Joey Sweeney, Creative Director of 48 Record Bar, is pictured.
Gab Bonghi
48 Record Bar is turning the page with a book club, a new series exploring music, literature, and culture.
The high-tech listening room and cocktail bar — perched above Old City’s legendary Sassafras — recently announced the debut of Cosmo Baker’s BOOK CLUB, which will officially launch on Wednesday, April 30.
The inaugural event will feature an evening centered around ‘Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop’, the acclaimed book by author, culture journalist, and producer Vikki Tobak.
“With Cosmo Baker’s BOOK CLUB, we wanted to create something that lives at the intersection of music, storytelling, and community — where the act of deep listening extends beyond records to the ideas and experiences that shape them,” said Joey Sweeney, Creative Director of 48 Record Bar. “Launching with ‘Contact High’ and voices like Vikki Tobak and Joseph Patel is exactly the kind of high-vibe conversation we hope to foster at 48 Record Bar.”
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The evening will begin with an intimate conversation between Tobak and Academy Award-winning producer, director, and journalist Joseph Patel (‘Summer of Soul‘), offering a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of ‘Contact High’ and a broader discussion of hip-hop’s rich visual legacy. Following the conversation, Baker will spin a vinyl set inspired by the book’s iconic imagery and the artists featured throughout its pages.
Gab Bonghi
The event will also include a book signing with Tobak, with copies available in partnership with local independent bookseller Headhouse Books, along with a curated selection of prints from ‘Contact High’ on display and available for purchase. The discussion will also be audio recorded in-house by 48 Record Bar.
Future editions of Cosmo Baker’s BOOK CLUB will take place on Wednesday, May 7 (Adam Mansbach, author of ‘The Golem of Brooklyn’), and on Thursday, May 22, the space will host a book launch with Philadelphia-based writer and DJ John Morrison.
For more information or to purchase tickets ($29.75) to the April 30 event, visit 48recordbar.com
