Rough Trade announces opening date of biggest UK store in Liverpool

Rough Trade has announced its huge new Liverpool store will open its doors to the public just in time for national Record Store Day in April. The two-storey venue at 50-56 Hanover Street in the city centre will feature a record shop and cafe on the ground floor and a venue space and bar on the second floor. At 6500 square feet, it is the independent music retailer's biggest UK store to date.

As part of a staggered launch, the ground floor will be open on Thursday 18 April, two days before Record Store Day on Saturday 20 April. The first floor will open fully from May, when it will kick off its live in-store events programme with a month of shows, including headline slots for Jordan Rakei, Villagers, Bess Atwell, Alfie Templeman, and Seasick Steve.

Customers to the Liverpool store will have access to a wide range of music titles on vinyl, spanning a generous mix of genres. An exciting selection of new and catalogue releases will also be available to purchase, as well as a quality pre-loved section, an excellent curation of books, Rough Trade's new and improved core merch lines, exclusive collaborations and limited-edition capsules.

Rich Nemeth, head of retail at Rough Trade, said: "We are very excited to be coming to Liverpool, a fantastic city with world-famous musical heritage, known for its community. For me, it’s important that we can offer the best and widest range of vinyl records that will live up to fans' expectations and present the best in-store events and fantastic customer service.  We aim for Rough Trade Liverpool to become a central hub for music fans of Liverpool and to reflect the rich and diverse music scene.”

Liverpool-based design house Dorothy will create a unique art piece to hang in the entrance space of the store. Entitled ‘Scene Here: Liverpool,’ the mapping project will celebrate the history of the city’s music scene from the 1950s to the present day.

Visitors to the store will be invited to contribute to a feature wall that will showcase the clubs and venues that helped make Liverpool one of the most musically creative and influential cities for music in the world. Customers can share their memories in-store or online and follow the wall’s progress as it evolves over the coming months.