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a guide to NYC RSD17 in-store performances, special events (and free beer)

Record Store Day 2015 @ Rough Trade (more by PSquared)

Record Store Day 2017 is Saturday (4/22) with music lovers, vinyl junkies (and dreaded flippers) lining up to get their hands on some of the this year’s exclusive titles. Some stores make a whole day of it, with free live music, record signings…and even free refreshments. Here’s a guide to what’s going on, event-wise, this Record Store day.

The splashiest RSD event is, as usual, at Rough Trade who will have free live music from noon – 6, including singer songwriter Steve Earle (noon), Brooklyn indie pop bands Beverly (1 PM) and Charly Bliss (2 PM), noisecore lifers Today is the Day (3 PM), Merge-signed post-punk act Sneaks (4 PM), and psych-pop trio Sunflower Bean (5 PM). This year’s official Record Store Day Ambassador, St Vincent, will kick off the day’s celebration at 11:30).

There are also between-set DJs, at Rough Trade, too (presented by The Talkhouse): A Sunny Day in Glasgow/Showtime Goma’s Jen Goma (11:30 AM), Battles’ Ian Williams (12:30 PM), Vagabon (1:30 PM), The Drums’ Jonny Pierce (2:30 PM), !!!’s Mario Andreoni (3:30 PM) and Foetus founder JG Thirlwell (4:30 PM). UPDATE: Vagabon can’t make it, but Stephen Lee Clark, formerly of Deafheaven and currently of Field Agent, will fill her spot. We also hear there may be free beer for those 21+ in the venue. They definitely have one of the biggest selections of Record Store Day exclusives, and will be open at 9 AM.

A few blocks away, Halcyon, which occupies part of the same building as Output, will have “massive shop-wide sales, an unmissable all-star DJ lineup, drink specials and much more.” The DJ lineup is:

thejass
Octo Octa
Dakini9
Todd Sines
Marite
Connie Yin aka Constar
Tomas Station
Maŕa Peralta
Henry Chow
Paul Raffaele
Boris Brenecki
One Of Them

More info on Halcyon’s RSD17 event is here.

Traveling further north, Academy Annex has no live performances planned at the moment, but they say something may still come together. They will have free coffee and donuts in the morning while you stand in line, and beer for those hanging out later in the afternoon…in addition to tons of RSD exclusive titles, lots and lots of used records (including many they’ve been saving up just for Saturday) and more. They open at 10 AM on Saturday.

Heading into Greenpoint: Captured Tracks shop will be open from noon – 10 PM and carrying a selection of RSD exclusives; Ear Wax in Williamsburg will be open from 10:30 AM – 9 PM; Vinyl Fantasy in Bushwick will be open 2-6 PM and carrying select RSD titles; and while Record Grouch in Greenpoint won’t be carrying any RSD titles, there are always great finds there and they’ll be open noon – 8 PM.

ttlabrsd

In Manhattan, Record Store Day doesn’t seem quite the same without Other Music (or Kim’s for that matter). However there is the shiny new location of Turntable Lab which opens at 10 AM on Saturday  and will have a wide array of RSD17 titles (they’ve got a printable list you can check off and just hand them when you get there) and are offering 10% off all purchases when you spend $50 or more (including RSD titles), and are giving away free Turntable Lab totes. They’ve also got a very cool lineup of guest DJs spinning all day:

DJs ALL DAY LONG:
10am – Nickodemus
11am – DJ Spinna
12pm – The Twilite Tone of D/P
1pm – Nick Catchdubs (Fool’s Gold Records)
2pm – Nancy Whang (DFA RECORDS)
3pm – Eli Escobar
4pm – Natasha Diggs
5pm – DJ Lindsey
6pm – Danny Krivit
7pm – DJ GetLive!

More info on Turntable Lab’s RSD festivities is here.

Generation Records in the Village will be open at 10 AM, will cary RSD exclusives, and will host a live in-store from a still-to-be announced performer around 2 PM.

Good Records will open at noon on Saturday and though they don’t do much in the way of RSD exclusives, they always stockpile a bunch of used LPs just for the occasion. There’s also Academy LPs in the East Village, and Academy Records & CDs just off Union Square.

We were sad to learn that In Living Stereo, one of our favorite places to hit on Record Store Day (not just because they kept a big bucket of free PBRs full all day), is out of the record game, but they still sell premium stereo equipment.

Like Other Music, West Village shop Rebel Rebel is gone now too, but Record Runner (5 Jane St) — perhaps the most Madonna-oriented record store in the world — remains open and is always worth a visit.

Out at Astoria’s HiFi Records, they’re going all-out this year, opening at 8 AM (with the Breakfast Shack food truck serving starting at 7 AM), with live performances from Evening Darling, The Gantry, Better Head, Four Trips Ahead, and more TBA, plus free PBR, a Savoir Adore record signing, and you can enter to win that Record Store Day Turntable Prize Package.

The Savoir Adore signing is actually part of the 2017 Record Store Crawl where for $59.95 you get:

– Seat on the Record Store Crawl bus with Savoir Adore serenading us along the way
– Brunch buffet and bottomless Pabst Blue Ribbon, mimosas, and pink baby’s at Baby’s All Right
– Giveaways including Kanto YU6 speakers, test pressings, signed vinyl and more
– Gift bag including a mystery vinyl LP, 7 inch, and past RSD release
– Limited edition Domino Records tote bag
– Metallica and David Bowie slipmats
– Limited edition 2017 Record Store Crawl poster
– 15% off at Rough Trade NYC
– 15% off at HiFi Records
– 15% off at Halycon
– 10% off at Academy Records Annex
– 10% off at Norman’s Sound & Vision
– Online code for 15% off U-Turn Audio turntables

Over in New Jersey, the great Vintage Vinyl will be open at 8 AM and they’re stocking a big selection of RSD exclusives.

What else?