Boston Hassle is an amazing group. As an engineer, the organizational structure kind of makes my spleen hurt, but it’s a fantastic bunch of genuine people who are serious about supporting creativity. I volunteered because DIY venues are awesome. They provide space for music and art and ideas that otherwise do not have a place to connect to people. And they direct more money to artists instead of landlords and infrastructure. I also wanted to find like-minded people and discover the local new music hidden under rocks and jammed into the nooks and crannies of this Greater Boston Area. Hassle reminded me of Occupy and BLM, because when I first heard of them I thought, what? Wow. How is this organized? Jazz hands?
After signing up, and waiting, and then confusing emails, and texts with no context, I found out. This distributed network of volunteers is focused on making shows happen, so sometimes there’s nobody in the office to pick up the phone. And there’s no office. There is lots to do though, so if you’re curious come see a show, or stop by Black Market on June 18 in Central Square, Or sign up as a volunteer. We need more people writing for the site, copyediting that writing, promoting and learning how to organize an arts community beyond Facebook. Or just drop off the Compass at some coffee shops. Especially in the summer, it’s great fun to help something big and ambiguous convert dark spaces into colorful ones, and then turn the volume up.

—Sean Bradley