Bandcamp Fridays are about to become Compilations with Cause Fridays, too.
ONCE Somerville booking manager Bridget Duggan has organized a new series of monthly mixtapes, through her new Pasithea Productions outlet, to benefit local non-profit organizations, namely ones that are rooted in social justice and activism.
The first iteration dropped this morning (March 5) to raise money for the East Boston Community Soup Kitchen, and features music from Prateek, Genie Santiago, Lonely Leesa & The Lost Cowboys, TIFFY (pictured above), Shepherdess, and Senseless Optimism, among others.
Keeping in time with Bandcamp Fridays, each month’s release will drop on the first Friday of the month, allowing Duggan to maximize how much money each compilation can raise.
The digital series comes at a time when fundraising and music remain fused together, not so much out of kindness, but out of necessity. Last year, Vanyaland reported how benefit compilations reigned supreme in a time where raising money through “real” shows wasn’t safe (or even legally possible).
“Earlier in the pandemic I saw a lot of people putting these together; building these epic compilations for fundraisers and I thought it was such an awesome idea,” Duggan tells Vanyaland.
Through her work at ONCE — and as a member of Boston band Lockette — Duggan hopes to use her knowledge of the local music community to uplift New England talent through each month’s mixtape. Moreover, as the music industry reaches the dreaded one-year anniversary of its shutdown, Duggan says that she says she hopes the compilations also give artists a new project look forward to and collaborate on.
“My band was asked to do one and I thought it was just a really nice gesture, because it was good for morale; it supports the cause and makes the bands feel good because it’s been a time that it’s been challenging to produce new work and to be asked is flattering,” she says. “I’ve always been a fan of compilations, and more specifically soundtracks to movies. As a kid I feel like I discovered so many great bands through indie movie soundtracks and that’s why I really wanted it to be multi-genre, so it can appeal to a wide audience who may may discover their new favorite.”
Tap into the first edition of Compilations with Cause below.