RECORD STORE DAY 2026 – FOCUS ON THE NORTH

How Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Leeds Indie Shops Are Keeping Northern Music Tangible

Two weeks, yes, that’s all we’ve got until Saturday 18th April, when Record Store Day rolls back into town for its 19th year, and I’m already feeling that familiar itch. Record Store Day is that one day of the year when over 300 independent record shops all across the UK and Ireland come together to celebrate their unique culture. Record Store Day kicked off back in 2007 when a bunch of record shop owners in the US got together to celebrate and spread the love for the unique vibe of indie record stores. The first proper event happened on April 19th, 2008, and now it’s grown into a massive global thing, thousands of record shops all over the world take part, making it the biggest new music celebration of the last decade.

There’s something about vinyl that digital can never match, no matter how convenient it gets. Record Store Day has its upsides, but as Anne said last night, it often feels overhyped by marketing, creating artificial buzz and pressure to chase expensive limited editions. That’s not for me. I’m not a collector hunting rare pressings.

I’ve got around a hundred albums I genuinely love, and what I enjoy most is the simple pleasure of listening to vinyl at home, the warmer sound, the ritual of dropping the needle, and that feeling of ownership you don’t get from streaming. I love the smell of fresh sleeves and old cardboard in the shops, the quiet concentration of strangers flicking through racks, and the occasional “you’ve got to hear this.”

It’s more than buying music, it’s a ritual, a community. In an industry dominated by streams, clicks, and burnout, these independent Northern record shops are some of the last places where music still feels truly tangible and alive.

This year’s Record Store Day feels more vital than ever. While streaming numbers keep climbing, vinyl sales in the UK have hit multi-year highs because people are craving something they can actually hold. I’m hoping they want to hold print media as badly, too. Something that isn’t dictated by an algorithm that doesn’t give a toss about the bands from our towns who are grinding it out in the venues we love.

And that’s exactly what the indie shops across Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield are fighting for.

In Manchester, Piccadilly Records and Vinyl Exchange are absolute institutions, Northern Quarter legends that have been holding the line for everything from gritty indie to underground electronic for decades. These aren’t just shops, they’re the places where you bump into mates, discover the next wave of Northern talent, and actually talk to people who care as much as you do. Piccadilly’s already teasing an early open and a proper RSD buzz, you know the queues will be worth it.

Liverpool’s got Probe Records (a Scouse institution since the seventies) and Rough Trade Liverpool on Hanover Street, which is going all-in with a full day of live music on the 18th below. Then there’s Jacaranda Records keeping that Bold Street energy alive. These spots have always been the heartbeat of the city’s scene, pushing local bands long before anyone else notices.

Over in Leeds, Jumbo Records and Crash Records are doing the same vital work, early opens, proper stock, and that same grassroots passion that’s kept the Northern scene resilient when everything else feels stacked against it.

And Sheffield’s not sitting this one out either. The Steel City has always punched above its weight when it comes to keeping vinyl real, and this year the shops there are already making noise about Record Store Day like it’s the most important Saturday on the calendar. Places like Bear Tree Records down in The Forum on Devonshire Street, a proper independent haven stacked with new and used gems across indie, punk, psych, soul, and everything in between and the legendary Record Collector up on Fulwood Road, which has been holding the line since 1978 with one of the biggest selections in the North. Then there’s Spinning Discs Sheffield, who’ve been posting stock updates and bringing back their “45s for 45” thing for RSD26 you can already feel the queue energy building.

These shops stock emerging Northern artists all year round, not just when the algorithm decides they’re having a moment. And this RSD, there are some proper gems for us Courteeners with a live Manchester recording, Laura Marling’s set captured at the Albert Hall in Manchester, The Lathums’ special 10” ‘Gull In The Wind’, and Far Caspian’s live session from Leeds City Museum. Releases rooted right here, in the rooms and venues we actually go to.

So here’s my plea, on April 18th, get off the apps for a day, drag a mate. Queue up early if you have to (bring coffee, you’ll need it). Head to Piccadilly or Probe or Jumbo or whichever shop feels like home, and buy something real. Support the bands and the shops that support the scene.

Because in a world that wants everything instant and disposable, these places and the simple act of buying vinyl are quietly fighting back. They’re keeping Northern music not just alive, but physical, communal, and properly ours.

See you in the racks.

All informaton here: Record Store Day | Celebrate the UK’s independent record shops