Phoenix, AZ | Phoenix record store to close after more than a decade: A haven for music shoppers and record collectors is saying goodbye to Arizona, but it’s not the end for this vinyl destination. Sorry, crate diggers and music shoppers. After 13 years in a couple of different Valley locations, The Record Room will close at the end of May. However, it’s not the end for the vinyl destination. Store owner John Rose and his wife Holly left Phoenix three years ago for the beachy Carlsbad, California, and have had a revolving staff running things since, with him returning as much as possible. However, that kind of back-and-forth travel has its challenges, and Rose decided that he’d like to keep the store going, just close to his Cali digs. …Rose says he is thankful for everyone who has worked in the shop, every band who has come to do an in-store show, and all customers who have come to trade and shop. He’ll be open through May 31, and on that final weekend, look for a sale or two to happen.
Dallas, TX | Chris Penn’s Memorial: Alex Montenegro, Joshua Ray Walker, Rhett Miller and More Celebrate His Life. His memorial brought out the best in Dallas, just as Penn always did. His closest friends also share their favorite memories. On a cloudy Thursday, May 15, the pavilion at Old City Park hosted the official memorial for Good Records co-founder and fixture of the Dallas music scene, Chris Penn. Penn, beloved by many, died in April, after a monthlong stay in the ICU due to spinal injuries sustained in a fall. Penn was 54. Several hundred Dallasites piled into the park for a program that included 10 speakers and three solo musical performances. The room was packed to the brim with essentially the entire Dallas arts community, all there to honor one of the most influential figures in its history. Good Records employee Alex Montenegro began the program with a performance of “Teaching Elvis,” an original that she wrote in the wake of Penn’s injury. She was followed by fabled Dallas writer Robert Wilonsky, who gave a short introduction to the proceedings.
Urbana, OH | Broken Melody Records cuts ribbon: Broken Melody Records, the newest addition to Urbana’s vibrant downtown scene, officially opened its doors with a celebratory ribbon-cutting on Saturday, May 10. The event marked the grand opening of the record shop located at 122 Miami Street East, drawing music lovers, community members, and local leaders together to welcome this unique business to the area. Specializing in buying, selling, and trading new and used vinyl records, CDs, and cassettes, Broken Melody Records offers a nostalgic and curated music shopping experience. The shop also features a small selection of retail items for collectors and music aficionados. To kick off the store’s event calendar, Broken Melody Records will be participating in the Midwest Record Crawl on May 24-25, inviting crate diggers and audiophiles from across the region to explore local record stores and celebrate music culture.
UK | 20 lost Black Country record shops that we sorely miss: See 20 of the most loved record stores that have sadly closed down over the years. Records are coming back, whether you collect them as nostalgia or as an investment, more and more people each year are choosing to take up vinyl collecting as a hobby. As an avid record collector myself, it’s a joyous experience that gives you a sense of nostalgia with every drop of the stylus. However, one thing I never got to experience was the dedicated golden-age of the record shop, when millions of people would rush to their local store on release day to grab the latest albums of singles. …So, with the idea of nostalgia in mind, and using the music shop archive website British Record Shop Archive, we have compiled a list of 20 much-loved record shops that sadly closed down over the years.
Los Angeles, CA | Los Angeles shop On Maritime Records opens second location: The new Melrose Ave store launched on May 10th. Los Angeles record shop On Maritime Records has opened a new location. The store, which sits at 7578 Melrose Ave, opened its doors last Saturday, May 10th. It stocks a broad range of genres, with a particular focus on dance singles, funk, soul, jazz, reggae and rare oddities. Over the next few weeks, On Maritime will host in-store DJs sets and label showcases. The first is going down tomorrow, with a takeover from SSRI (Sound & Spirit Research Institute). Highlights include Nomadico, Dave Aju and Kosmik. Running from midday through 6 PM, the event will also offer merch from Yaxteq, Underground Resistance, Submerge Recordings, Elbow Grease and Black Lodge Recordings. A long-standing record collector, founder Daniel Franco opened On Maritime’s first location at Highland Park alongside his two brothers, Isaac and Adlai.
Houston, TX | Cactus Music Celebrates 50 Years of Spinning Discs and Sonic Connections: Quinn Bishop remembers the first time that he ever set foot into Cactus Music. He was 12 or 13 years old at the very tail end of the 1970s when—after his incessant imploring—his parents let him “pop into” the original store’s location on Shepherd Drive. “We just didn’t come downtown all that much because we lived in Cypress. But any way I could con my parents into stopping at a record store, that was the game!” the now 57-year-old Bishop says via Zoom from his front porch. “But my visit was cut short!” He didn’t end up buying any discs that day, but soon began to regularly visit two record stores in Memorial City Mall and then one of the Cactus satellite locations at Willowbrook. He began to amass a record collection as his thirst and curiosity for music only grew. “I was into classic rock and hard rock, but I also really liked a lot of the edgier ‘80s punk and new wave like The Clash,” he says. “It caused me to break with some of my friends…”
Atlanta, GA | CratesATL spins new life into South Downtown’s vinyl scene: Vinyl lovers, rejoice! CratesATL has officially opened its doors in South Downtown, adding a soulful groove to Atlanta’s ever-evolving cultural landscape. Nestled among historic buildings and creative spaces on historic Hotel Row on Mitchell Street, CratesATL offers an eclectic selection of new and vintage records across genres, from hip-hop and jazz to rock, soul, and global grooves. Expect new and used vinyl, turntables, receivers, speakers and more. Dig for rare finds, connect with local DJs or just vibe within the crate-digging community. Whether you’re a seasoned collector or new to vinyl, CratesATL is the new must-visit destination for analog sound.
Oakham, UK | The Hoosiers to play gig at small record shop: Multi-platinum selling band The Hoosiers are set to play an intimate gig to just 70 people after a festival where they were due to perform was cancelled. The band had been booked for On the Green Fest in Peterborough, which was cancelled due to poor advance ticket sales. But instead the band will play a free gig at family-run independent record shop Rockabuy Records in Oakham, Rutland, on Saturday 24 May. Rockabuy owner Dean Poole said he was staggered when the festival organisers approached his son asking if they wanted The Hoosiers to play in their shop. Dean said: “The people who were running the festival know my son Chris and contacted him and said ‘the festival has been cancelled, so how do you feel about The Hoosiers playing in your shop?’ “My instant reaction was that we’ve only got a small shop which will only hold about 70 people; do they really want to play here?”
Edinburgh, UK | “It is a must visit for me”: Why this Edinburgh record store was chosen to receive a rare album from The Cure. Iconic rock band The Cure recently asked the featured artists on their new album for their favourite independent record store. And remix duo Daybreakers chose Edinburgh’s very own Thorne Records, a small vinyl retailer tucked in the heart of Bruntsfield. Alex Hush, who makes up one half of the collaboration, says that it was the community feel to the store that made it a “perfect fit” to receive the album. The shop was given one of only 24 acetate copies handed out worldwide by The Cure, and will be auctioning it at the end of the month. The Cure’s Mixes of a Lost World is a remix collection of their 14th studio album, Songs of a Lost World. In the lead up to its release on 13 June, the band has sent 24 acetate records to vinyl shops around the world. …The acetate records are intended to degrade as they play, and only feature a fragment of each song.
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