Vinyl releases are key moments in artists’ careers as it allows them to provide listeners with a new way to experience their music. Plenty of thought and care is put into the way a vinyl will look, feel and of course, sound.

For local pop-punk band Nectar, this is especially true.

Nectar is made up of Kamila Glowacki, Aaron Shults, Isabel Skidmore and Jake Mott. On Friday, April 12, they will be performing at Exile on Main Street with other artists to celebrate the vinyl release of their first full-length album, “Knocking at the Door.”

Glowacki has always dreamed of releasing music in vinyl form and “Knocking at the Door,” specifically, is a record that belongs in this format.

“It just feels like the right format for this album,” she said. “It feels like it’s in the format it was meant to be in.”

Though first released in April of last year, “Knocking at the Door” never received a proper release show, so this vinyl release party is a broader celebration of the album and Nectar’s accomplishments of last year.

Glowacki says that Nectar put a lot of time and thought into the design of the vinyl, paying specific attention to its cover art, which Glowacki designed and illustrated herself. It depicts a girl sleeping on a bed in her room, surrounded by various objects scattered throughout and is meant to reflect Nectar’s sound and lyrics.

“Someone’s room is very telling of who they are. It’s where you spend a lot of time alone,” said Glowacki. “With Nectar, there’s this kind of introspective, quiet, shy alone time feel to it.”

She also says that each song on “Knocking at the Door” has a type of icon or image that goes with it and are represented as objects scattered throughout the cover art. This concept is part of the vinyl, which includes an insert showing those icons, creating an interactive experience for listeners.

“It’s very playful in that way,” she said. “You can kind of search for the song in the artwork.”

Nectar will be performing “Knocking at the Door” on the famous “record stage” at Exile on Main Street, which Glowacki says is going to be a “super friendly atmosphere.”

“It’s not somebody’s basement. It’s not some bar. It’s a really cool record store that also has a thrift store in it, so it’s an awesome environment that is going to be super welcoming, and everyone’s just going to be really happy and friendly,” she said.

Mike Ingram, booking and production coordinator at Exile on Main, has known Glowacki for a long time and considers her to be “one of the brightest spots in this music scene and in this town in general.” He jumped at the opportunity to have Nectar play at Exile on Main and said the event is especially fitting since Record Store Day is the day after Nectar’s vinyl release party.

He hopes that this event will introduce more people to Exile on Main and encourage them to support local record stores.

“If you’re lucky enough to still have a local record store in your vicinity, you should visit it regularly and toss a couple of bucks down on a used album,”  Ingram said. He said that Exile on Main is one of the liveliest stages in downtown, but that will only continue if people visit and support local bands and artists.

“The people you’re going to be obsessed within three to four years are coming through town right now, playing to very few people,” he said. “SZA and Lizzo played at the Highdive four years ago. It wasn’t sold out at a venue that holds 400. Don’t sleep on the great local and national acts playing in your backyard.”

Exile on Main will also welcome a few other local and touring bands to share the stage with Nectar, including Metaphysics, The Dry Look and Brave Hands.

Metaphysics consists of Michael Thies, Janelle Abad, Nico Hualde and Chris Wahlfeldt. They moved from New York to start the “Champaign chapter” of the band.

Metaphysics has known everyone in Nectar for a long time and Thies considers “Knocking at the Door” to be “a highpoint within the Champaign-Urbana community,” calling the record “power pop perfection.”

As well as a celebration of the album, Thies sees this event as a celebration of the friendships he and other artists have made through the Champaign music scene. He hopes that everyone will come out to support those bands, while also supporting Exile on Main, which he said is “a great resource to the music scene in town.”

The Dry Look, made up of Nico Hualde, Michael Kramer, Sam Geneser, Ryan Brewer and Tyler Adkisson, have also been friends with Nectar for a while.

“Kamila asked if we wanted to play, it was a no-brainer,”  Hualde said. “[“Knocking at the Door”] is a real album, a cohesive statement with very good songwriting, and people should be excited about it.”

Brave Hands, hailing from Portland, Oregon, features Caitlin Bechtel, Mambo Lennon and Max Ono. The first stop on their current tour is in Champaign to support Nectar, whom they’ve been friends with for a long time.

Music lovers of all ages are encouraged to attend Nectar’s vinyl release party, and anybody looking for more information about the event can visit their Facebook page.

“It’s really just like a show full of friends,” Glowacki said. “I encourage people to come out and just have a good time and support some awesome local bands and touring bands.”