VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — “Music brings people together, and people love to talk about music, said Barry Friedman, owner of Birdland Music in Virginia Beach.
“The records you’re listening to, the CDs you're listening to, the concerts you went to — it’s a big connector.”
Friedman’s dad opened Birdland Music store in 1969.
“He calls it the bar. I call it the barbershop. That’s my chair over there. People just come in and hang," said customer Mark Robbins.
Robbins has been shopping at Birdland Music for more than 40 years.
“He’s got everything I didn’t know I wanted — laughter.”
Another longtime customer is WHRV jazz host Jack Frieden.
“What makes Birdland so special? I can sum that up in one word: Barry. The way he interacts with customers, the way he understands what customers like and turns them on to music they may have never heard elsewhere," said Frieden.
When vinyl made a comeback, Birdland was there.
“Why do you think analog came back? I think initially it's nostalgia — it's collectible,” said Friedman.
“It's a different experience: the idea of sitting down, putting it on the turntable, cleaning it, listening to the record, reading the liner notes, getting up and flipping it over — you're listening; you're in the moment," said Friedman.
He tells me the new trend is CDs — compact discs.
“We’re seeing younger people come in, and they have their parents’ old car that has a CD player in it," said Birdland's energetic owner.
Barry says he has one of the largest selections of CDs in Virginia.
Changing with the times but still all about music and community. Barry Friedman and Birdland Music are 'Positively Hampton Roads.'
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