Dusty Groove Records, black music in the heart of Chicago

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If you are Black Music lovers or, in general, talking about soul, blues or jazz, you shouldn’t miss DustyGroove.

photo by Parmiggiani

And if, talking about “black”, you’ve a fixation for vinyl, in this case you must go there! Dusty Groove America is a “thematic” record shop located in the heart of the city where electric blues was born, during the 50’s: Chicago!

Chicago

ph Gloria Annovi

Still today, the main city of Illinois is considered the “sweet home” of the music that we prefer: the blues! Shop’s address is Ashland Avenue 1120 N, in an apparently ispanish borough, easily reachable from the Loop (centre of the city) by subway (Division Station, blue line) or taxi) (10 minutes).

Map

It’s like an Eldorado for soul and black music maniacs : lots of special edition cds, vinyl re-prints and rarities (cds and lps), here you can find many out of print titles, in rare editions and second-hand of excellent quality (and prices!)

The shop, which is quite large, is located in an old building, maybe an ex-industrial factory, a good restructuring, on the ground floor.

ph Dusty Groove

Really comfortable, is equipped with points for listeners (cd players, tuntables and headphones are available), is conducted by a young staff of people which are, musically, really learned and competent. We think they are also the owners of Dusty Groove, they keep the shop open and have a personal dialogue with their clients, which, in general, are really learned and exacting.

Ph Dusty Groove

Very hospitable and kind they will guide you through the various “thematic areas” of the shop which is furnished in a simple and elegant way, with wodden floor and red bricks walls. Open everyday, from 10 am to 8 pm, it offers you a wide choice of records, opened to different musical tastes even the more heterogeneous: Hip Hop, Brazil, Ethnic music…is crazy how many classics and rarities, old time lovers and neophyte (of course) can find here, watching their musical culture growing more and more, with wider musical horizons in front of them, often with unusual musical suggestions. If you live outside Chicago or the USA, personally we can tell you that we knew DustyGroove by their marvellous web site www.dustygroove.com. It’s really great visiting their virtual shop where, with brief but exhaustive reviews and the previews of all the record covers available (vinylistics will go crazy!!), you will stimulate your musical interest and the discovery of new records and artists. Talking about prices, here there’s something for everybody, but in general they are quite low, on secondhand you’ll find great deals (less than one dollar in some cases) for sure .

Market, ph Dusty Groove

About that we report that, during the sun season, the shop organizes flea markets outside the bulding: here you can find vinyls at less than 5 dollars! Very interesting is the section about DustyGroove brand and label: t-shirts, pins and bags, Djs equipment with turntables and kit for records polishing, also coffee bags with DustyGroove logo!!

Mariachi, ph Gloria Annovi

If you are planning a visit to Chicago, you can’t miss DustyGroove which, moreover, is quite close to a nice Mexican restaurant (one of the best in Chicago): El Barco Mariscos, 1035 N Ashland Ave.

In this case, to find it, follow the music of the mariachi band!

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Dusty Groove