Discophiles celebrate Record Store Day on cold, gray Black Friday in Alexandria

Discophiles celebrate Record Store Day on cold, gray Black Friday in Alexandria

Crooked Beat Records in Alexandria was packed to the brim with a line out the door this Black Friday, which is also Record Store Day.


It was a cold and gray Black Friday, but it was much warmer in a crowded basement in Del Ray, Alexandria. (WTOP/Shayna Estulin)

It was a cold and gray Black Friday, but it was much warmer in a crowded basement in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia.

Bob Clayton walked up and down the stairs helping to drive the crowd at Crooked Beat Records. He said Nov. 29 is Record Store Day, a nationwide event to support local record stores.

Artists and labels release exclusive or small vinyl editions or albums that have not yet been released in major stores.

“These are limited releases released for today only and feature various artists,” Clayton said. “It’s a great event because you see how it brings in all the people, but more than that, it really benefits these independent record stores financially, as opposed to stores like Best Buy and Target that sell in bulk.”

A song by The English Beat was playing in the background. The British band released a special double LP for Record Store Day.

“In January it will be a single album. So if you buy it today, you get an extra record,” Clayton said.

There was a line of people waiting their turn outside, some of them sitting in portable camp chairs.

“I think I’ll try to get some good Christmas records. They have some pretty rare specimens of this species,” said Loren Southard, standing at the end of the line bundled up in a down jacket and a hat.

“These records are only available in the store, so the whole event is to get people to come to the store to support a man like Bill,” Southard said.

Bill Daly, owner of Crooked Beat Records, was so busy calling customers that he only had a moment to speak to WTOP.

“We’ve been around for 27 years and have been selling vinyl since day one,” he said, adding it’s great to see customers are still so excited about buying records.

For those who didn’t have a chance to wait in the cold, there’s another Record Store Day in April.

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