In The Wake Of Hurricane Harvey, Several Indie Music Labels Are Donating Proceeds Of Sales To Relief Efforts

Although the rain might be slowing in Texas, the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey is still being assessed. Many have lost their homes and all their possessions, while some have lost family members. As Brandon Caldwell wrote in an essay about watching his former home decimated by an unprecedented amount of rain, “Survivor’s guilt is a real feeling.” Even for those not from the area, those who have never set foot in Houston, it’s difficult to watch what is happening to people that could very well have been friends and peers, not knowing how to help. Luckily, some indie labels have stepped in to provide a way — albeit small — to be of service, offering proceeds from their online downloads or ticket sales to benefit relief efforts in Texas. Here are a few ways you can help, and get new music in the process.

Flower Girl Records
When he is not on tour with his indie-emo outfirt Sorority Noise or screamo project Old Gray, Cameron Boucher’s primary focus is on his label, Flower Girl Records. After the devastation in Texas thanks to the landfall of Hurricane Harvey over the last week, Boucher has announced that all of the Flower Girl Records releases will be available for pay-what-you want on Bandcamp, with all of the label’s portion of the proceeds going to the local Houston chapter of Shape Community Center, one of the local organizations working toward providing support and shelter for victims. Check out our recent interview with Boucher and pick up something from Flower Girl Records here., including the first Sorority Noise LP, Forgettable.

SideOneDummy Records

The label that brought us several incredible records this year, from the Smith Street Band’s epic More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me, to Rozwell Kid’s riff-packed Precious Art will be donating their share of proceeds through the weekend to the Greater Houston Community Foundation, another local organization with boots on the ground who will use the funds to help those in need in the area. Check out all the options here. Don’t know where to start? I recommend Jeff Rosenstock’s WORRY., PUP’s The Dream Is Over, and Chris Farren’s Can’t Die.

Topshelf Records

Quick! This one ends soon. Through the end of Friday, San Diego-based indie powerhouse label (and former home of Sorority Noise) Topshelf Records will donate $1 of the price of a ticket to the newly-announced Topshelf Records Tour to United Way of Greater Houston. The organization was chosen by the tour’s headliner Prawn, who will be hitting the road for a full-US trek alongside Slingshot Dakota (who were included on our recent “13 Fierce Female-Fronted Bands You Need To Be Listening To Right Now” feature), People Like You, Us and Us Only, and Queen Moo. Pick up tickets for the tour, which runs through much of the month of December, here.

Run For Cover Records

The home of Pinegrove, Modern Baseball, and many many more has also announced that any purchases made from the label’s Bandcamp page through Labor Day weekend will be donated to the United Way of Greater Houston’s Relief Fund. This includes the label’s back catalogue, as well as digital pre-orders of Citizen’s As You Please and Makthaverskan’s III, both of which are set for an October release.. In addition to the proceeds from Bandcamp, Run For Cover will be matching the first $1,000 raised by this campaign. The Run For Cover catalogue is sprawling, so there should be no problem finding new music and helping a great cause. In addition to the aforementioned artists and albums, recommendations include Camp Cope’s self-titled record, Pity Sex’s White Hot Moon, and Turnover’s Peripheral Vision, although there really are no wrong options.

Father/Daughter

A label literally run by a father and a daughter duo in Jessi and Ken Frick, Father/Daughter brought us one of this year’s early great records in Vagabon’s Infinite Worlds, which Caitlin White said is “easily one of the most interesting, diverse records I’ve heard this year.” In the wake of Harvey’s devastation, Father/Daughter will not only be donating $1 from every purchase made in the month of September on both Bandcamp and their official store to the Houston Food Bank, but they will also be matching everything raised. Throughout September, donations will be made weekly, so get some music this week and some merch next week!

This post will continue to be updated as more labels announce their relief efforts.