Port Jervis, NY | Port Jervis welcomes new heavy metal record store: Metalheads across the Hudson Valley, you’re in luck. A niche record store has officially opened for business in Orange County with a specific focus on heavy metal, punk and hardcore. They’re also selling other cool merch and fun items, let’s introduce you to Ironhead Records. Now open for business at 169 Pike Street (just next to the liquor store), Ironhead Records is bringing the Hudson Valley a new spot for all things heavy metal, punk/hardcore. Offering items like vinyl, CDs, even tapes, as well as genre specific shirts and patches, owner Jesse Traynor has shared that Ironhead will also be selling ‘witchy books, tarot cards, candles, and other fun gothy stuff.’
Dundee, UK | Assai Records to open new store in Aberdeen: The Dundee independent firm is set to open its fourth location in Scotland. Independent record store Assai Records is set to open a new branch in Aberdeen. The music store is set to open next month on Back Wynd. Originating in Dundee a decade ago, the company already has three stores across Scotland: Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Assai sells vinyl records, CDs and official music merchandise. It also hosts artist signing events, listening parties and in-store performances. Owner Keith Ingram hinted at a Granite City opening last year. The team took to social media to express their excitement about the new opening. An Instagram post read: “After over 3 years planning, we are delighted to announce the opening of a new store in Aberdeen in November 2025.”
Nashville, TN | Ernest Tubb Record Shop Back Open. And Yes, They Have Records. Don’t ever give up on hope in country music, or its most storied institutions. That’s the lesson to draw from the Ernest Tubb Record Shop in downtown Nashville. So much more than just a record store and a relic of music’s past when physical media was much more important, the Record Shop played a role in disseminating country music to the world. …As opposed to a record shop, the first story is now a bar and restaurant (‘Ernest Grub’ the menu proclaims), with both a front stage and a back stage for performances. The second story that sat mostly unused in the previous incarnation of the Record Shop is now where the Record Shop itself is, along with another bar, and another stage for performances. Though the record inventory is a little light at the moment, a marquee above the bar proclaims “more vinyl to come.”
Daytona Beach, FL | Daytona’s Atlantic Sounds record store spins toward expansion: There are roughly 100,000 vinyl albums in the bins at Atlantic Sounds, the venerable record store just west of the bridge on International Speedway Boulevard, where expansion will soon make room for even more. This week, the shop’s longtime owner, Mike Toole, expects to welcome customers to a new, additional satellite shop at 142 W. International Speedway Boulevard, two doors to the west from the main shop that has been a haven for music lovers for 43 years. “We are simply out of room,” said Toole on a recent morning, chatting about the expansion between welcoming a steady stream of customers and fielding the occasional phone call at his cluttered workspace near the shop’s front door. “There’s more records,” he said, putting down the phone after talking with a customer offering used vinyl to potentially sell the shop, a Daytona Beach fixture for 43 years.
Langley City, BC | Langley City institution Krazy Bob’s to close forever: Used record store has operated downtown for almost 40 years. An institution on Langley City’s one-way section is closing down this month, with Krazy Bob’s Music Emporium poised to shut its doors for good on Oct. 26. The longtime owner widely known as Krazy Bob (he said only his mother knows him as Bob Foster) announced the closure on Facebook recently in an emotional video post. The closure, Foster said, stems from issues with the building’s landlord, and he received his official eviction notice earlier this month. However, with less than 10 days to go until the store closes, Foster said he didn’t want to focus on the reasons for the closure. “It’s not just a building, it’s not just a bunch of stuff, it’s the spirit of the community,” Foster said.
Columbus, GA | Where did this Columbus record store go? Owner talks relocation. See inside. Columbus record store owner Brian Cook wants to put to rest the rumors about his store’s relocation. “There’s a lot of different ideas about why I might have moved,” he said, “but, really, it comes down to money.” Blue Canary Records, formerly at 1250 Broadway, started moving Sept. 30 from its standalone brick-and-mortar space to a location only one mile away, inside The Vibe on 6th, a vintage market at 1301 Sixth Ave. Cook finalized the move in only two days. “I think a lot of people were shocked that I moved, maybe a little surprised, or there was a bit of disappointment,” Cook said. “Sometimes, we have to roll with change. This was a positive change.”
Shropshire, UK | Group self-fund campaign to support high street: A group of small businesses in a market town are self-funding a campaign to promote the high street. The Whitchurch Marketing Collaborative in Shropshire was set up after trades noticed a decline in footfall over the past year. The group hopes to launch a website and social media by Christmas to showcase shops, activities and events. Mark Fulton, who runs record shop The Vinyl Countdown, said the idea behind it is promoting “the whole town, as opposed to any individual piece of the jigsaw.” The record shop is one of six businesses in the town supporting the campaign, with others including lifestyle shop Moo & Boom, health store Refill Your Boots, and restaurant Wild Shropshire. Mr Fulton added that “modern living” means there is “less of an emphasis for people [to come] into a town centre.” He added that it can be tough for small businesses as “footfall has been falling.”
Twickenham, UK | Punk enthusiast spins the record on vinyl in the digital age: Meet the Marc Bolan superfan spinning the record on vinyl in the digital age at Twickenham’s one and only music shop. Phil Penman, whose love for vinyl is nothing short of iconic, owns the vibrant Eel Pie Records and is preparing to celebrate National Album Day on October 18 in line with this year’s theme: rock. The shop, nestled in the heart of Twickenham’s quaint Church Street and accessed through a small ‘stairway to heaven’ if you will, perfectly encapsulates the timeless charm of vinyl. The soundtrack to Eel Pie Records is exclusively albums they have in stock, to accommodate the inquisitive ear of those who wonder in for a light mooch and leave with a second-hand vinyl of Gladys Knight & the Pips greatest hits, Coldplay classic Parachutes and a pristine copy of Joy Crookes’ latest release. In fact, Phil said he quietly changes up the music depending on who’s in the room.
Cottonwood, AZ | Queen B Vinyl Café Celebrates One Year in Cottonwood with All-Day Anniversary Event: Queen B Vinyl Café is celebrating its first anniversary in Cottonwood with an all-day celebration on Saturday, Oct. 25. Over the past year, the immersive one-of-its-kind space—co-owned by Jennifer and her husband, musician Maynard James Keenan (Tool, Puscifer, A Perfect Circle)—has established itself as Northern Arizona’s cultural hub with its mixed-use space including a record store, café, wine bar, ramen house, coffee roastery, and barbershop. Free to attend and open to the public, the anniversary event will kick off at 10 a.m. on the café’s patio. Guests can partake in a “Casket Crate Dig” featuring used records and discounted new titles, exclusive items from Maynard’s vault, mystery bundles and music from DJ Jasperpunk & DJ Vil from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A raffle will be held for a selection of rare and limited-edition merch items from Maynard’s private collection.
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