Founded 2003 Location Baltimore | Country of origin United States Founder Michael Nestor | |
Genre Indie folk and Indie pop Official website | ||
The Beechfields Record Label is an independent not-for-profit musician's cooperative record label from Baltimore, Maryland-noted for an artist-centered approach to releasing records.
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The philosophy that defines the The Beechfields was developed by Michael Nestor at The University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2000 and the label was officially started in Baltimore in 2003 while Nestor was at The University of Maryland,School of Medicine.
The Beechfields was designed as a reaction to the suppression of underground music by both major and independent labels. The musical and artistic outlook of the label was based on Virginia label Simple Machines founded by Jenny Toomey. In 2004, Michael Nestor was joined by local Baltimore musician Austin Stahl and both Nestor and Stahl produced, or played on the majority of the label's early releases.
Originally centering on music traditionally categorized as lo-fi indie pop, in 2005 The Beechfields began releasing well produced indie records by bands like Private Eleanor and The Seldon Plan which gained the label local and national notoriety. The Beechfields used that new platform to extend from just releasing quality music to teaching musicians how to produce and assemble quality records on their own. Michael Nestor has given a number of lectures and symposia on starting an artist-centered approach to releasing records. The label does work with bands outside of Maryland, but has preferred to keep a strong Baltimore-centered identity, mostly supporting that music scene.