Record Store Day 2026 at Record Breakers
Photos and Article by: Kat Williams
When Colin Brennan and Michelle Maurer arrived at Record Breakers in Avondale around 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 18, they were greeted by a line of people eager to celebrate Record Store Day by shopping for exclusive, limited-edition releases from their favorite artists.
Record Store Day is a semi-annual event dedicated to celebrating independently owned record stores. Special vinyl and CD releases, as well as promotional merchandise, are created for the day and sold exclusively in brick-and-mortar record stores. This year, more than 300 artists joined in the Record Store Day festivities. No online shopping. No pre-orders. Colin says, “It feels like you’re stepping back into the time when this was the only way you could find music.”
Before the nostalgic vinyl frenzy began, Colin and Michelle went down the line of waiting shoppers with coffee and donuts. “We asked everyone what their number one choice was, and we tried to pull that in advance, so that in the mad rush of everybody going for stuff, they could feel secure that they had at least one thing and that it was worth standing out in line.”
The kinds of people who wait in the cold for a new record come from all walks of life, but they are all members of the same passionate, music-loving community. I spoke with a few of these early morning shoppers:
Caitlin (right) recently got into vinyl after receiving a record player as a birthday gift. She came early to grow her collection with Laufey’s A Matter of Time: Live at Madison Square Garden and the Saja Boys edition of the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack.
When Tucker (left) turned 30, he joked that he “needed some 30-year-old man hobbies.” He came into Record Breakers at the recommendation of Adam at Magnifico Coffee Roasters (a lovely spot on Milwaukee Avenue, just a few blocks northwest of Record Breakers). Colin set him up with a turntable, and Tucker has been coming by for new and used records ever since. Tucker says, “It’s fun! It’s nice to own physical media, and it’s good to support local businesses and indie artists, too.”
Adam (right) came out in search of one specific Record Store Day release: a 25th anniversary special release of John Frusciante’s To Record Only Water for 10 Days. When we spoke, Adam had just checked out with the Frusciante record and a handful of unplanned additions to his collection. “I drove to a different store out in the suburbs – got there at [6:10] in the morning and I was 121st in line, and then I went ‘oh f*ck this’ and got in my car and drove here…I literally did it just for this one record, and I got a big stack anyway. I don’t like waking up early, but it was worth it today.”
Abigail and Meadow (left) were in line by 8:45 AM and worried they weren’t early enough to secure a copy of Jeff Buckley: Live À Olympia. Abigail’s vinyl collecting began when an uncle gave her a pretty big collection as a high school graduation gift. She shared that in the beginning, “I had one of those crappy suitcase record players and I probably ruined a couple of records just by playing them on that too much.” Now, she has a better setup and has come into her own as a collector. She said, “It’s fun to just sit and listen to an album.”
This is Grace’s (right) first year participating in Record Store Day. She’s excited to grow her record collection because “[streaming] can go down, but when you have physical media like records, you’ll always have it.”
Alejandro (left) braved the chilly weather in search of Gil Scott-Heron’s Reflections and Masayoshi Takanaka’s All of Me. Alejandro’s vinyl collection started during the 2020 COVID-related shutdowns with one Vince Staples record. He didn’t even have a record player at the time; he was “just a big Vince Staples fan, and there was nothing else to do.” Since then, his setup and collection have grown. He believes it’s important to celebrate physical media, especially on days like Record Store Day. “Everything’s trying to go to streaming, but in my opinion, streaming isn’t the most viable option to listen to music…especially if you want to support artists directly.”
If Colin wasn’t celebrating Record Store Day as a store owner, he’d likely be in line to grow his collection, too. He got into vinyl “as an extension of being into music.” His personal collection holds a little under 2,000 records. “A lot of records I keep aren’t necessarily the most valuable, but have a lot of sentimental value to me,” like a framed (and totally destroyed) copy of the ‘butcher cover’ of Yesterday and Today by The Beatles.
Record Store Day is more than just a day to buy exclusive records and CDs. At Record Breakers, it’s also an opportunity to catch some excellent local musicians. Throughout the day, 5 acts brought the energy from the turntable onto the Record Breakers stage.
FURY’s set (above) had everyone in the store bobbing their heads and cheering between songs. She rapped along to an absolutely bumping live band featuring drums, saxophone, guitar, and bass.
She was amazed by the sense of community in the room. “I saw people walking by and just popping in. Seeing an open door, a sign, hearing music… It’s so inviting. I love the strangers who get to experience what I do and share this energy in the room.”
Then, shoppers were blown away by Suko and Alejandro Salazar’s unpredictable and always groovy time on the electric organ and drums, respectively (above). They improvised their way through the set, elevating partially recognizable tunes into otherworldly musical moments. Suko and I talked about how he started his vinyl collection by hanging onto records his friends left behind when they moved away. He actually found one of his “prized possessions” at Record Breakers: a 7” single from a rap group called Titan Clash. Record Store Day is special for Suko because “it means I get to play with my friends on the Record Breakers stage again.”
For Colin (above), “Every day is Record Store Day… but it’s awesome to see what it means to everybody else. There are so many reasons not to be happy right now, but no one has been unhappy here today. It’s just joy.”
Next time you’re in need of some joy, a new-to-you record, or a trip back in time, swing by Record Breakers. There may still be some Record Store Day exclusives in the “New Releases” bin up front.
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Links:
Record Breakers:
Official: https://recordbreakerschi.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/recordbreakerschicago
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/recordbreakerschicago
Record Store Day:
Official: https://recordstoreday.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RecordStoreDay
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/recordstoredayus/
