Bands do BK started as a guide to Brooklyn—by bands, for everyone. A roundup of some of the best spots in the borough, based on the recs of the indie artists who live it and love it. A fun resource through which to find and explore new places to eat, drink, think, work and play—and discover incredible music on the way. This idea was developed into a radio show on Radio Free Brooklyn in 2019 and eventually a book of the same name (Bands do BK: A Guide to Brooklyn by Bands, for Everyone), published by Lit Riot Press in 2022. 

Throughout that period (up through the present!), it’s expanded into a whole bunch of spaces—internet and IRL—with a focus on the faces and places of the NYC scene scene. There were the Classified Ads. There’s a Substack newsletter and whole lot of playlists. There have been dozens of concerts booked and promoted across the city (including STRONG LITTLE SONGS living-room shows, where over the past three years, we’ve raised thousands of dollars for various charities). And there have even been festival showcases at New Colossus and SXSW, plus live sessions filmed at AMERICANAFEST.