Celebrate Music – April 16 Is Record Store Day

Music. It keeps the beat, soothes the savage beast, rocks around the clock, and for centuries, has fueled our imagination, and given voice to generations. Metallica is this year's Record Store Day Ambassadors, and they are just one of the many artists participating with exclusive releases for April 16.

So many genres of music. So many ways to get your music these days. Back in the day though, the predominate way to check out what was new on the music scene was to head to the local music store. You could browse, chat with other music fanatics, and get great info from the owners who more often than not, were like "professors" of all things musical.

Sadly, as we advanced technology ( not always a good thing! ) the independently owned record store became a bit of a thing of the past.

Fast forward to 2007, which is when the annual Record Store Day was founded. It's held on the third Saturday of April each year to celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store. Many stores in Connecticut, including Gerosa Records in Brookfield are participating. To find a full listing of stores in Connecticut, go to RecordStoreDay.com

If you have never gone to one of these events, you should know that certain records are pressed specifically for Record Store Day, and are only distributed to shops participating in the event. How cool is that?

Ambassadors, Metallica, will release deluxe reissues of their first two albums for the event, and a special live show recorded at Le Bataclan in Paris. Other exclusive releases will include albums by David Bowie, Bob Dylan, the Doors, Frank Zappa, and more.

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