When visiting the famous Woodstock Square, one cannot help but notice the strong sense of community that is found along its old brick road. With most of the businesses being locally owned, it is a testament against an ever-expanding corporate world that is seeing the disappearance of local mom and pop shops. While nearly every store on the square is involved in local events and celebrations, one store is making it their mission to build and support the community through the sharing of art and music.

Located inside the newly renovated Old Courthouse, The Records Department is more than just a record shop, in fact, the records sold there are just the ground floor for an expanding community of music lovers. Although physical vinyl takes up a majority of the admittedly small space that makes up the store, there is a multitude of other media available. There is art from local artists available for purchase, various stickers and pins, turntables, maintenance supplies, cleaning services for vinyl, and “a shoulder to cry on should you need it” as stated on the store’s website. The Record’s Department does more than just sell you things, however, offering a space where all types of people are welcome to hang out to listen to whatever record is spinning  in the store that particular day, or to just chat about music, or even just life in general.

The Records Department opened its doors in the fall of 2023, alongside the reopening of the Old Woodstock Courthouse, as the passion project of married couple Michael and Kelly Stacco, both music lovers.

Michael explained what led up to the opening of the record store: “I think any music enthusiast or record collector has a day job and whenever they’re having a bad day they’re just like, ‘I’m gonna open up a record shop and not have to deal with any of this,’ and that’s what we did.”

However, the store ended up evolving very quickly into something much more than just a vinyl shop.

“We want it to have a local focus,” Michael said.  “We want it to be a hub for a local music scene.”

It is clear that the goal of this business is to provide a space for local musicians to showcase their art and the various events hosted at The Records Department are a great example of this. Whether it’s art and photography showcases, poetry, or the monthly student open-mic night (the second Thursday), there are a multitude of events for local creative people to come together and share what they have made. Besides open mic night, the store also puts on live shows for touring musicians, usually acoustic.

Within the first year of opening, they have hosted several shows, mostly local acts, including Chicagoland legend, Brendan Kelly of The Lawrence Arms. The Records Department is also heavily dedicated to harm-reduction and trauma support, with free Narcan and testing strips available for anyone who wants them.

In February, the store collaborated with McHenry County domestic violence agency Turning Point Domestic Violence Services to put on an artist reception with art sales and live music. All money that was spent on art went directly to supporting the services of Turning Point.

Some upcoming events at the store include an “art. words. music.” night that includes an art showcase, poetry reading, and live music, on April 6. On April 20th, to celebrate Record Store Day, the store is putting on a show with a lineup of artists, with the goal to receive the store’s very first noise complaint. The shop plans to host many more events throughout the year, so check in on their social media pages or website for updates.

The Records Department has nothing but time to grow and continue to build their sense of community. Co-owner Michael describes the store as an “incubator,” just the start of something bigger, and he wants to get as many people involved as possible while they are still located in the Old Courthouse. A larger store space in Woodstock for live events and more forms of physical music media is something they hope to see in the coming years. The Records Department has plans to stay on the Woodstock Square, as of nowbut the mission of building a local community of musicians and artists will always remain no matter where the store ends up.