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New vinyl
New releases and reissues, sealed and priced as they land. If it is out and you want it, ask us and we will chase it up.
Record store & cafe, Jellicoe Street
Racks of new pressings, bins of second-hand records cleaned and priced by hand, CDs, and an espresso machine that gets used all day. Settle into the listening lounge and hear it before you take it home.
What is in the shop
Blackbird is two things in one place. A record store with new and second-hand stock, and a cafe run by someone who has done it before in this town.
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New releases and reissues, sealed and priced as they land. If it is out and you want it, ask us and we will chase it up.
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Every second-hand record is cleaned, graded and priced by hand before it hits the bins. Restocked constantly, so the dig is never the same twice.
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The format that never actually went away. Racks of second-hand discs alongside new titles, including a lot of albums that were never pressed on vinyl.
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Espresso, and something out of the cabinet to go with it. Angela ran Marigold Cafe here in Te Puke before Blackbird, so the coffee is not an afterthought.
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Settle into the listening lounge. Sit down with a record first, then decide whether it comes home with you.
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Real shelf space for local and independent artists, from Dunedin pressings to Bay of Plenty bands dropping off their own CDs. Ask and we will point them out.
Since 2024
Our story
Blackbird Records opened in April 2024, run by Justin and Angela Bruning with their kids Eliza and Murphy in and out of the place. Justin and Angela had already spent years feeding this town at Marigold Cafe, so when the chance came to build something around records, the coffee machine came with them.
The result is a shop you can spend an hour in. New pressings up front, second-hand bins that took months of cleaning and pricing before they opened, CDs along the wall, cassettes, retro music posters and artwork, and a few gifty bits and plants scattered through. Locals treat it as a stop, travellers heading through to the Mount or Rotorua treat it as a find.
You don't know what you are looking for until you see it. Justin Bruning, Te Puke Times
Behind the counter
Blackbird is a family operation. There is a good chance the person who priced the record in your hand is the one who sells it to you.
Runs the second-hand side and the listening lounge. Hum half of something at him and he will usually work out what it is and where it is filed.
Ran Marigold Cafe in Te Puke before this one, so the espresso, the cabinet and the front of house are all in practised hands.
The Brunings' two kids, and the reason the new release rack is not all classic rock. They keep the shelves honest about what is actually being listened to.
What people say
Find us
Open seven days. Park on the street, follow the sound.
Chasing a specific album, or want to know if something is still in the bins? Ring the shop, it is the fastest way. Otherwise send an email and we will come back to you.
Call the shop Email about a record