Aussie indie stores go live for RSD
In Australia, Record Store Day plans include live in‑store performances from acts like Hermitude and Kee’ahn, turning the day into a nationwide indie‑store takeover rather than just a vinyl drop. That shift makes RSD feel more like a local festival and less like a scavenger hunt. (bluntmag.com.au)
On Saturday, April 18, Record Store Day in Australia is turning record shops into mini venues, with acts including Hermitude, Kee’ahn, Egoism and Public Figures booked for live in-store sets around the country. The official Australian site says the day is about independent stores, but this year’s event list looks closer to a one-day touring circuit. (bluntmag.com.au) (recordstoreday.com.au) At Bondi Records in Sydney, the day starts at 9:00 a.m. with more than 350 Record Store Day exclusive titles, an Audio-Technica giveaway, gift bags, in-store disc jockey sets and a live appearance from Hermitude. That means one shop is selling rare vinyl and running a bill like a compact daytime festival. (recordstoreday.com.au) In Melbourne, Northside Records is listing Kee’ahn, Mokomokai and Steppers, plus a signing by Baker Boy. In Geelong, Popcultcha Records is set for The Vasco Era, Saint Ergo and Winksy, so the live-program idea is not just a Sydney add-on. (heavymag.com.au) The Melbourne calendar alone is crowded enough that Beat called it a “huuuuuge” day of live instores, with stores across the city building their own lineups instead of waiting for one central concert promoter to do it. That flips the usual Record Store Day routine from lining up for one release into choosing between neighborhoods and set times. (beat.com.au) Record Store Day began in 2007 as a project by independent record store owners and staff, and the first event was held on April 19, 2008. The official global site says it now involves nearly 1,400 independently owned stores in the United States and thousands more internationally, so Australia is adapting a format that was originally built around shops, not arenas. (recordstoreday.com) Australia’s own organizers have leaned hard into that local-store idea for 2026, describing the event as a celebration of owners, staff, artists, labels and music lovers on Saturday, April 18. The live sets make that pitch literal, because the artists are now inside the stores instead of orbiting them through separate club shows. (recordstoreday.com.au) The scale is national, not symbolic. The official store finder lists participating shops across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, from Brisbane and Fremantle to Hobart and Canberra. (recordstoreday.com) This is also not Australia’s first move in that direction. In 2025, Record Store Day Australia added in-store performances from artists including Press Club, Harvey Sutherland, BATTS and The Grogans, and 2026 appears to be expanding that model with more stores and more named acts. (themusic.com.au) (themusicnetwork.com) The result is that April 18 is no longer just a morning queue for limited pressings. In Australia this year, Record Store Day is being built like a chain of tiny rooms with turntables, merch tables and live sets, spread across the country one indie shop at a time. (bluntmag.com.au) (recordstoreday.com.au)
