Record Store Day in Hawaii (statewide)
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 Hawaii (statewide)
Independent record shops open in Hawaii (statewide) 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.
- AGS Honolulu (Aloha Got Soul)
Brick-and-mortar HQ of the Aloha Got Soul label in Mo'ili'ili, just outside Waikiki. New, used, and reissued vinyl, 45s, CDs and tapes with a deep focus on Hawaiian music.
2 sources
- EP Bar
Honolulu's only listening bar, tucked behind Morning Glass Coffee in Chinatown. Highballs paired with a ~3,000-title vinyl collection spun on hi-fi turntables by resident DJs, in the spirit of Japanese jazz-kissa listening rooms.
3 sources
- Hungry Ear Records
Hawaii's oldest record store, founded 1980 in Kailua and now at SALT Kaka'ako. State's largest new-vinyl inventory, deep used LP wall, and a specialty in rare Hawaiian albums.
3 sources
- Request Music
Maui's only dedicated music store since 1990; new/used vinyl, CDs, comics and posters, plus a basement of roughly 15,000 used LPs known for reggae and punk.
3 sources
- Skull-Face Books & Vinyl
Downtown Chinatown bookstore-and-vinyl shop from Last Bookstore (LA) owner Josh Spencer, curated around deep/dark/weird books and records: punk, metal, reggae, funk, jazz.
2 sources
- Still Life - Books, Vinyl & Art
Curated used bookstore paired with a well-regarded vintage vinyl selection and local art in downtown Hilo; reopened after a 2018 flood and still trading.
3 sources
- Uila Records
Retail vinyl record store by day in Waimea's Opelo Plaza that turns into a live music lounge with beer, wine and weekly Wednesday shows by night.
3 sources
- Village Books & Music at Ward
Nonprofit used book-and-media shop at Ward Centre run by Friends of the Library of Hawai'i, with a well-stocked vinyl, cassette and CD section funding Hawaii's public libraries.
3 sources
- Vinyl Vybes
Community record store in the heart of Kailua-Kona's nightlife district selling new and used vinyl, CDs, cassettes and turntables across all genres, with a DJ-friendly selection.
3 sources
See the full record store listing for Hawaii (statewide).