Growing up, I was always drawn to music. I still remember the first walkman I received. My walkman gave me the ability to take my music, the custom playlists I would spend hours putting together by recording my favorite songs from multiple cassette tapes, with me where ever I went. Music has always been a great escape for me. It’s funny that it took me until later in life to truly realize the impact music has played in my life.
Looking back on my teenage years, I had a great group of friends. Many of whom shared my love of music. Before we could drive, we’d have our parents drop us off at the mall or at the local indie record store. We’d spend hours just digging through tapes and records of our favorite bands. It was always a treat when we were able to go see a show at First Avenue. We’d get dropped off early and spend time rummaging through the records at a local indie record store. Yesterday, I was reminded of the joy that I had back then when I came across the Record Store Day website.
April 18 is Record Store Day
Record Store Day was created as a “celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally.” The basic idea behind the day is to bring independently owned record stores and artists together to celebrate the art of music. Many local record stores will celebrate with cook-outs, live performances, meet-and-greets with artists, and other festivities.
Get Out and Participate
If you are interested in participating, check out the Record Store Day website to see which stores in your area will be participating! I am going to try and swing by one near me. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the day and if you participated, what did you think?