When I was first told about a soccer shirt swap event being hosted by a music label at a local record shop, I was somewhat perplexed. I had always viewed sport and music as domains with immense cultural significance, but their significances had existed independently. Combining two distinctly different things in such a novel way seemed odd to me. When I told my friend about “Kit Swap,” his response made it clear that I wasn’t alone in my confusion. “A soccer event at a record shop? What does that even mean?”
It was this confusion, which soon became an insatiable curiosity, that led me to the front door of Miyagi Records on a pleasant Sunday afternoon, eager to see what Kit Swap was all about. As I entered the small yet charming building, right across from the Garfield Green Line stations, I was immediately hit with a wave of laughter and chatter. Eventgoers dressed in an array of vibrant soccer shirts thumbed through Miyagi’s record collection, conversing with each other while nodding along to the electronic music pulsating from the shop’s speakers. Those who had meandered toward the back of the shop and away from Miyagi’s seemingly endless collection found themselves engaged in a game of FIFA or in the midst of a shirt exchange.
The energy in the quaint shop was palpable, and it soon became clear to me that the intersection between music and sport was no coincidence.
“The event came from the ethos of what I want to do with my label,” Hameedullah Weaver, event organizer and head of music label Lunt and Oglesby, told The Maroon. Lunt and Oglesby, named for two streets on the polar ends of Chicago, represents the intersection between two seemingly unrelated concepts, something that inspired Weaver to host the event in the first place. “I love soccer and I love music, so why can’t we just bring those two worlds together?”
However, the allure of Kit Swap extends beyond just the collision of sport and music. Weaver hopes his event can help revitalize a sense of community in Chicago, stressing the need for intimacy and camaraderie in an increasingly capitalistic world. “When you’re sharing something so intimate, you’re revealing something about yourself and exchanging it with someone else who might appreciate it,” Weaver explained. “We’re always pressured to buy more, but we have a lot already, and you could share that with somebody else.”
As I continued to make my way around the shop, Weaver’s sentiment became evident to me. While many had found themselves at Miyagi Records that day in hopes of securing a new addition to their personal soccer kit collection, their focus soon shifted from personal gain to cultivating new relationships and sharing a part of themselves with others. Those who had entered Miyagi as strangers became lost in conversations ranging from their favorite soul records to their thoughts on the Africa Cup of Nations final between Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire projected on the store’s wall. For a few hours, Miyagi had become a sanctuary—a comforting symbol of community and intimacy in a progressively disconnected world.
With his sights set on New York City as the next stop on the Kit Swap tour, Weaver hopes to continue using his label and musical platform as a way to bring communities together across the country. “I definitely want to go around the country to do this. Maybe I’ll do one in New York this summer, we’ll see.”
