The Joy Formidable made a stop at Washington, DC’s Rock and Roll Hotel on Black Friday, giving fans respite from the Thanksgiving holiday and oncoming Christmas onslaught. Celebrating ten years together, they treated VIPs to a short acoustic set prior to doors opening before filling the RnR Hotel with tight indie rock.
The Joy Formidable (Ritzy Bryan, Rhydian Daffyd, and Matt Thomas) are playing their entire album A Balloon Called Moaning (plus a few more from their catalogue) as a celebration of hitting ten years together. The fans, crammed into the RnR Hotel’s dark snug room, were ecstatic; one yelling appreciation to Thomas as he took the stage and many singing along with Bryan.
The band appeared to be in good humor and a celebratory mood as well, appearing delighted to play their old songs. Bryan stopped to thank a young boy (age ten or so) for being in attendance and Daffyd even took it in stride when an on-stage encounter with Bryan ended with a cut to the forehead, blood trickling down his nose. Thomas for his part pounded the drums like a sledgehammer; I was situated next to his drum kit and could feel the blasts of air moved by his high hat.
Charlottesville, VA | Siding with vinyl: The pros and cons of Record Store Day: …In the decade-plus since, RSD has grown to include more than 1,400 shops in the U.S., plus thousands of others on six continents (Antarctica is the exception), offering more than 500 exclusive vinyl releases in April and more than 150 every November. Three of Charlottesville’s independently-owned shops participate, and we wanted to know: Does the event actually honor record-store culture in the way it claims to? Yes and no. Record Store Days are a lot of work for employees—the buying and the staffing (in some cases, it’s all the same, single person)—and prep begins months in advance. …Not having the releases that customers want is one of the greatest frustrations of Record Store Day, says Cal Glattfelder, owner of Sidetracks Music. It’s difficult to tell an eager customer that the shop doesn’t have a particular release. Plus, RSD is risky business for these small shops. They pay thousands of dollars up front for records that may or may not sell, and labels don’t take returns. Stores might not make their money back right away, 
Duncan, OK | New record shop is ready to take you for a spin: Much like a prism with one beam light entering it making it break into the seven colors of the rainbow — it was one record, Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” which lead to the opening of Put The Needle On The Record for Karen and Casey Sorensen-Kindt. The couple split the duties up and Karen is the owner and Casey is the manager for the store, however, both like to get in a dig for vinyl records and other interesting items. Located at 113 W. Main Street, the store is a mix of old school media vinyl, even some 8 Tracks tapes to DVDs and CDs. “We both thought about doing some sort of small business for many years but I was serving in the army for 24 years, retired in 2014, finally settled here in Oklahoma about a year and a half ago,” Casey said. “And thought there was a great opportunity to take advantage of the fact there was no record store here in Duncan.” Karen said the couple started on a different route but 
Birmingham, UK | Trendy new vinyl bar and live music venue Dead Wax Digbeth to open in Birmingham: The Wagon & Horses has been transformed into Dead Wax Digbeth where you’ll be able to hear live acts, play records and even bring along your own vinyl to blast out. A new music venue and ‘vinyl bar’ where you can play records and even bring your own music is being opened in Birmingham. Dead Wax Digbeth will open its doors to music fans at the weekend with a four-day launch featuring 45 bands, musicians, artists and DJs from the city and across the Midlands. A series of specially curated free events will run across the venue’s three spaces from Thursday, November 28 to Sunday, December 1 – including two all-dayers, late-night DJ sets, rare live performances and acoustic sets. …Music fans and vinyl lovers will be encouraged to choose and play albums and singles from the bar’s 
UK | How golden oldies are driving a boom in independent music shops: Vinyl accounts for a huge proportion of sales at local retailers. Here’s some rare cheerful news for you: independent music shops are doing well despite an overall slump in the industry… The high-profile collapse of HMV earlier this year certainly makes it look that way. Although the brand was saved by a new owner, it immediately closed 27 stores in a reminder that music shops are not immune to the challenges of the high street. That includes high rents, business rates and consistent footfall declines. But there’s evidence this was 
