Taunton, UK | Taunton record shop closes its doors as works begin: A record selling store in Taunton has temporarily closed its doors after serving its final customers last Saturday (March 8). Moore’s Music, located on Station Road, in Taunton, will close its doors to customers as the business gets a sort out. The owner has confirmed that the store will reopen ‘sometime in May.’ Known as one of the few places in Taunton where you can get vinyls, Moore’s Music’s owner was reportedly debating closing the business for good a number of times in the past months. The business had a huge clearance sale at the weekend, offering customers 50% off all vinyls and up to 30% off other items, such as hi-fi and CD players, films, and more. A sign has also been put in the shop’s window to confirm it will be closed for a few months.
San Antonio, TX | Record shop brings sweet sounds into San Antonio bar space: Visitors to the Southtown bar Gimme Gimme can now drift over to an adjacent space where they can dig for vintage vinyl records to their heart’s content. The owners of Gimme Gimme have transformed their next door wine bar concept, A Perfect Day, into a second location for Friends of Sound, a store that sells, buys and trades used records. Friends of Sound founder David Haffner hosted a grand opening party on March 7, including DJs spinning records all day and night. Bar co-owner Aaron Pena recalls having coffee one day last year on Fredericksburg Road near where the team at Friends of Sound was busy relocating their neighborhood shop. “I’ve known Friends of Sound since The Squeezebox days,” says Pena, referring to the bar and live music space he owned on North St. Mary’s Street for seven years until he closed it in 2024. “I’ve had a rapport with them.”
Manchester, UK | New music venue and events space to open in Manchester’s northern quarter, renae: renae is set to feature a record store, dancefloor, and more across multiple floors. A brand new music venue, record store, and events space is set to open in Manchester’s Northern Quarter at the end of the month. renae will open for the first time on Friday, March 28, featuring a dedicated dancefloor, a bar area, space to throw live music events, co-working desks, and a record and book store. …Launched by local DJs and hospitality workers Brad Parkins and Harris Mouridis (AKA Mouridis), renae draws from the pair’s expertise in nightlife, bringing together their shared passion for music. Speaking to DJ Mag, Mouridis explained that renae will operate as a “hub for people who are into music and decent hospitality, so you can come and listen to great tracks on the ground floor, which will be very informal and open to everyone.”
Isle of Man, UK | Much-loved Isle of Man record shop for sale as owners say it’s ‘time for a change.’ ‘The demands of retail and social media have taken a toll on my personal wellbeing.’ A much-loved Isle of Man music shop, Sound Records, has been put up for sale, offering a unique opportunity for music enthusiasts to take over the established business. The independent record store, located on Wellington Street in Douglas, is run by passionate record lovers Ed Oldham and Jack Doyle. Since opening, Sound Records has built a strong reputation for its extensive vinyl collection, vintage clothing, record players, and guitar equipment. It’s had a number of locations in Douglas, most recently moving to their current store on Wellington Street in October 2021. However, the owners have now announced they are ready to move on to their next challenge. In a heartfelt social media post on Sunday evening, Jack shared the news with the shop’s loyal customers.
UK | Best record players, tried and tested vinyl decks for every budget: Do you need to spend a lot of money for great-quality audio? I put the finest modern vinyl record players to the test. With a history stretching back to 1877, recorded music on vinyl harks back to a less disposable age of entertainment and as any aficionado will tell you, can offer warmer, more life-like sounds than digital files. While vinyl has never reclaimed the heights of its 70s heyday, with 530 million discs purchased worldwide, a revival has seen sales growing steadily in Britain, hitting 6.7 million units last year after 17 years of growth, according to Music Week. Today’s decks now come with extras such as the option to ‘record’ old discs to digital, built-in speakers or even the ability to stream wirelessly to Bluetooth speakers. With a vast and bewildering assortment of vinyl-playing gear on offer, from high-quality record decks that cost hundreds of thousands down to a number of non-brand, Chinese-made record players with strange brand names, it can be tricky to choose the best for your requirements and budget.
Philadelphia, PA | Jacky BamBam’s Rock N’ Roll Sunday Matinee with Records Riot! I just have to share the insanely fun time I had over the weekend at Record Riots’ vinyl sale! This pop-up event for music fans, enthusiasts and collectors like me had everything, and I mean EVERYTHING! 12 inch vinyl records, 45’s, CD’s, cassettes, reel to reels, posters. You name it and the place had it! These conventions typically feature a YUGE variety of archives from different genres including rare, vintage, and collectible albums. The memorabilia is unreal. I spent a mighty fine time crate digging with the cool kids and of course I walked out with way too many forms of multimedia (How could I not?!) and more than a few promises to come join the next pop up! Record Riots’ next local event is at the South Street Vinyl Block Party on Saturday, May 3rd!
Why are EPs more prevalent than albums? …an album is seen as being a cohesive body of work while an EP can contain a string of singles which don’t necessarily need to have much of a relation to one another. Although with the rise of playlists and the stalwart popularity of singles, the lines become somewhat blurred around the intentions and distinctions of the release of certain projects and how they are marketed. The EP in the modern world is a versatile package which comes with less commitment and less risk to those involved in the release. An EP can also be a strong jumping off point for newer artists without enough material for an album in the volatile music industry. A recent example of this is Philadelphia singer-songwriter Greg Mendez. Having gained critical acclaim and notoriety for his independent 2023 self-titled release, he soon signed to the indie heavyweight label Dead Oceans.
Nashville, TN | Vintage-style recording studio embraces music history in The Nations: Welcome to 1979 is a one-of-a-kind recording studio embracing the true spirit of Music City. Nestled in the heart of Nashville’s The Nations neighborhood, the 7,000-square-foot facility is a time capsule of music history. Husband and wife team Chris and Yoli Mara opened the studio in 2008 with the goal of creating a comfortable and creative atmosphere to make music. After spending a decade as a freelance recording engineer, Chris realized Nashville didn’t have what the rock bands and Americana acts he enjoyed working with needed. “Music Row is great, but the studios are mainly pretty slick, geared towards mainstream county acts. So I thought, why not make a big space that’s really comfortable, and bands feel at home there,” Chris said. With a one-year-old son and a baby on the way, the Maras got to work—renting out a massive former vinyl record pressing plant.
Marvin Gaye’s classic ‘Live’ album marking his performance comeback gets 50th Anniversary treatment: The iconic ’70s album that documented Marvin Gaye back to performing live, gets honored with a 50th Anniversary extended deluxe edition by Universal Music Group. …One legendary artist who graced the music world with some of the most monumental live album releases over the tenure of his life and career, even posthumously, is Marvin Gaye. The artist—and his then label, Tamla/Motown—first dabbled in the live album format when in 1963 his first ever concert performance recording, Marvin Gaye Recorded Live on Stage, was released to retail. The performance was captured during a Motown revue show that included many other Motown acts, but was isolated to create the album release. Though the album was a slight success in notoriety and sales, it came at a time when the music buying public was not used to the format, and for those reasons, Motown would never release another live album by Gaye throughout the remainder of the 1960s, though the artist would continue to tour and perform live.
Follow The Vinyl District on Facebook HERE, Instagram HERE, Threads HERE, Bluesky HERE, and X/Twitter HERE.
