If you’re a turntable aficionado, a fan of live music, or both, Record Store Day is Christmas come early
An international celebration of independent vinyl shops and the culture that surrounds them, Record Store Day takes place on 21 April.
Locally, Relevant Record Cafe, on Mill Road, goes all out, serving a packed line-up of live music all day long, plus bacon rolls, prosecco and of course, selling loads of covetable limited-edition records. It’s a great, buzzy day and a chance to meet fellow music lovers, shop and hear top music. Get down early and enjoy the party!
Whether you’re a vinyl junkie looking to bump into other like-minded types in the early-morning queue (even meeting again for the first time since the last RSD), or someone wanting to get reacquainted with all things 7, 12 and even 10-inch, it’s very much the day for you, with great live music in the second half of the day.
Edition spoke to Tom Gaskell, music specialist at Relevant, to find out more.
What is Record Store Day?
Record Store Day is an international celebration of independant record shops, and record shop culture. It’s basically a big party for independent music retailers, celebrating what makes them unique and sets them apart from more corporate chain retailers like HMV/Fopp and Amazon. It’s been going for over ten years, and just gets bigger and better every year.
How do people celebrate?
Record shops often have free live performances by bands in-store, and hundreds of limited edition records are released on the day to celebrate. Because these records are pressed in such small quantities, collectors often queue up for hours before shops open to make sure they can get their hands on what they’re after.
What do you do at Relevant on the day?
Because we’re a record shop, cafe, bar, AND music venue, we really go all out! Nationwide, no one’s allowed to sell any of the special Record Store Day releases before 8am on the day, but we open up the cafe at 6am to get queuers in from the cold and give them something to eat and drink.
We definitely think we’re the best option locally – better than shivering on a pavement for two hours before shops open. Last year we had about 60 people in the cafe shortly after 6am – the first person in the queue got there at 11.30pm the night before! While some people enjoy bacon rolls and espressos for breakfast, last year one table of regulars had knocked back half a case of Prosecco before the shop opened at 8am!
From midday onwards we have live music for free all afternoon – this year we’ve got Dan Wilde, Polly Paulusma (above), Gabby Rivers, Beverely Kills and Goldblume performing live, with more to be confirmed soon. In the record shop we spend all day playing the new RSD releases, hanging out with regulars, and welcoming new customers in to see what we’re all about. It’s a full-on day for us, a real knees-up once a year to celebrate vinyl culture and what makes it so special.
Why should people check it out?
The idea is to get people who might not normally frequent record shops to come and experience what they’re missing out on – to celebrate independent music retailers and what makes them unique, vibrant places to shop and socialise. It’s also about real-life interaction between music fans, and getting involved in your local music community – something we’ve rather lost in recent years by spending all our time sitting at home in front of computers on Spotify and iTunes.
We know couples who have met and bands that have formed after meeting in Relevant and bonding over a shared love of music. We invite everyone to come and discover some great new music (a live performance from a band, or an album you never knew exisited) and appreciate that there’s more to music than Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and Adele!
Live acts on the day at Relevant 
12pm Dan Wilde
1pm Polly Paulusma
2pm Special guest(s)
3pm Gabby Rivers
4pm Beverley Kills (right)
5pm Goldblume
