Saginaw, MI | Local record shop celebrates comeback of vinyl albums: Saginaw’s Records and Tapes Galore, a record shop with 50 years of experience, is embracing the resurgence of vinyl album sales in the US. Vinyl’s resurgence has been welcomed by music enthusiasts, and its popularity continues to grow. As the saying goes, what goes around comes around. Bill Wegner, owner of Records and Tapes Galore, never expected to see the format make a comeback, especially after it faded away in the mid-90s when CDs took over. “When we started in 1974, we had records, a few cassettes, because most people were using eight tracks, and of course we had eight tracks too. And then, of course, years went by. The eight track finally was discontinued. The cassette came in real strong. The album started to fade. The mid 90s, what happened? They stopped making albums. Nobody bought albums,” Wegner said.
Nottingham, UK | Rough Trade Nottingham announces Record Store Day 2023 line-up: Independent record store company Rough Trade has announced its live-in store line-ups and exclusive collaborations ahead of Record Store Day 2023. On Saturday, the 22nd of April, music lovers attending celebrations at Rough Trade record store in Nottingham can expect to hear live performances from a variety of artists. From 11 am until 10 pm, the Broad Street store will host an exclusive signing from Chris Olley of Six by Seven and live performances from Do Nothing, Divorce, Mouth Culture and Jemma Johnson, among others. Dylan Whatley, Events Assistant for Rough Trade, said: “We’re really excited to welcome such a cool mix of artists to Rough Trade Nottingham this RSD, especially where we’ve curated a local focus with some of our new favourite acts like Divorce and Cj Pandit on the bill. “It’s going to be a top day for locals and visitors alike, we can’t wait.”
Lima, OH | Band returns to Groamy’s for Record Store Day: Paulding County band the Neon Straightjackets got their start performing at National Record Store Day at Groamy’s CDs and Tapes in 2021. Now they are set to return to the Lima venue for the newest edition of the day that celebrates independent record stores in the show, scheduled for April 22. Larry Stahl, who sings and plays guitar for the band that tries to combine ’90s alt-rock with Seattle grunge, said the band jumped at the chance to come back to the store for part of its tour to promote the release of the new EP “Ex-Girlfriends and Ecstasy.” “The first time we ever played a show was here, and there was a good crowd that day,” he said. “Everybody really liked the music. Everybody kept asking how old we were and how long we had been doing it, and we just felt welcomed with open arms.”
Boston, MA | What’s your favorite independent record store in Greater Boston? Now that vinyl has come roaring back, where do you go to pick up the golden oldies and the latest spins? The record is back! Who’d a thunk it? After all, it wasn’t that long ago that vinyl records, that staple of music reproduction for most of the 20th century, seemed dead and buried. Record-pressing plants sat fallow as cassettes and then shiny new CDs took their place in the music-buying consciousness, followed by the digital download revolution of the early 2000s. But an interesting thing happened as the advent of streaming made the concept of “owning” music even more ephemeral: Society got together and decided it would like to have some music it could hold in its hands, thank you very much. And vinyl records—with their outsized, artwork-laden covers and a pesky habit of having to be flipped over at least once during listening—started their comeback.
Chicago, IL | Miyagi Records Opens This Week, Bringing ‘All Killer, No Filler’ Record Store To The South Side: The record resale store on Washington Park’s Arts Block, founded by DJs Maker and TREW, will feature thousands of LPs from Marvin Gaye and Madonna to Polish jazz and Bollywood. Two DJs will celebrate the opening of their South Side record store this week as their pandemic pop-up project has grown into a brick-and-mortar business with thousands of records on Washington Park’s “Arts Block.” Miyagi Records—a record resale shop curated by Nigel Ridgeway, known as TREW, and Marco Jacobo, known as Maker—opens noon Friday at 307 E. Garfield Blvd. A grand opening celebration begins 5 p.m. Friday. “With both [Ridgeway and Jacobo] being DJs and collectors, for us, records never went away,” Jacobo said. “It’s outlasted so many other types of ways of listening to music, and it’s become more than just a record.”
Chapel Hill, NC | ‘Vinyl is seeing a real resurgence’: 32nd biannual CD & Record show held in Carrboro: On Sunday, April 2, the Carrboro Century Center featured tables of record vendors from noon to 6 p.m. According to the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau, the 32nd Carrboro CD & Record Show had over 40 tables with new and used CDs, vinyl records and music memorabilia. Gerry Williams, the event host, said he began collecting vinyl records in 1960 and owned a record store in Washington, D.C., before moving to Carrboro in 1995. Williams said he started the show in 2004 as an annual tradition. The show is now held twice a year. “What I do first is contact my regular vendors,” he said. “So a couple of these guys have done all 32 shows with me, or getting close to it, so they get first choice of their regular table.” He said he then he pulls from a waiting list of other vendors. About five vendors in each show are from the waitlist, he said. Some returning vendors own their own record stores, including Jon Treneff of Tarboro, N.C. Treneff said he and his wife own a record store called Country Feedback and use record shows as an opportunity to promote and advertise.
Soho, UK | Ballantine’s True Music X Soho Radio Announce Pop-up Hub Celebrating Independent Record Stores: The free to attend pop-up in Soho is a space to enjoy whisky cocktails, experience exclusive vinyl recording sessions and listen live to a line-up of international artists including Shy One, Kitty Amor and Jay Carder. Ballantine’s Scotch whisky and online community station Soho Radio are partnering for a five-day (April 18th– 22nd) takeover at 98 Berwick Street in the heart of London’s Soho culminating on Record Store Day. The collaboration is part of Ballantine’s True Music platform which represents and celebrates local music communities, and the diverse artists and fans that make them thrive. The Ballantine’s True Music x Soho Radio pop-up will showcase local music scenes and themes, shining a light on the unique culture of independent record stores and the important role they play in shaping music culture across the globe.
