Monkey Jack’s Morning Queue
- Fans were waiting outside Monkey Jack’s Emporium in Indiana on Saturday morning as Record Store Day began. (thecouriertimes.com) - The local piece noted early lines forming for exclusive releases at the shop. (thecouriertimes.com) - That coverage aligns with a national pattern of devoted, event-like turnout at indie stores on April 18. (amoeba.com)
Before Monkey Jack’s Emporium opened in New Castle on Saturday, fans were already lined up outside for Record Store Day exclusives. (thecouriertimes.com) The Courier-Times reported the crowd formed early on April 18 as shoppers waited for limited releases tied to the annual event. Store owner Zach Zimmer opened Monkey Jack’s six years ago, and this was the shop’s second year participating in Record Store Day. (thecouriertimes.com) Monkey Jack’s listed its Record Store Day hours as 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 1413 Race St. in New Castle, with exclusive titles available in limited quantities and one-day discounts across records, compact discs, magazines, comics and DVDs. (recordstoreday.com; happeningnext.com) Record Store Day is built around scarcity and in-person shopping. The official 2026 list said special titles would be released only through participating stores on April 18, and Amoeba Music said more than 365 limited-edition releases were available on a first come, first served basis. (recordstoreday.com; amoeba.com) That helps explain why a line in Henry County matched scenes far beyond Indiana. Amoeba, one of the country’s best-known independent chains, promoted April 18 as a day for “hundreds of limited edition releases,” store sales and giveaways at its locations. (amoeba.com) The event itself has grown well beyond a niche promotion. Record Store Day says it was created in 2007 by independent record store owners and employees, with the first event held on April 19, 2008. (recordstoreday.com) Monkey Jack’s fits squarely into that network. Record Store Day’s store directory describes it as a small independent shop that started in 2019 and specializes in new and used vinyl in historic downtown New Castle. (recordstoreday.com) So the morning queue outside Monkey Jack’s was local news and a national ritual at the same time: a downtown Indiana shop opening its doors into the same April 18 rush playing out at indie record stores across the country. (thecouriertimes.com; recordstoreday.com)
