Vinyl lovers rejoyce: World celebrates Record Store Day

Vinyl lovers from all over the world celebrated Record Store Day this Saturday by turning out to support their local record stores.  

Record Store Day is a semi-corporate holiday in April that originated back in 2008. The day falls on a random Saturday during the month of April, which for this year was held on April 22.

This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the event. The holiday was born in the United States and has spread to other countries around the world as a way to celebrate local record stores, often marked with unique releases and special remastered albums released on vinyl. This year had releases from musicians such as Lil Uzi Vert, Sun Ra, Run the Jewels, Talking Heads, Animal Collective, and hundreds more.

The first Record Store Day took place on April 19, 2008, but the idea came to life in 2007. Today there are stores participating in Record Store Day on every continent except Antarctica. The holiday/organization is the collective brainchild of Michael Kurtz and Carrie Colliton. Kurtz and Colliton founded the holiday in the United States, while several other members being in charge in different countries and continents.

“Throughout its years, cities across the United States, including New York City, Los Angeles, Boise, Charleston and Las Vegas have declared Record Store Day an official holiday,” reads the about section of their website, showing how vast the holiday has become.

“My introduction to all this great music and to ‘the music business’ came from hanging around, and eventually, working at independent record stores,” said Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy. “Nothing beats browsing in your favorite store, listening to music, finding something new or old that you’ve been searching for, all that. And without these stores, there’s just no way Wilco would still be around.”

This is one of many quotes from celebrities, musicians, record store owners, and the public featured on the Record Store Day website, showing the significance and wide-reaching love of the holiday and the culture it carries with it.

People are passionate about music, and these music fans and collectors patiently wait all year for this holiday held for vinyl aficionados. It essentially turns local shops into meccas for record collectors and music lovers for one day a year. Record Store Day is a beautiful holiday for people who have deep love of music and appreciate a “better” way to listen to their favorite artists.

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