Today independent record store owners and crate diggers are celebrating what they love most: music pressed upon a vinyl record.
The first Record Store Day happened on April 19, 2008, and since then it has grown to include store participants on every continent except Antarctica.
Here are a few places around Portland that are saluting Record Store Day with special events, sales and more.
2nd Avenue
The Cover: This old standard started in 1982 with Kathy and John Hagen. This is a record collectors dream store. It has history, character and a ton of records — old and new. You'll hear and, more importantly, feel the music at the exact moment you walk into this institution of musical grandeur. And before you leave the house, make sure you have your exact T-Shirt size because 2nd Avenue has one of the best collections of music T-shirts in the state — if not the West Coast.
What's Spinning: There will most likely be a line downtown Portland at 2nd Avenue, filled with lovers of all kinds of music. Opening two hours early on Record Store Day (8 a.m.), 2nd Avenue will feature over 400 limited-edition vinyl releases: rare reissues, myriad genres, new material.
Location: 400 SW 2nd Ave.
Music Millennium
The Cover: In the middle of Music Millennium there's a barber chair you can sit in while you listen to CDs. It goes without saying: this place is cool. Filing through records at this spot may take all day because the wide-ranging selection and the knowledgeable staff members, who are always willing to talk about music.
What's Spinning: There's going to be a line long before the doors open at 8 a.m. Bonnie Raitt will be doing a meet and greet midday (sorry, tickets for this are sold-out), and at 8 p.m. Alejandro Escovedo will be performing upstairs for free. If you need more than that, Music Millennium will release more than 400 new titles. Morning crate diggers, take note: the store is providing free coffee and muffins from 7 to 8 a.m.
Location: 3158 E. Burnside St.
Beer (the bar)
The Cover: Opened for just over three years in Southeast Portland, Beer features more than 100 bottles of beers, 10 to 12 taps at a time and one red and one white wine selection ... in a can. This charming duck-off is the perfect location for regulars, people new to the city and wanderers enjoying a Portland stroll.
What's Spinning: With all that crate digging, one is bound to get thirsty. Three special beers, related in some way to music and records, will be featured, and visitors are encouraged to bring in their newly purchased vinyl records to be played on the turntable. If you do, you'll receive a $4 pint of one of two 21st Amendment Brewery's beers: Back in Black or MCA Session Stout. While sipping, head to the back and check out an art show featuring Ely & Joshua Gurfinkiel. Art, music and beer ... you can't go wrong.
Location: 1410 SE Stark St.
Jackpot Records
The Cover: At Jackpot Records community and the music matters. Located in the heart of the Hawthorne Boulevard strip, you'll get lost in the wide-ranging selection on offer. Started in 1997 by owner Issac Slusarenko, Jackpot Records also started an independent record label of the same name, operating as a reissuing label.
What's Spinning: It's going to be hard not to groove on Record Store Day at Jackpot Records, because the music will literally be spinning for hours. DJ Steve Turner will get it started when the doors open at 10 a.m. At noon, KMHD's own Derek Smith will have his famous telephone mixer grooving, while DJ Nate Carson will close out the spinning from 2 to 4 p.m. Jackpot Records also pressed for re-release, two albums for the day, Etta James' "At Last (1960)," and Pacific Northwest grunge band Green River's "1984 Demos." If you're getting tired by all the action, don't worry, Courier Coffee will be in-house serving cups of Jo all day long.
Location: 3574 SE Hawthorne Blvd.