Charleston, SC | What to look out for this Record Store Day: It’s that magical time of year again when local record stores are flooded with special vinyl and cassette issues from hundreds of artists. Lucky for Charleston, Monster Music & Movies is in on the official international event, with a delicious mix of new music flooding its doors every day in anticipation. The West Ashley store will open its doors bright and early, at 8 a.m. for us super nerds, and day-long festivities shall ensue. Look forward to live music from noon until 7 p.m., a food truck rodeo, jump castle, and Monster’s famous sidewalk sale (cheap vinyl lovers, here’s lookin’ at you). Food trucks include Greek’n Out, Dough Boyz, Krystyna’s Polish Food, Annie O Love Granola, and Bottleneck Coffee (free coffee for the first 100 people in line 7-8 a.m.). A few CP music writers recently sifted through the official Record Store Day release list (you can too at recordstoreday.com) and narrowed down the titles they’ll be on the hunt for come Saturday.
UK | Record Store Day: 20 exclusive releases to look out for: Classic vinyl reissues, limited collectors’ editions and unreleased recordings from Fela Kuti, Prince and David Bowie join rare pressings by the Prodigy and the Notorious BIG this Saturday. Cissy Houston – Cissy Houston, The Grammy winner’s second album, which features a heartfelt cover of Be My Baby, is being reissued on vinyl for the first time in four decades. Angelo Badalamenti & David Lynch – Twin Peaks: Season 2 music and more. David Lynch is overseeing this vinyl reissue of the soundtrack to Twin Peaks’ second season, which will include a 24-page collectors picture book featuring stills from the cult classic show. Robyn – Body Talk, The Swedish star’s euphoric dance floor fillers, including the original and the undeniably supreme version of Dancing on My Own, will be available on limited edition white vinyl…
Mt. Pleasant, MI | Music store to celebrate growing sales of vinyl records: Brian Hanson can’t quite put his finger on why he’s selling so many vinyl records, but he said he thinks it has something to do with records offering a different musical experience to people who’ve never had it. “We treat music like potato chips,” said Hanson, owner of B’s Music, 613 N. Mission St. “It’s everywhere.” That ubiquity comes courtesy the ease of streaming digital copies of music, and allows people to experience music easily, sometimes to the point of no personal investment. He said that applies to himself, like when he catches himself yelling at his Alexa to stream music for him. “I think vinyl is removing music from the background,” he said. It gives people a chance to sit down and really experience the music in a format that even after all the years offers the best experience.”
AU | ARIA celebrates Record Store Day with new vinyl album chart reflecting boom in LP sales: The resurgence of records has the music industry spinning around, with ARIA reintroducing a top 100 vinyl album chart this week to coincide with the annual Record Store Day celebrations. As tens of thousands of music fans prepare to trawl through the racks of their local record store on Saturday, ARIA reveals vinylphiles are embracing new releases on the shiny black plastic as much as they replenishing their collections with classic albums. While Queen’s hit collections were among the most sought-after records in 2018, new releases by Australian artists including Gang Of Youths, Tash Sultana, Skegss and four albums by psychedelic rock heroes King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard factored in the top 50 albums.
Dublin, IE | Top Irish bands are doing a special gig in Dublin’s Grand Social for teens to get them interested in vinyl: The gig marking Record Store Day aims to encourage them to start their own vinyl collection. A host of top Irish music acts are joining forces to perform a very special gig for teens in Dublin . Dublin Is Sound hosted by Nialler9 and Seven Quarters is open to teens of all ages – although under 14s must be accompanied by an adult. The lineup includes Pillow Queens, Squarehead, God Knows and Tebi Rex. The gig marking Record Store Day aims to introduce teens to some of Ireland’s best new music acts and encourage them to start their own vinyl collection. Advance ticket buyers get a limited edition 12″ vinyl record on the day featuring tracks from the acts. The alcohol-free gig takes place this Saturday, 13 April in The Grand Social on Liffey Street from 1pm to 4.30pm Tickets cost €10 or €12 including limited edition 12″ record.
St. Albans, UK | St. Albans vinyl shop gearing up for Record Store Day 2019: For the sixth year running, Empire Records in Heritage Close is hosting Record Store Day – an annual event set up in 2008 to commemorate vinyl shops across the country. There are special vinyl releases for the occasion, and Empire Records are opening early, from 8am, in anticipation of greater footfall. Managers are expecting to welcome hundreds of people to the store. They will be stocking exclusive releases from David Bowie, Jeff Buckley, Captain Beefheart, and Idles. Sales assistant Eddie James said: “That ‘record shop spirit’ you hear so much about really shines on Record Store Day. Strangers chat for hours about their favourite music, and new friends are made. “It really is what independent shopping is all about – community.” He said the day would be full of “fun, friendship, and a shared passion for music.”
Hattiesburg, MS | Record Store Day: Pine Belt musicians help turn the tables: That celebratory time of year is upon us once again. Time to study the lists, get to T-Bones early to get the lay of the land and then at the stroke of 8 a.m., dive in to almost 500 exclusive releases for the vaunted day that comes every April. This year marks the 10th year of T-Bones participating with 1,800 other stores nationwide in this event. In addition to the wealth of vinyl prizes, DJ Todd Tomorrow and other guests will be spinning the best wax all morning. Come afternoon you will be treated to sets from five fantastic local artists whose music covers all genres. T-Bones is proud to have Thomas Jackson, The Squid and The Whale, The Floridamen, Royal Horses and Brotha Josh & The Quickness playing for you. Finally, as if all that simply was not enough, T-Bones will also have all new (non-RSD product) and used vinyl as well as books on sale. So make plans to come and commemorate this day as we join together to honor that which brings us together – Record Store Day!
Leeds, UK | These are the Leeds music shops taking part in Record Store Day 2019: Two Leeds record shops are among 200 in the UK taking part in a national music event this weekend. Record Store day 2019, which is backed by BBC Sounds, takes place on Saturday April 13. Jumbo Records in the Merrion Centre and Crash Records on The Headrow are both involved. The day celebrates unique record store culture with exclusive vinyl releases, in-store performances, food and drink. Crash Records, which has had a presence in Leeds since 1985, will open at 8.30am on the day, an hour earlier than normal. Music fans should expect to queue for entry. The first 50 people to arrive will be able to reserve a first-choice item at the counter while they browse. The list of exclusive LPs the shop expects to have on sale is available on Crash Records’ website and is updated regularly until Saturday. Jumbo Records will also open at 8.30am, and customers can queue inside the Merrion Centre from 6.30am. They have also published a list of the new releases they expect to stock on their website.
Athens, GA | SC musicians and vinyl shops revel in the unexpected resurgence of the record: A Razor scooter was propped up against a human-height stack of cardboard boxes full of records in the warehouse that looked more like an elementary school with bright primary colors than a factory. One employee shoveled a handful of Chex Mix into his mouth between trips carrying buckets of bright-pink PVC bits across the room to the pressers. Another turned up the volume of the music playing over the loudspeaker, bobbing his head to the beat while placing center labels onto a stack of freshly made records. It was a Thursday afternoon at Kindercore, a vinyl pressing plant that several South Carolina artists use to produce their records in the retro format that reigned supreme in the 1960s and ’70s, and now is making a comeback.
Leeds, UK | BBC Radio 6 Music to broadcast live from Jumbo Records in Leeds this Friday: Mary Anne Hobbs will host her show live from Jumbo Records to commemorate Record Store Day. Mary Anne Hobbs will host her BBC Radio 6 Music live from Leeds this Friday (April 11) to commemorate Record Store Day. This is an annual event in when over 200 independent record stores from across the country come together to celebrate their unique culture. Hobbs hosts the mid-morning show on BBC Radio 6 Music, and she will be joined at the store in the Merrion Centre by special guests Rozi Plain, Aidan Moffat and RM Hubbert who will be playing live. It will also feature an exclusive Friday Mix of Record Store Day releases plus Chemical Brothers tour DJ, Bugged Out resident and Back to Basics’ James Holroyd will be delivering a DJ set.
Lincoln, NE | Get ready for Saturday’s Record Store Day: Want the Record Store Day release of the mono version of Pink Floyd’s “A Saucerful of Secrets”? Better get there early. The same advice applies for Pearl Jam’s “Live At Easy Street,” Green Day’s live Woodstock 1994 recording, Bingo Hand Job’s “Live at the Borderline, 1991,” the colored vinyl pressings of the “Bohemian Rhapsody” soundtrack and Greta Van Fleet’s “From The Fires.” So where is there? In alphabetical order — Backtrack Records, 1549 N. Cotner Blvd.; Lefty’s Records, 2776 South St.; and Lincoln Vintage Vinyl, 908 N. 70th St. And what is early? Doors open at all three stores at 7 a.m. Saturday. And, barring an April blizzard, there will be a line of more than 50 people outside each of the shops when those doors open — all there to get the records they want during the annual event that’s a vinyl scavenger hunt and celebration of independent, brick-and-mortar record stores rolled into one.
Chatham, UK | Record Store Day returning to Chatham: Vinyl enthusiasts can again head to downtown Chatham on Record Store Day to scoop up the limited-edition releases made available for the event. Joel Morningstar, owner of Jamstar Records, said last year’s event was a successful with all but three of the special records sold by the end of the day. He said he’s looking forward to the excitement people feel about the day, which was shown last year with a lineup of about 30 people before his doors opened. “There is a lot of new exclusive stuff,” he said. “That’s what makes it fun, people race around like an Easter egg hunt.” Artists of various genres use the day to put out reissues of classic albums or vinyl with rare tracks never released on the format. Morningstar said he expects he’ll have about 60 titles available and he can’t put aside any of the items for his customers. “I get people who stop in here looking for one thing specifically,” he said. “I don’t know if we’ll get it, but that’s the fun part. They’ll race in here to see if I’ve got it.”
Reading, PA | Vinyl destination: Inside Record Store Day 2019: Record Store Day returns this weekend to help keep independent retailers spinning. Saturday is an unofficial holiday for record collectors and record shops. Founded to boost traffic at independent retailers, Record Store Day has done that and more, playing a large role in keeping many of them in business. The 12th iteration takes place this weekend, with stores offering limited special releases, discounts and, at some sites, live music. Participating area retailers include Vertigo Music in West Reading, Rite Round Records in Robesonia, CD Exchange in Mohnton, Young Ones in Kutztown and the Record Connection in Ephrata. The main draw for collectors are the special releases and re-issued singles and albums only available at participating stores. Some items eventually get wider releases, but most are exclusive to the event; when they’re sold out, that’s it.
Sarnia, ON | Record Store Day returns to Sarnia’s Cheeky Monkey: Music lovers will get the chance to party like it’s 1989 as Sarnia’s independent record store, Cheeky Monkey, will be partaking in Record Store Day beginning at 9:30 a.m. on April 13. With hundreds of new and rare vinyl releases from classic and contemporary artists being distributed to independent record stores across North America, music fans who love old-school LPs, EPs and singles will have the chance to search for hidden gems from a diverse range of artists. Most every music genre will be represented during Record Store Day, which began in 2007 as a tribute to the spirit, the culture and the talismanic qualities of independent records stores throughout Canada and the U.S. With the recent resurgence of vinyl records, Record Store Day has grown exponentially in size, with vinyl fans across the continent camping outside their local record stores, eagerly waiting to see which releases have been sent to their neighbourhood vinyl vendors.
Casper, WY | Record Store Day is like ‘Christmas” for music fans, indie stores: Sonic Rainbow manager Brandon Schulte has one word to describe this year’s Record Store Day. Variety. In preparation for this year’s RSD, Schulte has been busy organizing the masses of used vinyl in Casper’s venerable independent record store’s storage space. Hundreds of new titles will be put out for sale during the annual event, said Schulte. A good chunk of the titles come from a collection the store bought from a former Texas resident in September. “He bought most of his stuff when he was going to grad school in Austin,” said Schulte, who said the music fan did his Master’s thesis on Bob Dylan and amassed a huge collection of not just classic rock and folk, but also “off the wall” items like New Wave and indie that would’ve been plentiful in Austin’s eclectic music market. Some of the other stuff that gets record nerds lining up every year are the indie store exclusives that come in from the labels.
