By Joslyn Keenan
April 16, 2018

The annual Record Store Day takes place this Saturday, April 21. A number of record stores in Lincoln and Omaha are offering specials and sales on records celebrating this special day.

Record Store Day was started in 2007 as a way to spread music of the close to 1,400 independently owned record stores. The first Record Store Day took place on April 19, 2008, and was reserved for people who most enjoy record stores including the staff, customers and artists.

Bringing people together, the event celebrates the importance of the record stores in their local communities, along with the unique qualities of each record store. Special vinyl and CD releases and limited edition products are made specifically for this day. Different activities can include performances and DJs spinning records to name a couple. In every genre, the list of artists and labels have grown since 2008. Throughout its nine years, cities across the country have declared Record Store Day as an official holiday.

Lefty’s Records (courtesy image).

A few record stores in Lincoln include Lefty’s Records, Backtrack Records and Lincoln Vintage Vinyl. Lefty’s Records, 2776 South St., is a long-time record store based in Lincoln. The promotions on Saturday will include 20 percent off used and discounts on a selection of records. Most of the vinyls are limited editions. Select vinyls feature Rage Against the Machine, Jason Isbell and Neil Young. The store will open at 7 a.m. For more info on Lefty’s Records updated regularly with new vinyls, go to http://www.leftysrecords.com.

Backtrack Records, 1549 N Cotner Blvd.,  has been in business since 1988. Backtrack has thousands of vinyl records, ranging from rock, punk, indie, jazz and blues. Backtrack also carries T-shirts, posters and more. They will open at 7 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Lincoln Vintage Vinyl (courtesy image).

Lincoln Vintage Vinyl is a new record store in Lincoln at 908 N. 70th St. Chad, the owner, says the shop just opened September of last year. He explains they are receiving over 20 boxes of titles for Record Store Day, with specials on all used records and free stuff to give away. Lincoln Vintage Vinyl offers a large variety of titles, such as classic rock, jazz and blues. Chad mentions they also do special orders, and carry thousands of 45s. The store plans to open at 7 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

A number of Omaha record stores are also participating in Record Store Day. Recycled Sounds, 322 N 76th St., was originally based in Lincoln, but recently moved to Omaha to expand their space. Established in 1992, the shop has a wide variety of vinyls, including an assortment of posters.

Saddle Creek Records Shop, 721 N 14st St., is also in Omaha. Offering vinyls, CDS and tapes, they plan to offer 15 percent off all used CDs, posters and books.

Drastic Plastic Underground Records,1118 Howard St., in downtown Omaha, opened in April 1982 when Michael Howard borrowed the name from the Be-Bob Deluxe record. Drastic Plastic was the first record store in Omaha to focus on punk rock and alternative music.

Almost Music (courtesy image).

Almost Music,3925 Farnam St., Homer’s Records, 1210 Howard St., and Earwax Records, 5054 S. 135th St., also will be open Saturday  in Omaha.

Aside from music shops, Record Store Day also receives support from local businesses. HopCat, a restaurant chain in the Haymarket, is a partner for Record Store Day. If you bring in a receipt from any purchase made on Record Store Day you will get a free order of Crack Fries. This will be dine-in only, and one order of crack fries per person. HopCat founder, Mark Sellers, once explained, “Music is a part of HopCat’s DNA. I wanted to do this as a way of showing support for independent record stores that survive and thrive by creating cool places for people to discover great music. Providing a free order of Crack Fries is also our way of saying thank you to our guest who support their local record stores.”

For more information on Record Store Day and the full list of participating stores, visit https://www.recordstoreday.com.

Joslyn Keenan is an editorial intern with KZUM.