This year, Record Store Day is Saturday, April 18th
Love it or hate it, Record Store Day is significant. Thankfully, there's more to it than pricey limited edition reissues: the record stores themselves have their own twist on it. I'll be making a marathon trip of all the New Orleans area record stores, whether they stock RSD items or not. For a full list of record store day releases, check out the Record Store Day website
Here's a list (in alphabetical order) of what stores in New Orleans are doing what, with a few others in neighboring areas. Assume that all locations are first-come-first-serve (no holding RSD items) and only allow one of each RSD item per customer unless specified otherwise. Phone numbers are listed in case you want to check on a certain item. The RSD option pretains to whether they've signed the Record Store Day pledge and are getting a whole lot of those special releases. By the way, Allison Fenderstock wrote a good guide on nola.com as well.
Captain's Vinyl
Address 637 S Pierce st.
Phone (504) 908-9612
Hours 10am-6pm
RSD No
Captain's Vinyl doesn't have RSD stock, but they'll be doing a 25% off sale between 10am and noon.
Disko Obscura
Address 113b St. Mary Street
Phone (504) 872-0726
Hours 11am - 7pm
RSD No
Joey Buttons' new store right near Jim Russell's isn't participating in RSD but will have a few of the items he found interesting. If you haven't been yet, Record Store Day would be a great time to check it out.
Domino Sound
Address 2557 Bayou Road
Phone (504) 510-9356
Hours Noon - 6pm
RSD No
Domino is never particularly interested in the Record Store Day hooplah, though they sometimes do order a few items if they're really interested in them
Euclid Records NOLA
Address 3301 Chartres St.
Phone (504) 947-4348
Hours 11am - 7pm
RSD Yes
Facebook event
Euclid tends to be the hotspot for Record Store Day. They order boatloads of it (this year the largest they've had so far). Additionally, they'll have free beer and live music throughout the day, and ticket giveaways. They've posted the list of items they've ordered on the facebook page linked above. Do not underestimate the length of the line or the time that it will form.
Jim Russell's Records
Address 1837 Magazine st.
Phone (504) 522-2602
Hours Noon-5pm
RSD No
Jim Russell's doesn't tend to do anything special for Record Store Day.
Louisiana Music Factory
Address 421 Frenchmen St.
Phone (504) 586-1094
Hours 11am - 8pm
RSD Yes
Facebook event link for live performances
LMF is stocking official record store day merch. I've always thought they're an underrated location for RSD. They don't order a ton, but not too many are lining up at their door either. Either way, should be a fun day for them, with 4 live shows lined up from 2pm to 5pm.
The Mushroom
Address 1037 Brodway st.
Phone (504) 866-6065
Hours 10am - Midnight
RSD Yes
A warning: The Mushroom tends to open early on Record Store Day. That's probably a good thing, but I've definitely gotten there at 10am and found that the thing I'd looking for had already been grabbed. The Mushroom's "birthday" is 4/20, and so they're having a 44% off "most items, music etc" sale from Saturday to Monday. They also told me that on Saturday they'll have "some bands, some pizza, keg of beer, stuff like that". It's the Mushroom.
Peaches Records
Address 408 N Peters St
Phone(504) 282-3322
Hours 9am - 8pm
RSD Yes
Peaches usually orders a pretty good amount of RSD stuff and is one of the first ones to open. Word is they'll have a Petting Zoo again, as well as food, beer, and live performances. But really, petting zoo in a record store in the french quarter is the key thing. I'll update as I find out more.
Sisters in Christ
Address 4920 Freret St
Phone (504) 452-5517
Hours Noon-5pm
RSD No
The new uptown option. Sisters in Christ specializes in punk, hardcore, and indie. No RSD items but they'll still have a few exclusive items from Revelation and a super-exclusive Thou 45. Record Store Day would be a great time to check it out.
Skully'z Recordz
Address 907 Bourbon St.
Phone (504) 592-4666
Hours 9am-8pm (sometimes open a few minutes early)
RSD Yes
Facebook Event
Skully'z definitely doesn't take RSD lightly, stuffing that tiny store with everything they can fit. They're also usually one of the earliest to open on RSD and have a decent line in front beforehand.
Outside New Orleans
Atomic Pop Shop
Address 2963 Government St. Baton Rouge, LA
Hours 9am - 6pm
RSD Yes
Facebook event
Atomic Pop Shop has an awful lot going on, including giveaways, live music, coffee and beignets, and an after-hours screening of the movie Records Collecting Dust.
Capital City Records
Address 4641 Perkins Rd., Baton Rouge, LA
Hours 9am-6pm
RSD Yes
Facebook event
Open for less than a year and Capital City is already ready to try to throw a big RSD event. They're promising raffles, door prizes, free t-shirts and more in addition to official Record Store Day items
Lagniappe Records
Address 705 Joseph St., Baton Rouge, LA
Hours 10am-7pm
RSD Yes
Facebook event
Lagniappe will have a number of raffles, t-shirt and tote bag giveways, KLSU DJs spinning records, free beer and BBQ. Sounds like a blast!
Mobile Records
Address 140 S Sage Ave # B, Mobile AL
Hours 8:30 am-7pm
RSD Yes
Keith from Mobile Records has been a mainstay at Record Raids and on the offchance that that you're spending the weekend in his neck of the woods, his store is definitely worth a visit! He had a number of musical acts, food trucks and a bloodmobile lined up, though due to rain they might not all happen.
