Record Store Day plans

Record Store Day lands on Saturday, April 18, and Rockefeller Center is turning the date into a free, all-day iNDIEPLAZA festival in Midtown Manhattan. (rockefellercenter.com) Rockefeller Center says the event runs from noon to 9 p.m. at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, with Rough Trade opening at 9 a.m. for Record Store Day shopping before plaza performances begin at noon. (rockefellercenter.com) Time Out New York reported Friday that organizers expect tens of thousands of fans at the fifth annual iNDIEPLAZA and describe it as the world’s largest Record Store Day event. (timeout.com) Record Store Day itself is built around independent shops, not a central online sale. The organization says the special titles go on sale at participating brick-and-mortar stores on April 18, stores choose their own orders, and pre-orders are not part of the program. (recordstoreday.com) That setup means the line outside a store can matter as much as the release list. Record Store Day says most stores will not stock every title, and any unsold copies may move online through stores starting Sunday, April 19. (recordstoreday.com) The 2026 official list includes more than 350 special releases, according to recent coverage and the Record Store Day catalog. The biggest draws highlighted this week include Taylor Swift, Paramore, Charli xcx and Weezer. (recordstoreday.com) (techradar.com) Taylor Swift’s release is an exclusive 7-inch single for “Elizabeth Taylor,” with two tracks on what Record Store Day describes as “Cry My Eyes Violet Glitter” vinyl. (recordstoreday.com) Paramore’s listed title is a 7,000-copy deluxe 2 x LP edition of “All We Know Is Falling,” while Charli xcx’s “party 4 u” arrives as an 8,000-copy exclusive 7-inch single. (recordstoreday.com 1) (recordstoreday.com 2) Weezer’s release, “1192,” is listed as a 3,000-copy “Record Store Day First” LP tied to the band’s earliest studio sessions, rather than an “Exclusive” title limited only to indie stores. (recordstoreday.com 1) (recordstoreday.com 2) The plaza lineup adds a live-music draw beyond the vinyl hunt. Rockefeller Center lists Say She She, Incendiary, Hotline TNT, Momma, Winter, Friko, Nuovo Testamento and Weird Nightmare, plus DJ sets from Avalon Emerson, Soul in the Horn and Saint Virgil. (rockefellercenter.com) For families, Rockefeller Center says TiNY iNDIE runs from 9:30 a.m. to noon with hands-on activities before the main festival takes over the plaza. By the time the first records ring up at 9 a.m., the day is already built around getting people into stores early and keeping them in the neighborhood through the night. (timeout.com) (rockefellercenter.com)