Since opening in October 2022, Wyrd Byrd has grown from just a record store to a community space dedicated to uplifting music lovers.
Wyrd Byrd is an independently owned record store in Downtown Ypsilanti. The store, located at 9 S. Washington St., is open 12 to 4 p.m. Sundays, closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and open from 12 to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
“I always wanted to have a record store. It’s just something, for some reason, since I was a kid, I always wanted to do. As I got a little older I got more into books, role-playing games, that sort of thing. So the idea kind of turned into all of these things. I get sort of obsessed about a lot of different things,” said store owner Shawn Gates.
Wyrd Byrd sells a variety of new and used products, including vinyl records, CDs, movies, books, zines, pins, store-themed T-shirts and tote bags and other products.
The store hosts a variety of music-centered events. Most events are free to attend while some have a small fee at the door. All paid events offer pay-what-you-can pricing to allow everyone to be able to attend regardless of their financial situation.
Events include monthly open mic nights, monthly movie nights, live music from local artists every Saturday and comedy shows. Many of the events can be found listed on their website's events page, and all events are listed on the sign outside of the store and on the shop's Instagram: @wyrd.byrd.ypsi.
Starting in 2023, along with their other events, Wyrd Byrd created and hosts Ypsilanti's Freak Fest every October. Freak Fest is a three-day event in which musicians perform and vendors are set up along the street, at Riverside park and at various other venues around town. Freak Fest is free to attend outside, but some venues may charge an entry fee to see the live music, meant to pay the performers, Gates said.
“I try to be a hub for at least musicians, if not other artists. I try to plan events with people so that they're already invested, people in the community, and they've got more friends coming in. Then you get people that come in from the community that don't necessarily know [each other]. They just happen to walk by and come in, and you see these relationships happen,” Gates said. “I think by doing that, I am fostering community, or at least I intend to, just local musicians and artists, poets, sometimes writers, all meeting each other and sharing their craft, and honing in and making it even better.”
