On the corner of Caldwell St. in Rock Hill, S.C., lies Ramble On Records, the city’s only standalone record store.
Originally located in the Hickory Post, an art gallery and boutique on Rock Hill’s East Main St., Ramble on Records moved to its permanent, standalone location in June 2025.
“We’ve been around for four years,” said Sara Simpson, owner of Ramble on Records, recounting her and her husband Jay Simpson’s time at the Hickory Post.
“We just started by renting a small space and seeing what would happen, and it grew from there to the point that we had three spaces in half of their basement, and then last year, space became available for rent, and we were able to jump on it.”
The duo has owned and operated the store ever since, breathing new life into Rock Hill’s record collecting community.
“There was a community for it, and we really wanted to provide for it,” Sara Simpson said.
“As record collectors, we kind of got sick of always having to drive to Charlotte, and there’s a lot of other people that felt the same way.”
Ramble on Records qualifies for Record Store Day, an annual event held on the third Saturday of April, and is the only store in the county to do so. Previously, collectors had to drive to one of Charlotte’s qualifying stores.
“You have to be standalone, you can’t be in a booth situation, and you just have to apply for it,” Simpson explained.
“We were lucky that we had some distributors that we work with that put in a good word for us as well, but we were able to start last year. Black Friday was the first Record Store Day that we did, and then the big one in April this year we were able to participate.”
Record Store Day is not the only way Ramble On Records gives back to Rock Hill, as the store doubles as an art gallery for local artists.
“We really wanted to provide a space to maybe show artists that aren’t being shown in other places, or maybe not just able to get their foot in the door, and there’s been a huge response for it,” Simpson said.
Ramble On Records hosted around seven shows last year, and they typically run for four or five weeks. Galleries for next year are already being booked, Simpson added.
Currently, the store is wrapping up “Red Dirt,” an exhibit by local artist Connar Gray. Going forward, an exhibit dubbed “Star’s Psychedelic Garden” by Charlotte-based artist Star Council is soon to be unveiled.
For those interested in the galleries, Ramble On Records posts details on their official Instagram: @rambleonrecords_sc.
“It’s the people for sure,” Sara Simpson said when considering the best part of the job.
“People come in and are in good moods and want to talk music and art; it’s just the community.”
Ramble On Records is located at 111 Caldwell Street #103 in Rock Hill.
