Among Aggieville’s bars, restaurants and college nightlife sits a shop playing a different kind of music. For nearly 22 years, Sisters of Sound Records has kept Manhattan in tune, one record at a time.
“We’re not a restaurant, we’re not a bar, we’re kind of a shop of misfit toys,” Sarah Cunnick, Sisters of Sound co-owner, said. “We’re different than everybody else, but we’re also kind of the same. We’re all selling something.”
Sarah and her sister, Leah, grew up in McPherson, Kansas, before they made their way to Manhattan for college. It was the music that kept Sarah here.
Starting her record store career at Streetside Records in the ‘90s, the Cunnick sisters recognized Manhattan’s need for a music shop following its closure in the spring of 2001. So, they sent out an SOS. Leah came up with the name “Sisters of Sound,” a calling card for all of Manhattan’s music lovers.
“We knew that with Streetside closing, this town needed a record store so badly,” Cunnick said. “And that’s why SOS.”
The store opened in December 2004 to just a small gathering of friends, but little did the sisters know that day would prove Sisters of Sound was exactly what Manhattan needed.
“We just invited our friends,” Cunnick said. “Just people that worked in Aggieville, people we had known forever, and I think we sold like 200 records that first day.”
Over two decades later, Sisters of Sound remains a staple in the Manhattan community, but the music industry surrounding SOS has changed. From the rise of streaming services to the resurgence of CDs, Cunnick has seen it all, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I remember that the month before COVID, people knew that things were going to be shutting down,” Cunnick said. “It was like a hurricane was coming and everybody’s going to the store and buying water or milk. And the records were the water and the milk.”
Same as the records lining the shelf, the music industry is ever-changing, presenting its fair share of ups and downs. Cunnick has learned those challenges are simply part of owning a small business.
“That’s kind of the way this business works; you just kind of roll with the punches,” Cunnick said.
Alongside those challenges are the joys the music brings. From the tunes themselves to the people that listen to them, Cunnick’s favorite part of working at Sisters of Sound is helping customers build their own record collection.
“We have high school students that come in here, college students and we have a six-year-old who comes in here once a week who digs through everything and he is awesome,” Cunnick said. “He never buys anything newer than 1965.”
Cunnick’s own journey with music began with her family, from games of “name that tune” to her brother’s days as a college radio DJ.
Decades later, Cunnick still finds that same excitement in music. Her favorites include Luscious Jackson, Prince and R&B, but she also loves discovering new music, especially songs not available on streaming services.
“Whenever I find something that isn’t online, there’s no video for it, it’s not streaming anywhere, I’m like, let’s play this,” Cunnick said. “And then you’re like, this is so good we’re gonna go ahead and start playing it in the store on the regular.”
While Cunnick embraces change in music, Sisters of Sound remains a constant amongst the ever-changing Aggieville. Despite the challenges small businesses face and the street’s evolution, the sisters continue to keep music and culture alive in the heart of Manhattan.
Cunnick hopes Sisters of Sound’s success and passion can inspire others to pursue their own aspirations.
“We’re sort of an example that maybe people can go off and do these things themselves,” Cunnick said. “Don’t sell yourself short. Nobody’s gonna toot your own horn; you gotta do it yourself.”
