The Edenton-Chamber of Commerce recently recognized a 10-year tradition of music and pleasant company by presenting an award to Eddie and Melissa Fields for their work promoting local tourism.
The award, presented at the annual Chamber banquet last month, recognized the Fields’ work establishing Vinyl Night at the Edenton Bay Trading Company owned by Malcolm and Debbie King.
The Fields’ weekly platter-spinning parties have attracted locals and tourists alike, many packing the little courtyard behind the Kings' wine and beer shop to listen to the Fields play old record albums and 45 rpm singles.
Vinyl Nights have brought a steady stream of guests to the Kings' shop, and the weekly record-listening sessions have become a town fixture.
“We started with a box of records and a suitcase turntable on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. And then it just slowly developed, and more people started coming,” Eddie Fields said.
Soon the Kings suggested the Fields try holding Vinyl Night on Saturday nights. The Fields were skeptical that their program could compete with other weekend activities, but they found they attracted even more business.
In the summer, they set up fans. In the fall, they installed tables with built-in fire pits, and Vinyl Night continued to grow.
Eddie pointed to the tables, which were already filling up in advance of the 7 p.m. start time.
“It’s really a communal space, and there’s no strangers out there. If you sit down, then somebody’s going to sit down with you, and you’re going to make a new best friend,” Melissa Field said.
It didn’t long for Vinyl Night to develop a following. Melissa said about half the crowds are locals who come out regularly. The other half are tourists who heard about the record jam sessions during their visits to local shops, restaurants, and even the town’s trolley drivers.
“There’s just a variety of people. You might see a 20-year-old hanging out with an 80-something,” Melissa said. “We had a lady who came here up until her 99th birthday when she passed away.”
Vinyl Night has grown its own set of traditions. Some folks bring “instruments” like old guitars and plastic pianos for karaoke sessions. Every night the Fields play Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” while a volunteer “plays” a toy piano and the everyone sings along to the record.
The climax comes at 9 p.m. when Eddie and Melissa play “The Time of My Life” by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warner, re-enacting the famous dance duet from “Dirty Dancing,” complete with a lift right there on the brick courtyard floor. Patrons love it, and many bring scoring paddles to vote on the quality of the evening’s dance.
‘It’s something like you do in your parents’ basement growing up,” Melissa said. “We have country music at 7:30 (p.m.), 80s make-out songs at 8 (p.m.), and dirty dancing at 9 (p.m.),” Melissa said.
The Chamber’s Tourism Award was a surprise, but the couple said the gesture was appreciated.
“It was just an honor to be recognized for the hard work that we put into it,” Eddie said.
The success of Vinyl Night has spawned Trivia Nights at the Edenton Bay Trading Company on Wednesdays, along with occasional music bingo nights.
“It’s our ‘Cheers,’ you know?” Melissa said, referring to NBC’s long-running comedy in the 1980s and early 1990s. “So many people come from different places, different age groups, different genres of music, and we meet each other right here.”
Correction: Because of editing errors, a previous version of this story and its photo captions incorrectly referred in numerous instances to Eddie and Melissa Fields as the owners of the Edenton Bay Trading Company. The wine and beer shop is owned by Malcolm and Debbie King; the Fields just host the record-spinning Vinyl Night program at the business on Saturday nights. Also, the previous version of the story incorrectly referred to the award the Fields received from the Edenton-Chowan Chamber of Commerce as a volunteerism award. They received a Tourism Award from the Chamber.
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