UK | Independent record shops across the UK prepare for first Record Store Day ‘drop’ on 29 August: More information has been announced by organisers ahead of the first event later this month. Record Store Day has announced more information about its adapted plans for 2020 as the first ‘RSD Drop’ event on 29 August approaches. For the inaugural drop this month, artists spanning all genres including the likes of Paul McCartney, Christine and the Queens, J Hus, Robyn and The Weeknd are all scheduled to take part with limited edition releases. Each shop has devised its own way of operating, from bookable time slots to socially-distanced queues. Music fans are encouraged to check their local shop’s website from 14 August to find out how their shop plans to open on the day. For this year only, Record Store Day has also relaxed its online rules; if customers don’t wish to attend in person, product may be made available on participating shop websites or over the phone from 6pm on the evening of each Drop.
McKinney, TX | McKinney Finally Gets a Record Store With Female-Owned Red Zeppelin: A few months ago, Katie Scott was standing outside her shop, The Groovy Coop in Downtown McKinney, when she came across the owner of another building on the square. His tenant, he told her, would soon be moving out. It was a long-standing salsa shop, “a staple,” Scott says, that was forced to shut down when the pandemic deemed salsa inessential. “Well, if he decides to move out, I would love to look at the building; I think it’d be a great record store,” Scott told him. “And then, two weeks later, I have the paper signed. So that’s how quickly that moved.” It wasn’t ideal timing, but Scott fulfilled her long-held fantasy by opening a record store, which she named Red Zeppelin. “My dream was to always have an independent record store,” Scott says. “I was just kind of waiting for the right location and time … and who would have thought it would be in the middle of a pandemic? “But, that’s the way that it kind of came into my life. Sometimes you just have to take things as they are presented to you.”
San Antonio, TX | Longtime Sundance Records owner Bobby Barnard dies at 67, remembered as ‘consummate record guy.’ Watching Bobby Barnard work his way around the Midtown record store Sig’s Lagoon was like watching a bower bird collect and assemble snatches of bright debris into a nest to woo a mate. Barnard’s nests were designed to welcome people who loved music. Barnard’s career in music retail spanned decades and two cities miles apart: Houston and San Marcos. But he left an indelible imprint on both. Barnard suffered a stroke this week and died Thursday at age 67. Tomas Escalante, owner of Sig’s Lagoon, called Barnard, “the consummate record guy.” Those who run record stores are often thought as facilitators rather than artists: They connect listeners to the musicians who help define their lives. But each record store is a carefully designed ecosystem and a work of art itself. Barnard left a particularly visual stamp on the record stores he cared about.
Whidbey Island, WA | Vinyl Records and Ice Cream at Ken’s Corner in Clinton: What a Great Combination! Mitch Allen was a professional software engineer before he found his way to following his true passion: Selling records at Sprinklz in Clinton. Mitch grew up in New England in south eastern Massachusetts, then migrated to California for a software job. In 2004, he and his wife, Linda, came for a visit to Whidbey “on a whim.” Because Whidbey had a reputation as a dog-friendly place, and since dogs were a major part of their lives, they decided to purchase a house in Clinton and began making frequent trips to the island. In 2010, Mitch and Linda quit their jobs and moved to Whidbey full time . Their grown children were living their own lives, and they decided to create a new lifestyle for themselves. Mitch had been a fan of vinyl records since he was a teenager in the 1970’s. He continued to build his inventory and Linda bought him a turntable. He soon discovered there was magic listening to the old classics. He sold some of his records at the Machine Shop swap meet because that was the only way he could make room for the new records he wanted.
Coronavirus Won’t Kill Independent Record Stores: Independent retailers have battled streaming services, Amazon, and now a pandemic. Record store owners told VICE what they’re doing to survive the crisis. A week after Grimey’s New and Preloved Music, a longstanding Nashville record store, closed its doors in late March due to Mayor John Cooper’s Safer at Home orders, co-owner Doyle Davis received a call from Taylor Swift’s publicist. The pop superstar and Tennessee native offered to cover three months of his employees’ health insurance cost and give each staff member a check for $1000 to weather the lockdowns. “Psychologically, it was unbelievable to have her help,” said Davis. “I was at my worst at the time. I was wondering if we would ever come back from this and survive. To have her swoop in was amazing.” The money allowed Davis to take his time to safely reopen, apply for a Paycheck Protection Program Loan, and make sure his employees could receive unemployment benefits for the shutdowns. Four months later, Grimey’s is open and dealing as best they can with the pandemic as an independent record store. Like many retailers nationwide, they’ve bolstered their website, shifted to curbside pickup and online sales, and implemented strict social-distancing guidelines and masking requirements in their brick-and-mortar store.
Norwalk, NY | Norwalk’s Troupe429 LGBTQ bar reopens as pop-up record store: Troupe429, an LGBTQ bar and performance space in Norwalk, has reopened after a four-month closure as a pop-up record store and craft cocktail lounge. The establishment, which opened in November 2017 at 3 Wall St., is unable to reopen in its original format at the present time due to Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive orders. Troupe 429 Norwalk LGBTQThe new version of Troupe429 has transformed the disco ball-crowned dance floor into a music retail setting with thousands of new and vintage records for sale. The Troupe429 lounge is open for snacks and signature cocktails including the “Glamazon” – a combination of pineapple and passion fruit vodka, mango juice, and grenadine swirl. An outdoor patio is also available for customers. The Troupe429 management added that all liquor and vinyl sales from this new pop-up experience will support the future reopening of Troupe429 as a dance club and performance space once the governor gives the green light for the resumption of normal business activity.
