WILMINGTON – The 5th annual Black Friday Record Store Day kicked off early at local music stores around the country – and around the world. The event, started in 2010, is described by organizers as an attempt to “redirect the focus of the biggest shopping day of the year to the desirable, special things to be found at local stores.”
Record Store Day was founded in 2007, and initially held in the Spring, in order to “celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding nearly 1400 independently owned record stores in US and thousands of similar stores internationally.” Record Store Day is intended as a tribute to the unique experience of shopping at at a local record shop. It highlights both the economic important of supporting local businesses and the social benefit of belonging the the culture of local music. The event is now celebrated, as the organization puts it, “on every continent except Antarctica.”
Shop safe this weekend with these holiday shopping safety tips from the Wilmington Police Department
Record Store Day has featured artists Metallica, Joshua Homme, Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, Jack White, Chuck D and Dave Grohl as ambassadors. The event includes a list of special releases, available in limited quantities and only to small and locally owned records stores. While major label national acts have helped promote the event, over half – 60% in 2016 – of the Record Store Day release list is made up of independent music labels and distribution companies. (You can peruse the whole list here).
Four record stores in the Wilmington area are participating in Record Store Day.
Angie’s Records and Hair – Owner Angela Yeagher, who purchased the space from Reggie’s 42nd Street earlier this year, is offering storewide sales, along with live music and an oyster roast. The event coincides with Yeagher’s birthday celebration.
- 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- 1417 S 42nd St.
- (757) 912-8032
Gravity Records – Owner Matt Keene is offering a wide selection from the Record Store Day list, including unique releases from Refused, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix and others. Gravity Records, which opened in 2004, has participated in the event for many years.
- 8 a.m.- 6 p.m.
- 612 Castle St.
- (910) 343-1000
SquidCo– Dedicated to improvised and experimental music, Phil Zampino’s SquidCo record store began as an online retailer based in Manhattan, NY, in 2002. In 2010 Zampino moved to Wilmington and opened a brick and mortar establishment. Amongst the other Record Store Day offerings, SquidCo has rare copies of William S. Burrough’s “Curse Go Back.” SquidCo is also offering discounts for the event.
- 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.
- 928 North 4th St
- 910-399-4847
Yellow Dog Discs – Founded in 2000, Yellow Dog is Wilmington’s oldest independent records store. The store both buys and sells a wide selection of used media – from vinyl to VHS, cassettes to CDS – and is offering discounts and rare finds for Record Store Day.
- 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.
- 351 S. College Rd.
- (910) 792-0082
