Record Store Day in Groningen, Netherlands
Two dates to know: Record Store Day Black Friday is Friday, November 29, 2026, and the next main Record Store Day is Saturday, April 17, 2027.
What is Record Store Day?
Record Store Day is an annual event built around independent record stores. The main event traditionally lands on the third Saturday of April each year; Record Store Day Black Friday is traditionally held the day after US Thanksgiving. Both days bring exclusive, limited-run vinyl and CD releases sold only at participating independent shops — not big-box retailers, and not mail order until the in-store exclusives sell through. Because pressings are limited, popular titles can sell out within the first hour, which is why a line-early culture has grown up around the day even at shops that are otherwise quiet on a weekday morning.
Tips for the day
- Arrive early. At busy shops, lines for popular titles can start well before opening.
- Bring cash. A cash line often moves faster than card on a shop's highest-volume day of the year.
- Check each shop's own site or Instagram in the week before the date — participating shops post their own opening time, line policy, and which exclusive titles they've ordered in.
- Release lists are first-come, first-served and vary store to store. A title in stock at one shop may not show up at another, even across town.
- Expect one-per-customer or per-household limits on the most in-demand titles.
- Not every independent record store participates every year, and allocations vary shop to shop — confirm directly with the shop rather than assuming based on a past year.
Shops to check in Groningen, Netherlands
Independent record shops open in Groningen, Netherlands right now. We don't yet track which specific shops participate in Record Store Day or what they've ordered in for a given year — check each shop's own site or Instagram close to the date for their exclusive-release list, opening time, and line policy.
- De Jongens van Hemmes
City-centre CD and vinyl shop continuing the legacy of the legendary Hemmes music store, run by Eric and John since 2003, spanning everything from challenging jazz to modern house with rare imports and free local bicycle delivery.
2 sources
- Elpee Groningen
Groningen music-lover institution operating since 1975, now in the Gelkingestraat a few minutes from the Grote Markt, with a compact shop geared toward metal, alternative and hard-to-find vinyl discoveries.
2 sources
- Klinkhamer Antiek
Antiques and curiosa shop on the Folkingestraat that doubles as a haven for vinyl collectors, with an impressive collection of LPs, singles and records across genres alongside ceramics, toys and glassware.
2 sources
- Plato Groningen
One of the largest record shops in Northern Netherlands at roughly 200 square metres, part of the long-running Plato/Concerto chain, stocking well-filled new vinyl and CD bins downstairs and an extensive secondhand LP, single and CD selection upstairs.
2 sources
- Swingmaster
Jazz-and-blues specialist with worldwide name recognition among collectors, on the Pelsterstraat for over a decade after 35 years at its original Kruitlaan location; also carries a growing pop vinyl selection.
2 sources
- Variaworld
New Folkingestraat record shop opened December 2025 by father-and-son record-fair organisers Wilco and Dylan de Bruin, mixing new and secondhand vinyl, CDs and singles with a large K-pop section rare elsewhere in Northern Netherlands.
2 sources
See the full record store listing for Groningen, Netherlands.