With the ability to safely host concerts still far down the road, Brad Farberman, of Middle Blue and Big Feet, took the initiative to try to save some of our beloved stages with his new series of benefit albums, Stay in Shape!

Each entry in this collection will drop monthly, on every Bandcamp Friday, when the site famously waives their fees, allowing for all artists and labels to receive 100% of the profits made from their sales. The first of these albums will be released this Friday, the first Bandcamp day of the year, and its proceeds will go towards helping the venue Troost, in Brooklyn.

Farberman has pledged to only include new or unreleased tracks, which is even more enticing when you see the diverse lineup he’s assembled for the debut volume. The likes of Prana Crafter and ragenap are rubbing shoulders with Che Chen and Rick Brown of 75 Dollar Bill, plus many other notable figures from the jazz and experimental music communities.

Across the album’s 22 tracks, there’s a wide representation of different sounds and styles, from ambient to microtonal music and fusion and beyond. Just to show the vast range of flavors this benefit has, Farberman has allowed us to premiere two very disparate tracks, the raga-like “Newborn Delicate Gold,” by Sameer Gupta and the fuzzed-up folk blues of Willie Klein, Sue Garner and Rick Brown’s “Day by Day”.

Be sure to visit Farberman’s Bandcamp page this Friday when Stay in Shape! drops, so you can help ensure a future for live music.

-KH

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