It's considered a holiday for music aficionados: Record Store Day returns Saturday for it's 18th year.
It began in 2008, said Scott Ferrell, General Manager at Down In The Valley in Golden Valley, Minnesota.
"Record stores were closing and dying everywhere," Ferrell explains. "A band of them got together and said, What are we going to do to get people back into record stores? So they started with a small assortment of exclusive vinyl releases, and it just grew from there. And now it's one of our biggest days of the year by far."
The releases are limited, which means no online ordering in an attempt to get people back into actual brick-and-mortar stores.
"That still doesn't stop people from, you know, being 800 or 900 deep when we open the doors at 9:00 a.m.," Ferrell explains.
Even though there won't be anything new from Prince, which is normally a big draw in his hometown record stores, especially approaching the 10th anniversary of his passing.
"No Prince, no. The celebration is coming up, but we didn't see a Prince release this year," Ferrell says.
The day is now considered a holiday for music lovers, and Ferrell isn't surprised by the resurgence. In fact, the expect people to camp out at both the Golden Valley and Maple Grove locations despite chilly weather.
"I think more of the surprise these days is young people, "he says. "It's not just the old guys that are in there buying the records like you'd assume or picture. You're finding young kids in buying vinyl. And even more interesting is that we're selling more CDs than we did 10 years ago, and there are exclusive Record Store Day CDs as well."
Here are a couple of events around the Twin Cities:
Down in the Valley: You can get discounted concert tickets from 9am–2pm at the Golden Valley store, which partnered with LiveNation to sell tickets with no service fees for all upcoming shows at Uptown Theater, Varsity Theater and The Fillmore.
Electric Fetus: They have a live DJ schedule all day, including - 10:00 a.m. - DJ Jake Rudh of Transmission, 11:30 a.m. - DJ Stereocat of Radio K, 1:00 p.m. - DJ A.J. Hilton of WCCO-TV, 2:30 p.m. - DJ TaliaKnight of KRSM, 4:00 p.m. - DJ Nur-D.
There's live music outside the store. At 11:00 a.m. they'll host an an acoustic set from Chris and Dave of The Suicide Commandos behind the store at 11:00 a.m. Vinyl copies of Highway 16 Revisited will be available for signing too. At 12:30 p.m., Ber will play a set behind the store to celebrate the release of Good, Like It Should Be. There will be signed copies of Good, Like It Should Be vinyl available for purchase in the store while supplies last.
They also have free caramel rolls and coffee and will open at 9:00 a.m.
Roadrunner Records: Doors open at 9:00 a.m. at the Minneapolis store. For the first hour or so, they'll be selling RSD exclusive releases only, until the line is done. They say they'll open the rest of the store, probably before 10:00 a.m. There's a special performance at 2:30pm by Dave and Chris from the The Suicide Commandos. They'll also have a showing of bargain LPs and CDs outdoors if the weather holds, along with a "monster-stash of great used records."
Lucky Cat Records: The Minneapolis shop has over 100 RSD limited edition vinyl releases, plus Lucky Cat Record Store Day 2026 T-shirts, Stickers & Buttons! Guess what? Another performance from Dave Ahl and Chris Osgood of the Suicide Commandos, who will play a short acoustic set and sign their new record ‘Highway 16 Revisited' from 1:30-2:15. They also have a Slim Dunlap ‘Every Little Word’ vinyl release weekend, with Slim Dunlap Vinyl, CDs, and merch (shirts, glasses, necklaces). Radio K will be on-site and there is also local vinyl prize giveaways.
There are many other stores and events around the area. You can search for a store near you here.
