Saturday 20 April - Record Store Day
Be sure to make your way to London's Berwick Street!
Vinyl destination Berwick Street Soho will be transformed into a mini music festival for Record Store Day on Saturday 20 April 12-7pm.
Showcasing a range of music talent curated by independent record shop Sister Ray, seven acts will perform live from a stage in the street. There will be a special appearance from cult rock band Wire and a performance by punk/folk singer-songwriter Frank Turner. The line-up also features Steve Mason formerly of The Beta Band, folk duo Smoke Fairies, the critically acclaimed Matthew E White and Gabrielle Aplin - fresh from just finishing her 7th sold out UK tour and with her debut album English Rain scheduled for release on 13 May. Charles Taylor from Reckless Records will open the event with his recently reunited acid rock band, Brainiac 5. Each of the acts will take the stage for a short but sweet set of 20-30 minutes.
Berwick Street has been a destination for vinyl record collectors since the 1980s when it became known as ‘The Golden Mile of Vinyl’. This corner of Soho is still home to central London’s largest concentration of thriving independent record shops, including Reckless Records, Sister Ray and The Music and Video Exchange as well as Sounds of the Universe around the corner on Broadwick Street, Black Market Soho on D’Arblay Street and Phonica on Poland Street.
All six of the independent vinyl and record stores of Berwick Street are joining forces to celebrate Record Store Day. In addition to the main stage area which will be located at the Berwick Street and D’Arblay Street junctions outside Sister Ray, there will be DJ sets and in-store parties at Sounds of the Universe, Black Market Soho and Phonica.
The official film of Record Store Day, ‘Last Shop Standing’, is a documentary which charts the rise, fall and rebirth of the independent record shop. This will be screened on the day in a pop-up cinema space. Graham Jones, the author of the book that inspired the film, will make a special guest appearance for a Q&A and to sign copies of the book and DVD.
Will any of you Planet Rockers be making an appearance?