This past Saturday was Record Store Day, and many record shops in Baldwin County celebrated the occasion.

Record Store Day is held semi-annually. According to the official website, it is intended "as a way to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding nearly 1,400 independently-owned record stores in the US and thousands of similar stores internationally."

During Record Store Day each year, artists across various genres release special vinyl records released as exclusives for this day, so many vinyl enthusiasts and collectors were up in the early morning hours to snag these exclusive records.

In Foley, the Yellow Submarine, also known as The Sub, is a small record store located inside Covert Comics and Collectibles, just off the intersection of highways 59 and 98. The Sub celebrated Record Store Day for the first time this year and had a line out the door before the store even opened. Kevin Nowlin, an employee at Covert Comics, described the first few hours of the day as "busy, crazy."

"We opened at 10 and some (customers) said they had been here since 7:30," Nowlin said. "For us, that was really unexpected."

Record Store Day provided a "much larger turnout" than a typical day at Covert Comics and attracted a lot of "first-time here" customers. Nowlin said he hopes the event helped more people discover Foley's record store.

In Fairhope, Dr. Music Records, located at 35 S Section St., saw a similar line of people outside their door, with only a handful of patrons being allowed in at a time. Owner Wade Wellborn said that one man waited outside the store since 10 p.m. the previous night for a specific record. When he got to the counter, he realized there was another person behind him who wanted a copy of that same record, so in an act of kindness, he turned around and gave it to them.

"I've seen so many acts of kindness today with people helping each other out," Wellborn said. "(…) It's such a beautiful thing that young people are loving vinyl, that they're experiencing vinyl, that there's a demand for it, and there's an excitement for it. We're very fortunate."

While these store typically sell more albums in the classic rock genre, on Record Store Day, there was greater demand for pop music, with best-sellers and most-requested records by Taylor Swift and Post Malone. Both artists had exclusive releases for Record Store Day, with Taylor Swift selling a white vinyl record of her single "Fortnight" and Post Malone releasing a tribute to the band Nirvana.

Covert Comics has been working on increasing sales and attention for The Sub's record selection and Nowlin said Record Store Day was the perfect way to showcase it. He expects Record Store Day to be held again in the location for years to come.

"I think everyone was generally pleased with the selection that we had and we would like to find more feedback for next year to kind of tailor more to what people are wanting," Nowlin said.

He added that the owner is considering a survey on Covert Comics' social media to determine what customers would be looking for on Record Store Day next year. He recommended those who couldn't find what they were looking for to reach out and share their thoughts before coming back next Record Store Day or sooner.

Wellborn of Dr. Music Records said that Record Store Day gives them a reason to invite people to their shop, offering records that would not be available at big name stores and chains. He also applauded Record Store Day in helping independent stores and small businesses while introducing the vinyl format to younger audiences.

"There's a reason for people to come to an independent record store and celebrate what we do," Wellborn said. "I've firmly believed that an independent record store serves the area that it's in, in so many ways. As a tastemaker, with expertise, with used product, just everything we do is important, just like a bookstore is and a coffee shop is. It serves an area, it serves a group of people, and I firmly believe Record Store Day has been a huge part of that."