The Rock and Roll Yard Sale, curated by What Cheer?, took place last Sunday in Union Square Plaza.

By Jordan Pagkalinawan

On Sunday, September 14, residents trekked to Union Square Plaza to check out the Somerville Rock and Roll Yard Sale, a longstanding market offering a variety of vintage goods.

Couples, families, and young adults perused the lines of tents that featured clothes, mugs, signs, and vinyl records, pulling out cash or scanning Venmo QR codes to support local businesses. Some made small talk with store owners, eager to learn more about their products or inquire about a specific book or record.

Founded by Christopher and Jennifer Daltry of What Cheer Records and Vintage, the event originated over two decades ago in Rhode Island.

“We started this in Providence in 2003,” Christopher Daltry said. “At one point, pretty soon after, a friend of ours, Dave Sakowski, was mutual friends with people who run the Somerville Arts Council. And they were starting the ArtsUnion program, which was bringing markets like this to Union Square.”

Daltry explained that ArtsUnion offered a stipend for the yard sale, which decreased every year, with the goal of creating a self-sufficient marketplace.

“We sort of replicated what we were doing in Providence, but this automatically had a different feel because of the different population and community,” he added. “And it still does because of the way this city has changed over time.”

Daltry believes one of the yard sale’s most unique features is that it combines aspects of other markets into one event.

“There are record sales, vintage sales, and the maker markets. We just decided at one point, why not combine them all into one?” he said. “And that gives everyone something to dig through. People come as a couple, and one might like records and the other might like vintage clothes or something homemade.”

He also emphasized the “incredible” support from the Somerville Arts Council and the presence of the Boston music community.

“WMBR, our host DJs, they bring their own flavor of weirdness,” Daltry added. “I think today, for hours on end, they’ve been playing different versions of the same Beatles song, Norwegian Wood. So for hours on end, you’ll hear and you’ll see things maybe you won’t elsewhere.”

Over the course of the decades-long journey, one of the most rewarding aspects for Daltry is the community the yard sale has fostered.

“I was just talking with someone, he was saying that for the past eight years, he’s come and it’s something he looks forward to every year,” he said. “Doing this for two decades, the vendors are different in some cases. Some are the same people who have been doing it all along. So, we have friendships that come and sell and buy here, and again, also with the Arts Council. It’s a cool way of pulling people together.”

Among the Rock and Roll Yard Sale’s longtime vendors was Eric Bouvier of MyBuzz Records, who has sold at the event for five years, and also highlighted the camaraderie among sellers and the “communal” aspect of the event.

Bouvier believes the Rock and Roll Yard Sale is important for the arts, particularly in divisive times.

“It doesn’t matter what you believe in, you come here [and] everyone’s buying records, everyone loves music,” he said. “It really does unite people, and we really need that these days. We love it, and we love our customers. It’s been a great experience for us.”

First-time vendors also felt that connection, including Kyle Kegerreis, who sold books, CDs, and DVDs he collected over the course of 25 years.

“I used to travel a lot for work,” Kegerreis explained, “and I would always hit up used bookstores and just buy books that I thought were cool and wanted to have. And now, I’ve got so many, I’m just passing them on [and] trying to sell some.”

Kegerreis echoed the importance of the Rock and Roll Yard Sale, particularly the in-person connection in an age of online shopping.

“It’s a more personal experience than just buying things on eBay and Amazon, which is obviously where a lot of bookselling has gone,” he said. “Human contact, right? It’s a nice thing. I think it’s really cool.”

Though Daltry says he and Jennifer “sort of have the formula down,” they hope to keep up with the times and promote future markets through social media to draw new faces to the yard sale. Daltry described the current promotional practices as “old school” and “very grassroots,” noting how he and his wife use a staple gun, posters, and postcards to advertise the event.

“We’re from Rhode Island, but we’ve learned the different neighborhoods and whatnot, but we need to continue to bring new faces here, new generations of people,” he added. “Otherwise, we have a great relationship with the Arts Council and the city.”

“And so as long as people want to come, we want to keep doing it every year.”