Independent music shops and vinyl lovers are preparing for the second drop of Record Store Day 2021, which happens Saturday, July 17. The Current reached out to a baker's dozen record stores in the region to find out how they'll be marking the day that celebrates record stores and vinyl appreciation.

Down In The Valley • Golden Valley, Minn.

"We're still not to the point of having a band," explains Down in the Valley General Manager Scott Farrell, echoing the sentiments of many record store owners this year. "Usually we do — but some people aren't comfortable being in crowds yet. But we've got the releases, obviously, promo giveaways and things like that."

For Record Store Day, Down in the Valley will open early, at 9 a.m., and stay open until 8 p.m. Down in the Valley will also feature something else for vinyl lovers aged 21 and older. For the first drop of 2021, Down in the Valley paired with Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative in Minneapolis on a special Record Store Day brew dubbed Liquid Fidelity. "For the second drop, we're doing Liquid Fidelity the Remix, a lime-flavored lager," Farrell explains. "We'll have samples on site, and you can also purchase at the Liquor Barrel in Golden Valley."

Down in the Valley also has locations in Crystal and in Maple Grove. downinthevalley.com

Electric Fetus • Minneapolis

The Minneapolis mainstay will host a garage sale for Record Store Day. All of the RSD special releases will be staged in the garage behind the store, with numbers being available starting at 8 a.m. for the 9 a.m. opening. "The big hit again is we'll have the Porta-Potty out back for all the people that get in line overnight," laughs Electric Fetus Advertising and Marketing Manager, Dawn Novak. The Kabomelette food truck will also be behind the store from 8 a.m. to noon.

The RSD special-release sale continues till noon, at which point any remaining inventory will be moved inside the main store. Novak explains that the Electric Fetus will have two giveaways for which customers can enter for a chance to win on Record Store Day: one is a mystery pack of vinyl from Warner Records; the other is a pair of tickets to see St. Vincent at the Armory in September 14. "Also with that, too, we have an autographed St. Vincent Daddy's Home comic," Novak says.

Electric Fetus's special Record Store Day hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. electricfetus.com

Barely Brothers • St. Paul

"I've got three bands scheduled, which is a lot lighter than normal," explains Barely Brothers owner Mike Elias. "Charlie Parr at noon, Kiss The Tiger at 1:30, and Eleganza coming in at 4. This is a little less than we'd normally do. It'll be inside, but we have a big back door that will be open, and plenty of ventilation. We have no AC, so we'll be keeping the doors open."

Barely Brothers will open at 8:15 a.m. on Record Store Day and stay open until 8 that night. Besides the bands, Elias is looking forward to the special RSD releases, including the Bobbie Gentry release, The Windows of the World. "It's an album she had cut in the late 60s, it's kinda jazzy, Capitol put it out and it matched the image they were building for her."

As a big fan of 60s soul, Elias is also looking forward to the Candi Staton release, Trouble, Heartaches And Sadness (The Lost Fame Sessions Masters). "And one that's kind of intriguing is the Thai Elephant Orchestra," Elias says. "They left instruments in the jungle, so the elephants would play them. They're mostly all percussive, but one elephant fell in love with the harmonica — it's like, 'Here comes JoJo!' She held in her trunk. The music is kind of cacophonous, but sometimes a good rhythm gets started." barelybrothersrecords.com

Hymie's Vintage Records • Minneapolis

"We don't have any live music going on at the moment, so we're just going to be concentrating on selling the Record Store Day titles, a slew of collectible 45s and we'll have dozens of other rare and collectible records for sale as well," says Adam Taylor (no relation to this writer), owner of Hymie's Vintage Records in Minneapolis.

But live music may not be too far off for Hymie's. Taylor explains that a stage in the rear of the store has been used primarily for storage since he purchased the store in 2019. That will change soon. " We'll start having live events in house in the early fall," Taylor says. "Music, comedians who want to do sets, trivia.

"When I bought the place, the stage was full of junk," Taylor continues. "We've been slowly clearing it off and looking forward to engaging the community again. Exciting times are on the horizon."

For Record Store Day on Saturday, Hymie's will be open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. All of the activity will take place indoors, and Taylor notes a doorway will allow customers to walk back and forth to the adjacent coffeeshop. hymiesrecords.com

Extreme Noise Records • Minneapolis

With a punk-rock focus, Extreme Noise Records got started in 1993. "We're just kind of an all-volunteer collective, no one gets paid," explains store volunteer Mark Nelson. "The money goes back into the store."

Nelson says Extreme Noise Records will be getting the RSD special releases in, but like many stores, will not be scheduling bands. "I think we're taking it kind of cautiously coming off COVID."

Reflecting the punk aesthetic of the store, Nelson is looking forward to RSD special releases from the Cro-Mags, Fear; Hawkwind, Sisters of Mercy, Skeletal Family and Beastie Boys. "There's also a the Sweet album with a bunch of weird demos and such, and Ramones a live album from 1980 recorded in Sydney," he says. extremenoiserecords.com

Know Name Records • Minneapolis

"Drop number one [in June] was one of the best Record Store Days we've had in years," says Know Name's retail manager Ted K. "It was not optimistic times, but it was great — the volume of traffic, the people watching our show. Everybody was in an unbelievably good mood all day long."

Know Name opened in 1977, dangling along the final two blocks of Minneapolis on Portland Avenue South. The store is typically open 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays, and will retain those same hours on Record Store Day.

As for the July 17 releases he's looking forward to, "The Amy Winehouse colored vinyl — the remixes of Back to Black — sounds like a winner," Ted says. "And there's a cool Richard Pryor a picture disc of his late '60s release; I thought that was a great item, and I didn't know it existed." www.knowname.com

Mill City Sound • Hopkins, Minn.

"We hand out numbers at 7 a.m., so you don't have to wait in line," explains Rob Sheeley, the owner-operator of Mill City Sound in Hopkins. "You can go get some coffee, get some breakfast, and not be stuck in the line. You come back when your number is called, and basically you get to go through the line."

Sheeley explains that starting at 8:45 a.m., 10 people at a time will be allowed into the store to browse the special releases, with each group of 10 getting 15 minutes to shop. "We have special records that are out, not only Record Store Day, but special things we save for new arrivals. It's all about celebration of records in general. The hardcore collectors are into the real originals, and you've got others who like the reissues."

One very special item Mill City Sound will feature is an item Sheeley recently located in a warehouse in Los Angeles: 20 units of the Replacements' The Pleasure Is All Yours: The Pleased to Meet Me Outtakes & Alternates from the June RSD drop. "Being that everyone in Minneapolis are big fans of the Mats, they'll be pretty hard to keep in stock," Sheeley says. Although copies are going for more on eBay, Sheeley says he's selling the Replacements albums at their original June list price. Sheeley discourages flagrant reselling by limiting purchase numbers on items.

"I've never been involved in any industry that's ever had anything as successful as Record Store Day," Sheeley explains. "Record Store Day is all about getting people excited about music and understanding the community of music." millcitysound.com

Urban Lights Music • St. Paul

"There were over 300 Black-owned record stores in the country when we started over 30 years ago," says Tim Wilson, owner of Urban Lights in St. Paul. "Now there are 32 across the nation."

Wilson and other Black owners of record stores recognized a few years ago that Record Store Day did not cater to Black-owned record stores. That has now changed. "We're part of a coalition, RSD Urban," Wilson says. "Now they recognize, with only 32 of us left, based on where the world is at this time, they've made it a point to connect the dots again and offer things geared to our customers, pull us back in and get us in the mix."

As a result, RSD Urban teamed up with Vans on a special release called Songs for You, Vol. 2 and it features songs by Run The Jewels, Tank And The Bangas, Curtis Mayfield, Pop Smoke, Keb' Mo', Cautious Clay, 6LACK and others. "It's only available at the RSD Urban stores," Wilson says. "It's a special product that we're featuring in addition to the other releases."

In addition to the special releases, Wilson will feature "a live DJ thing every Saturday called Faders Up, where a lot of the top cats come in and spin. Starting at 2 to 7, it'll be a round robin thing, probably five or six different cats spinning," he says.

September 3 will mark the 30-year anniversary of Urban Lights Music. "It's a destination spot," Wilson explains. "We have open mics, concerts. COVID you have to re-evaluate life. Opened this store to the creatives — rappers will come in and ask, 'Do you mind if I sit here and write a song?' Sure, no problem. I've morphed that and made that bigger. People call me, ask to shoot music videos here, do wedding photos. We've got an event with KMOJ coming up next Saturday in the store.

"We want to stay relevant and keep moving," Wilson continues. "The reason I opened the store in the first place -we wanted to be a light in the middle of the neighborhood where people can come and get inspired, and I think we've done that." theurbanlightsmusic.com

Cheapo Records • St. Paul

Along with its locations in Minneapolis and Blaine, Minn., Cheapo Records in St. Paul will open an hour early on Record Store Day, making for a 12-hour retail day of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. "We'll have great deals on bins full of new and used records, along with a huge selection of Record Store Day releases, plus some leftovers from the RSD in June," says St. Paul store manager Sam Schneider. "If someone missed out on something last time, they may be able to pick it up." cheapodiscs.com

Agartha Records • St. Paul

The second Record Store Day drop of the summer has Agartha Records owner Dylan Adams pretty excited. "It's part two! The sequel!" he proclaims. "It's a big day for us.

"It's all about these amazing records that are coming out for this day only," Adams continues. "We are putting them out there and I hope we do well. We're like most of the stores in that we've invested a lot in getting these special releases. The idea is to have those for Saturday. We're hoping for a lot of people, but it's a gamble."

Adams says the releases he personally is looking forward to include the Miles Davis Champions - Rare Miles from the Complete Jack Johnson Sessions. "That's one of my favorite eras of his," Adams says, also noting the Soul Jazz Records' Funk 70 collection "looks fantastic."

For Record Store Day, Adams says Agartha Records will open at 8 a.m. and stay open until people are pretty wiped out — which he says is typically around 7 p.m. "Really what it's all about is getting to a record store," Adams says. "I want everyone to get to a record store, whether mine or someone else's. It's about celebrating that record stores are in existence." agartharecords.com

Roadrunner Records • Minneapolis

Once just steps from the Kingfield Farmers Market location, in 2020 Roadrunner Records moved two blocks south on Nicollet Avenue, now located in a mustard-colored, shoebox-shaped building. John Beggs, the store's owner, says he'll have special hours for Record Store Day, handing out numbers at 8 a.m. ahead of the store opening at 9. "All we'll sell is Record Store Day releases," he says. "When the numbers are gone, we'll open the whole store and stay open till 6.

In addition to the Record Store Day releases, Beggs says vinyl shoppers can expect some surprises. "We're going to have lots of new, used records no one has seen before — we bought a couple huge collections recently."

Although Roadrunner Records has no additional special events planned, Beggs hopes that next year, he hopes to have bands and food for an outdoor event. "I would assume next year will be back on track and we can make it fun again, and lure extra people, not just those buying records," he says. landspeedrecords.com

Rochester Records • Rochester, Minn.

Hussein (Huss) Esmailzadeh got started selling records from his "man cave consignment store" in 2010, and he opened Rochester Records in 2016. "I've got about 30,000 vinyls on the floor and another 150,000 in the back," he explains.

For Record Store Day, Huss (rhymes with "spruce") says he's been doing some store remodeling that prevented him from booking the band he wanted to have, so he'll stick to the record sales. Rochester Records will have special hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and it will also feature some giveaway drawings, including for a $100 gift card to the store.

As a record-store owner and vinyl lover, Huss is looking forward to the Rolling Stones Hot Rocks Record Store Day release, as well the Allman Brothers' live release from 1971, the Pearl Jam "Alive" release, and the Crosby Stills Nash and Young Déjà vu Alternates album. "A couple nice John Prine ones are coming down the pike, too," Huss says. "I think those are going to be pretty good." rochesterrecordsmn.com

Rock Paper Scissors Goods • Minneapolis

Just before the pandemic, Rock Paper Scissors Goods co-owners Jason Hughes and Tes De Luna moved their store from 48th and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis a few miles north to 2403 Lyndale Avenue. Record Store Day 2021 marks the co-owners' (and husband and wife's) first set of Record Store Days in the new location. " We usually do more," Hughes says. "We'd have DJs, but with COVID going on, we couldn't schedule early enough. But it's a nice mellow place to come get Record Store Day stuff; there's generally not a lot of lines."

For Record Store Day releases, Hughes is looking forward to The Cure's Wild Mood Swings — "I such a huge Cure fan" — as well as the Miles Davis Champions release. De Luna looks forward to the Sinéad O'Connor Live in Rotterdam 1990 release.

Rock Paper Scissors Goods will be open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Record Store Day. rockpaperscissorsgoods.com

SolSta Records • St. Louis Park, Minn.

"We're opening 7 a.m., the earliest you're allowed to open, according to Record Store Day," says Phil Borreson, co-owner along with his wife, Hannah Borreson, of SolSta Records. "The bigger guys don't care about that. We're kind of newer in the game, so we need to make sure people get extra advantage with us."

Borreson says this year's Record Store Day is all about letting people know SolSta Records is still in business. After a few years operating on East 46th Street at Minnehaha in Minneapolis, SolSta moved last November to its new location along Excelsior Boulevard in St. Louis Park. "That move did a bit of a number on what people thought happened," Borreson says. "A lot of people were worried that we closed, or we didn't survive COVID."

Communication challenges notwithstanding, Borreson says the move has been good for SolSta. "It totally changed how this place works now," he says. "Before, it was this tiny thing: 350 square feet. Now up top, we have 2000 square feet. Before, someone would ask for something and I've have to run downstairs and get it. Now, the inventory is all here in a way that's really great. It's a much better experience."

For Record Store Day, in addition to business in the store, the SolSta bus will decamp to St. Paul for the Food Truck Festival, where SolSta will provide DJ'd sets of music and sell records from its mobile unit. It will be a busy day, but rebuilding the store in the new location has taken a lot of the owners' attention. "We've just been trying to really make sure the store is what it needs to be," Borreson says. solstarecords.com

More Record Stores around Minnesota

Annex Novelty Shop
Duluth, Minn. • website

Broken World Records
Winona, Minn. • website

Caydence Records & Coffee
St. Paul • website

Disco Death Records
Minneapolis • website

Eclipse Records
St. Paul • website

Fly Vintage & Vinyl
Robbinsdale, Minn. • website

Groovy's
Minneapolis • website

Hidden World Vinyl Records
Rochester, Minn. • website

HiFi Hair and Records
Minneapolis • website

Homestead Pickin' Parlor
Richfield, Minn. • website

Lake Country Books and More
Eden Prairie, Minn. • website

Lakeshore Vinyl
Fergus Falls, Minn. • website

Last Stop CD Shop
Marshall, Minn. • website

Mother's
Moorhead, Minn. • website

Mr Zeros
Roseville, Minn. • website

Ramble On Records
Shakopee, Minn. • website

Remix
Forest Lake, Minn. • website

The Record Spot
Minneapolis • website

Tonka Tunes
Mound, Minn. • website

Tune Town
Mankato, Minn. • website

Ultimate Collectibles
Hopkins, Minn. • website

Vintage Music Company
Minneapolis • website

Vyntage Vinyl
Red Wing, Minn. • website

White Bear Lake Records
White Bear Lake, Minn. • website

Wizard Wax
Minneapolis • website