Right then, Riff Report crew… gather round the turntable because this is PROPER wholesome rock ‘n’ roll magic.
While the streaming overlords keep feeding us disposable playlists quicker than you can say “skip intro,” Elles Bailey has gone full analogue warrior and reminded the world why vinyl is still king of the hill. 👑📀
To celebrate her brand-new album Can’t Take My Story Away (out now via Cooking Vinyl and Outlaw Music), Elles didn’t just pose for a promo shot. She didn’t 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. 🌵🔥
Imagine opening your parcel thinking, “Lovely, new record for the shelf,” and instead holding a one-in-a-thousand, artist-pressed piece of music history. That’s not merch. That’s mythology, butt.
📀 VINYL ISN’T NOSTALGIA — IT’S A STATEMENT
Let’s get one thing straight.
Vinyl isn’t back because it’s retro cool. It’s back because it means something.
Elles put it perfectly:
“Physical 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.”
And guess what? The charts absolutely backed her up.
This independent, grassroots release stormed in at:
🥇 #1 Record Store Chart
🥇 #1 Official Jazz & Blues Albums Chart
🔥 #5 Official Album Sales Chart
🚀 #14 Official Albums Chart
For an indie release largely driven by physical sales? That’s not tidy. That’s seismic.
🎶 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 — the lot.
MOJO handed it 4★ and basically crowned her blues royalty, saying she’s blessed with:
“Etta James’s emotional gravity and Janis Joplin’s gritty power.”
Steady on. That’s heavyweight praise.
And the single ‘Growing Roots’? BBC Radio 2 A-List. Most played track on the station for the first three weeks of 2026.
That’s not background music. That’s takeover energy.
🛍️ 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.
🎟️ HEADLINE TOUR DATES — GET YOUR BOOTS READY
She’s taking Can’t Take My Story Away on the road across the UK, EU, US and beyond.
March
- London — Islington Assembly Hall
- Warwick — Arts Centre
- Bristol — Electric
- Manchester — Band on the Wall
- Glasgow — St Luke’s
- Gateshead — Glasshouse 2
- Holmfirth — Picturedrome
May
- Nantwich Roots Festival
- The Ridings — Chipping Sodbury
- Sidmouth International Jazz & Blues Festival
- Wychwood Festival
June
- Beardy Folk Festival
- State Fayre — Essex 👀
July — 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 Band’s Sun, Sand and Soul Beach Weekend in Florida this April.
High Wycombe pressing plant to American beach stage. That’s a journey.
🌍 WHY THIS STORY HITS DIFFERENT
In a world of instant streaming and “next track” culture, one vinyl record travelled across continents carrying an artist’s fingerprint on it.
That’s not just distribution.
That’s connection.
It’s 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.
Album’s out now. Grab it. Spin it loud. Check the sleeve — you never know what story might be hiding inside.
Proper job. 🤘🔥
