Sweat Records , an independent music store, has endured as one of Miami’s musical institutions that not only carries a diverse lineup of vinyl for purchase but also props up the city’s arts and music scene through its various events.

On Saturday, the store celebrates 20 years in business.

Lolo Reskin, owner and co-founder of Sweat Records, came up with the idea following a visit to Portland, Oregon. The first record store she encountered on that trip had a pamphlet detailing all the other record stores in the area.

She couldn’t believe they had so many stores that they needed a pamphlet to list them all.

Reskin saw an opportunity in Miami.

“ Miami didn't really have much in the way of independent stores, and that was before social media,” she said. “Everything was spread out, it was hard to find out about things, and it just sort of sparked the idea that Miami should have this for the kids growing up here.”

The store is located in Little Haiti, but it originally opened in Miami’s Edgewater community in 2005. Reskin opened it alongside her best friend, Sara Yousuf.

But after Hurricane Wilma destroyed that building, they temporarily moved to the back of the now-closed punk venue Churchill’s Pub in Little Haiti.

Sweat Records in 2007 moved to its current location next door to Churchill’s.

The store has survived multiple moves and hurricanes, two economic recessions, and a pandemic.

“ One of the realities of our industry is that the markup on records is not as big as the markup on other retail items, so we still have to hustle as much as we can … to sort of close the gap,” said Reskin, who noted customers' record purchases "literally are keeping us open."

Adaptability, she said, has helped them stay afloat. When Sweat Records first opened, they were 50/50 on CDs and vinyls. However, the vinyl resurgence started in 2006. As the popularity of vinyl steadily rose, and they saw what customers were asking for, the store flipped completely and is now about 95% vinyl.

Curating an environment that fosters community and engagement has also helped them stay open.

“ We run promotions and help people get turned on to concerts that are happening in their areas, and we support other organizations in town like Miami Girls Rock Camp and O Cinema and Rhythm Foundation,” Reskin said.” So we see ourselves as part of a really, well-functioning ecosystem where people are really considerate toward each other.”

Sweat Records’ 20th-anniversary show at ZeyZey Miami aims to celebrate the record store and the community that has grown around it. The headliner, Adrian Quesada is a Latin Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated musician and producer who fronted Grupo Fantasmo and is 1/2 of Black Pumas.

He first caught wind of Sweat Records during the pandemic. They were huge fans of his 2022 solo releases Boleros Psicodélicos and Jaguar Sounds .

“ I started noticing that they were promoting my records, playing my records … and then I talked to other friends from Miami at the time and they were like ‘Oh man this this store has been like, an institution here forever, and ever,” he said.

These two albums were made during the pandemic. At the time Quesada’s studio was at his home, and he was able to work on Boleros Psicodélicos : An album he wanted to make for over 10 years.

Boleros Psicodélicos pays homage to the ever-moving, swaying psychedelic boleros of the 60s and 70s, while Jaguar Sound is a cinematic fusion of hip-hop beats, funk, soul, and Latin influences.

Jaguar Sound was made in a shorter time and a more contained manner, but Quesada said Boleros Psicodélicos dragged on for a while because he had to secure collaborations.

“ It was weird everybody's calendar cleared, but then a lot of musicians started working on albums,” he said. “So people were either completely free or super tied up.”

Both albums are different, yet they capture that feeling of isolation because they were made remotely.

At the show, Quesada is excited to not only play tracks from Boleros Psicodélicos but also new music from his upcoming album that will be released in a few months. It’ll also be the debut of his Trio Asesino, who will be supporting Hermanos Gutierrez in Miami Beach in May.

“ We're doing a hybrid set, we'll be starting with the trio stuff, which is really cool, instrumental, kind of in the Jaguar Sound vein, to morph into a bolero set to close out the night.”

Following the celebration, Reskin said the next steps for Sweat Records include hosting more events, and hopefully moving to a bigger building.

“ One day we'd love a bigger space just to have more records,” she said. "We've kind of maxed the space out with what we've been able to do here, but it works great.”

Reskin said they are thankful for the continued support, and right now Miami has the best audience for music that she’s seen in her lifetime.