Kim Stenlake arrived at Dickson City’s Gallery of Sound before sunrise on Saturday, with a list of vinyl albums she hoped to purchase, with Bruce Springsteen’s music topping the entries.
Stenlake, like thousands of vinyl aficionados across the country and across the world, was participating in Record Store Day, an annual global celebration that sees hundreds of artists release special, limited-edition vinyl, CDs and promotional items exclusively for the day.
For Stenlake, of Moosic, the day was not only about music, but about family.
Area residents line up outside Gallery of Sound, Dickson City, as part of an annual Record Day event on April 18, 2026, (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
Vinyl aficionado and “Swifty” Michael Ganz of Scranton reviews his record wish list on Saturday April 18 at the Gallery of Sound, Dickson City, as part of Record Store Day. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
Area residents line up to do some shopping at Gallery of Sound, Dickson City, as part of an annual Record Day event on April 18, 2026. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
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Area residents line up outside Gallery of Sound, Dickson City, as part of an annual Record Day event on April 18, 2026, (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
Her son Eric Scritchfield and granddaughter Khloé Scritchfield, 9, stood beside her in a line that spanned the entire walkway and overflowed into the shopping area’s parking lot.
“Today was a big day,” Stenlake said. “My son called to remind me about it.”
At nine, Khloé Scritchfield doesn’t know who Bruce Springsteen is. Nor, did she know her grandmother’s second favorite classic recording artist, Mama Cass.
Instead her musical preferences include The Cheetah Girls, a Disney themed group the performed in the early 2000s.
She realizes listening to music has evolved over time.
“Now you just need to click,” she said.
Nevertheless, she enjoyed the excitement of the event and time with her father and grandmother.
Like Stenlake, Michael Ganz also arrived before sunrise for a chance to purchase his favorite vinyl hits.
Ganz wore a shirt reading “Taylor Swift,” but pointed out he came to be a Swiftie later in life and in an unexpected way.
In 2023, he attended “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” at a movie theater with his wife to see what “all the hype was about.”
Several 15-year-old girls sat behind the couple during the movie and Ganz realized the music and lyrics were having a positive, empowering influence on them.
He points to Swift’s song “The Man,” which directly addresses gender double standards, encouraging women to challenge misogyny in their professional and personal lives.
“And so now I’m a Swiftie,” he said, adding he was hoping to purchase Swift’s recent release featuring the song “Elizabeth Taylor,” on purple splatter glitter seven-inch vinyl.
Ganz, who had attended the Record Store Day event for almost as long as he could remember, said being a Swiftie provided added excitement to the day.
Gallery of Sound manager Rob Chorba called the response “dizzying” and busier than previous years.
“Taylor Swift might have put us over the top, but there was also the Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, KISS and others,” he said.
People started lining up at about 5 a.m. for the event, completely filling the shopping area parking lot.
The store opened its doors at 9 a.m. and the line remained until after noon.
At about 12:30 p.m., the store posted to social media, “No more lines! Come on in and relaxRecord Store Day 2026.”
The event, a near-holiday for many, started nearly two decades ago in the Bay Area of California and is now a worldwide celebration.