Alexandria, VA | Alexandria record store closing after devastating flooding, seeking new location: Crooked Beat Records in Alexandria, Virginia, will only be open for a few more days in its current Del Ray location. Devastating flooding damaged the store’s building and hundreds of vinyl records, some of them extremely valuable. The store is reopening Thursday, Friday and Saturday, which will be its last day operating at its current location on Mt. Vernon Avenue. After that, the future of the store is uncertain. “We’ll keep people posted on where we find a new location,” owner Bill Daly said in a message to customers on Instagram. “We really love Del Ray. We want to stay in Del Ray. So, we’re going to keep looking and hope things will get back to normal soon.”
Hong Kong, CN | Vinyl record bar 8055 reopens to bring new beats Lan Kwai Fong’s nightlife scene: Listen, we love a good beat drop or screaming chart-toppers like any other nighttime reveller in the city, but in this era of EDM and throwback pop-heavy party scene, it would be nice to enjoy something authentic that sounds different for once. Well, it looks like we got our wish, because a vinyl record-based bar has just announced they’ll be opening in Lan Kwai Fong. The brainchild of longtime friends Brian and Ah Hei, the 8055 vinyl bar has had previous iterations based in Causeway Bay and Wan Chai, which grew in popularity to welcome even local celebrities and creatives like Eason Chan and Tyson Yoshi as patrons. The pandemic saw the shuttering of the bar—but not for good.
Los Angeles, CA | VinylCon! returns to Los Angeles this spring: VinylCon! is set to return to Los Angeles this spring, bringing its growing vinyl-focused convention back for a two-day event at the California Market Center in downtown Los Angeles. The event will take place March 21-22, marking the second Los Angeles edition of the multi-city vinyl fair. The announcement follows VinylCon!’s debut Los Angeles outing last summer, which drew more than 2,500 attendees and featured over 80 record dealers from across the United States and abroad, including sellers from Japan and the Netherlands. Organizers said the first L.A. edition was one of the largest record fairs the city had seen in years, attracting collectors, DJs and music industry figures searching for rare pressings and sample material. Tickets are on sale now, with more details to be released in the coming weeks.
Queen rereleasing ‘Live Killers’ and ‘The Platinum Collection’ on vinyl: Queen is revisiting their 1979 album, Live Killers. The band is set to reissue the live album on two-LP black vinyl on Jan. 30, marking the first time it’s been available on vinyl in years. The double live album was originally released in June 1979 and featured songs recorded during the European leg of their Jazz Tour, which ran from January 1979 to March 1979. The album includes performances of “We Will Rock You,” “We Are the Champions,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Killer Queen,” “Don’t Stop Me Now” and “You’re My Best Friend.” Live Killers is available for preorder now. But Live Killers isn’t the only Queen album getting a vinyl rerelease. The band also recently announced they will be releasing their box set The Platinum Collection on black vinyl for the first time. The six-LP set features all three of the band’s Greatest Hits albums in one collection.
Acoustic Sounds to celebrate 40th anniversary with 40-title audiophile vinyl record series: Analogue Productions unveils a new partnership with Rhino Records for 2026 and beyond: The Acoustic Sounds 40th Anniversary Series. Building on the success of the Analogue Productions Atlantic 75 Series, Analogue Productions and Rhino have partnered once again to bring iconic recordings from Warner Music Group’s storied catalog to vinyl, pressed at Quality Record Pressings (QRP) in Salina, Kansas. Beginning in January, the series will deliver two meticulously produced albums per month, spanning the archives of Warner Records, Reprise, Sire, Atlantic Records and more. For customers who want to subscribe to the entire 40-album series, the initial 400 LPs off of the press will be numbered and reserved for these customers, and for each release, they will receive their album with the same number.
A Legendary Hi-Fi Company Just Breathed New Life Into Its Older Speakers: The hi-fi gadget brings new streaming and grouping capabilities to its existing home speakers. Marshall is obviously best known for its iconic guitar amplifiers. So much so that, in recent years, it has released a wide range of Bluetooth speakers designed with the same classic rock aesthetic: black vinyl and gold accents, woven grilles, tactile knobs and switches, and Marshall’s signature logo positioned front and center. Now, the legendary British audio maker has introduced a new hub—the Heddon—that adds streaming capabilities to its existing Bluetooth speakers, making them more versatile than ever. …Marshall’s Heddon is a wireless streaming hub designed for people with multiple Marshall speakers in their homes, as it allows them to group their speakers into a multi-room audio system—a la Sonos.
Sony returns to vinyl with two new Bluetooth wireless decks: Sony is jumping back into the vinyl game for the first time since 2019 with the introduction of two new Bluetooth-enabled turntables. The PS-LX3BT and the PS-LX5BT make the analog experience much more accessible by baking in modern wireless audio technology. This product launch is particularly interesting because it happens as Sony explores a potential joint venture with TCL that would move its home audio and TV equipment into a new entity. This means the PS-LX3BT and PS-LX5BT could be among the last turntables released by Sony’s home entertainment business in its current configuration. It’s great to see the company still investing in physical media playback even with corporate changes on the horizon.
“As much as we talk about turntables, the backbone is digital”: Technics explains why vinyl might not be as analogue as you think. Think listening to vinyl is all analogue? Think again… If you’re a music lover, chances are you’ve got a record player. These days, what was once the only way of consuming audio is now seen as a purists choice, sparking a newfound love for the format in the last few years. But if you’re thinking that listening to audio on vinyl is a pure, analogue pursuit, you might be misinformed. That’s at least according to the US Business Development Manager for Technics, Bill Voss, who spoke on the topic in a recent podcast (shared by Headphonesty). Fortunately for those who enjoy vinyl as a method of evading the digital world, the musical stage generally is still pure. But there is a digital piece lurking within the mechanism, meaning it’s not a wholly analogue process.
Why Gen Zers are turning towards “analog lifestyles:” As dependence on AI and chatbots grows stronger every day, many are choosing to reject the tech in favor of physical, offline activities—A.K.A. “analog lifestyles.” “This is not about a short-term digital detox but about a long-term change in habits: using paper notes, film cameras, vinyl records, simple mobile phones, crafts, and live communication instead of social networks and algorithmic feeds,” news site Mezha explained. The outlet reported that craft store chain Michaels has seen a major surge in customers; they expect “an additional 30-40% growth in 2026.” For example, knitting. Michaels reported “requests for yarn kits increased by 1,200%” in 2025, which encouraged the store chain to “expand store space for craft supplies.” Some Gen Zers are even going so far as to carry “analog bags”—instead of just bringing their smartphone along for commutes or sitting in waiting rooms, young people are toting crossword puzzles, books and knitting needles.
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