Back in 2007, more than 700 independent record stores in the United States came together to celebrate their unique culture in the first Record Store Day (RSD). The UK soon followed suit, and 2014 will see the seventh celebration of our country’s unique independent sector.

Saturday, April 19 is the one day that all of the independently-owned record stores come together with artists and music lovers to celebrate the art of music. Special vinyl and CD releases, along with various other promotional products, are made exclusively for the day, and hundreds of musicians and bands around the world make special appearances at their favourite ‘indie’. Festivities include performances, artist meet-and-greets, DJ sets, in-store quizzes, special sales, and a whole lot more.

The LP Café in the Parade in Watford will be opening at 8am, ready to sell some of the exclusive RSD titles on a first come, first served basis, and there will be guest record selectors in the shop, a listening booth provided by Richer Sounds, signings by guest members of Sikth, plus very special guest Mike Duce of Watford’s very own Lower Than Atlantis, who will be performing some of the band’s songs live at 4.30pm, 6.30pm and 8.30pm. Spaces are limited so booking is essential.

On Sunday, April 20, there will be a charity vinyl auction at 4pm, followed by live acoustic performances, while on Easter Monday, April 21, there is a Record Store Day Music Appreciation Special, Look What I Just Bought – a bit like a book group, but for records, where you get to show off your purchases to other vinyl fans (thelpcafe.com).

Meanwhile, over in Pinner Road in Bushey, Second Scene will be celebrating in a very chilled-out way, with a special sale of its second-hand record stock and teas and coffees available for you to just kick back and enjoy browsing and swapping stories with other music lovers (secondscene.co.uk).

Over in St Albans, Empire Records is excited to be taking part in its very first RSD, and has more than 200 exclusive records for sale, on a first come, first served basis (empirestalbans.com).