By Mariam Sharia

The looming threat of rain didn’t keep Somerville’s music fans from tracking down fresh vinyl this weekend.

Hundreds of local music enthusiasts and bargain hunters flocked to Somerville’s Union Square for last Sunday’s Rock and Roll Yard Sale. The outside market was sponsored by the Somerville Arts Council and gave shoppers an opportunity to support a variety of local DIY small business owners.

While some vendors were fresh to the event, many sellers have made the yard sale an annual staple since its first Somerville appearance in 2007. Worcester-born record shop owner Mick Lawless is one of these veterans.  A vinyl devotee ever since his discovery of rock band The Monkees in high school, “the saddest day of my life” Lawless recounts, “was in 93′ when I walked into Newbury Comics and all the records were gone.”

This love for vinyl has continued throughout his whole life, inspiring him to open his own store in Upton, The Nevermind Shop, home to rare records and a wide span of music memorabilia. Lawless has accommodated his business to the rise in demand of punk and early 1960’s garage rock, but is quick to add that he doesn’t discriminate when it comes to music genres.

Although vinyl was the cornerstone of the yard sale, many shoppers were leaving with homemade crafts. From handcrafted cupcake-shaped soap to refurbished vintage bicycles, skateboard decks, and felt hair accessories, vendors braved the grey skies to offer their wares to visitors.

Somerville resident and returning vendor Rachel Kupillas manned a booth lined with racks of vintage clothes.  Owner of online Etsy store 1128, she has been finding her goods at estate sales and thrift stores and re-glamourizing them into one-of-a-kind pieces.

Kupillas named her two biggest influences as traveling and people-watching as she sold a purse to a customer, noting it had been a souvenir from her trip to Italy.

While most shoppers left the market cradling a few vinyl finds, some attendees said there was one thing stopping them from browsing through the sea of records.

“I’ve seen some great records and posters,” said Winter Hill resident Ari Fertig while carrying a bag of prints he had bought from Monkey Chow, a company boasting the clever and colorful art of Aaron Kovalcsik.

“Only thing is, I don’t have a record player. If I did, I’d be all over that.”