Bruno Mars is the 2026 Record Store Day Ambassador: The star will release a compilation album, The Collaborations, on April 18. Lucky for the world, Bruno Mars has officially been named the 2026 Record Store Day ambassador. The news comes as the star is plotting a jam-packed year. Mars kicked off 2026 by announcing his highly-anticipated fourth album The Romantic, his first in a decade. The singer is also heading out on the road for an accompanying world tour. As Record Store Day ambassador, Mars emphasized his special connection to record stores in a video shot at Las Vegas’ Moondog Records shop. “You get the chance to immerse yourself, surround yourself with music,” the star said. “I love being able to physically be surrounded by music. Not just staring at your phone and downloading something or listening to something on your phone, but to actually see all of this beautiful art around you. It inspires me.”
Alexandria, VA | Alexandria’s Crooked Beat Records to Close at End of the Month: The closure comes after nearly 5 inches of water flooded the store earlier this month. fter flooding closed Del Ray’s Crooked Beat Records earlier this month, the record store announced this weekend that it will close its storefront on Saturday, January 31. Owner Bill Daly shared the update over Facebook on Sunday. Crooked Beat Records will be open Thursday through Saturday for last visits before closing. The decision to close comes after Daly was told more extensive repairs would have to be made to the store. But the store won’t be closing for good. Daly’s post also mentioned he is looking for a new location in Del Ray in order to reopen the business. “We really love Del Ray,” said Daly in a recent Facebook video.
CA | Honeymoon Suite tap into vinyl magic as Record Store Day Canada ambassadors: For Honeymoon Suite, vinyl isn’t nostalgia—it’s the foundation. It’s how the band first learned to fall in love with music, long before radio hits and platinum plaques. Now, four decades into a career that helped define mainstream Canadian rock, the Niagara Falls–bred hitmakers are circling back to where it all began, named the official Record Store Day Canada Ambassadors for 2026. To mark the honor, Honeymoon Suite are releasing a Record Store Day–exclusive edition of The Singles, pressed on limited-edition translucent red vinyl and available only at independent record stores across Canada. It’s a greatest-hits collection that reads like a time capsule of arena-ready hooks and fist-pumping choruses, the kind of songs that once blasted from car stereos, MTV and MuchMusic countdowns, and movie soundtracks.
SG | Spin me right round: A music lover’s guide to the city’s best record stores. Listening to music on Spotify, Amazon Music, or Apple Music is definitely great, but nothing quite compares to the thrill of flipping through vinyl crates and stumbling upon a record with a story of its own. Vinyl shopping is as much about the hunt as it is about the music; complete with the artwork and the history pressed into every groove and former owner of the record. From timeless legends like The Beatles to beloved icons such as Teresa Teng, Singapore’s record stores offer a treasure trove for both seasoned collectors and curious newcomers alike. In this guide, we spotlight some of Singapore’s best vinyl spots, each with its own personality and carefully curated selection waiting to be explored.
Devon, UK | A good record shop closes: Recognising the contribution of Drift Records to independent music retail. Independent record shops come and go, even the good ones. Drift Records mattered because it was careful, opinionated, and genuinely part of the music it sold. It built its reputation by doing things properly, and its closure will be felt by a lot of people who care about records for the right reasons. We’ve been around long enough to know that loyalty isn’t about branding or hype. It’s about turning up, serving customers, packing records properly, getting them out on time, recommending good music, writing things people want to read, putting up with industry crap, and staying curious long after the first pressing sells out. Running a shop like that isn’t easy, and Drift did it.
Vancouver, BC | ‘I’m flabbergasted:’ Mystery record discovered at B.C. thrift store makes decades-old musical dream come true. This was not the first time that Marcus Pollard had found an old acetate record in a thrift store with no name on the label and lots of damage on the disc—and bought it anyway. “Because every time I go, ‘There might be something cool on that,’” Marcus smiles. “And there never is.” Never. Until now. “It instantly hit me like a brick,” Marcus says of playing the record for the first time. It was a “visceral rush” that compelled him to consult with music historians and scour the internet to find out who he was hearing. “I asked, ‘Anybody know this?” Marcus recalls. “And it was, ‘No. No. No. No.” Until, after two years’ worth of ‘no,’ on an obscure garage band blog, Marcus finally found a ‘yes’. “This guy goes, ‘Hey! That’s my record.’” Marcus smiles.
UK | Record Store Day unveils three exclusive live-to-vinyl releases: Record Store Day UK, in partnership with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey and Metropolis Studios, is delighted to announce three exclusive live-to-vinyl releases, available only through independent record shops as part of the Record Store Day celebrations on Saturday 18 April 2026. Kokoroko, The Snuts, and Nilüfer Yanya each recorded a special session at Metropolis Studios, captured in a single uninterrupted take and cut directly to lacquer in real time, with no edits or retakes. The result is three unrepeatable recordings, each pressed to vinyl and housed in bespoke artwork inspired by the artists’ live performances.
Tokyo, JP | Discover the ‘70s at The Carpenters vinyl listening event in Tokyo Feb. 28. Throughout the ‘70s, the Carpenters, a sibling musical duo starring Richard and Karen Carpenter were enormously popular across generations in Japan. When I think back to the age, I remember when I walked down the street or stepped into a café, I could always hear Karen’s warm gentle voice and the nostalgic melodies everywhere. The musical duo debuted in 1969 with the album “Offering” and the single “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” released the following year, became a No. 1 hit in the U.S., instantly making them stars. The Carpenters would go on to sell over 100 million copies worldwide and win three Grammy Awards. Despite Karen Carpenter’s sudden death in 1983, the duo’s music can still be heard in films and commercials and fans continue to play their songs all over the world.
Limpopo, SA | Victor Duplay’s Vinyl Camp invites music lovers to reconnect with sound: In the hills of Limpopo, under open skies and little to no pretence, community comes before clout. It’s the kind of landscape that puts Victor “Duplay” Mashitoa’s lifelong love affair with vinyl into perspective, and it’s where the DJ and cultural curator has quietly built one of South Africa’s most earnest grassroots music projects. Victor is the force behind Vinyl Camp, a vinyl-only music retreat that has grown from an intimate gathering of friends into a full-blown cultural movement. At its core, Vinyl Camp is a reaction against the sort of hype cycles that fuel headliner culture, in city centres and on social media. It’s about slowing down, listening deeply, and reconnecting with DJ’ing as the craft of sharing music.
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