Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires are the 2023 Record Store Day Ambassadors (and releasing an RSD EP)

Record Store Day 2023 happens April 22 and they’ve just announced that this year’s official Ambassadors are Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires.

“We’re honored to be your Record Store Day ambassadors for 2023,” the couple say in a statement. “Record stores are gathering places. They’re rooms full of carefully curated art and entertainment where you can find a friend, take a date, start a band. We all need these gathering places now more than ever. In your local record store you find common ground and the excitement of discovery. A great new album can make a grumpy old man (like Jason) feel like a kid again. We’ve both worked in record stores, played our songs there, built our careers there. Record stores make it possible for recording artists to find their audience and their voice, and we couldn’t be more excited to help make 2023 the biggest and best Record Store Day yet.”

Watch a Record Store Day video with Jason and Amanda below.

Jason and Amanda will be releasing a split EP titled The Sound Emporium as an RSD2023 exclusive, featuring new songs from both Jason and Amanda, a Richard Thompson cover, and a reimagined track from the Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit album Here We Rest. Check out the cover art below and stay tuned for the full list of this year’s exclusives.

In the UK, The 1975 are the official 2023 ambassadors. “The guys and I are really proud to be ambassadors for Record Store Day this year,” Matty Healy said in a statement. “Independent record stores are the lifeblood of the music industry and have played a crucial role in our story so far. It couldn’t be more important to support their vital community and culture.”