Record Store Day in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, North Carolina
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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, North Carolina
Independent record shops open in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, North Carolina 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.
- Corner Records
Small hometown vinyl shop in North Wilkesboro selling 33s, 45s, 78s and vintage audio equipment; open since 2014.
2 sources
- Crate Diggers Vinyl and More
Buys, sells and trades vinyl and audio equipment from the Union Square shopping center in downtown Hickory; opened May 2019 as the first Hickory record shop in over a decade.
2 sources
- Dead Wax Records
New and used vinyl, CDs, tapes and DVDs in Lenoir; voted a top-3 NC record store by Strange Carolinas readers since 2019.
2 sources
- Far Out Records and Retro
Downtown Hickory shop buying/selling/trading records, cassettes, CDs, VHS, comics, games, and other retro memorabilia; an official Record Store Day location.
2 sources
- Green Eggs and Jam
Eclectic vinyl, CD, vintage clothing and oddities shop in downtown Morganton; opened in Asheville in 1994 and later relocated here. Confirmed there is no separate Boone, NC location under this name.
2 sources
- J&B Vinyl
Lenoir vinyl shop selling new and used records plus custom decals and other merchandise.
2 sources
- Main St Jams
Independent music store in downtown Morganton selling vinyl, CDs and vintage posters, run by owner/operator Travis.
2 sources
- Play It Again Records
Downtown Valdese shop selling records, tapes, CDs and DVDs; a Record Store Day participant.
2 sources
- The Rock Shop and Collectibles
Granite Falls shop selling vinyl records alongside general collectibles.
2 sources
See the full record store listing for Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, North Carolina.