Where to Celebrate “Record Store Day” in Shreveport

One of my favorite days every year is Record Store Day. Not only can I pick up some great tunes, but it is also a fun way to meet new people and check out some places you may not even know about.

The mission for Record Store Day is simple: to help bring artists, fans and stores together. Here's a brief summary from the RSD website: 

This is a day for the people who make up the world of the record store—the staff, the customers, and the artists—to come together and celebrate the unique culture of a record store and the special role these independently owned stores play in their communities. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day. Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, DJs spinning records, and on and on. In 2008 a small list of titles was released on Record Store Day and that list has grown to include artists and labels both large and small, in every genre and price point. For several years, 60% or more of the Record Store Day Official Release List came from independent labels and distributors. The list continues to include a wide range of artists, covering the diverse taste of record stores and their customers.

This year, there are a couple of releases I'm REALLY looking forward to: Bob Dylan's Blood On The Tracks -- Original New York Test Pressing, Elvis' Live at the International Hotel, Las Vegas, NV August 23, 1969 and Albert King's Born Under a Bad Sign in Mono. You can see the full list of releases here. There's some REALLY cool stuff coming out this year.

Now, if you're wondering where you can go to pick up some of these great albums, there's several store participating in the area. In Shreveport, Rick's Records and Day Old Blues Records are participating. If you're up for a road trip, there are several stores in Monroe and Tyler participating as well. Here's all the details on local stores participating in Record Store Day.