Right then, Riff Report crewโฆ gather round the turntable because this is PROPER wholesome rock โnโ roll magic.
While the streaming overlords keep feeding us disposable playlists quicker than you can say โskip intro,โ Elles Bailey has gone full analogue warrior and reminded the world why vinyl is still king of the hill. ๐๐
To celebrate her brand-new album Can’t Take My Story Away (out now via Cooking Vinyl and Outlaw Music), Elles didnโt just pose for a promo shot. She didnโt just sign a stack of sleeves backstage.
Nope.
She walked onto the factory floor at Packaged Sounds in High Wycombe and pressed a vinyl copy herself. By hand.
Signed it. Dated it. Slipped it back into the production run like some blues-rock secret agent.
And that single record?
It ended up over 5,000 miles away in Arizona. ๐ต๐ฅ
Imagine opening your parcel thinking, โLovely, new record for the shelf,โ and instead holding a one-in-a-thousand, artist-pressed piece of music history. Thatโs not merch. Thatโs mythology, butt.
๐ VINYL ISNโT NOSTALGIA โ ITโS A STATEMENT
Letโs get one thing straight.
Vinyl isnโt back because itโs retro cool. Itโs back because it means something.
Elles put it perfectly:
โPhysical music isn’t just a collector’s item. It’s a way for fans to truly stand behind the music and for artists to keep building on their own terms.โ
And guess what? The charts absolutely backed her up.
This independent, grassroots release stormed in at:
๐ฅ #1 Record Store Chart
๐ฅ #1 Official Jazz & Blues Albums Chart
๐ฅ #5 Official Album Sales Chart
๐ #14 Official Albums Chart
For an indie release largely driven by physical sales? Thatโs not tidy. Thatโs seismic.
๐ถ THE ALBUM SHE WAS DESTINED TO MAKE
Produced by Luke Potashnick and featuring the golden-eared wizardry of Ethan Johns, this eleven-track beauty has been brewing for nearly a decade.
Three years in the making. Song origins stretching back almost ten years. Blood, sweat, heartbreak, growth โ the lot.
MOJO handed it 4โ and basically crowned her blues royalty, saying sheโs blessed with:
โEtta Jamesโs emotional gravity and Janis Joplinโs gritty power.โ
Steady on. Thatโs heavyweight praise.
And the single โGrowing Rootsโ? BBC Radio 2 A-List. Most played track on the station for the first three weeks of 2026.
Thatโs not background music. Thatโs takeover energy.
๐๏ธ SOLD-OUT RECORD STORE TOUR? YES PLEASE.
Instead of chasing algorithms, Elles chased record shops.
A sold-out tour of independent stores around the country. Fans queueing. Sleeves being signed. Stories being shared.
This is how scenes are built. Grassroots. Human. Slightly chaotic. Beautiful.
๐๏ธ HEADLINE TOUR DATES โ GET YOUR BOOTS READY
Sheโs taking Canโt Take My Story Away on the road across the UK, EU, US and beyond.
March
- London โ Islington Assembly Hall
- Warwick โ Arts Centre
- Bristol โ Electric
- Manchester โ Band on the Wall
- Glasgow โ St Lukeโs
- Gateshead โ Glasshouse 2
- Holmfirth โ Picturedrome
May
- Nantwich Roots Festival
- The Ridings โ Chipping Sodbury
- Sidmouth International Jazz & Blues Festival
- Wychwood Festival
June
- Beardy Folk Festival
- State Fayre โ Essex ๐
July โ US & Europe
- Cape Cod Melody Tent, MA
- South Shore Music Circus, MA
- Lansdowne Theatre, PA
- Notodden Blues, Norway
Plus US dates kicking off with Tedeschi Trucks Bandโs Sun, Sand and Soul Beach Weekend in Florida this April.
High Wycombe pressing plant to American beach stage. Thatโs a journey.
๐ WHY THIS STORY HITS DIFFERENT
In a world of instant streaming and โnext trackโ culture, one vinyl record travelled across continents carrying an artistโs fingerprint on it.
Thatโs not just distribution.
Thatโs connection.
Itโs proof that music made with care, pressed by hand, and sent out into the world can still surprise someone thousands of miles away.
And that, Riff Report family, is why vinyl keeps spinning.
Albumโs out now. Grab it. Spin it loud. Check the sleeve โ you never know what story might be hiding inside.
Proper job. ๐ค๐ฅ
