Feb
20
Closing Shop: Glen Burnie Record & Tape Traders and Friends in Fells Point
This is a melancholy week for Baltimore-area music fans, as two important sites are about to become memories: the Glen Burnie Record & Tape Traders location and Friends bar in Fells Point. Record & Tape Traders, as the name indicates, has been an important independent music retailer in Maryland for decades. A few years ago they closed down several store locations in Annapolis, Rehobeth, Dundalk, and elsewhere. After Sunday’s in-store wake, their only remaining store will be in Towson.
February also marks the final month for Friends in Fells. Although not a live music venue, Friends has served as an important meeting place where Baltimore musicians have worked as deejays and bartenders while others have been regular customers, talking shop over beers. Known for its late-night happy hour, Friends has made a great night-ender for folks who have spent their evening elsewhere, including live shows. I’ll be saying goodbye on Wednesday the 24th, when DJ King Gilbert Partridge will host his final “No Rest For The Wicked” garage, etc., set while Matt Naas of The Expotentials pours drinks for one last time. If you hear about the theft of Friends’ jukebox, loaded with the most amazing library of rock CDs imaginable, I will have had nothing to do with it.