Record Store Day — local shops celebration

Chicago’s independent record stores are marking Record Store Day on Saturday, April 25, with limited vinyl, live sets and store-by-store specials across the city. (blockclubchicago.org) The official Record Store Day site says the event began after a 2007 meeting of store owners and employees, and the first Record Store Day was held on April 19, 2008. It now spans nearly 1,400 independently owned stores in the United States and thousands more internationally. (recordstoreday.com) Chicago has more than 30 participating shops listed on the Illinois venue page, including 606 Records, Beverly Records, Dusty Groove, Hyde Park Records, Laurie’s Planet of Sound, Reckless Records and Shuga Records. The Record Store Day site says stores choose their own promotions and may not carry every title on the official list. (recordstoreday.com) The Chicago Sun-Times reported that more than three dozen area shops planned April 18 events this year, with lines forming around the block and some customers starting Friday night. The paper highlighted 10 stores with early openings, DJ sets, raffles, discounts and food giveaways. (chicago.suntimes.com) At Beverly Records in Morgan Park, the Sun-Times said the store planned an 8 a.m. opening, a ceremonial needle drop with cast members from Goodman Theatre’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” a ticket raffle and 20 percent off used vinyl. Dusty Groove in Ukrainian Village planned a 7 a.m. opening, free gifts with purchases, coffee, donut holes and a morning magic show. (chicago.suntimes.com) Laurie’s Planet of Sound in Lincoln Square planned to put out rare used LPs saved for the day, and the Sun-Times reported that WXRT host Terri Hemmert was expected to appear in the afternoon. Bridgeport Records planned live DJ sets and a pop-up from Prairie Cannabis, according to the same guide. (chicago.suntimes.com) The 2026 official release list included hundreds of titles, from a 20th-anniversary edition of a-Ha’s “Analogue” to Robert Plant’s “Saving Grace: All That Glitters… with Suzi Dian.” Record Store Day’s release database lists Plant’s EP as a 3,500-copy exclusive. (recordstoreday.com 1) (recordstoreday.com 2) The draw is scarcity as much as nostalgia: the official list labels many records “RSD Exclusive,” and stores sell them in person first, which is why shoppers line up before doors open. Record Store Day’s store locator tells buyers to check directly with shops because inventory varies by location. (recordstoreday.com 1) (recordstoreday.com 2) For Chicago shoppers, the day works less like a single festival than a citywide crawl, with each store setting its own hours, guests and extras. The result is that the same event can mean a theater tie-in in Morgan Park, a DJ set in Bridgeport or coffee and bins of limited releases in Ukrainian Village. (chicago.suntimes.com) (blockclubchicago.org)