Record Store Day comes to Boston

Pixies’ double LP “Bossanova / Trompe Le Monde” captures the Boston stalwarts performing the two titular albums on their 2024 European tour. The Lemonheads, another fixture of Boston’s alt-rock lore, will share the rarities compilation “Lemonheads in Dreamland,” which finds Evan Dando and company covering everyone from Merle Haggard to the Velvet Underground.

Other hyper-local Record Store Day releases will whisk listeners back to the 1990s. “Bootleg Detroit” presents Morphine playing at St. Andrew’s Hall in 1994, five years before the Cambridge group disbanded, while Rhode Island’s Throwing Muses unveil “Live in Providence,” a time capsule of their 1992 performance at the now-shuttered venue Club Babyhead. Belly, who also formed in Rhode Island, will share a 30th anniversary reissue of their 1995 record “KING.”

While it’s typical for Record Store Day to include a smattering of New England-adjacent projects — think of past offerings like The Police live at the Orpheum, or a collection of Donna Summer remixes — rarely does the selection feel this honed to one era of the area’s music history.

As collectors make the rounds between local record stores on Saturday, some independent retailers have arranged additional festivities and goodies to buoy guests’ vinyl hunts. Per tradition, Tres Gatos in Jamaica Plain will offer guests complimentary treats like doughnuts, cookies, and Record Store Day-themed totes, posters, and pins on a first-come, first-served basis. North End shop Good Taste Records and Brookline’s Village Vinyl & Hi-Fi will both soundtrack the afternoon with a rotation of live DJ sets.

Vinyl Index, located within Somerville’s Bow Market, will make full use of the Union Square marketplace. DJs from the local “Soulelujah” dance nights will spin their finest funk and soul records in the courtyard starting at noon, and shoppers who want to test their skills at the turntable can sign up for 15-minute slots to perform in Bow’s upstairs event space. Guests can also purchase custom screen-printed Vinyl Index merchandise in Bow’s courtyard — or save the extra cash for a trip to Watertown’s Wanna Hear It Records, which will have a collection of rare test pressings and out-of-print albums for sale.

View the full list of Record Store Day releases here.

GIG GUIDE

At Roadrunner on Friday, half•alive summon sun-dappled dance-pop from their 2024 record “Persona.” Following a performance opening for $uicideboy$ last fall at TD Garden, Florida rapper Denzel Curry visits Roadrunner on Thursday for his own “Mischievous South” tour.

Nigerian Afrobeats artist and rapper Asake heads to the Agganis Arena on Saturday, followed by a much-anticipated Sunday performance from Heart. The Wilson sisters’ iconic rock band was scheduled to perform with Journey and Def Leppard at Fenway Park last summer, but withdrew in light of singer Ann Wilson’s cancer diagnosis. The Agganis’s rock block continues on Tuesday, when Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and St. Vincent tag-team a tour toasting their recent albums “Wild God” and “All Born Screaming.”

Los Angeles rapper Murs brings his final headlining tour to the Red Room at Cafe 939 on Saturday. The artist’s 30-plus-year career spans more than 15 records, a stint in the hip-hop supergroup Living Legends, and breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest rap marathon in 2016 (although his 26-hour performance has since been bested).

Damien Escobar — nicknamed the “king of strings” for his Emmy Award-winning prowess on the violin — weaves R&B, jazz, and funk into cuts from his 2024 record “Gemini” at City Winery on Saturday. Lizzie No partners with Boston artist Jessye DeSilva for an evening of soft-strummed folk at the winery’s Haymarket Lounge on Wednesday.

Standout shows from a busy week at Brighton Music Hall include New Orleans genre-jumpers Tank and the Bangas on Saturday, brooding darkwave act Cold Cave on Sunday, noirish alt-rock duo King Hannah on Monday, and psychedelic-spiked rock band Mercury Rev on Thursday.

Mary J. Blige gives new meaning to her November album “Gratitude” on the “For My Fans” tour, which comes to TD Garden on Monday. The show will be the R&B legend’s first visit to Massachusetts in six years, after performing at the Xfinity Center with Nas on a co-headlining tour in 2019.

NOW SPINNING

Daughter of Swords, “Alex.” Daughter of Swords’s sophomore record, “Alex,” is a one-two punch of pluck and poise. North Carolina artist Alex Sauser-Monnig — who’s also released music as a member of the groups Mountain Man and The A’s — returns to their side project to create a snappy whir of art-rock that unwinds into the wispy ballads “Song” and “West of West.”

Bon Iver, “SABLE, fABLE.” The last time we heard from Bon Iver, Justin Vernon’s band was lending an unexpected collaboration to Charli XCX’s “BRAT” remix album. Now the Wisconsin group returns to its folksier form on “SABLE, fABLE,” Bon Iver’s first record in six years. The album is a mirrorball that reflects Vernon’s fluctuating approaches to gentleness, from bare bones ballads (“S P E Y S I D E”) to soft rock flecked with pedal steel (“Everything Is Peaceful Love”).

Bootsy Collins, “Album of the Year #1 Funkateer.” Yes, putting “album of the year” right in a project’s title is a cocky move, but by his 23rd studio album, Bootsy Collins has more than earned the bragging rights. The funk icon, now 73, springs through 18 tracks with his signature joie de vivre, twisting his bass playing into randy R&B, fuzzy psychedelia, and swanky funk.

BONUS TRACK

Another spring music tradition warms up Boston this weekend: the return of Hot Stove Cool Music. The annual benefit, which raises money for the Foundation To Be Named Later, hosts its 25th anniversary edition this Saturday at the Paradise Rock Club. Cheap Trick will headline at the event, which will also feature performances from Eddie Japan (joined by The Cars’ keyboardist Greg Hawkes), Letters to Cleo frontwoman Kay Hanley, and Buffalo Tom’s Bill Janovitz, among others.

Victoria Wasylak can be reached at vmwasylak@gmail.com. Follow her on Bluesky @VickiWasylak.bsky.social.