Record Store in Watertown Square Has Drawn a Crowd in Its First Year

Calling all vinyl lovers, if you haven’t heard yet, Watertown is now home to a record store! Wanna Hear It Records opened during the COVID-19 pandemic in early December and has been operating a successful business ever since. 

Located right in Watertown Square at 7 Main St., Wanna Hear It sells records for a variety of interests. Many Watertown residents noticed a line around the block to get into the store on a few occasions throughout the summer, sparking curiosity about the new shop.

Owner Joey Cahill described the store’s inventory as, “A mix of everything,” saying “our main focus is Indie Rock, Punk, Hardcore, Emo, some Top 40, hip hop [and] metal.” The shop also does record trading and has “about half and half new and used [records]”. Aside from vinyl, the store carries merchandise ranging from canvas bags to enamel pins to coffee grounds. 

While Wanna Hear It is an independent store, Cahill also owns a record label and second record store in Richmond, Va., which share the name 6131 Records.

Despite the competition record stores face against digital music, this didn’t deter Cahill.

“It’s honestly been a dream of mine for 20 years,” said Cahill. “The favorite job of mine was when I worked in a record store in college. I had a vision in mind of what I wanted to cater to and sell, [and] the space is small enough that we could curate, [so] I got my wife on board and here we are.”

In terms of why Cahill and his wife Nicole DeTore chose Watertown, Cahill had only good things to say about his new home. 

“When we moved from California we rented a house in Watertown. It just felt like the right place,” Cahill said. “My heart was always set on Watertown. I love it, it’s a cool place.” He also added that even during the pandemic, “the local community has been great … people have been very supportive.”

The events over the summer that had a line around the block to get into Wanna Hear It were special days — Wanna Hear It: Record Store Days. Record Store Day is a national event that focuses on bringing business to independent record stores and away from huge corporations like Amazon. Record Store Day is usually on Black Friday and one Saturday in April but due to the pandemic was pushed to a few different dates throughout the summer. Aside from bringing business to record stores country-wide, these Record Store Days were a great way for Wanna Hear It to let Watertown residents know they’re here and have records for a wide variety of music lovers.

In terms of future plans for his shop, Cahill said “it would be great to expand.” However, since the store is still fairly new, for now they are just sticking to pop-ups and intend to “keep growing the name as much as possible.”

Wanna Hear It Records is open Thursday through Saturday from noon to 7 p.m., Sundays from noon to 6 p.m., and for appointment only Monday through Wednesday.