A fact not lost on anybody who attended last year's Record Store Day block party at Hymie's Vintage Records, the fifth annual mid-April national shopathon was dreamed up by a store owner in Atlanta.

"It's not the most ideal day of the year to do this in Minnesota," cracked Laura Hoenack, co-owner of Hymie's Vintage Records. Last year only about half of the bands scheduled to play there on Record Store Day got to perform on the outdoor stage. "We wound up getting snow. It was pretty miserable."

Otherwise, though, you won't catch Twin Cities shop owners complaining about RSD, which lands again Saturday with truckloads of limited-edition merchandise. Hymie's is planning an even more ambitious block party, with 15 bands and the addition of a beer garden and a covered tent (take that, April snow!).

Some of the big national releases being sold exclusively in participating indie stores Saturday include a Flaming Lips double-vinyl collection with guests ranging from Ke$ha to Bon Iver; a split single of Mastodon and Feist covering each other's songs, and lots of new vinyl reissues. (See a full list at www.recordstoreday.com.)

Foremost among the locally made RSD exclusives is "American Buffalo," an all-Minnesotan vinyl compilation featuring Trampled by Turtles, Poliça, Doomtree, the 4onthefloor and nine more. Rhymesayers' big RSD exclusive is a 10-inch colored vinyl single with unreleased songs by Atmosphere and Aesop Rock's collaboration with Kimya Dawson.

Among the Electric Fetus exclusives is the "Minneapolis 45" -- a 7-inch preview of an all-Twin Cities vintage funk compilation from vinyl-treasure seekers Secret Stash Records, anchored by Rufus Lumley's 1968 nugget "Minneap'lis , Minnesota."

Margaret Andrews, Star Tribune
Last year's Record Store Day at Hymie's Vintage Records

Secret Stash's Eric Foss had his own little complaint about RSD: He said the record-pressing plants he relies on year-round are getting backed up because big labels "who normally don't care at all about vinyl" are cashing in on the demand. Still, he said, "Record Store Day is a great opportunity to introduce yourself to a much wider audience."

Here's a sampling of performers on Saturday:

  • Yeti Records: Magic Castles (1 p.m.), Marijuana Deathsquads (2), Leisure Birds (3), Mother of Fire (4), Seated Heat (5), Food Pyramid (6), the Blind Shake (7).
  • Electric Fetus: Secret Stash Records DJs (10 a.m.), Heartbeats (11), Erik Koskinen (noon), Malamanya (1 p.m.), Nightinghales (2), Howler (3), Eric Hutchinson (4).
  • Fifth Element: Fundo (12:30), MaLLy (1:30), Auddio Draggon (2), "Lava Bangers" with Lazerbeak and Plain Ole Bill (3), Plain Ole Bill (3:30), Last Word (5) and Jimmy 2 Times (5:30).
  • Eclipse Records: "Celebrity" DJ sets by Kermit Carter (Superhopper), Jim McGuinn (89.3 the Current), Terry Walsh (Belfast Cowboys) and more.
  • Hymie's: Outside stage: Brian Just Band (11 a.m.), Big Quarters (12:15 p.m.), Liminal Phase (1:30), Buffalo Moon (3), White Whales (4:30), plus "surprise guests" (6). Indoor stage: Pocahontas County (11 a.m.), Cactus Blossoms (12:30 p.m.), Ericksons (2:15), Ben Weaver (3:45), Martin Devaney (5), Annandale Cardinals (6:15), Is/Is (7), Goondas (8).