Your frequently asked RSD questions, answered
By Wax Trax Staff
Record Store Day is on Saturday, and it’s a biggie. We’ve ordered more releases, planned more activities, and are giving away more free stuff than ever before. There are reasons to come early in the morning, and there are reasons to come early in the afternoon.
Our three brick & mortar shops are all participating: the Wax Trax Records in Capitol Hill (our OG spot), Wax Trax Broadway Bazaar (our Southern outpost), Wax Trax Northside (fresh to RSD). Doors open at 8AM at all locations. We’ll be open until 9PM.
We’ve got a jam-packed schedule of free breakfast for the line, live music and DJ sets, and Cerebral Brewing pouring our Wax Trax collab beer, First Pressing. Check out the specific schedule at each location here.
Whether you’ve been lining up outside Wax Trax Records since sunrise for years or you’re about to experience the chaos for the first time, we want you to walk in prepared. Here’s everything you need to know before the doors open and the vinyl starts flying.
What is Record Store Day?
Record Store Day is a yearly drop of exclusive, limited vinyl releases you won’t find anywhere but independent record stores, plus a lot of people willing to get there early for them. We tend to go a little overboard, and this year we ordered more than ever (by a good margin).
Some standout releases this year (that we got tons of) come from Paramore, Labi Siffre, Taylor Swift, Freeman, Ween, Jeff Buckley, Ethel Cain, Sleep Token, Masayoshi Takanaka, Olivia Dean, Johnny Blue Skies, Bruno Mars, and more.
Will you have (X title)?
Almost certainly, yes! We’ve really outdone ourselves and against all financial advice, we’ve ordered a shite ton of releases to anticipate allocations. Our Cap Hill shop will have the most stock, but Northside and Broadway will be pretty stacked as well (and smaller crowds). Check out our Instagram – we’ve posted tons of previews of all we’ve got in.
Wanna know about a title you didn’t see in the previews? Give us a call or leave a comment on our social media and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can.
When should I line up?
Whenever! People start lining up at different times each year. It can be the night before, it can be a few hours before doors. All we know is that we always have a line when we open, so if there’s a specific release you cannot do without, plan to get in line early. If you’re happy to catch as catch can, we guarantee there will be good stuff left by the time the bands begin.
It’s looking like it may be a little cold (in the mid 20s), especially in the morning, so please bundle up, bring chairs if you want, and remember that no record is worth compromised health.
Can I buy more than one?
One RSD title per customer! Our store’s participation in RSD would be revoked if we broke this rule, so there are no exceptions.
Can I put something on hold?
Nope! This is also a key RSD rule not to be broken. First come, first serve through our doors on Record Store Day. The day after RSD, all remaining items will be online at waxtraxrecords.com and you’re welcome to choose the ‘pickup in store’ option.
How will the RSD titles be organized in the shop?
We see you, Type A audiophiles! As always, we organize RSD titles alphabetically (by last name, or band name) around the shop, with a few racks that hold the more obscure titles. This year we will also have racks full of the most popular titles. We will post a Cap Hill shop walkthrough showing exactly where all the releases are at the night before.
What else will be happening on Record Store Day?
SO MUCH – while we’re also trying to get our hands on some releases, the real fun of the day is in the activities around it. Live music at Cap Hill, DJ sets at Broadway and Northside, and Cerebral Brewing pouring our RSD release beer collab, First Pressing. Also a turntable and a ton of concert ticket giveaways. These events all start in the early afternoon, check our event calendar for details.
Can I buy that one awesome RSD title online?
Not until the day after. We’ll put the remaining RSD titles online on April 19 starting around 6AM. Find those here!
Overall, you have a very good shot at getting what you want when you choose Wax Trax, and an almost certainty of having a good time. At the end of the day, Record Store Day is about more than scoring that one release. It’s about you, the local community that keeps record stores like Wax Trax alive all year. Be kind, be patient, talk to strangers in line, see some local bands and DJs, and maybe take a chance on something you didn’t plan to buy. We’ll handle the rest.
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