This Friday, February 21, the South Carolina Stingrays are set to make history as they host the first-ever Vinyl Night in minor league sports. The team will take on the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at 7:05 pm, and fans in attendance will have the opportunity to celebrate both hockey and music in a truly unique way.
The first 1,000 fans through the doors will receive a limited-edition Stingrays vinyl featuring music from two Charleston-based bands, Dangermuffin and Majic Dust. Each vinyl, pressed locally by Monostereo, will include the songs "We Push Mountains" by Dangermuffin and "Ride" by Majic Dust. In addition to the giveaway, local record stores—Record Stop, Monster Music, and Gray Cat Music—have joined in to help promote the event.
The idea for Vinyl Night was sparked by Stingrays Vice President of Ticket Sales, Sam Bays, who was inspired by a similar event held by the Atlanta Braves last season. Bays saw an opportunity to bring this unique experience to minor league sports, making the Stingrays pioneers in this space.
"Music has the power to unite communities, and our Vinyl Night is an excellent platform to showcase talented local bands while simultaneously involving small, independently owned record stores," said Bays. "Moreover, we're thrilled to offer our fans a unique and special giveaway that I haven't seen in minor league sports before."
For the musicians involved, the Stingrays Vinyl Night represents an exciting opportunity to reach new audiences. Dangermuffin's drummer, Steven Sandifer, expressed his enthusiasm about the collaboration:
"It's incredible for us. We've been doing our thing around Charleston for a long time. Our band was born on Folly Beach, and we still call ourselves a Charleston band. Even though we've been in the music scene for a decade-plus, there are still so many people we haven't met and who haven't been exposed to our music. With the way the music industry is these days, there's just so much out there for people to choose from, so to be included in something like this, where we can reach people that might not be in our everyday circle and give them a little taste of our music, is awesome. Hopefully, some people will become fans, like the music, and come to see us and hang out with us sometime."
Majic Dust guitarist JR Spencer, who has a personal connection to hockey, shared his excitement about being part of Vinyl Night:
"I'm super excited for Vinyl Night. I grew up a Washington Capitals fan, so the fact that the Stingrays are a feeder team for my NHL team makes this that much more exciting. I grew up playing youth hockey at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, and I used to go to Washington Capitals games when I was a kid. I love coming to Stingrays games a ton, and when we were approached about this whole thing, this was something that I was incredibly excited to be a part of."
He also highlighted the significance of the Stingrays using their platform to promote local bands and record stores.
"I think it's really cool that the Stingrays, as an organization, with the platform that they have available to them, are putting an emphasis on the local record stores. We're huge fans of vinyl as a way of sharing music and think that it's the best way to listen to it. We love that the Stingrays organization is making an effort to support the local record stores that we have here, and we're honored to be a part of the whole night."
With music and hockey coming together for a one-of-a-kind experience, Vinyl Night promises to be a memorable evening for fans, musicians, and the local music community alike. Doors will open at 6:05, and the puck will drop at 7:05 pm. Fans can get tickets to Vinyl Night here.
Click here to purchase tickets for any Stingrays home game this season.