Saturday, April 19 is an opportunity to move away from iTunes or Spotify, and into your nearest record store to join in on the celebration of Record Store Day! Many independent record stores, artists, and customers will be coming together to celebrate. A concept that was created in 2007, this one day celebration was put together to celebrate the culture of record stores and recognize their roles in their communities. The first official Record Store Day was kicked off by Metallica at Rasputin Music in San Francisco, California in 2008. It is now celebrated the third Saturday of April each year. Click here to find out more about the history and the mission.
So, what makes this day special compared to the rest? There are special vinyl and CD releases that record stores are invited to order. You can find the list of this years releases here. Although record stores are allowed to order whatever they would like, all of the releases will be allocated in limited quantities by the record labels. There are various promotional products made exclusively for the day and many artists in the U.S. and other countries make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, djs spinning records and other fun activities.
Here are a few places in DC to check out Saturday morning:
Hill & Dale Records (Georgetown Area)Canal Square1054 31st Street NWSuite 010Washington, D.C. 20007
Open: 10amFeatures for RSD: They ordered many of the RSD titles, but don’t have a list of what they received yet.
Crooked Beat Records (Adams Morgan)2116 18th St. NWWashington, DC 20009
Open: 9am for regular customers. (For Crooked Beat Frequent Customers, they will be allowed in the store at 8am).Features for RSD: They will be handing out free grab bags filled with new & used CDs, stickers, buttons, vintage 7″s, magnets, posters, keychains, and other goodies to the first 100 paying customers.
Red Onion Records & Books (Adams Morgan)1901 18th St NW #BWashington, DC 20009
Open: 11amFeatures for RSD: Here’s a list of what they’ll be getting in for RSD.
Smash Records (Adams Morgan)2314 18th ST NW 2nd FloorWashington, DC 20009
Open: 10amFeatures for RSD: They state that they’ve been stocking up for RSD, but no specifics yet!
Som Records (U Street)1843 14th Street NWWashington, DC 20009
Open: 12pmFeatures for RSD: Keep a lookout for updates!
Joint Custody (U Street)1530 U Street NorthwestWashington, DC 20009
Open: 12pmFeatures for RSD: They’ve celebrated RSD before, so keep a look out for updates!