London, UK | London’s Low Company Record Shop To Close For Good: The East London store says its plan to close in spring 2021 was brought forward by the COVID-19 pandemic. London record shop Low Company is closing for good as a physical and online store this Friday (August 21). The news was confirmed in a typically lengthy newsletter penned by Low Company founder, and previous Blackest Ever Black head honcho, Kiran Sande, who explained that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shop’s closure, which was originally planned for spring 2021. He adds that he considered moving the Hackney shop to a new location nearby, but decided to close the operation for good as the new location required taking out an eight-year lease. “We’re not disappearing off the face of the earth,” Sande’s letter says. “The eponymous label will continue. So will the manufacturing and distribution of a handful of other labels in our loose family (new releases from Bobby Would, Nkisi, Gewissen, Jane Arden). But the shop – as physical entity and as tragicomic group endeavour—is done.”
London, UK | Next Door Records Opens In West London: As record shops begin to recover after lockdown… It’s been a tough year so far, whether it be the queues outside Tesco, the endless quizzes on Zoom, Joe Wicks being your new alarm or the zig-zag runs. One of the biggest victims of this pandemic has been businesses, particularly local ones. They’ve had to trudge on with a series of major setbacks, whether it’s forcing their shops to close for safety precautions, or not being able to attract enough footfall to keep running. The impact has been so severe that sadly a lot of these local and independent businesses have been forced to close their doors for good, a sight none of us want to see. One of the worst impacted local businesses were records shops, where the magic of going in and having a dig for your favourite record was simply not viable, placing an immense financial strain on shops around the country. Yet, there has been a recent glimmer of hope for record shop owners, as the Government continues to ease its lockdown restrictions, more and more of the city is opening up for us all to enjoy once again. Record shops, a beloved part of London’s music community, are included among the sites allowed to welcome customers under these new guidelines.
Darien, CT | Looking for rare vinyl? Johnny’s Records in Darien to join Record Store Drop Day: Johnny’s Records, a beloved longtime record store in Darien, is participating in Record Store Drop Day, an event when vinyl fans and collectors can get one-of-a-kind titles. This is a redesigned format for Record Store Day, a twice-a-year event that celebrates Independent Record Stores. Originally, it was postponed from April to June due to COVID-19. “Like our customers, we will miss the joy and camaraderie of a bustling Record Store Day. But for the time being, we want to emphasis safety and consideration of our shoppers’ health,” said John Konrad of Johnny’s Records. Founded in 2008, it is usually held the third Saturday in April and the day after Thanksgiving. For these days, several hundred special records are issued and distributed through Indie record stores. The titles are not available on Amazon or in large box stores. …At Johnny’s, instead of forming a line outside the door, shoppers should wait in their cars. On a sheet at the door, each customer should sign up with their name and car model/license plate and return to their vehicle to wait. Customers should not gather outside the door.
Chicago, IL | How Chicago record stores are keeping the music alive and their lights on: Three local record store owners share their approach to reopening and the challenges their businesses face. For a certain type of music fan, nothing beats an afternoon spent digging through albums in a record store—an experience that’s been in short supply since mid-March when non-essential Chicago retailers closed their doors to customers. …Ahead of the first of three Record Store Day Drops that will provide independent shops with exclusive new releases, we spoke with three Chicago record store owners about their differing approaches to resuming business after being partially shut down for several months, from allowing in-person shopping to transitioning to an online-only model. They also touched on some of the challenges that have accompanied the pandemic, like increasingly unreliable shipping, mounting competition from online marketplaces and the real possibility that retailers will have to close their stores (again).
Rehoboth, DE | Dogfish Head honors Record Store Day with Galaxie 500: For this group of self-proclaimed beer geeks with a music problem, the words “Record Store Day is FINALLY here,” could not sound any sweeter! Dogfish Head, the Official Beer of Record Store Day, and legendary indie rock trio, Galaxie 500, are celebrating with a limited-edition beer and vinyl release slated for Saturday, August 29. For the first time on vinyl, Galaxie 500 will release its iconic 1987 live performance, Copenhagen. To complement Galaxie 500’s intense and melodic album, Dogfish Head will release Coping Haven, a Danish-style Rye Pilsner brewed from ingredients inspired by historical Danish brewing tradition, including floor-malted light golden pilsner malt, hearty malted rye and a blend of Moravian hops. The result is a characterful lager with floral and herbal hop aromas, a bready and gently spicy malt flavor, and a clean, dry finish. Priced at just $17 per 4pk/16oz cans, Coping Haven will be available for curbside pick-up – while supplies last – from Dogfish Head’s Rehoboth EmPOURium beginning August 29.
