As if it weren’t surreal enough to have one outlet of the legendary indie record store Rough Trade in New York’s Rockefeller Center, right next to Radio City Music Hall, there soon will be two.
“Rough Trade Below,” the new 4,000 square-foot space, opens this Spring and will be located on Rockefeller Center’s Rink Level, directly facing the Rockefeller Center/47-50 Street subway station. The space, which is significantly larger than the upstairs store, will offer more space for live-performance events and signings.
Since the first Rockefeller Center store opened in 2021, after relocating from its former location in Brooklyn, it has hosted up-close, no-frills shows and signings with Green Day, Coldplay, Charli XCX, De La Soul and others. It also hosts concerts at the nearby Rainbow Room and the Indieplaza by Rough Trade festival in Rockfeller Center.
“We’re extremely excited to be opening Rough Trade Below this spring, helping us further cater to the tremendous demand from music lovers across the five boroughs and beyond,” said Rough Trade co-owner Stephen Godfroy. “It’s clear that the ethos of Rough Trade — to narrow the gap between artist and audience — has struck a tremendous chord here in New York. Creating an even larger mecca for the music lover is an exciting prospect, especially for our intimate live events, where the world’s most exciting artists perform in-store for the admission of purchasing their new album.”
EB Kelly, senior managing director of Tishman Speyer and Head of Rockefeller Center, said, “We are thrilled to have Rough Trade expanding into a second location on campus, and join our Under 30 Rock collection of shops. In just three years, the store has become one of Manhattan’s cultural touchstones and a pillar of Rockefeller Center’s dynamic transformation. New Yorkers have shown us how much they love the experience of the current store on Sixth Avenue, 1 and the new space in our lively Under 30 Rock community will allow even more people to enjoy the musical taste of this legendary shop.”
The new store will also greatly expand the selection of artist and band merchandise and audio equipment like turntables and speakers, as well as new and used vinyl and CDs. The existing Rough Trade store will become known as Rough Trade Above.
The original Rough Trade store was founded in 1976 in west London’s Ladbroke Grove neighborhood. Inspired by the City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, the store quickly became a hub for the burgeoning DIY and punk culture and was the point of contact for countless groups and labels. In 1978 the eponymous record label was born at the shop and wwent on to release classic singles and albums by the Fall, the Smiths, the Strokes and many others.
Along with the New York locations, Rough Trade operates seven UK stores (West, East, Denmark Street, Vintage – all London, plus Bristol, Nottingham & Liverpool) and one in Berlin.
