IT SEEMS THAT “vinyl culture” has made a comeback among Millennials and Gen Zs — sales of turntables are up and people are flocking to listening bars. Lolo Reskin, founder and owner of Sweat Records in Little Haiti, told us that what shaped her love of music from a very young age was her classical, musically trained family and the Hot Wheels Roller Rink in Kendall next to her house. Her father and grandmother were musicians, her grandfather had a record store in South Florida in 1961, and her great uncle was a 1950’s radio DJ who coined the phrase “rock and roll”. Reskin got her first job at Virgin Records at 16 years old and spent the next 6 years DJing at clubs, working in college radio, promoting club nights, and booking shows. She saw that Miami was ready for an indie record store, and she was going to bring it one.
In 2005 she opened Sweat Records in Edgewater, but Hurricane Wilma had other plans – and destroyed the store. Lolo’s community stepped in. Churchills Pub – a Miami classic and storied institution which unfortunately had to close its doors during Covid– offered to store all of her inventory and equipment until she got back on her feet and found a new space. That same year, she reopened Sweat Records in its current location in Little Haiti and has had a cult following ever since. Walking through the doors, you instantly feel cooler. There are aisles of meticulously organized new and used vinyl of all genres and more vinyl lining shelves on the aqua walls. There is a DJ corner for events, awesome merchandise, and a vinyl listening station. The place is awesome.
In our opinion, one of the greatest things to hit Miami during this “vinyl culture” movement is Dante’s Hifi. This place is the definition of cool. It is Miami’s first all vinyl listening bar. As you walk up the block, you hear and feel the music, there is an energy that gets more intense and draws you in. You walk into a groovy lit space with velvet curtain walls and DJs taking turns spinning songs from an amazing record collection and spectacular sound system. One cannot help but get up and move while sipping a cocktail and enjoying the hip intimate crowd in this chill speakeasy lounge that has become a hot spot. Reservations are recommended.
Photos: Courtesy of Lolo Reskin / Sweat Records.
Click on the video to watch Lolo’s entire interview and hear about Miami’s indie vinyl record scene and her recommendations of live music venues.
