Overview

• Streetlight Records marks its 50th anniversary this month, celebrating five decades as an independent music hub in downtown Santa Cruz.
• Longtime staff and regulars describe the store as a community gathering space where music lovers meet in person to share tastes and debate new sounds.
• Employees say a strong family-like bond underpins the workplace, with colleagues supporting each other through celebrations and hardships.
• The store has fostered local culture through in-store movie nights, bulletin board fliers that launched bands and even hosting a wedding on its floor.
• Despite the dominance of digital streaming, vinyl, CD and cassette sales have climbed in recent years, helping Streetlight thrive in a physical media revival.