During the pandemic, the extra revenue provided a life raft for musicians who had relied on live performances to provide for themselves and their families. Now that touring is back on the table, and fans can once again support bands through ticket and merchandise sales, the impact of Bandcamp Fridays isn’t as palpable in 2024. However, that doesn’t mean artists and fans are overlooking Bandcamp’s monthly tradition; even a trickle of extra money can help fund merch restocks, studio time, and tours.
For instance, it’s no coincidence that Boston glam punks Linnea’s Garden frequently release new music on the first Friday of any given month. Frontwoman Linnea Herzog says the deliberate alignment helps the band optimize post-pandemic Bandcamp Fridays, as fans tend to purchase new music the day it drops.
Listeners can be just as strategic, often waiting until Bandcamp Friday to make purchases so bands like Divine Sweater will receive 100 percent of the sale. Sean Seaver, guitarist of the local indie rock band, reports that roughly 80 percent of their monthly Bandcamp revenue stems from first-Friday sales.
Not every artist sees such a dramatic monthly spike. Mark Erelli, one of Boston’s most celebrated singer-songwriters, says the recent response to Bandcamp Fridays pales in comparison to his experiences in 2020, when the initiative boosted revenue for his then-new record “Blindsided.” These days, he rarely mentions Bandcamp Fridays to his followers and instead encourages them to purchase physical media year-round.
“For me, it’s really dropped off,” Erelli says, noting that these days he’s lucky to sell one or two items every Bandcamp Friday. Nevertheless, the handful of deliberately timed sales represent a level of loyalty that he doesn’t take for granted.
“I do feel that the people who pay attention to Bandcamp Fridays are among the most invested, discerning music lovers out there,” he concludes. “I’d rather 50 or 100 of those types of fans than the more fickle kind that doesn’t really stay on the ride with me.”
GIG GUIDE
St. Louis rapper Sexyy Red will be seeing scarlet at Boston University when she visits the Agganis Arena on Saturday. The performance is part of her “2024 Spring Semester” tour through various US colleges and her only stop in New England.
Wisp transports her magnetic shoegaze from San Francisco to the Sinclair on Saturday, culling sludgy gems from her new EP “Pandora”; Cairo-born instrumentalist Ash lightens the room on Sunday with his February record “Self-Discovery,” which layers lavish sounds and textures from his Egyptian and French background.
Roadrunner receives a Sin City-inspired makeover this weekend, courtesy of the Glitter Boys. The Boston DJ crew will host a “Vegas Baby” dance party on Saturday, complete with casino games and acts from the Boston Circus Guild. On Thursday, the Decemberists treat fans to new singles “Burial Ground” and “Joan in the Garden,” both from their upcoming June album “As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again.”
New York rapper Skyzoo taps an impressive roster of local hip-hop to support his show at Sonia on Sunday, welcoming to the stage Termanology and Reks — who both hail from Lawrence — plus Boston’s Bakari J.B. and Rayel of Portsmouth, N.H.
After releasing music with his Los Angeles band the C.I.A. in 2023, garage rock giant Ty Segall revamps his solo career at Royale on Wednesday. Segall’s January album “Three Bells” extends his prolific discography, which spans 16 years and 15 records’ worth of fuzzy, off-kilter riffs.
Brighton Music Hall welcomes mononymous rappers Kyle and Giggs this week; Kyle provides beaming pop-rap and California-grown optimism on Tuesday with his new album “SMYLE AGAIN,” while Giggs flexes his catalog of road rap on Thursday for his “Zero Tolerance” North American tour.
NOW SPINNING
Crooked Coast, “One Hundred.” Cape Cod outfit Crooked Coast share an outpouring of gritty, pop-punk gratitude on their new single, which arrives one day before their headlining set Saturday at Brighton Music Hall. “We don’t have anything/But we have it all” singer and guitarist Luke Vose proclaims on the refrain, exhibiting a “rich in life” attitude that’s infectious as the chorus itself.
Kyshona, “Legacy.” Kyshona nurtures the myriad branches of her family tree with this remarkably thorough tribute to her ancestors. The Nashville artist’s undulating blend of soul and blues sweeps through past generations, wending between songs written for diligent great-great-great grandparents (“The Echo”), her peacock-mumu-clad grandmother (“Alma Ree”), and her own childhood joy (“Where I Started From”).
St. Vincent, “All Born Screaming.” St. Vincent’s newest era began not with a scream but a jarring wall of guitar on “Broken Man,” the first single and tone-setter for her seventh studio album. The follow-up to 2021′s “Daddy’s Home” is what St. Vincent describes as “post-plague pop,” a newfangled genre defined by her tempestuous clashes of instrumentation and brilliantly dour storytelling.
BONUS TRACK
On Saturday, Stoneham’s First Congregational Church hosts the premiere of “Don’t Forget to Leave,” a documentary chronicling the life of late Boston emo and punk musician Tim Landers. The new film pieces together Landers’s legacy in the Massachusetts music scene — including his time in bands such as Transit and Cold Collective — through interviews with his family, mental health professionals, and artists like Frank Turner and The Story So Far. Tickets are available in advance at eventbrite.
Victoria Wasylak can be reached at vmwasylak@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @VickiWasylak.
