Jack White’s label takes over Tower Records and Hectic Records around his Irish dates, with rumoured “bootleg” sleeve editions in the mix.
Third Man Records is taking its pop-up shop concept around the UK and Ireland this summer, setting up inside a handpicked run of independent record shops from Friday August 28th to Sunday September 20th.
Two of the five stops are on this island. Hectic Records in Belfast hosts the pop-up on Monday August 31st, the same night Jack White plays the Telegraph Building, while Tower Records on Dawson Street takes it on Tuesday September 1st and Wednesday September 2nd, lining up with White’s two nights at the 3Olympia Theatre. The Dublin run may stretch into the weekend if demand holds up.
Each shop is turned into a temporary Third Man outpost for the duration, stocked with exclusive vinyl, limited edition merchandise, posters and books.
The tour follows the release of Jack White’s Frozen Charlotte his seventh album.
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There is a story attached, as there usually is with Third Man. The Frozen Charlatan character from the album’s cover has been turning up online in recent weeks, and the label is hinting that the trickster has made off with a stash of Jack White records and is passing homemade “bootleg” sleeve editions into independent shops across the UK and Ireland. Each one is hand screen-printed, so no two copies are the same.
Whether any of that holds up is left deliberately vague. The label’s line is that visitors to the pop-ups can find out for themselves.
Third Man was founded by White in Detroit in 2001 and now runs as a label, pressing plant and record shop across Nashville, Detroit and London. Previous pop-ups have landed in Paris, Liverpool, Brighton and at festivals elsewhere.
Pop-up dates
- Friday August 28th – Friendly Records, Bristol
- Saturday August 29th – Beatdown Records, Newcastle
- Monday August 31st – Hectic Records, Belfast
- Tuesday September 1st and Wednesday September 2nd – Tower Records, Dawson Street, Dublin (may continue through the weekend while stocks last)
- Friday September 18th to Sunday September 20th – Monorail Music, Glasgow
Glasgow is the only stop without a corresponding Jack White show in the same city.
Everything in the pop-ups, the bootleg editions included, is first come, first served while stocks last. Sign up to the Third Man mailing list or follow the participating shops for updates.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
