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Record stores hold ‘Christmas in April’ as vinyl popularity returns

Quad City record store owners expect this coming Saturday to be bigger than Black Friday.

Quad City record store owners expect this coming Saturday to be bigger than Black Friday.

Saturday, April 18, 2015, is national Record Store Day, when labels release more than 400 limited edition titles on vinyl. Many stores have turned it into an all-day celebration, complete with live music and food.

"It's become Christmas in April," said Reid Robinson, owner of Co-Op Records in Moline.

Robinson says vinyl records have made a comeback in recent years, thanks in part to a backlash against the digital music industry.

"A lot of people don't want to be told that they have one option for music, and that's to download it," said Robinson. "There are collectors out there that want a record. They want to be able to open it, they want to read the liner notes, they want to smell it, they want to hold it, they want to see if there's any cool stuff that comes with it."

Saturday, he expects to see his biggest crowd of the year.

"I've been doing this for 30 years, and it feels kind of like the old days again from when I first started, so yeah, it's a blast," said Robinson.

Last year, Ragged Records had 200 people waiting outside the Davenport store for doors to open.

"I'm expecting this one, just because of the resurgence in vinyl, what it's been in the past year... we'll maybe see 30 to 40 percent more than what it was last year," said owner Bob Herington.

Herington says it's fun to see music fans of all ages get involved.

"A lot of guys that got rid of their records when CDs came along are now going back and buying records again. So you have young people getting into it and people my age and older that are buying it," said Herington.

Co-Op will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, and Ragged Records will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Both stores will feature bands and live music throughout the day, as well.

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