about us

Music is The Way

I grew up here in Murray, Kentucky, and I’ve pretty much lived here my whole life. Sure, I’ve been lucky enough to travel and see the world, but this place? This is home. The community here, the people-they’re who built it, and really, they’re the heartbeat of it. I love it.

When I was 7 or 8, I started doing theater—musicals, mostly. In no time, I knew what my life had to be about. Music. Performing. Feeling something meaningful and sharing it. That same energy carried me from strumming a guitar alone in my room to looking around a garage, surrounded by friends, playing songs that meant something to us. We were kids, and we were loud. And I loved every minute of it. That’s where music got tangled up with DIY in my heart. Playing corners of Mexican restaurants and living rooms? Building something with your friends and strangers? It all made sense in a way nothing else ever did. It still does.

Fast forward a bit: I’ve spent most of my adult life making music with my closest friends and organizing DIY shows. I’ve met some of the best people on the planet through this. And now, thanks to this wild ride, I'm living the ultimate dream I’ve had since I was a kid: owning and operating a record store. Wits’ End wouldn’t exist without my fiancé and a gaggle of lifelong friends who’ve been with me through thick and thin. Making this happen with them has been a real deal dream come true.

Dreaming It Up, Building It Out

Wits’ End has always been this glow-in-the-distance kind of idea. Something I've carried in the back of my mind for years. Something I wasn’t sure would ever happen. But here’s the thing: little glows start getting a lot brighter when you decide to chase them down.

We made the call to do this, really do this, at the end of 2023. Within just a couple of weeks, we’d locked in a space, thanks to someone who has been like a mother to me my whole life. From there, it was all systems go. We rolled up our sleeves and dove in. Renovation. New floors. Building a stage. Painting. Painting again. (And again.) Gathering inventory. All the curveballs that come with trying to bring a record store to life? We caught them with everything we had.

We officially opened Halloween weekend in 2024, and damn, what a way to kick things off. It’s been nonstop ever since—a whirlwind, really. But a beautiful one.

Just Record Store? Nah.

Wits’ End is, first and foremost, a record store. But it’s so much more than that. It’s a community gathering zone. It’s an art gallery. It’s a venue where local, regional, and touring bands share the stage every week. It’s a space where anything feels possible.

We knew from the start we needed to build a vibe that spoke to everyone, whether you’re a seasoned collector, a casual buyer, someone just discovering vinyl, or someone peeking in for the first time. Variety has always been the goal: a little of this, a little of that, and a whole lot of care in curating it.

On our soft opening night, we used cardboard boxes on tables to get the vinyl out there.  The shelves were simply stocked with records from my personal collection and from Tim Johns (our business partner and other Tim). Not long after, we lined up a distributor, and a few months later, we started buying and trading directly with the community. It’s been amazing ever since. Every time I travel, I make it a point to sniff out records. (Once you’re hooked, you’re hooked.) And we’ve built a shop that sells everything- modern pop, punk, jazz, Brazilian music, funk, ambient, indie, country, classical. The bins are stocked with some of the strangest, and weirdest and coolest records you can find. Bargain bins have been flying off the floor. We also always have the latest Taylor Swift records for our Swifties and stay stocked with new releases. We’ve got something for everyone. That’s the mission.

Inspired by Legends

When I think about what helped shape this place, I can’t help but look back on the record stores that’ve inspired me. Shops like Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis. I walked in there as a kid, and my brain broke in the best way. Or Grimey’s in Nashville—that’s a legendary institution that helped define what great record stores look and feel like. Feel It Records in Cincinnati. Seasick Records in Birmingham. Benton Vinyl up the road from us, and Bricolage Art Collective in Paducah. Walking into these shops, my shoulders fall. My mind clears. It’s a feeling we wanted to recreate here, taking those pieces of inspiration and pouring them into Wits’ End.

 

Taken from SofaBurn Records Interview

For full article- Check out SofaBurn's Record Store Spotlight: Wits’ End Records, Murray, KY