National Record Store Day is Saturday, April 12th from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Two independent, locally owned shops that have been music to their listeners' ears for decades described their events on the record.

Luna Music made their debut at 5202 North College Avenue in 1994. A Luna employee, Drew, explained, "We have a big concert out back behind the store that will start at Noon and goes until six p.m. In addition to that, we'll have a food truck (Weiner Dreams) that offers vegetarian and vegan cuisine. Broad Ripple business Loom and Black Circle will be serving beer. We'll also have a Community Food Box Plant Pop-Up. There will also be two new Luna Music t-shirts and a 2025 oll-skool coin purse in addition to folks from Indiana Voter Registration and that's in addition to the hundreds of exclusive releases that day which will be available inside the shop. All this plus other bonus stuff is like our yearly block party."

His interest in music has been life-long. "I've been here (at Luna) since 2010. I've been hanging in record stores since I was in middle school."

He mentioned how vinyl record sales been turning the tables on other mediums of music. "I think that record sales were already on the upswing during pre-pandemic and definitely during the years that people spent at home. They continued to increase in sales post-pandemic and people are still buying more records than compact discs. That includes everybody from the biggest pop stars to bands that play here locally."

Those bands playing at Luna and their starting times include Prayer Warriors (Noon), Light Study (1 p.m.), Pat and the Pissers (2 p.m.), Geodize (3 p.m.), Pan Am (4 p.m.) and Wishy (5 p.m.).

According to Broad Ripple Magazine's (August 2018) edition, founder Luna Music's Todd Robinson was inspired by a couple in Dayton, Ohio who operated the nation's second largest independently own record store. He recalled, "I knew if I was going to set about building a record store, I wanted to put my whole heart into it and conceive it from the ground up, not just make it like any other place. I Moved special to Indianapolis because I love the city, it reminded me of the town I came from (in Ohio), just a bigger, more exciting version of it." He initially opened a location at 86th and Ditch Road, but later moved to the northwest corner of 52nd and College Avenue. He has also supported the local music scene with in-store performances ad has employed many local musicians. More history on Luna is available at: www.lunamusic.net/about.

They sell a diversity of musical genres. "In terms of records, we try to cover a wide variety of music. We want to have as much of what people look for as much as possible, like pop, jazz, hip- hop, soul, electronic music from current pop stars to the past. We try to keep as current a selection as possible all the time. We typically stock about 25,000 titles in the store," he noted.

"We all love music here. Everybody loves to be in tune here with something new or something that is 60 years old and being re-released. Seeing customers come in and being excited about discovering some new music is very rewarding," Drew emphasized.

Luna's hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. More information on Luna Music and their selection is available at: www.lunamusic.net and by calling (317) 283-5862.

Andy and Annie Skinner co-own Indy CD & Vinyl, located at 806 Broad Ripple Avenue.

"We will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Record Store Day (RDS) titles will be sold inside our shop beginning at 8 a.m. and we will be carrying all the limited edition and exclusive #RSD records! As always, Indy CD & Vinyl orders all the titles, and we order heavily so hopefully none of you don't miss out on what you want. We also have hundreds of thousands of quality-used LPS! We will be doing a huge drop of freshly processed and priced used vinyl that will be hitting the shelves in time for RSD!" Andy mentioned.

He provided details on their April 12th events. "We will allow a few people at a time into the shop so everyone can get a chance to check out all the goods - everything will be alphabetized in the front of the shop. Once a shopper gets beyond the RSD stuff, they are free to hang out and browse and shop as long as they please. Goodie bags and door prizes will be handed out to the first people in line, while the free stuff lasts!! There will be a scavenger hunt for a free $100 shop gift card! We will also have so many free concert tickets to give away to some of the year's biggest events! There will be sales throughout the shop: 10% off all new (non-RSD) vinyl with a purple sticker! 10% off all new CDs! 10% off greeting cards and postcards! 10% off all t-shirts (store shirts and artist shirts)! The RSD List will be available for download on the https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialReleases. You can print out the titles on your #RSD 2025 Wishlist, then bring it to the shop on Record Store Day! You cannot pre-order or have RSD items placed on hold, as this violates the pledge we have signed with RSD. Your BEST CHANCE to get the limited records is to arrive early in person. If you line up really early and it is really cold, we will supply an outdoor heater for you! You can buy as much of your list as you want with the product we have, but only one copy of any title per person! We will continue to update those in line with items that have sold out. Please do not call the shop as we will not be selling the records until 1 p.m. or when the line is done, whichever is later. We will begin to take phone orders officially at 1pm EST; however, we will serve folks in line first, so this time might be delayed as RSD is dedicated to independent brick & mortar record stores and the products offered are designed to incentivize folks to go visit their local record store. We will also be selling the items on-line beginning at 8 a.m. Sunday at our branded eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/usr/indycdandvinyl"

Indy CD & Vinyl's origins (from: https://www.indycdandvinyl.com/about) are similar to Luna Music. "It was originally established in Salt Lake City in 1993 by Rick Zeigler, who migrated to Indianapolis in 2002, picking up the whole brick and mortar and settling in the heart of the historic Broad Ripple neighborhood, right on Broad Ripple Avenue. After owning the store for 20 years and making it the largest independent record store in Central Indiana, Rick sold the shop to long-time store manager Annie Skinner and her husband Andy Skinner in 2013. (The Skinners also own a marketing and promotion company A-Squared Industries). Annie has been with the store since it was in Utah and worked as the shop manager since it moved to Indianapolis, so her taking ownership was an organic move. Annie & Andy originally met at the record shop!"

Andy noted similar economic sales trends for their store. "The vinyl and physical media ecosystem has been robust since we negotiated the terrifying days of the pandemic. We love to see entire families shopping at the store, as the interest in vinyl now is shared by people of all ages, as well as being something shared by shoppers no matter their identified gender. The most rewarding thing about the work at Indy CD & Vinyl is helping people with music they are passionate about and realizing this industry is what we are passionate about as well. It is a shared joy between shop and customer, every day!"

Three Indy CD & Vinyl employees reflected on the store's mission. Brice noted, "We focus on having as much product as possible for customers on regular days or Record Store Day, which is coming up on April 12th. I've always worked in the music industry, initially selling music instruments at a local store, but this job is more than selling. It is a community that gives people a space to be themselves and it is incredible to be apart of that. I've made many friends through our store here in Broad Ripple. The store is easily organized to navigate and discover new music, whether you like extreme music or Taylor Swift. Which is why it's always been my favorite store. The rewarding thing is getting to talk to people and seeing them find the music they love. The Skinners are great employers and friends who have made the strides to make this store what it is. Their impact on the community is immense whether it's the store, Spellbound, A-Squared Industries or any other event that they have put on. Very thankful to be a part of this space."

Vince added, "Talking to younger people about the music they're interested in and what is going on in the local musical scene and having the opportunity to bring that forward. As a store, one of our main goals is to have something for everyone to meet their musical needs as best we can. We will open at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 12 for National Record Store Day."

Joe said, "Its rewarding just by providing a space for all people to find the music they have a passion for listening to."

Indy CD & Vinyl's hours are Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Their phone number is (317) 259-1012.

Record buyers can make their musical mecca to Indy CD & Vinyl and Luna Music on Saturday, April 12 to support local business, meet Todd (and his staff), the Skinners (and their staff) to discover new and existing genres of music.