Record Store Day 2023: What you need to know

Since 2007, vinyl fans have looked forward to supporting their favorite independent record shops during Record Store Day.

The popularity of vinyl records in the modern age exploded in the U.S., with the format overtaking CD sales last year for the first time since 1987. This year’s edition happens Saturday and plenty of record shops in Metro Detroit are celebrating.

There are hundreds of new releases and reissues that will be available April 22 from a variety of artists like The 1975, Frou Frou, the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard, RSD ambassadors Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires, The Doors and even Taylor Swift.

Keep reading to see notable records releasing Saturday for RSD, including WDET staff picks. This is clearly not an exhaustive list, but you can find everything scheduled to be released on RSD’s official website. And you can enter for a chance to win a private tour of Third Man Pressing with WDET hosts.

Record Store Day 2023 highlights

Frou Frou – Off Cuts

British electropop duo Frou Frou are dropping a vinyl version of their Off Cuts EP that contains a handful of demos. Off Cuts was originally released in June 2022 in digital formats and streaming. If you listened to their Garden State soundtrack classic “Let Go” on repeat in the 2000s like I did, or any Imogen Heap song for that matter, you’ll probably enjoy this.

The Cure – Show (2023 Remaster)

The Cure performed for two nights at the Palace of Auburn Hills (RIP) in support of their 1992 album Wish. That concert was released as a live album entitled Show. A double EP version of Show will be released for Record Store Day, which includes Cure classics like “Just Like Heaven,”  “Pictures of You,” “Friday I’m in Love” and more. You’ll probably hear these songs live if you were lucky enough to nab tickets to see The Cure June 13 at Pine Knob before they sold out.

Garbage – Witness To Your Love EP

Alt rock icons Garbage are releasing a RSD exclusive EP of unreleased songs that includes the title track, originally released in 2008. “Witness To Your Love” was also included in the greatest hits package Absolute Garbage last year.

Eddie Money – The Covers

Eddie Money used to be the unofficial kickoff to the summer concert season at Pine Knob every year. Unfortunately, the rock legend died in 2019 after a bout with cancer. His legacy lives on during Record Store Day with The Covers LP, combining two previously released EPs of covers. The record includes Money’s interpretations of songs from AC/DC, The Doors, Green Day and more.

Slum Village – Trinity (Past, Present and Future)

Detroit hip hop legends Slum Village made their major label debut with 2002’s Trinity (Past, Present and Future) via Capitol Records. This was also the first album since J Dilla left Slum Village to pursue a solo career, though he still had a significant hand in producing the record. Trinity (Past, Present and Future) is being reissued as a double LP for Record Store Day.

WDET Staff Picks

Rob Reinhart – Essential Music and Acoustic Cafe host

• Frank Turner – Tape Deck Heart
• Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Streetcore (20th Anniversary)
• Jesus Jones – Live In Chicago 1990

Amanda Le Claire – CultureShift host

• Soul Jazz Records Presents – Holy Church Of The Ecstatic Soul – A Higher Power: Gospel, Funk & Soul At The Crossroads 1971-83
• Violent Femmes – Violent Femmes (40th Anniversary)
• Medeski, Martin & Wood – It’s A Jungle In Here (30th Anniversary Edition)

Jon Moshier – Modern Music host

• Hal Blaine – Psychedelic Percussion
• Broken Social Scene – You Forgot it in People (20th Anniversary Edition)
• Klark Kent – Klark Kent

Which record stores are participating in RSD?

While Record Store Day tries to support all indie record shops across the country, there is only so much product to go around. Below is a partial list of record stores in Metro Detroit participating in Record Store Day. You can lookup locations near you at recordstoreday.com. I suggest you call ahead to your favorite record stores to confirm if they’ll carry the RSD releases you’re looking for.

• Third Man Records – 441 W Canfield St, Detroit | 313-209-5205
• Found Sound – 234 W Nine Mile Rd, Ferndale | 248-565-8775
• UHF Records – 512 S Washington Ave, Royal Oak | 248-545-5955
• Dearborn Music – 22501 Michigan Ave, Newman St, Dearborn | 313-561-1000
• Flipside Records – 3099 Coolidge Hwy, Berkley | 248-585-4090
• Encore Records – 208 N 4th Ave, Ann Arbor | 734-662-6776
• Village Vinyl – 5972 Chicago Rd, Warren | 586-838-4992
• Rock of Ages – 31015 Ford Rd, Garden City | 734-522-4590

Some record store owners say RSD needs retooling

As Record Store Day has grown drastically since its inception over 15 years ago, including adding a second day on Black Friday, there have been questions if the holiday is actually still helpful to independent retailers.

Scalpers have been a problem for years, buying the exclusive items and flipping them on sites like eBay at ridiculous markups. The commercialization of RSD has been a point of criticism as major labels have increased their influence on releases. In the U.K., supply issues have disrupted non-RSD release schedules and left stores with empty shelves.

“The job of the record shop in its simplest terms is to sell records. We are part of a long established musical ecosystem and now, in no small part due to RSD, we are becoming ever more impeded in fulfilling our duties,” Drift Records owner Rupert Morrison wrote in an opinion piece for The Guardian. “Will there be shops to celebrate when the racks are threadbare and retail prices continue to rocket?”