At this point, Bandcamp Fridays should be ingrained in every music fan’s minds. The online music platform Bandcamp has been waiving their fees on the site the first Friday of every month to help ease the hurt of Covid-related closures/tour cancellations. With more money going to the artists and their labels, tons of fans have flooded the website to support their favorites and keep great music going during these hard times.
Thankfully this new tradition of waived fees won’t be ending any time soon! Bandcamp has announced that they will be extending these Bandcamp Fridays to the end of the year, giving music fans even more opportunities to help out our favorite artists and discover some new ones.
Bandcamp Friday will be happening all day until midnight PDT tonight. If you’re unsure what time it all ends in your timezone, check isitbandcampfriday.com for exactly how much time you have left to jump in on the sales effort.
We highly suggest you check out your favorite artists and see what they’ll be doing for today’s push to support music, important causes, and beyond. Below is our running list of local acts we definitely think you should check out if you haven’t already! We also recommend you check out the SituationChicago compilation, which benefits 25 venues in the city and has tracks for the likes of Jeff Tweedy, Ric Wilson, Girl K, Rich Jones, Ovef Ow, The Curls, and tons more!
- Akenya
- Angel Bat Dawid
- Apollo Mighty
- Berta Bigtoe While relatively new to Chicago, this two piece does right by the tasteful palette of ’70s rock through gorgeous production and soulful falsettos.
- Burr Oak
- Byzmuti
- Cavanaugh (Serengeti and Open Mike Eagle) The duo released some quarantine recordings during the first time Bandcamp waived fees, so if you didn’t get those tracks then, now’s the time!
- Charles Joseph Smith
- Cordoba offers up soulful vocals and far-out fusion jazz, what’s not to love?
- Cory Jose
- The Curls
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Dance Bullies – country/indie/blues/rock group and regular performers in the Front Porch Concerts pop-up series
- DEEPER
- DEHD– Dehd rules FFO Omni and NE-HI! Check out our review of one of their live performances here!
- Divino Niño – Need some smooth and delectable tunes to soundtrack your evenings, then look no further than these amazing songs! Check out our review of their album Foam.
- drea the vibe dealer
- Emily Blue
- Ester
- .ethos
- Fay Ray
- Fieldmates
- Fran‘s guitar-driven songs with extraordinary vocals are perfect for these physical distancing times
- Ganser – Need some downright incredible rock music to pulse through your veins? Look no further than Ganser’s exhilarating sound, especially right now since their newest album Just Look at That Sky is out now! Let yourself melt into Alicia Gaines’ range of confident vocals and snarls and the band’s raw post-punk surge.
- Girl K – You can’t get much better than Katherine Patino’s excellent project! Check out our review of their set with Charly Bliss from TNK!
- The Glow Ups Chicago-based, punk rock trio features Mike Licari (Bass/Vocals), Kevin De Leon (Drums), and Brian Perfect (Guitar/Vocals). After a series of three separately released singles, the band officially released its debut album, Take Your Tapas Off, on April 27. Accompanied by the band’s “down to earth” nature, their songs take you on a voyage of pop-punk nostalgia. They hold the central theme of “not having to impress anybody” and you witness this in their lyrical storytelling – comprising real-life stories and experiences.
- The Hecks – Great local band balancing angular post-punk and catchy synth rock, with an awesome live show to boot.
- Hushdrops
- Impulsive Hearts makes sun-soaked tunes that will make staying at home way better. Her latest album Cry All The Time is a perfect example of her sound and another great record for summer (or whenever!). She also recently released “Dearie” and all proceeds of “Dearie” will be donated to Chicago’s Brave Space Alliance.
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Jessica Risker — psychedelic folk musician and sound designer making some excellent tunes to chill out to.
- Joshua Wentz — electronic artist and multi-instrumentalist who has released over 20 EPs and 10 albums
- Joslyn-Marie
- Krystal Metcalfe
- Late Night Laundry
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Liam Kazar has learned and recorded 20 song requests for $25 donations to Hungry Brain and the project is now on Bandcamp: With A Song. He’s also released a new song since then, “Shoes Too Tight”, go check it out!
- Melvin Knight
- Mother Nature
- NNAMDÏ just released a new album KRAZY KARL and it’s sounding like another amazing addition to his already excellent discography. Definitely support this great artist.
- Ocean Cult
- OHMME are such a fantastic band that are delivering some of the best experimental rock you’ll hear today! They’ve just released their second full length album Fantasize Your Ghost. It’s a fantastic followup to Parts, evolving their sound as they always do. Check out our thoughts on their single “The Limit” and our review of the album here!
- ONO
- Oux
- Ovef Ow
- Pelican
- The Phantom Broadcast
- Psalm One
- Quicksails
- Ratboys is awesome and has been doing a lot of Chicago’s music scene and community in general! Check out our review of their set at Schubas!
- Replicant makes dark futuristic synth music that will make you want to dance.
- Ric Wilson just released an fantastic new EP They Call Me Disco! Check out our thoughts on the great release here.
- Rich Jones
- Sen Morimoto not only makes incredibly catchy tunes and is about to release what’s sure to be another banger of an album, he also has strong convictions and an unwavering sense of what is right. Sen was recently taken off the Millennium Park at Home virtual music series for choosing not to alter his criticism against Lori Lightfoot and her response to protests happening in Chicago. Seriously support this fantastic musician and don’t let DCASE’s action silence his voice any more than it already tried.
- TALSounds
- Tara Terra
- Tasha’s incredible voice is unparalleled, making her already ethereal tracks all the more alluring and enjoyable. After Sen Morimoto was taken off the Millennium Park at Home virtual music series, Tasha decided to pull her performance in support of Sen. in these hard and troubling times, we have to stick together and fight for what’s right, and Tasha has showed that in full effect.
- Tenci just released My Heart is an Open Field and it’s a wonderful album that you need to listen to.
- Uma Bloo
- uuskhy
- V.V. Lightbody
- Wyatt Waddell just released the amazing “FIGHT!” and will be donating all proceeds from the song to the Chicago Community Bond Fund, Black Lives Matter Chicago, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository. You can check out our thoughts on “FIGHT!” here!
Also let’s not forget these incredible local labels.
- Bloodshot Records
- Feel Trip
- International Anthem features tons of great albums from amazing artists like Angel Bat Dawid, Ben Lamar Gay, Resavoir, and more!
- Midwest Action has tons of great local acts ready to wow you like Impulsive Hearts.
- No Trend Records has Glitter Moneyyy jams, Mykele Deville grooves, Avantist insanity, and more goodness waiting for you!
- Sooper Records released albums from the likes of NNAMDÏ (who we mentioned above, but want to emphasize that he just released a new album KRAZY KARL and you should go get this amazing record now!), KAINA, Sen Morimoto (again, we mentioned him earlier but he also deserves another), Sonny Falls (new music is here and more coming soon!), and many more!
- Thrill Jockey
There are plenty of other great bands on Bandcamp, so take a look around and discover something new! If you have any recommendations, comment below and spread the love because everybody needs it right now.
