Vinyl collectors accustomed to dusty, sweaty crate digging are in for a surprise at Pharr Out Records. A cheery interior mural featuring citrus trees, monarch butterflies, and a music-loving giant named Melódico greets visitors and hints at a different experience. Opened last year in Pharr’s historic downtown, in the Rio Grande Valley, Pharr Out is already a destination for a variety of genres and eras.
The owners—married couples Isaac and Jade Herrera and Zach and Rebecca Myers—provide an interactive record store experience. They’re as happy to engage aficionados in esoteric conversations about underrated musicians and regional labels as they are introducing neophytes to the influential regional Mexican American music they specialize in.
“Folks who are just starting out—or if you’re a collector who’s not extremely savvy in Tejano music—they really benefit from having somebody who can tell them, ‘If you like this band, you’ll like this,’” says David Flores, a customer from Raymondville, 45 minutes away.
Enjoying this article?First pressings of Nirvana’s Nevermind and the dub classic Super Ape by Lee “Scratch” Perry were recently displayed alongside a little-known funk album from Valley hero Freddy Fender when he spelled his name differently, El Nuevo Freddie Fender Con Sus Nuevas Creaciones. A staff picks display included albums by acts like Tortilla Factory, a jazzy Tejano band, and Las Potranquitas del Norte, an early all-female norteño group.
“The Rio Grande Valley is one of the unknown music capitals in the world,” Isaac Herrera says. “Once you start digging, you start finding gem after gem.”
203 S. Cage Blvd., Suite A, Pharr. 956-223-4716.
