Record Store Day vinyl-release celebration
- Record Store Day celebrations in Chicago on April 25 feature exclusive vinyl releases, in-store performances, and special promotions at local record shops. - Shops across the city host listening parties, artist appearances, and limited-edition pressings starting early Saturday. - See participating stores and release lists: blockclubchicago.org
Chicago record stores are turning Saturday, April 25, into a citywide vinyl crawl, with early openings, live sets and limited releases across more than three dozen shops. (chicago.suntimes.com) The Chicago Sun-Times said stores around the city are planning live events and fresh pressings, and that some lines start forming Friday night. Beverly Records in Morgan Park opens from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., while Dusty Groove in Ukrainian Village opens at 7 a.m. to sell hundreds of limited releases. (chicago.suntimes.com) At Beverly Records, the cast of Goodman Theatre’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is scheduled to start the day with a ceremonial needle drop and a ticket raffle, and the store is advertising 20% off used vinyl and White Castle sliders. Dusty Groove said it will hand out free gifts with purchases and sell any unsold Record Store Day items again on Sunday at 7 a.m. (chicago.suntimes.com) Record Store Day’s official release program ran on Saturday, April 18, and the organization says the special titles are sold only through participating brick-and-mortar stores, with each shop choosing its own orders. The official site says stores may choose to sell leftover stock online or through store websites starting Sunday, April 19. (recordstoreday.com) That store-by-store approach is why Chicago shoppers are checking individual release lists and event calendars instead of expecting every title everywhere. Record Store Day says there are no preorders for the official drops, and not every participating shop carries every release. (recordstoreday.com) The 2026 official list includes more than 350 titles, according to music-radio and Record Store Day postings, spanning artists from David Bowie and Elton John to John Lennon and Ziggy Marley. Record Store Day sorts those titles into three buckets: “Exclusive,” “RSD First” and “Small Run/Regional Titles.” (recordstoreday.com, recordstoreday.com, www.1063chicago.com) The event itself started in 2008 after independent record store owners and employees organized it in 2007, according to Record Store Day. The group says it now centers on nearly 1,400 independently owned stores in the United States and thousands more internationally. (recordstoreday.com) Chicago readers looking for this weekend’s local lineup can use Block Club Chicago’s April 16 weekend guide and the official Record Store Day store finder, which lists participating Illinois shops and notes that stores with a pledge badge can bring in the commercial Record Store Day releases. By Saturday morning, the hunt is less about one big festival than about which neighborhood shop has the record you came for. (blockclubchicago.org, recordstoreday.com, recordstoreday.com)
