Edinburgh, UK | Edinburgh’s new record shop Umbrella Vinyl gets ready to open in Brunstfield’s Valleyfield Street: The shop will house a vast collection of rare records from blues, jazz, African, Latin and reggae. Edinburgh vinyl collectors and music aficionados alike are in for a treat as the Capital’s latest second-hand record store opens this weekend. Located in Tollcross, Umbrella Vinyl champions music from all over the world, selling extremely rare records that can only be found once in a lifetime. Whether you’re looking for jazz, blues, calypso, reggae or classical, the new store provides ‘global sounds under one umbrella.’ Founders Nick Langford and husband and wife duo, Josh and Laura Thompson, first met at music festival in Hong Kong in 2015, and after bonding over their passion of music and eclectic tastes, the trio decided to open their own store after reuniting in Edinburgh during the pandemic. Laura said: “We can’t wait to open our doors and show everyone what stock we have. It’s been a long journey but it’s been an exciting one at that so we’re pretty excited.”
Surrey, BC | Cloverdale record shop turns 3: Elevated Music to hold anniversary celebration and sale. Cloverdale’s Elevated Music is turning three. The record shop opened in tough times—the height of COVID—but owners Jen and Bill Haggerty fought through to find success, despite the difficult circumstances. The pair are now going to recognize the milestone with a third birthday sale and celebration Aug. 12. Haggerty said he gets emotional just thinking about the three year anniversary. “I’m ecstatic, but I’m at a loss for words” he said. “Jen and I have so much gratitude for the community and for their love and support over the last three years, without them we wouldn’t have a store. To start the shop in 2020, and then to have the overwhelming support that we’ve had, it’s just been absolutely fantastic.” Elevated moved in early 2023 and now they are on the corner of 176th Street and 57th Avenue. Haggerty explained the new location has been “night and day” compared to the old location
Pensacola, UK | Collecting vinyl records in Pensacola: Vinyl collecting has made a comeback in the United States in a big way influenced by modern popular culture, and music fans are all for it. In Pensacola, the tradition carries on with a handful of locally-owned record stores. Surrounded by music cities such as Nashville and New Orleans, it’s only natural that music collecting would be popular here as well. Greg Crawford, a resident of Pensacola and long-time collector says he enjoys the hunt for special collectible records. “Hopefully it’ll keep going,” said Crawford. “I think it’s good for everybody, it’s good for the artist, (and) it’s good for the people. Locally here it’s great. A lot of the smaller bands that come through here always have vinyl. And it’s usually something special you can’t get anywhere else. That’s part of the fun is finding it. It’s the search for it, you know what you want but you gotta look for it.”
Grantham, UK | Travelling the Groove Records sells new vinyl from new artists and classics on Grantham and Stamford markets: A man is living his dream as a record shop owner after losing his job in the travel industry during the pandemic. James Nickerson, of Thurlby, launched his business Travelling the Groove in 2020, which sells vinyl records online and at markets including Grantham and Stamford. The stall is being featured as part of a Journal campaign to support Grantham Market traders. “I originally used to work in the travel industry which got hit quite hard by Covid,” James explained. “I’d always wanted to have my own record shop, because I’d always loved vinyl and having music on records. “There was no time like the present, so we created Travelling the Groove Records.” James is usually on Grantham Market on the last Saturday of the month, and has a permanent weekly stall in Stamford. He also trades occasionally in Melton Mowbray, Ruddington and at music events and festivals. James said: “We are very much a mobile record shop.”
Joliet, IL | Joliet plans pop-up vinyl market: A Joliet event is set to attract fans of vinyl for a sale that will make it easy for them to add some new pieces to their own personal collection. The Illinois Rock and Roll Museum is hosting its Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and as part of the weekend, it will be hosting a vinyl record show. At least 50 tables will be on offer to browse through, and the co-host for the day will be AudioPhil’s Records. Record aficionados who come out will find thousands of titles to purchase, and rare and collectible records will all be in the mix. There is an early bird ticket option for anyone who would like to get first crack at what is on offer, as they will be granted admission two hours ahead of the crowd. Anyone who would like to buy a snack can do so on site. …This boon to Joliet’s vinyl record fans will be getting in the groove on Sunday, September 17 at the Clarion Hotel Joliet Banquet & Convention Center.
Philadelphia, PA | The Music Lover’s Guide to Philadelphia: The best record stores, venues and musical landmarks in the City of Brotherly Love. …Without a doubt, Philly is a town with a rich musical history, just like Memphis, New York, Atlanta and Detroit. But unlike those cities, with their dedicated museums and monuments to some of the greatest contributors to popular music history, Philly is a bit disjointed. Places that should be recognized as historic landmarks simply aren’t. It could be that Philly’s music history is eclectic with no particular sonic coherence. (This ain’t Motown, after all.) It could be that some sites, like familial homes, are located just outside of the city’s center, limiting tourist traffic. Whatever the case, to fully get the Philly music experience, you’ve got to work for it. Well, not you, because we compiled this guide.
Boston, MA | Wine, grooves and waterfront views: Inside the ICA’s new Vinyl Nights: August is here, and as many Boston residents decamp to the lake, Cape or pebble beaches of some Instagrammable European country, it can feel like a sleepy end to summer in the city. But take a walk along Seaport’s Fan Pier on a Friday night and you’ll find the party isn’t over just yet. Those groovy, rich sounds echoing from the Institute of Contemporary Art are that of “Vinyl Nights,” an evening summer series inviting passersby to enjoy free music and harbor views, as well as (not free) oysters and wine, as they get out of the week’s final day of work. The ICA’s regular evening events are notably cool, even earning a thumbs up from the city’s nightlife director Corean Reynolds. But Vinyl Nights—which features sets mixed exclusively on vinyl by local DJs—brings something new.
Sydney, AU | You know the iconic album covers, now meet the artists behind them: The magic portal would typically materialise on the bus. Too imposing to fit in a schoolbag, it would arrive under a careful arm: some gatefold conundrum by Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin or someone stranger. This is how music announced itself in the 1970s. A heavy, 12-inch-square head-trip foreshadowing unknown pleasures. “The poor man’s art collection,” is how Noel Gallagher describes the tactile wonders of the vinyl era in Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis). It was later LP sleeves by the Smiths and the Jam he recalls turning his own bus trips to reveries. But you’ll find little debate from him or anyone else about who defined the “golden age” of album art. “The importance of Hipgnosis is obvious,” states Anton Corbijn, Zooming in from a remote corner of Ibiza. The Dutch photographer and filmmaker (Control, The American) made the documentary about the seminal London design duo premiering at MIFF next week as a pandemic project.
Isle of Wight, UK | For the record, these album sleeves are terrible – Michael Sumner’s bizarre collection: Ventriloquists’ dolls, robots, sausages, a rocking horse and an Oompa-Loompa…all these and more feature in a new book of the world’s most horrendous vinyl artwork. Michael Sumner is the proud owner of what must be the most bizarre collection of vinyl records in the land. Over the years, this DJ and record salesman has scoured car-boot sales, charity stores and second-hand record shops from Malaysia to Mozambique, from California to Kazakhstan – all in search of the weirdest and wackiest album and single covers he can find. The most horrendous of them now feature in his new book, 101 Terrible Record Sleeves. They include photos of ventriloquists’ dolls, a guitar-wielding robot, boxers in the shower, frankfurter sausages on the Moon, a cowboy on a rocking-horse, and a dwarf who once acted as an Oompa-Loompa in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Sumner’s unusual hobby is a consequence of his day job, which involves hunting down quality second-hand vinyl records he then sells at a shop in Ventnor, on the Isle of Wight.
