Young People are Trading Screens for Old-Fashioned Hobbies: As soon as Jess Farnham, 25, wakes up in the morning, she doesn’t turn her phone off airplane mode. She instead turns to her bookshelf next to her bed and grabs her daytime gratitude journal. After getting ready for the day, she turns to the sofa across from her bed to help her not fall back asleep and be tempted to use her phone. While having breakfast, she still does not turn her phone off from airplane mode, and instead reads a non-fiction book because it helps her start her day feeling inspired. “Although we spent so much time online scrolling and stuff with, you know, it’s a thing of, ‘oh, you want to be more connected,’ but actually, I think spending more time on screens and scrolling definitely left me feeling more disconnected from the little joys in life,” She said. “I feel like a lot of analog things bring a lot of people love, joy, but they kind of forgotten about those.”
Newton Abbot, UK | Shop gearing up for first Record Store Day at new premises: A Newton Abbot record shop is preparing for this year’s Record Store Day and it will be the first at a new location. Roger and Marsha Cox, owners of Phoenix Sounds, the town’s independent record store, are looking forward to bringing the town together for Record Store Day 2026 on Saturday, April 18 at their new shop on East Street, a stone’s throw from St Leonards clock tower. Last year saw around 300 vinyl enthusiats queuing on Queen Street. And this year is sure to capture the attention of local shops who have yet to witness Record Store Day previously. As one of the most significant dates in any vinyl enthusiast’s diary, Record Store Day is an international celebration of independent record stores and the vibrant community that supports them. Roger and Marsha, supported by Megan and Alice, will welcome record-lovers from 8am.
Bangkok, CN | Vinyl Die Hards: A shop for die-hard fans in Srinakarin that lives up to its name, serving collectors devoted to the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. The racks are mainly a time capsule of classic rock, soul and soft-focus pop, with copies ranging from factory-sealed to gently worn—although we say those faint scuffs often reward the listener with a sense of history. The owner has spent a lifetime in the company of records, and it shows. Mention an album you half remember from your dad’s car stereo and he’ll crouch beside you, flicking through sleeves with quiet determination until it surfaces. You’re not simply handed an item at the till. You’re given context, anecdotes, small lessons in pressing history. That exchange transforms a purchase into a shared memory, and very few places do it so well.
Dubuque, IA | Biz Buzz: Dubuque store opens with space for records, thifting, community. A new record store opened this month in Dubuque. Roll-On-Records opened at the corner of 27th and Jackson streets, with a laundromat in the back. The business carries over 8,000 vinyl records, over 1,000 CDs, nearly 400 cassettes and Blu-Ray DVDs. The store features a space to buy apparel, and artwork by local artists available for purchase hangs on the wall. …“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” owner Aaron Burbach said. “I really wanted to contribute to the community.” Burbach said he chose the building because he feels good about the area and where it is heading. He designed the space to fit the community’s needs. When he bought the building, he knocked on doors to talk with neighbors.
Orange, CA | Courtney Barnett Advance Listening Event at Resident Vinyl: We’re hosting a special listening event for the new album from Courtney Barnett. Join us on Thursday, March 26 at 6 PM as we gather in the shop to hear Creature of Habit in full ahead of its release. Courtney Barnett has built a devoted following thanks to her sharp storytelling, dry humor, and unmistakable guitar sound, and this new record continues that tradition. Listening events are one of our favorite things to host at Resident Vinyl. There’s something special about hearing a record for the first time in a room full of fans who care about the music as much as you do.
Napa Valley, CA | Folklore Blends Napa’s Finest Wines with a Love of Vinyl: California’s Napa Valley is known for its rich presence in the wine history books. Its lush Mediterranean climate makes it the perfect area to grow the grapes that go into some of the world’s most renowned bottles of wine, and this wealthy area has a new place to test some of these fine elixirs. Folklore is your all-in-one stop for Napa culture, featuring locally made wines alongside a terrific selection of vinyl records. The one-stop shop, owned and operated by the married duo of Steve Ventrello and Faith Henschel-Ventrello, has been providing their community with a safe space to explore the nuances that connect them through domestic and foreign wines and a deep passion for music.
Mt. Kisco, NY | Vinyl Wednesday: Vinyl Wednesday—A listening lounge in one of the best-sounding rooms around. Jazz on Main is known first and foremost for its sound. Designed as an exceptional acoustic room for live music, the space reveals detail, warmth, and depth that most bars simply can’t. On Wednesdays, we turn that room into a vinyl listening lounge—no live band, no cover, just carefully selected records played in a space built to be heard. Jazz on Main was designed as a listening room—controlled acoustics, balanced reflections, and a layout that lets sound fill the space without overpowering conversation. Vinyl Wednesday exists because this room deserves to be used—even when there’s no band on stage.
Portland, ME | ‘Listening bar’ in Portland’s Arts District to feature vinyl records, diner food: Work is underway to develop a leased space at 511 Congress St., in Portland’s Arts District, into a “listening bar” featuring an extensive collection of vinyl records along with cocktails and higher-end diner food. “When I started thinking about this space, I started beefing up my own record collection a couple of years ago—eBay, flea markets, local record shops, friends,” said Nicole Costas. Costas is partners in the venture, called Bad Neighbors, with David Aceto and Dennis Gaines. …The goal is to open by April or May. What makes vinyl attractive? “We all need to unplug a little bit—and it feels warm and inviting,” said Costas. “Building something unique to the state that also fosters a strong sense of community is exactly the kind of work we love doing.”
Book Review: Toxic Completism—Rescuing Jazz from the Algorithm in “Listening to Prestige.” …there’s a bit more urgency these days for a book like Listening to Prestige. Tad Richards is the man for the job. As he points out, in his preface, he was a ’50s-era jazz and pop music obsessive who “knew all the flip sides” on hit 45s. He and a collector friend liked to challenge each other “to list, from memory, all the jazz artists who recorded for Capitol or EmArcy, or all the musicians who were still alive who had played with Bird.” When Spotify came along, he debated getting a subscription because it gave you access to “an unheard-of catalog of great and obscure jazz records.” Except for the catch: “[T]hey didn’t give the personnel on each cut.”
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