Record Store Day 2017 in West Michigan will be chock full of special performances, special releases, special discounts and a special love for indie record shops. Get the lowdown on what’s happening.
Vinyl Mecca: Record lovers will be out in full force for Record Store Day 2017 on Saturday. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
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Crowds of music and vinyl lovers will celebrate Record Store Day on Saturday locally and nationally with a fervor for good deals and unique finds that rivals Black Friday.
West Side Parade: Dodds will once again host a Record Store Day parade. (Photo/Anna Sink)
For vinyl purists, it’s an opportunity to indulge in nostalgia for classic albums, take advantage of discounts and giveaways and snag one-of-a-kind records pressed specifically for the celebration. And turnouts are diverse, with consumers ranging from the teens and 20-somethings who have fueled the resurgence of vinyl to the folks who were raised during the heyday of LPs and 45s.
In the 10 years since its inception in Baltimore, Record Store Day has become a nationwide event, drawing out-the-door lines of music fanatics to record stores across the country. For many record store owners, it’s not uncommon to do a week or even a month’s worth of business on Record Store Day.
Plans for live music, refreshments and, in the case of Dodds Record Shop in Grand Rapids — a madcap parade — indicate Record Store Day celebrations will be just as vibrant for stores in West Michigan.
Record Store Day accounts for the majority of Dodds Record Shop’s annual business, according to owner and PotatoeBabies frontman Rev Charles Preston Smith.
Amping Up: Vertigo Music will once again squeeze in some live music on Saturday. (Photo/Local Spins)
“It’s our Christmas,” said Smith about business at Dodds, the oldest record store in Michigan (though it moved to a new location a couple of years ago to 808 Bridge St. NW). “There was a time when every day was Record Store Day. This is a chance to relive that.”
Smith said the “anything goes” vibe on Record Store Day is partly why he bought a record store in the first place. It’s what prompted him to start an annual parade of floats, wagons and dancers for the celebration, too.
“A parade is a perfect example of the excitement of Record Store Day,” Smith said. “Everybody loses their mind.”
Smith’s Record Store Day Parade will cruise down Bridge Street outside Dodds Record Shop at 3 p.m. Saturday. Live music will be on tap all day.
Vertigo Music on S. Division Avenue in Grand Rapids is also set to have busy Record Store Day. As an official participant in Record Store Day, special releases will be scattered throughout the store for eager customers to search for.
Kalamazoo Celebration: Green Light Music will boast giveaways and DJs. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
“I’m excited to hang out with lots of good people in a festive atmosphere,” said Vertigo Music owner Herm Baker.
With live music and DJs performing in store all day, Record Store Day should feel like “a big party,” Baker said.
Green Light Music and Satellite Records in Kalamazoo as well as Corner Record Shops in Grandville and Grand Haven will also host Record Store Day revelry and specials.
More information on participating stores and special releases can be found on Record Store Day’s national website.
Vertigo Music, 129 S. Division Ave., Grand Rapids, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
DJs will spin music all day.
Sporadic performances throughout the day by Prudence, The War Between, Tweeg and the Bounders and Shiv begin at noon.
Slumlord Radio (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
Dodds Record Shop, 808 Bridge St. NW, Grand Rapids, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Noon – DJ Trump
12:15 – Honest John Kowalko
1:00 – Dale Wicks
1:45 – Slumlord Radio and The Westside Rebellion
3:00 – Dodd’s Record Store Day Parade
3:15 – …and The Bullets
4:00 – Spud Bugs
5:00 – DJ Trump
Devin & The Dead Frets (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
Corner Record Shop, 3562 Chicago Dr. SW, Grandville, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
12 p.m. – The Other Brothers
1 p.m. – Dangerville
2 p.m. – Jake Stevens Band
3 p.m. – Tired Blood
4 p.m. – Oliver Draper
5 p.m. – Nathan Walton
6 p.m. – Devin and The Dead Frets
Jessica in the Rainbow (Photo/Rachel Resterhouse)
Corner Record Shop, 1114 Washington Ave, Grand Haven, Noon to 3 p.m.
Noon – Jessica in the Rainbow
1 p.m. – Cloudlight
2 p.m. – Chef Goldblüm
Green Light Music, 4717 W KL Ave, Ste. B, Kalamazoo, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
A host of giveaways, and DJs will spin music all day.
Satellite Records, 808 S. Westnedge Ave., Kalamazoo, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Door prizes and live DJs all day, including Analog Ancestry, Bat Guano, The Doctor, Trevor Coleman, Nervous
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