Record Store Day roundup

Record Store Day lands on Saturday, April 18, with more than 365 exclusive releases and a daylong New York festival planned at Rockefeller Center. (recordstoreday.com, rockefellercenter.com) Record Store Day began in 2007 as an initiative by independent record store owners and held its first event on April 19, 2008. The organizers now say it celebrates nearly 1,400 independently owned stores in the United States and thousands more internationally. (recordstoreday.com, recordstoreday.com) This year’s official list includes more than 365 titles that will be released at participating stores on April 18. TechRadar highlighted releases tied to artists including Wolf Alice, Olivia Dean, Elton John, Black Sabbath and Bruce Springsteen. (recordstoreday.com, yahoo.com) In New York, Rockefeller Center and Rough Trade plan the fifth annual iNDIEPLAZA festival at 30 Rockefeller Plaza from noon to 9 p.m. on April 18. Rockefeller Center says the event is free and open to the public, and Time Out New York reported organizers expect tens of thousands of fans. (rockefellercenter.com, timeout.com) The event calendar points to live performances as well as limited releases, turning the day into both a shopping rush and an outdoor music festival. Rockefeller Center says iNDIEPLAZA will feature a curated artist lineup throughout the day. (rockefellercenter.com, timeout.com) One of the highlighted catalog releases is Flying Lotus’ debut album *1983*, which Brainfeeder is reissuing for Record Store Day. The official Record Store Day listing identifies it as a Brainfeeder vinyl release, and Inverted Audio reported a limited-edition gold splatter pressing. (recordstoreday.com, inverted-audio.com) Retail listings in the United Kingdom describe the *1983* pressing as limited to 5,000 copies and note remastered audio by Daddy Kev, a new sleeve design and embossed packaging. Flying Lotus’ official site says the reissue arrives on April 17, 2026. (roughtrade.com, recordstoreday.co.uk, flying-lotus.com) For shoppers, the mechanics are the same as in past years: participating stores get limited runs, and availability varies by location. Record Store Day’s site publishes both the release list and store finder, while store listings around the event advertise first-come, first-served rules and one-copy limits on some titles. (recordstoreday.com, recordstoreday.com, banquetrecords.com) With one week left before April 18, the practical question is not whether there will be records to chase, but which line fans want to join first. In Midtown Manhattan, that line may start at Rockefeller Center and end at the bins. (techradar.com, rockefellercenter.com)