record store and asking about records, it blew me away. I had no idea, and I didn’t think that the fad would last a long time, and 16 years later, we’re still selling records, records are still growing, and people love them and just physical media in general. We’re back to buying new CDs and selling new CDs, so it really is a continuous learning process and one that I enjoy.”

Wellborn recalls that growing up, he was exposed to his parents' record collection, which included artists such as James Taylor, Janis Joplin and Neil Diamond. His uncle would also take him to the record store where he was exposed to the likes of Aerosmith and Rod Stewart. He also became an avid fan of Kiss.

In ninth grade, a friend of his received a tape of the Ramones from his uncle, who left the cassette in his truck. His friend, who didn't like the music, gave it to Wellborn, saying, "I think you're the only person that would probably like this."

Wellborn said, however, that he was often frustrated about how he couldn't purchase the underground music he kept reading and hearing about. He attended the University of Alabama in 1986, where there was a local record store called Vinyl Solution in Tuscaloosa that he said "blew his mind."

"I always say that I left college with a degree and a large credit card debt from Vinyl Solution," Wellborn said.

After college, Wellborn began a job with an electronics company in Pensacola, where he worked for five years. Wanting to work for himself, he moved back to Fairhope, and in 1996, Dr. Music was born.

"I wanted to move back to Fairhope and open a record store so that people would have access to the music that I thought was important and meant something and that's still my goal today," Wellborn said.

The store first started out on Greeno Road near Fairhope High School. After nine years, he moved to the heart of downtown Fairhope on S. Section Street, where he has been situated since.

With people dancing, singing and enjoying themselves late into the night on May 30, Wellborn said he was happy to expose people to six bands he has a passion for: Grayson Capps and his band, the Pine Hill Haints, Reconciler, Bankhead Boys, Rufus McBlack, and Marla and the Singers. Five of the six that performed on Saturday are from the Baldwin and Mobile areas.

Dr. Music also sells records and music from local artists, with Wellborn saying it is a big part of his business. Even one of his employees, Greta Fritz, is part of the local music scene, fronting her own band Greta Lugosi. Wellborn credited her as being a huge help in the store and helping them recognize people's music tastes.

Speaking about the local music scene, Wellborn said he believes that the area is on the cusp of something bigger.

“We need some infrastructure in certain areas, but we also need the venues and the patrons to understand that these bands need loyalty from their fans and people to come out and support the venues, the venues to pay the bands well (and) to treat the bands well because we have world class musicians here,” Wellborn said. “We have incredible bands, and I think that we’re on the cusp of really taking a giant step forward as far as recognition for our area.”