As Don Letts once famously put it: ‘If music is your religion, Rough Trade is your church.’ And it’s hard to argue with that statement. Since opening its first store in 1976, Rough Trade has remained an oasis for music fans of all kinds.
And soon vinyl obsessives will be able to make the pilgrimage to the legendary indie label’s newest store, which is set to be its biggest and most impressive yet. The label already has five branches spread across Bristol, Nottingham and London. Now it’s heading to... Liverpool!
The L’pool branch will span a total of 6500 square feet and, alongside its eclectic cornucopia of records, feature a bar and cafe offering draught beer and fresh coffee in collaboration with Signature Brew and Dark Arts. So in other words, you could easily stay there worshipping the gods of punk, reggae, jazz and art pop from dusk ’til dawn.
And we also now know the official opening date of Rough Trade Liverpool. Scousers can expect to find the store open from April 18 at 50-56 Hanover Street in the city centre.
Like its other branches, the Rough Trade Liverpool will host live events and performances from both national and local artists.
Lawrence Montgomery, managing director at Rough Trade, told Dork: ‘We are excited to grow our UK presence with a store in Liverpool. The city has such a rich musical heritage as well as a vibrant scene right now which we hope to honour and represent in the best way we can.
‘The scale (both size and ambition) of the store shows our commitment and investment to the city. We can’t wait to delight customers in the record store and venue in due course.’
What’s more, if you fancy yourself a bit of a vinyl connoisseur and love flooding your group chat with music recommendations, you can apply for one of the many jobs going at the site over on Rough Trade’s career page.
If you’re perpetually on the look out for new LPs and EPs to add to your collection, Time Out can help you make sure you’re never too far from a record shop. Check out our lists of the best record stores in London, Manchester and Glasgow. And if you’re in the market for fresh sounds, our roundup of the best new music to listen to in 2024 will surely help you on your way.
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