Record Store Day event in Minturn set for Saturday, rain or shine

Eagle Valley Music and Comics is only participating shop in Eagle County

John LaConte

Eagle Valley Music and Comics is the only shop in Eagle County where music collectors will have a chance to procure the hard-to-find titles only available to shops which participate in Record Store Day on April 23.
*John LaConte/Vail Daily*

The 90 percent chance of wind and snow could make things unpleasant for music collectors looking to cue on Main Street in Minturn on Saturday, when Record Store Day hits Eagle Valley Music and Comics.

The shop will open at 11 a.m.

Owner Tom Robbins recommends shop goers bundle up and prepare to be greeted by a line to get into the store.

Record Store Day, since 2007, has been a chance for music collectors to obtain hard-to-find titles from independent record stores in the U.S. Record Store Day promoters boast that 60 percent of the day’s official release list comes from independent labels and distributors.

Record Store Day has historically been an April event, but changed formats in 2020 and instead used three “drop dates” to get exclusive content to local shops without placing the emphasis on a single-date event.

Record Store Day releases on display at Eagle Valley Music and Comics. The Minturn shop, located at 211 Main Street, is one of 31 record stores in Colorado which is participating in Record Store Day 2022.
*John LaConte/Vail Daily*

In 2022, however, Record Store Day is returning to it’s April single-day event format, with a backup drop date scheduled for June for any titles that can’t make it into stores on April 23.

Eagle Valley Music and Comics owner Tom Robbins is still adhering to his shop’s COVID-19 protocols, only allowing three customers in the shop at any one time, and requiring face coverings for everyone who wishes to enter.

Robbins has, as of Thursday, received a large selection of Record Store Day releases, but not all. He said by Saturday he expects to have most of the titles on the Record Store Day list at RecordStoreDay.com.

Robbins thinks the new Grateful Dead offering, of which he has seven copies, will be a popular item. A 5-LP boxed set, the release captures the second night of the Grateful Dead’s Wembley Empire Pool show in London in April of 1972.

“From the dynamic performances and intuitive interplay it’s clear the band was chomping at the bit to take this music out on the road – the dual keyboards of Pigpen and recent arrival Keith Godchaux merit special mention, as does Jerry Garcia’s Strat and pedal steel guitar work,” writes Rhino.com.

Tom Robbins with Eagle Valley Music and Comics places a copy of The Grouch’s new release, “Show You The World,” on display for Saturday’s Record Store Day 2022 event, in which limited-edition titles will be made available to independent record stores across the country.
*John LaConte/Vail Daily*

Local hip-hop heads can look forward to titles from Cyprus Hill, Dan the Automator and Prince Paul, and The Grouch’s “Show You The World” album, which is limited to 2,000 units.

Robbins will close at 6 p.m. Saturday and will open the shop again on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. He expects some Record Store Day offerings to still be available on Sunday.

“Be sure, if you see an album you like that’s scheduled to come out on Record Store Day, that it’s not scheduled for the June drop,” he said. “Pearl Jam, for example, won’t be here until June.”