On April 22, T-Bones will celebrate its 15th year of existence with exclusive releases and discounts across the store and live in-store performances from DJ Todd Tomorrow, Cary Hudson, Della Memoria, Thomas Jackson and The Squid and the Whale.
T-Bones’ anniversary coincides with the tenth anniversary of Record Store Day this year and promises to be “bigger and better than ever” according to the café’s Facebook page.
“We hope that all of these performances, products and exclusives make this Record Store Day fantastic for all who come to the store. There’s great sandwiches, crisp salads and delightful housemade desserts on sale as well. T-Bones is is proud to celebrate 15 years of business here in Hattiesburg,” said store owner Mik Davis.
Record Store Day was conceived as a national day for record enthusiasts in 2007 at a meeting of independent record store owners and employees, according to the Record Store Day website. The idea behind Records Store Day was to for people to be able to come together and celebrate the unique culture surrounding nearly 1400 independently owned record stores in the US and thousands of similar stores internationally.
All Record Store Day releases are limited edition and are only available on the day of the event but the T-Bones website gives a list of the albums that will be available for purchase.
In 2002, Harry Crumpler III, the owner of T-Bones, decided to turn his love of music into a store that will celebrate its fifteenth anniversary this year.
T-Bones Records & Café began as simply a records store brought to life by Crumpler, a Petal native.
“I actually came here to work in 1999 for the original owner, and after working here for a few years,he wanted to move,” said Crumpler in an interview with WDAM in 2015.
“So, he offered me the business, my mother and father were supportive of that, and on April 1, 2002, we took over the business.”
Since then, T-Bones has become a staple in Hattiesburg and has expanded to include coffee, food and books. However, the unique music that T-Bones offers remains a staple to the café and continues to serve as a main attraction, especially on Records Store Day which is the busiest day of the year, according to Davis.
“We make this business something personal. In every business, customers have a variety of needs and most customers shop for what they need and then leave. We like to take the necessary time to serve the customers, get to know the customers and introduce new items and ideas to their growing list of needs. We hope that by the time a customer leaves T-Bones, they are already thinking about coming back again,” said Davis.
The store also features live in- store performances by local artists. Among the acts that have appeared at T-Bones in the past are Dawes, Lone Bellow and Heartless Bastards.
T-Bones will have a limited stock of 40th Anniversary Star Wars edition turntables available on the upcoming Records Store Day on April 22. Slowboat Brewing Company will also be at the store on the same day.
