On Saturday, April 18, 2009, hundreds of independently-owned music stores across the country will celebrate Record Store Day. Record Store Day gives music stores and their fans a chance to celebrate the culture and unique place that they occupy both in their local communities and nationally.
What's Record Store Day all about? Check out this episode of Stuck in Vermont from RSD 2008 featuring Pure Pop Records to see what it's like.
From Record Store Day themselves:
This is the one day that all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, djs spinning records and on and on.
And something from one of my favorite artists, Joan Jett:
The indie record stores are the backbone of the recorded music culture. It's where we go to network, browse around, and find new songs to love. The stores whose owners and staff live for music have spread the word about exciting new things faster and with more essence than either radio or the press. Any artist that doesn't support the wonderful ma and pa record stores across America is contributing to our own extinction.
Visit recordstoreday.com to find a venue near you and see a list of in-store events.