BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – Attention to all the music enthusiasts in the area – yes, there indeed is a living, breathing music store in downtown Bellows Falls called Bellows Beats, located in the former longtime barber shop space and next to Clutter’s Last Stand, at 2 The Square.
Bellows Beats is owned and operated by Lindsay Wilson, a local artist and lifelong music enthusiast whose dream business has always been to combine her creativity with love of music in opening her own music shop.
“I’m originally from a small town in central Massachusetts, and for a couple years [early 2000s], I worked in a record store, and it was as much fun as it looks,” Wilson said in a recent interview. “That’s how I got my introduction [to music stores] and how I first realized that this, along with my art, is what I really wanted to do.”
After attending art school at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Georgia, Wilson discovered that she missed the Northeast region (“and its four seasons”) and eventually settled in Grafton. Then, after buying a friend’s extensive album collection helped spark the possibilities, the dream of opening a music shop eventually became a reality.
However, shortly after opening Bellows Beats with a “very soft opening” in the summer of 2023, Wilson had to take a leave of absence to help with a family health issue, and was in Florida for an extended period of time. Upon her return to the area, she resumed her plan, and now, with the help of her husband Jim, the store hours are starting to ramp up, and Wilson is excited about the possibilities of the storefront moving forward.
“Bellows Beats is unique in that it is part music store, part music collection,” Wilson said. “I have been collecting various forms of music and music memorabilia since my very first concerts in the fourth and sixth grades, and I will always want to have random and unusual items available in the shop. We have also graded and put several hundred album titles out on the floor, and we are adding more every week.”
Since Bellows Beats hosted another soft opening several months ago, Lindsay and Jim have been very busy expanding the inventory, and making more album titles available. They have also created a website, which will soon feature an inventory listing and a search function to make it easier to search out specific genres and titles in the store.
“We also have hundreds of gently used cassettes and CDs, eight-track tapes, shirts, concert posters, and vintage buttons and stickers. I would like to become a part of WOOL radio to promote local shows and music in the area,” Wilson concluded. “I want to help promote local bands by carrying their music and merch in my store as well. I signed up for all this because I want to make others happy by sharing the gift of music. I’ve always taken pride in my ability to help people not only find the music they’re looking for, but hopefully help turn them on to something new as well.
“I’m proud to find a positive in everything, and I just want to see smiles again. Bellows Beats is for all of us, a way to connect and bring the community together.”
Although the store hours are yet to be solidified, Wilson is usually in the store on Thursdays, Fridays, and varying weekends, and is happy to set up appointments in advance to meet patrons at the store. She can be contacted by email at goteamlj@gmail.com, or visit the Bellows Beats website at www.bellowsbeats.com.