Bruno Mars is the 2026 Record Store Day Ambassador, and the timing couldn’t be better. With his album ‘The Romantic’ out now via Atlantic Records, and independent record stores across the country already having hosted listening parties in celebration, Mars brings genuine enthusiasm to the role. His message lands with the warmth you’d expect: “Nothing is better than sitting on your couch putting on a record and just listening to music like that. It feels like a lost art.”
Record Store Day 2026 falls on Saturday, April 18th, marking the 19th year of the movement that began in 2008 to protect independent brick-and-mortar record shops worldwide. The full release list is still forthcoming, but Mars’ involvement as Ambassador signals the kind of mainstream attention that keeps the day relevant and drives real foot traffic into stores that need it.
‘The Romantic’ arrives as Mars prepares for his first full headlining tour in nearly a decade. The Romantic Tour generated the largest single-day ticket sales in Live Nation history across North America, Europe, and the UK, moving 2.1 million tickets worldwide in a single day and setting a new Ticketmaster record in the process. Seventy-two stadium shows. Mars’ first-ever full stadium tour. One of the largest global tours of the year by any measure.
The last time Mars headlined a world tour, the 24K Magic World Tour became one of the highest-grossing runs in music history. The Romantic Tour is already outpacing it at the starting line. Record Store Day has the right Ambassador this year.