We are all familiar with the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season: Black Friday. And most vinyl lovers are familiar with Record Store Day, an annual event when record stores all over the world offer exclusive vinyl releases, special pricing, and more. But you might now know about Record Store Day's Black Friday — an event predating Small Business Saturday's 2010 creation — that reminds "music fans about the gift of music at the kick-off of the holiday season."
This year, Pittsburghers can celebrate the musical Black Friday event at The Government Center on the North Side. In addition to exclusive Black Friday RSD releases (which is about one-third the number of releases seen on the official RSD in April), shoppers can get 15% off almost all the used records in-store, 3-for-$1 bargain bin records, and enjoy live music from local acts starting at 3 p.m.
Doors for The Government Center's Black Friday Party open at 9 a.m. Below are the set times for each performance.
3:00 p.m. - Chameleon Treat
4:00 p.m. - The Childlike Empress
5:00 p.m. - Bonnie & the Mere Mortals
6:00 p.m. - Throwjoy
7:00 p.m. - Shake the Baby Til the Love Comes Out
8:00 p.m. - Drauve
9:00 p.m. - String Machine
10:00 p.m. - Rave Ami
For those coming just for the live music, there is no door free and the event is BYOB.
Aside from records, cassettes, and CDs The Government Center also offers turntables (new Bluetooth-capable, analog, and vintage), speakers, tape decks, custom-built record shelves (from their friends at Deep Cut), to name a few.
More ways to celebrate Black Friday RSD ...
Call other official Pittsburgh RSD affiliates and see what's on the agenda. You can see what stores participated in the April event here.
Stay at home and listen to the new Record Store Day Podcast with Paul Myers. It debuted in early October, and there is already an episode about Black Friday RSD.
Celebrate Record Store Day: Black Friday edition at The Government Center
