´óÏó´«Ã½

This Saturday (16 April) sees Wales join countries around the world marking with events, gigs and general celebration of the independent spirit in record retailing.

Gone are the days when every town had a vinyl-selling emporium staffed by people with obscene levels of knowledge of b-sides and the catalogue numbers of records. These days just a few independent retailers attempt to weather the storms in the trade, and Wales have several that this weekend will be drawing public attention to their work.

, Cardiff
Customer DJ sets, performances, badge-making and sleeve design activities are the order of the day, plus goodie and a headline performance from . Later in the evening, Future Of The Left play a Record Store Day gig at Clwb Ifor Bach in the city.

, Bangor
Customers at this north Wales shop can catch Y Niwl before they head south, plus other live sets from and Heldinki.

, Cardiff
In-store DJ sets from Hospital Records' Nu:Tone and Logistics run alongside local talent DJing in the basement. The shop is launching its own label, Catapult Records, on the day too.

, Newport
Limited edition releases are given special prominence for Record Store Day in Diverse, and customers can enjoy the amazing voice of Sarah Howells of and an acoustic set from . Goody bags and a raffle are also in the offing.

, Carmarthen
This shop in south west Wales hosts the talents of , and . There's swap shop in the evening, of stories and recommendations.

Simon Thomas, manager of Catapult said: "Record Store Day gets better every year; it's something we and our customers have started to look forward to celebrating", while 's Lisa Matthews said: "The importance of independent record stores and the role they play in the music scene can not be overstated. There are a number of long-serving stores in Wales, at a time when closures are reported across the UK and other countries."

Record Store Day 2011 comes at a time in which the sole non-independent chain, HMV, is battling to survive, with news that the troubled retailer.

Tune in to Radio Wales this Friday at 9.30am for a feature on Record Store Day.