Best Record Store: Cactus Music

Cactus Music has long been the sort of shopping destination record buyers from anywhere would eagerly scratch onto their Houston to-do list. It’s known and loved for stacking its racks with vinyl, cassette tapes, CDs – whichever the popular medium of the time over its long history. One thing it’s done well over recent years, including pre-pandemic ones, is connect its patrons to live music events.

10-18Before you-know-what happened, the city’s oldest independent music store frequently held popular in-store shows, afternoon concerts boasting local and touring acts, with free beer to boot. Those shows came to a halt during COVID times and have been slow to return, but Cactus is still urging its faithful record buyers to take in live shows with frequent concert ticket giveaways.

The free show contests are pretty simple to enter (follow the store on Instagram, like a post and tag a friend are the usual rules) and send lucky followers to White Oak Music Hall, House of Blues, Toyota Center, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion and other venues for shows featuring acts like Panic! At The Disco, Megadeth, Swedish House Mafia, Jack Johnson and Three 6 Mafia. It’s been important to area venues to have audiences return to their spaces and like a true music industry veteran Cactus Music has taken a key role in helping the local live music scene return to some sense of normalcy.

2110 Portsmouth
713-526-9272
cactusmusictx.com