GOLDEN DISCS PROUDLY ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF

THE VINYL LOUNGE IN THE HEART OF CORK CITY 

The city of Cork is famed for its vibrant music scene with world class bands, venues and record stores providing endless indulgence for music lovers. Now Cork city will have another string to it’s bow as Golden Discs get’s ready to launch its 1st ever vinyl-only store, The Vinyl Lounge on Patrick’s Street today, April 18th.

 The Vinyl Lounge will take pride of place on Cork’s bustling main street in one of the city’s most beautiful buildings which is steeped in art heritage having served as a music store for over 30 years and a cinema prior to that. The Vinyl Lounge can be found on the second floor above the existing Golden Discs at 82 Patricks St.

Golden Discs, established in 1962, is a family owned Irish company that has strived to embrace an ever changing and diverse consumer base by keeping its ear to the ground. The upcoming launch of The Vinyl Lounge in Cork is a direct response to the recent resurgence of vinyl.

Despite almost dying out in 2006, vinyl has witnessed an incredible comeback over the past 8 years. In a digital age vinyl is providing a refreshingly tangible experience for music fans. There is a strong feeling among younger generations that ownership of a record translates to a clear support for their favourite artists. Not only does vinyl deliver an unbeatable sound but it also comes with exclusive artwork, authenticity and the opportunity to collect, swap and pass down!

Golden Discs perceived that this resurgence warranted a store dedicated to vinyl alone. Cork in particular has over-indexed the rest of Ireland in terms of music sales and Golden Discs hopes that The Vinyl Store will cater to this growing demand.

“Customers have been asking for more range and we’ve been extending the sections but we now feel the time is right to re-open upstairs which will provide a whole new store and over 2,000 sq feet to showcase the best in vinyl with deep catalogue and new genres previously not stocked.” – Stephen Fitzgerald, CEO of Golden Discs

And while The Vinyl Lounge will offer a selection of turntables, accessories and a rich library of vinyl, equally importantly it will strive to provide a cultural hub and city centre haven for music fans of all ages. The Vinyl Lounge will be kitted out with comfy couches, free wifi, test-drive turntables, racks of records and good strong coffee. Customers are invited to drop in, pop on a pair of headphones, sip on a hot cuppa and let the noise of the city fade away while the music moves in.

And it’s not only music that can be soaked up, at The Vinyl Lounge customers can look forward to catching a brand new photography exhibition every 3 months showcasing the country’s finest talents. To kick this off The Vinyl Lounge is delighted to exhibit Cork born, Dublin based photographer Bríd O’Donovan who has combined her passion for photography and music by documenting the effervescent music scene around Ireland. Brid has captured the magic at music events up and down the country including Indiependence, Hard Working Class Heroes, Body & Soul and Forbidden Fruit to mention but a few.

The Vinyl Lounge will open just in time to coincide with the worldwide celebrations for the 10th annual Record Store Day on April 22nd. And to raise the roof in style Golden Discs are delighted to welcome some of Cork’s leading artists to The Vinyl Lounge for an afternoon of performances on the day.

At 12.20pm Americana, soul songstress Anna Mitchell will kick the party off with new music from her forthcoming album. Following this at 1.10pm multi-instrumentalist Clare Sands will grace the stage to perform songs from her new album Join Me At The Table. At 2pm The Grunts will raise the tempo to alt-rock. At 2.50pm Jack O’Rourke will perform tracks from his latest piano driven album Dreamcatcher. At 3.40pm Marlene Enright will close out the evening by treating us to tastes of her acclaimed album Placemats and Second Cuts.