By Natalia Serrano
Inside Zia Records on RSD, April 18, 2026. Photo by Natalia Serrano.
Record Store Day (RSD) is a celebration for physical media collectors that has been held twice a year for since 2008, once in April and once for Black Friday in November. Records, CDs, figurines and almost anything for a collector can be included in these events.
Most, if not all, of the hype from RSD is for the specialty pressings and new releases for varying genres, from experimental bands like Xmal Deutschland to large artists like Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars. Local companies celebrating RSD provide a page-long list of new releases for fans to look through and anticipate.
The event began in order to support independent record stores as opposed to larger providers like Target or Walmart. Tucson is home to a handful of these shops, most of which will participate in RSD, such as Zia Records, Heroes and Villains, Desert Island and Wooden Tooth.
Heroes and Villains’ RSD arrangement for efficiency on April 18, 2026. Photo by Natalia Serrano.
In the name of physical media, I woke up at 3 am to grab some titles and support the stores in town. I arrived at Zia Records first, since they opened the earliest.
Upon arrival, there were dozens of people already lined up, camping out for hours, with ages ranging from 10 to 70. The lines only show how deeply rooted music is in Tucson’s culture.
The line outside Zia Records’ RSD celebration on April 18, 2026. Photo by Natalia Serrano.
Other businesses are joining in on the fun as well this year, with Cal’s bakeshop offering an RSD exclusive slipmat with their logo. Cal’s bakeshop is known to have a record player in its space with titles for the public to enjoy.
Another RSD destination, Wooden Tooth, is an independent record store that has been open in Downtown Tucson since 2015. What began as a small operation in the back of Cafe Passe on 4th Ave has now expanded to two locations, housing thousands of new and used media for physical media lovers in Tucson.
“It’s really interesting to see a lot of younger people getting into it, especially people young enough that they don’t have a nostalgic aspect or anything,” said Parisa Eshrati, one of the original staff members at Wooden Tooth.
“To see them understand, value, and support the music is super cool.”
Parisa Eshrati at Wooden Tooth Records on E. Seventh St., April 18, 2026. Photo by Natalia Serrano.
She explained how these events “make sense” for Tucson.
“Tucson music history goes so deep and so far back, and it’s still going strong. Not only to see a relatively smaller city have such a big interest in music, but also seeing people celebrating physical media is super important.”
RSD is all about bringing the community together through music. According to Eshrati, it’s important to have “places to go and talk about music and find other people that have similar interests as you.”
I urge anyone who likes to collect media, or even just has an interest in it, to participate in RSD in Tucson.
Zia Records RSD staff on April 18, 2026. Photo from Zia Records’ Instagram.