Shirani Rae of Peaches Records

Lifetime Achievement in Music Business

When Shirani Rea opened Peaches Records in 1975, she became an independent business owner with a humanist approach to her bottom line. The beloved record store, now located on Magazine Street and Napoleon Avenue, is not only one of New Orleans’ best places to buy music and merchandise, but also a venue for live performances and philanthropic events. Along with her kids Lillie and Lee, she operates the storefront with unbridled warmth, greeting every customer with a smile and an embrace in her eyes—which are always done up in immaculately applied eyeshadow.

If you’ve ever shopped at Peaches, chances are you’ve been called “sweetheart” or “honey” in Rae’s slight Sri-Lankan lilt. You may have stumbled in on a day when Peaches was hosting one of its signature “Hashtag Lunchbag” events, when lunches are packed for the city’s homeless community. Or perhaps you’re a history buff who heard the legend of the original Woolworth’s diner counter Ms. Rae has left in-store, accompanied by a plaque explaining its role as a place for sit-ins during the Civil Rights Era of the 1950s and ‘60s.