Crate diggers across the Capital Region are circling their calendars for another round of the Albany Record Riot, a vinyl-hunting tradition that fills the Polish Community Center with dealer tables stacked high with LPs, CDs, and 45s. The event is listed for Sunday, November 8, 2026, at the Polonaise Ballroom inside the Polish Community Center, though that date comes from an Eventbrite search listing rather than a fully verified event page.
According to The Daily Gazette's events listing, the show is billed as a chance to dig through a room packed with vinyl at the Polish Community Center. The venue sits at 225 Washington Avenue Extension in Albany, according to recordriots.com, the organizer's own event page. That same listing lays out a tiered admission structure for serious collectors willing to show up before the crowds: regular admission runs $5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., while early admission costs $15 starting at 9 a.m., and super-early access for the most dedicated diggers runs $25 starting at 8 a.m.
Dozens of Tables, Dealers From Across the Region
The recordriots.com listing describes more than 60 tables of LPs, CDs, and 45s, though it notes the exact table count shifts depending on how many sellers show up. That scale tracks with past Albany editions of the event. A report from CBS 6 on a previous Record Riot described at least 50 tables of records, CDs, and 45s, with dealers arriving from across New York State, New England, and beyond.
A CBS 6 report described more than 30,000 LP records filling a single room. A 2022 account from Media Sanctuary of an earlier Albany Record Riot at the Polish Community Center, held on January 30 of that year, described a similarly sprawling scene, with more than 55 tables of EPs, LPs, 45s, and other formats brought in by vendors from across the Northeast.
A Show With Decades of History
The event's roots stretch back decades, though accounts differ slightly on the details. The Albany Record Riot began in 1985 as an annual show, according to a historical account from the Times Union, while other coverage, including CBS 6's report, simply describes the show as running since the 1980s. Organizer Stephan Gritzan told CBS 6 that the event has been held three times a year, a schedule confirmed on the recordriots.com event page, which lists the Albany Record Riot taking place three times annually.
Accounts also differ on exactly when Gritzan took the reins. A 2017 Times Union report said Gritzan took over the Albany event that year, while a 2024 interview with RadioRadioX quoted him describing having taken over in 2008. In that same RadioRadioX interview, Gritzan said he now runs 20 Record Riots shows across eight states, attributing the expansion to renewed interest in vinyl records. Back in 2017, the Times Union reported that Gritzan was planning to grow the Albany show from a single annual date into three shows a year, a plan that appears to have taken hold based on the current three-times-a-year schedule.
Where the Show Has Traveled
The Albany Record Riot hasn't always called the Polish Community Center home. The Times Union reported that the event was held at the Ramada Plaza in Albany on a Sunday in January 2017, before later settling into its current venue. Looking further ahead, the recordriots.com page lists three 2027 dates for the Albany show: Sundays, January 24, April 25, and November 14, suggesting the thrice-yearly rhythm is set to continue well past this weekend's event.
