At Vinyl Tap for Record Store Day, 4/20/2024
You’ve known the drill since 2008: It’s April, and Record Store Day is here. We’ve got the details on everything happening around town on Saturday, April 12, and all the hot special releases you won’t want to miss.
McKay’s (636 Old Hickory Blvd.) will carry RSD exclusives when they open early at 9 a.m. They’ll also have a Grateful Dead-themed exclusive Record Store Day at McKay’s poster available for purchase. Alison’s (994A Davidson Drive) won’t have exclusives but will offer 15 percent off their stock on Saturday (open extended hours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Sunday (open noon to 3 p.m.). Third Man Records (623 Seventh Ave. S.) will be carrying exclusive titles including their own special release of The Kings of America, an Elvis Costello live album captured at The Royal Albert Hall in 1987. They’ll open at 11 a.m. and have bands — Slush, The Family Dog and Stunt Girl — playing live in the storefront starting at 1 p.m.
The Groove (1103 Calvin Ave.) will have the RSD exclusives at their annual celebration co-hosted by Acme Radio Live. The live music will start at 11:30 a.m. with performances by Julia Cannon, massie99, Case Arnold, Josey Toney and more, with Aaron Lee Tasjan topping the bill. Shoppers can also check out goods from Moons and Junes Vintage, Candle With a Handle and other vendors and get a bite from Bad Luck Burger Club or No Fuss Taco. Groove patrons can also enter a charity raffle benefiting Nashville Humane Association, which will have adoptable puppies onsite. You read that right — this is not a drill, adoptable puppies!
Just a few blocks away, Grimey’s (1060 E. Trinity Lane) will also have a plethora of RSD exclusives when they open at 10 a.m., and Headcount will be on site with information about how to engage with your right to vote.
Lucy Skrews at Vinyl Tap for Record Store Day, 4/20/2024
Vinyl Tap (2038 Greenwood Ave.) will carry RSD exclusives beginning at 9 a.m., and they’ll have a special celebration in partnership with the folks at Music Valley Archive. In addition to MVA’s signature Nashville-themed tees, patrons can shop vendors from Forestdale Incense to Horse Girl Vintage to Like You Mean It Records and beyond. Dreamburger, Clownsums Diner, Pizza Lolo and more will feed hungry music fans, and if you’re feeling spontaneous, you can pick a flash piece from Adventure Tattoo to commemorate the day. As if that’s not enough, a small sampling of Vinyl Tap’s live performance lineup includes punks Winona Fighter, songsmith extraordinaire Tristen, the duo of Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift, blues hero Bobby Rush and local “Weird Al” Yankovic tribute Weird Pals, alongside appearances from queens of drag Lucy Skrews and Coqueta and DJ sets from Alanna Royale and Mayor Freddie O’Connell, among others.
Analog Your Life (2546 Lebanon Pike) will have a “curated selection of RSD releases,” plus a 15 percent-off sale on non-RSD titles when they open at 9 a.m. Elevator Vinyl inside Lykke Haus Vintage (500 Trinity Lane) will not have the regular RSD releases, but beginning Friday they will have a limited stock of the RSD Essential vinyl edition of Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream.
Phonoluxe (2609 Nolensville Pike) will not have exclusives, but will be putting out a large collection of used records during their normal operating hours on Record Store Day. Dead End Records (100 Taylor St., Suite A22A) will carry a selection of RSD exclusives, and shoppers who want to plan ahead can check out a spreadsheet on their website detailing which titles they’ll have in stock when they open at 10 a.m. They’ll also have live music from Titans of Siren and Billie Sheers, plus goodies from Bearded Iris, Craig’s Over Easy and Strings for Hope for shoppers to browse. Daydream Records (which recently moved into bigger digs at Suite 104A inside the Shoppes on Fatherland, 1006 Fatherland St.) will not have RSD exclusives, but will have a large collection of jazz records and other new arrivals out on April 12 — plus a sale with items marked 10 to 50 percent off the following day. Hi-Fi Frontier (inside Dashwood Vintage at 2416 Music Valley Drive) won’t have exclusives either, but they will have a vendor market and coffee bar from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., when they’ll offer 15 percent off all media including a fresh batch of new arrivals; they’ll also have live music starting at 2 p.m. (artists TBA).
The Great Escape (whose multiple nearby locations include the flagship store at 5400 Charlotte Ave. as well as 105 N. Gallatin Road in Madison and 810 NW Broad St., Suite 202, in Murfreesboro) usually carries RSD exclusives, but we hadn’t received confirmation of their status at press time. Update, 4/11: All Great Escape locations will have exclusives and open two hours early at 8 a.m. They'll also offer five free LPs or CDs from the 99-cent bin to anyone who comes through (no purchase necessary) as well as other free goodies. The Charlotte Avenue location will have live music from Tommy Womack, Ben and Chris Scruggs and more, while the Murfreesboro location will have live music from Animal Control and Bucket City legend Henry Daggs.
You have a wide variety of additional mom-and-pop record stores to choose from in our area. We hadn’t received information at press time about Jimbo’s (inside Vinterest at 2416 Music Valley Drive) or Swaggie Records (211 Union St.). But if you’re out shopping on Record Store Day (or any other day, for that matter), you should stop by and see what’s on offer. These events have lots of moving parts, so keep an eye on your favorite stores’ social media for more details and updates.
As usual, the full list of special RSD titles can be found on the Record Store Day website, but if you need some guidance, here are a few of our favorite titles for every kind of listener. For fans of the “it girls” and pop princesses, check out Charli XCX’s teasing single “Guess” (featuring Billie Eilish) or Taylor Swift’s slow burn “Fortnight,” both available as exclusive 7-inches.
Deadheads will have their pick of the On a Back Porch Vol. 1 compilation LP or a complete show on a behemoth five-disc set, aptly titled Beacon Theater, New York, NY 6/14/76. If you identify as a weird little guy or know someone who does, check out Gorillaz’s Demon Days Live From the Apollo Theater two-LP set. Fan of more straightforward hip-hop? Take a look at Cypress Hill’s Live at the Fillmore or a number of RSD exclusive titles from rapper and TV detective Ice-T: Go ahead and say “dun-dun” and then check out Live at The Miles Davis Hall — Montreux 1995 and Power Rarities.
If you’ve got kids or you have repressed childhood trauma, you’ll be excited to know that there’s another Bluey release on this year’s list: a “Burger Dog” 7-inch picture disc. If you find that life is best soundtracked by … well, soundtracks, check out the Wicked: The Soundtrack double LP (ability to sing the Defying Gravity riff sadly not included) or John Williams’ classic soundtracks to the first three Harry Potter films, each available as a two-disc set.
Listeners who prefer their collection to have a bit more local flair will love Brittany Howard’s Live From Austin City Limits album and rising star Medium Build’s acclaimed EP Marietta. This year’s RSD Ambassador is none other than famously tatted rapper-turned-country-star Post Malone. Per tradition, he’ll have an exclusive release for Record Store Day, and it’s none other than his Tribute to Nirvana, which is actually pretty sick if you can dissociate it from the rest of Posty’s career while you listen.
Prefer to stick to the classics? You’ll have plenty of options to pick from, including releases of classic albums and rare live recordings from artists like David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, George Harrison, Joni Mitchell and Talking Heads. Whatever you choose, go forth and listen to some good music, all while supporting the local record stores we know and love.
