The date for Record Store Day 2021 has been confirmed as Saturday 12th June, when independent record shops in the UK and around the world will be stocking another bumper crop of limited edition vinyl.
The annual celebration of all things vinyl usually takes place on the third Saturday of April each year, but it is perhaps of little surprise to see it scheduled for later next year after a heavily disrupted event in 2020.
After 2020's original date was scuppered due to the worsening global pandemic, the organisers' first attempt at rescheduling suffered the same fate. It led to Record Store Day 2020 being held over three dates in August, September and October for the first and likely last time.
It was worth the wait nonetheless, with the three separate drops allowing us to spread the cost of some huge limited releases that included works by Charles Mingus, Philip Glass and Notorious B.I.G.
A fourth set of releases hit the shelves of UK record stores for Record Store Day Black Friday, many of which are still available to buy online and in store.
So the new 12th June date for 2021 is another break from the norm, but not an unexpected one, and gives labels, stores and customers time to prepare. The later date could also cater for some live events to be safely organised, depending on the state of the virus and any available vaccine.
We might even witness the return of overnight camp outs and mile-long queues. It's funny what you miss.
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