Houstonia’s The Must List tells you about something going on in Houston that you absolutely cannot miss.

Cactus Music has been selling Houston audiophiles their favorite albums for the past 50 years. Even in the age of streaming, the enduring Montrose/Upper Kirby record store provides tech giants like Spotify and Apple Music can’t: a community centered around hyper-localized music events, including listening parties and live performances by local and touring acts. The listening parties, which gained popularity in February 2023, offer attendees the chance to preview new releases either on the day of or shortly after their official release.

“How we listen to music now is very insular. People are listening to music in their earbuds, or they’ve got headphones on. It’s seeming like enjoying music is becoming a singular experience, unless you’re at a concert or something,” says Cactus owner Quinn Bishop. “This is a way for you to be in one spot with a bunch of kindred spirit music fans that love the same artist.”

Coordinated with studios, these events provide fans with a chance to hear the latest albums as soon as embargoes lift and NDAs expire. Many also include merchandise and giveaways, such as buttons and posters, offered exclusively at Cactus and other participating record shops across the country. Depending on the promotions, fans who preorder and pick up their copies of the featured album may also score a few exclusive freebies. Bishop says the little extras often get customers more excited than the new music itself, and crowds can sometimes reach 500 to 700 people.

Even if visitors only show up to listen, there’s still plenty to enjoy about these parties. Much like its stock, Cactus is genre-agnostic when it comes to the music it features. All music deserves to be celebrated, so the shop celebrates all types of music whenever the opportunity presents itself. A listening party this past July featured singer-songwriter Gigi Perez’s soulful, folksy debut album At the Beach, In Every Life, which was released in April. Hardcore punk outfit Turnstile’s fourth release, Never Enough, was the centerpiece of a June event that also included a poster giveaway, a T-shirt drawing, and exclusive black-and-white performance photos for fans who preordered. For pop star Melanie Martinez, an employee and teacher applied her classroom decorating skills to create a photo booth for fans to commemorate the day. Electropop/hip-hop hybridizers Twenty One Pilots recorded an exclusive video message for their fans, available only to those attending the listening parties.

“It’s kind of magical. The band [was] speaking directly to you in a place that you’re familiar with,” Bishop says. “It’s a place of joy, your conduit for music with people that you have something in common with.”

And attendees won’t leave hungry or parched, either. Free Saint Arnold beer and slices from Star Pizza are usually a guarantee at the events—a product of a long-running relationship with both businesses. Cactus originally ordered Domino’s for an event after receiving some generous financial backing from “Havana” singer Camila Cabello’s label, but when Star bore witness to the lines of hungry music fans snaking out the door, they offered to feed future crowds. They even whipped up a special one-night-only pizza exclusively for fans attending the August 2024 release party celebrating Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion.   

Unlike the in-store performances, which are also free, attendees don’t congregate in one place to jostle for the best view. Instead, they tend to spread themselves around the shop to browse the extensive collection of CDs, vinyl, cassettes, and music memorabilia for sale. Among the shelves, friendships grow.

The listening parties attract a mix of Cactus regulars—some familiar with the featured artist, some not so much—plus established fans stepping into the space for the first time. It’s fertile ground for music buffs to start talking and sharing their tastes and insights with one another.

“You see people—strangers—get together to listen to and appreciate an artist and their new music,” Bishop says. “Then, you get the feeling when they’re leaving...[that] these people are going to keep on knowing each other.”