Syracuse, NY | The Sound Garden announces 2026 Record Store Day details in Syracuse: Syracuse’s 2026 Record Store Day festivities will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 18 at The Sound Garden at 310 W. Jefferson St. Record Store Day has celebrated independent record stores across the country since 2008. It happens on the third Saturday of every April, when independently-owned shops sell exclusive vinyl and CD releases for in-person customers. It’s a way to honor staff members, artists and music lovers across the nation. Customers will be let into the shop on a first come, first served basis. Only one copy of a title can be purchased until everyone in the line is served.
US/UK | Record Store Day is proud to announce Robert Plant as the latest recipient of its Record Store Legend award. This accolade recognizes Robert Plant’s lasting impact on music around the world and his ongoing dedication to supporting new artists and record shops, as well as the record store community’s deep admiration for his work. “Record stores have always been a part of my life. For me, once you get to the physical record it’s because you really want to know and be a part of what the artist was considering. And I know, as a guy who’s been making records since 1966, people want to take home something very special, to enjoy all the elements of what an artist has put together. We want a connection between the music and the art of the whole thing.”
Princeton, NJ | Recording Artist Billy Squier in Princeton to “Tell the Truth” on Record Store Day: …Squier will be in Princeton on Saturday, April 18, at the Princeton Record Exchange (PREX) for National Record Store Day, created to celebrate the culture of the independently-owned record store. “On this special day, hundreds of limited-edition titles are exclusively available at brick-and-mortar record stores like PREX,” said Jon Lambert, PREX owner. “It’s the only day I know of in Princeton when hundreds of fans line the streets for hours.” Among the titles fans will be waiting to pick up is the special edition, Record Store Day double vinyl issue of Squier’s Tell the Truth, newly released by Flatiron Recordings. Considered Squier’s “lost” 1993 album, this is the first time the album will be released on vinyl.
Newton Abbot, UK | Vinyl-lovers set to celebrate record shop culture: A Newton Abbot record shop is among the hundreds of stores across the UK taking part in this year’s Record Store Day. The town’s independent record store, Phoenix Sounds, is preparing for the special event, which includes limited edition pressings of EPs and vinyl. The shop’s owners, Roger and Marsha Cox, alongside employees Megan and Alice, will welcome record-lovers from 8am at their East Street store. ‘We are excited and nervous about having our first Record Store Day in the new premises’, Roger and Marsha said. …‘Current circumstances have shaped the way we have had to operate and even though we are spinning in a smaller space we want to ensure the spirit of the old premises is replicated making the new space a go to for all music lovers across the county,’ they added.
Boston, MA | Boston Record Shops Promote a Love for Vinyl: Boston’s independent record shops are collectively fueling a vinyl revival by offering diverse atmospheres and carefully curated collections that cater to new collectors and seasoned enthusiasts alike. Boston’s independent record shops are collectively fueling a vinyl revival by offering diverse atmospheres and carefully curated collections that cater to new collectors and seasoned enthusiasts alike. A report by UMass Boston’s student newspaper, The Mass Media, noted the following record shops that are amplifying the love for vinyl…
Lawton, OK | Record Store Day means a road trip for local vinyl lovers: Record Store Day is coming up on Saturday, April 18, but for record collectors in Lawton, they’ll have to go out of town to shop the exclusive releases. There is not a record store in Lawton that participates in Record Store Day. Record Store Day is a national semi-annual event that is recognized on one Saturday every April and in November on Black Friday. The purpose of the day is to celebrate independently owned record stores with exclusive releases. And even though there’s not an independent record store in Lawton that doesn’t participate in Record Store Day, there are a few in other neighboring towns that do, so Lawton residents aren’t completely out of luck when it comes to snagging exclusive releases. As a music lover and avid record collector, Record Store Day is one of the best days of the year for me.
Muji meets cyberpunk vinyl record player glows like an ambient light and charges wirelessly: Minimalism in product design has gotten boring. We’re swimming in smooth white rectangles, touch controls that offer zero feedback, and devices designed to vanish. Apple spent two decades training the industry to sand away every visible seam, and now we live in a world where a Bluetooth speaker looks like a cylinder because a cylinder offends nobody. Bang & Olufsen understood early that audio equipment could occupy space like sculpture, could earn its place in a room through presence instead of absence. Teenage Engineering proved that mechanical honesty and playful geometry could coexist with premium materials. Both approaches work because they have a point of view.
Santa Rosa, CA | Forever Punk, Museum Showcases History of Local Scene: “You’re not punk, and I’m telling everyone” goes the zinger opening line from Jawbreaker’s song “Boxcar,” off their 1994 album 24 Hour Revenge Therapy. It’s a zinger because the song was an indictment of the ultra judgy, gatekeeper mentality that plagued the ’90s punk scene in the Bay Area, including Sonoma County’s scene, which was vibrant yet oft overlooked. Now everyone, punk or not, is welcome to dive headlong into the Sonoma County punk scene of yesteryear via longtime scenester (and current KQED senior arts & culture editor) Gabe Meline, who has curated “Disturbing the Peace: Sonoma County’s Early Punk Underground,” a first-of-its-kind retrospective and visual history of Sonoma County’s punk scene, at the Museum of Sonoma County.
Alexandria, VA | Making Vinyl: Alexandria conference focuses on musicians, bands pressing albums. D.C. has a long history of musicians and bands making and recording their own records. In a changing music industry, including the ongoing resurgence of vinyl, the do-it-yourself ethos spawned in the nation’s capital will be the focus of the upcoming Making Vinyl USA 2026 conference in Old Town Alexandria, at The Westin, from May 27 to 29. “Vinyl is still on an upward trend,” said Bryan Ekus, founder of Making Vinyl. “We continue to see an increase in sales, as well as the number of units that we manufacture each year.” Consumers of vinyl, both young and old, are supporting double digit growth, Ekus said. “We’re excited to be working on something which was thought to be dead not too long ago,” Ekus said.
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