Music connoisseurs flocked to Calgary record stores on Saturday as part of a worldwide celebration of vinyl albums and the shops that sell them.
Six Calgary stores and one Lethbridge shop were among the thousands of retail outlets around the globe to offer special Record Store Day sales and access to exclusive Record Store Day album releases.
The list of participating shops includes:
- Heritage Posters & Music – 1502 11 Ave S.W.
- Hot Wax Records – 114 10 St. N.W.
- Recordland – 1208 9 Ave. S.E.
- The Inner Sleeve – 117, 3411 20 St. S.W
- Melodiya Records – 2523A 17 Ave. S.W
- Sloth Records - 736B 17 Ave S.W.
- Blueprint (Lethbridge) – 519 4 Ave. South
Bob Dawkins, owner of Hot Wax Records in Kensington, says the annual Record Store Day celebration attracts a crowd to his store.
“It’s always a busy day for us and this year’s no different for us,” said Dawkins. “We’ve got people lined up outside the store waiting to get in and a big lineup inside. It’s always a lot of fun.”
While a number of recording formats have come and gone through the years, music lovers continue to embrace vinyl and artists continue to release 45s.
“There’s actually quite a big movement of people going back to listening to records again and playing records instead of the digital stuff and the CD is a vanishing format,” said Dawkins. “Most of the new vinyl records come with a free digital download so you get the digital version on your iPod right away and you have the record to play at home.”
For more information visit Record Store Day.
