10 ways to rock Record Store Day in Delaware
Remember when illegal downloads were the greatest threat to independent record stores? These days, the threat still involves the web, but it's legal: internet streaming.
For the first time since being founded in 2015, music analytics service BuzzAngle Music has published an annual report on American music consumption. And the big story is not only streaming, but also the continuing boom in vinyl sales that is keeping indie stores afloat.
Streams via services like Pandora, Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music and Tidal increased more than 82 percent to 250 billion streams, according to BuzzAngle. A favorite among younger music lovers, a flat fee each month means unlimited streaming with free services padding playlists with advertisements. (The percentage of subscription streams rose to 76 percent of all streaming last year compared to 62 percent the year before, the report states.)
On the other hand, sales of vinyl -- once thought to be a dead and gone format -- jumped 26 percent last year, buoyed by rock fans. Sixty-three percent of all vinyl albums sold in 2016 were from rock genre and sub-genres.
It's those retro-loving vinyl fans that are helping to keep the registers ringing at record shops across the country since stream subscribers need not leave their bed to get their mitts on their favorite tunes.
Whether you buy in person or stream, it doesn't matter on the 10th annual Record Store Day, which will be held worldwide on Saturday. Here in Delaware, there are a number of Record Store Day events and in-store performances scheduled to coincide with the massive release of rare vinyl tied to the annual celebration.
If you want to hang out in a record store, hit a daytime music festival or rock out at night, here is a First State-centric Record Store Day schedule for music fans, starting with the early 8 a.m. (!) opening of Rainbow Records in Newark to late-night concerts everywhere from Wilmington to Rehoboth Beach.
8 a.m., Record Store Day at Rainbow Records (54 E Main St, Newark) – One of only two official Record Store Day locations in the state – Gidget's Gadget's Retro Emporium in Rehoboth Beach is the other – Rainbow will open early to face the masses since there are usually a couple of hundred people in line even before the doors open. (Some even camp out overnight to get the goods.) Exclusive Record Store Day releases by The Cure, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Grateful Dead, David Bowie, The Beatles, Dave Mathews Band and Prince will all be there. First come, first served. In addition, each customer will receive a Record Store Day tote bag with freebies while supplies last. This year's Rainbow Record Store Day T-shirts will feature their shop dog, Chewbacca, and since he's from Wilmington's Faithful Friends, all profits from the Spaceboy Clothing-made shirts will be donated to them. facebook.com/rainbowrecords.
9 a.m., Record Store Day at Gidget's Gadget's Retro Emporium (123 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach) – Just like past years, Gidget's Gadgets will be teaming up with the music-loving brewery just up the block: Dogfish Head. In addition to more than 300 official Record Store Day releases up for grabs, Dogfish founder Sam Calagione will be stopping by at 1 p.m. for a meet and greet. And Dogfish's own Record Store Day release – "Music to Drink Beer To 3rd Edition" -- will also be available. A portion of this year's proceeds will go to The Music School of Delaware, says owner Steve Fallon, who was a founder and former co-owner of the legendary Hoboken, New Jersey rock club Maxwell's. gidgetsgadgetsrehoboth.com.
10 a.m., Record Store Day at Jupiter Records featuring Worth (2200 Marsh Road, near Arden) -- A trio of acts will perform as vinyl-lovers gobble up rare records at Jupiter. Delaware rock trio Worth will team up with Kevin Boyer of Detroit-based Tyvek and Delaware synth duo Roped Off. And while Jupiter is not an official Record Store Day location – meaning they won't have any of the day's exclusive offerings -- there will be more than 800 LPs and 500 45s from recently-purchased private collections to choose from. And of you didn't have time to grab breakfast, there will be free beignets and café au lait in the morning courtesy of Cajun Kate's, which opened a new Delaware location on Philadelphia Pike in Bellefonte late last year. facebook.com/JupiterRecords.
10 a.m., Record Store Day Celebration at Home Grown Cafe featuring Hoochi Coochi (126 E. Main St., Newark) – For its second year, Home Grown is getting into the Record Store Day spirit. It starts at brunch with Wilmington's DJ Andrew Hugh teaming up with DJ Ghost, the official DJ of the Philadelphia 76ers, spinning vinyl while you eat your Eggs Benedict. Patrons are encouraged to bring their own vinyl to be played during brunch and if you have a Rainbow Records receipt from Record Store Day, they'll take 15 percent off your bill. (Or you can trade your receipt in for a pair of raffle tickets and be entered into a drawing for a Crosley Radio/Dogfish Head record player.) At night, the real party starts. Fresh from their winning opening set for Low Cut Connie in front of a sold-out crowd in Arden last week, Dover blues/soul quartet Hoochi Coochi takes the stage at 10 p.m. facebook.com/homegrowncafe.
12 p.m., R2Hop2 Beer and Music Festival featuring Lovebettie (Fordham & Dominion, 1284 McD Dr., Dover) – A quartet of acts will headline the sixth annual R2Hop2, which tends to sell out each year so get your tickets now if you want in. Pittsburgh rockers Lovebettie led by the red-haired Alexandra Naples will team up with Bear-based blues band Barrelhouse, Maryland's Loose Ties and Rehoboth Beach jammer Nate McCormick. In addition to the more than 10 Fordham & Dominion beers on draft, Marydel's Harvest Ridge Winery and Smyrna's Painted Stave Distilling will be offering samples. Throw in keg tossing, face painting, a kids play area, a photo booth and you have yourself a family-friendly festival that runs until 5 p.m. Tickets are $30-$50. It's $20 for designated drivers. facebook.com/R2Hop2.
1 p.m., Dewey Beach Brewfest featuring Pressing Strings (Gary's Dewey Beach Grill, 2000 Del. 1, Dewey Beach) – The eighth annual beer festival in the heart of Dewey Beach will welcome spring with more than 30 local and national breweries on site. Annapolis, Maryland trio Pressing Strings (5 to 7 p.m.) and Rehoboth Beach's Chris Ryan (1 to 3 p.m.) will perform on the outdoor deck throughout the festival, which will benefit the nonprofit Delaware Center for the Inland Bays. Tickets are $28 in advance online or in person at Gary's and $35 at the door. garysdeweybeachgrill.com.
7 p.m., Super 91.7-FM WMPH fundraiser featuring Anatomy of an Outcast (World Cafe Live at the Queen, 500 N. Market St., Wilmington) – WMPH, the National Public Radio station based at Mount Pleasant High School with students as DJs, is throwing an all-ages fundraising concert on the Queen's upstairs stage. Wilmington alternative rock/punk four-piece Anatomy of an Outcast will headline with fellow Wilmington rockers Rusty Blue and Maryland blues/rock act The Susquehanna Floods supporting. Tickets are $10 or $5 if you're a student. worldcafelive.com.
10 p.m., LauraLea & Tripp Fabulous (Firestone Roasting House, 110 West St., Wilmington) -- The closest thing The Starboard has to a house band will be up north making Wilmington feel like Dewey for one night only. The five-piece cover band will headline the Riverfront nighttime party place. And if you are looking to make a day of it, Constitution Yards Beer Garden is hosting its opening weekend a block away and will be open from noon to midnight. The 20,000-square-foot beer garden has added two additional sand pits, as well as wood decking throughout the main beer garden area. firestoneriverfront.com.
10 p.m. Element K (Kelly's Logan House, 1701 Delaware Ave., Wilmington) – Covers will also be the star of the show at the Logan House in Trolley Square. Newark-based cover band Element K will take over the upstairs stage for a free show before slipping down to Seacrets in Ocean City, Maryland, later this month to help break in their tiki bar with the summer of '17 lurking around the corner. facebook.com/kellysloganhouse.
10 p.m. The Bullbuckers (Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, 320 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach) – The hardest working ska band in Delaware is back at Dogfish, where they have regularly performed on New Year's Eve for years. Beats will be dropped instead of balls this time around as singer/bassist Kevin Tarzanin leads the six-piece, which features both trumpet and saxophone. The show is free, just like all of Dogfish's restaurant shows. dogfish.com.
Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).
TOP-SELLING VINYL OF 2016
1. Twenty One Pilots, "Blurryface"
2. Amy Winehouse, "Back to Black"
3. Radiohead, "A Moon Shaped Pool"
4. The Beatles, "Abbey Road"
5. Adele, "25"
6. David Bowie, "Blackstar"
7. Prince and the Revolution, "Purple Rain"
8. Bob Marley and the Wailers, "Legend"
9. Twenty One Pilots, "Vessel"
10. Miles Davis, "Kind of Blue"
Source: BuzzAngle Music