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The New Cool: Support your local musicians Friday, and every day

Jessica Lurie's packed Bandcamp page is one place to send financial support directly to artists.
Screen shot of jessicalurie.bandcamp.com page
Jessica Lurie's packed Bandcamp page is one place to send financial support directly to artists.

There are myriad ways to support musicians during this extended period of shuttered bars and jazz clubs. All day this Friday, the online musician hub bandcamp.com is rallying their worldwide community to put much needed money directly into artists' pockets.From midnight to midnight (Pacific Time) Friday, March 20, Bandcamp will wave all their revenue share of sales on their site. The band-hosting service has emphasized artist support since its 2007 founding. Regular revenue sharing is 10-15 percent for providing a platform for artists to share and sell their music.

As their website says, "The COVID-19 pandemic is in full force, and artists have been hit especially hard as tours and shows are being canceled for the foreseeable future. With such a major revenue stream drying up almost entirely, finding ways to continue supporting artists in the coming months is now an urgent priority for anyone who cares about music and the artists who create it."

In an effort to take advantage of this, unfortunately only one-day event, The New Cool is happy to share links to the Bandcamp pages of the artists who have them from this Saturday afternoon's show. Please consider supporting these musicians buy purchasing a digital song download, albums and merchandise this Friday.

Guitarist Julian Lage's page for his solo album World's Fair.

Seattle's jazz rock superstars SmackTalk.

Funky British quintet Ezra Collective.

Guitarist Lionel Loueke shares a page with pianist Kevin Hays for thier duets album Hope.

Seattle's Polyrhythmics share a new single and offer their entire catalogue.

Improvisational London-based quartet Ill Considered.

Canadian collective The Souljazz Orchestra.

Leon Michels' alter-ego El Michel's Affair.

Retro-swing with several remixes from Tia Brazda.

Exciting young English saxophonist Zem Audu.

Twangy jazz guitarist Joe Policastro's trio page spotlights his Pops! album.

Brooklyn-based Seattle-bred icon Jessica Lurie's site includes live gigs in Seattle.

You'll hear all of these musicians and more Saturday afternoon on The New Cool, but please make your purchases on these pages Friday to take advantage of Bandcamp's one-day lifting of their revenue share.

There are and will be more ways for you to support musicians who can't share a club or bar with their fans for the forseeable future. Stay connected to our Facebook fan page for updates as they happen, and for more suggestions to assist the artists who make our world a better place. Thank you!

The New Cool airs Saturdays from 3 to 5 p.m., hosted by Abe Beeson and produced by KNKX Public Radio in Seattle.

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Music COVID-19Bandcamp
Abe grew up in Western Washington, a 3rd generation Seattle/Tacoma kid. It was as a student at Pacific Lutheran University that Abe landed his first job at KNKX, editing and producing audio for news stories. It was a Christmas Day shift no one else wanted that gave Abe his first on-air experience which led to overnights, then Saturday afternoons, and started hosting Evening Jazz in 1998.