Saturday is Record Store Day. See exclusive drops, deals around Kansas City
Spring is in the air, rooftop seating is back, and the biggest event for music fanatics is right around the corner. Saturday, April 12, is Record Store Day, and several stores around Kansas City are participating.
For those new to RSD, your first one can be overwhelming, whether you’re an avid collector or just going for that one artist..
RSD has been around since 2007 and has transformed several times. It began as a gathering of independent record store owners and staff to celebrate the businesses and culture they worked in, as well as everyone in the industry that makes the vinyl business go round.
On this day, labels release, through the RSD organization, limited edition pressings, never-before pressed records, and tons of other exclusive merch for the vinyl community. It makes it a bit like an old-school Black Friday: You get up before the sun rises, make your way to your favorite independent record shop and spend way too much money.
Here in Kansas City and the metro area, you can find six participating stores: Mills Record Company, Josey Records, Love Garden Sounds, Brothers Music KC, Vinyl Heaven and Got What U Like Records, but not all stores are created equally. Here’s what to expect at each.
Mills Record Company
4045 Broadway Blvd.
Doors open at 7 a.m.
The biggest selling point for Mills is that they have received everything on the RSD title list. On top of the drop of their RSD titles, you can also browse their used-vinyl drop and some leftover RSD titles from the past. If you want to go all out, you can purchase one of Mills’ Exclusive RSD posters that local artist Austin Chapman made; a limited number of T-shirts are also available.
The Westport record store loves prizes, and 2025 has not disappointed. On Saturday and Sunday, you can enter a ticket giveaway. This includes four shows at The Midland Theater — Boywithuke on April 21, Lucy Dacus on May 7, Sierra Ferrell on May 15 and Alex Warren on May 24 — as well as one show at recordBar — Matt Hansen on May 3.
Josey Records Kansas City
1815 McGee St.
Doors open at 7 a.m.
Check their Instagram for the most up-to-date information, including the titles they received for this year’s RSD. Along with the new titles, Josey’s KC Records Kansas City will have a new stock of pre-owned records to browse around 10 a.m. The Crossroads shops will have The Stuffed Mushroom food truck on site for a bite to eat. Starting at 2 p.m., you can listen to DJ DA Hill, and from 6 to 8 p.m., Sweeping Promises and The Jackoffs.
Love Garden Sounds
822 Massachusetts St., Lawrence
Reserved shopping spots will be available to be drawn lottery style at the front door starting at 9:30 a.m. until gone, and the store will open to the public at 12:45 p.m.
You can select up to five items to purchase and only one copy of any specific item.
While a bit of a drive from Kansas City, Love Garden Sounds will typically have less sought-after titles later in the day. Since it’s in a college town, the Charlie XCXs and Taylor Swifts will be gone, but you might be able to snag the Peter Gabriel or The Alan Parsons Project a bit easier. A link detailing the titles available will be posted on their Instagram stories on Friday
Brothers Music KC
12206 Johnson Drive, Shawnee
Doors open at 8 a.m.
Brothers Music looks like the place to go if you are looking for the blues or jazz records set to release Saturday, but make sure to watch their Instagram and Facebook ahead of time to peek at their specific drop. Brothers will also have a used vinyl drop on Saturday.
Vinyl Heaven
9411 W. 87th St., Overland Park
Doors open at 8 a.m.
According to their Facebook page, coffee, soda, doughnuts and juice will be available outside.
Got What U Like Records
11539 Hickman Mills Drive
Doors open at 7 a.m.
Got What U Like Records seems to be keeping their plans under tight wraps, so your best chance to see their offerings would be to check their Instagram on Friday and Saturday morning, or if all else fails, just pop by.
This story was originally published April 11, 2025 at 5:00 AM.