The randomly formed groups — composed of both seasoned musicians and newbies — have been playing together for a little more than two months as part of Hat Band, a project devised by Shira Mario, a library associate at D.C. Public Library.

Here’s how Hat Band came together: In February, 31 participants threw their names into a figurative “hat” via an online form. After indicating their music experience and preferred instruments, they were filtered into seven different bands of three to four people each. Those bands spent the next couple of months figuring out an act.

Finally, this Saturday at the Columbia Heights church, the hat bands will make their grand debut. They all get 10 minutes to play, and they’re each required to perform at least one original song.

Proceeds from the show will benefit music education group Girls Rock DC!, where Mario volunteers.

Mario, 29, was inspired to organize Hat Band after participating in similar events in Richmond and Philadelphia — but she also says she felt driven by what she sees as monotony in D.C.’s punk and indie music scenes.

“D.C. is a place where people play in the same types of bands over and over again and don’t break out of their comfort zone,” Mario says. “Other people want to play music but need a push. This is a fun, quick creative project to help bring those types of people together.”

Noel Schroeder, 28, one of two guitar players in Wood Bone Kitten (the name was drawn out of a hat, much like the band itself) hadn’t played in a real band since high school and was looking for something that forced her back into it.

“I wanted to create something with people of different abilities, interests and backgrounds,” Schroeder says. In its first practice, the group played covers of Green Day’s “Basket Case” and a Sleater-Kinney song, and they started working on an original. She says she felt lucky to have been matched with her bandmates.

“I’ve already learned a lot from them about writing and performing, and it’s helped me to pick my skills back up, much more than if I were just playing alone,” Schroeder says. She adds that she hopes her band lives on beyond Saturday’s Hat Band gig.

Mario, who expects most groups to play some form of punk music, finds it fitting for Hat Band proceeds to benefit Girls Rock DC!, because the two share a similar philosophy.

“Empower yourself to play music,” Mario says, “and in doing so, shake things up, build confidence and have fun.”

The Hat Band DC show takes place April 25 at St. Stephen’s Church.

Now, D.C. label Bad Friend Records is giving back in its own way. Tuesday marks the release of the imprint’s new remix collection, Deleted Scenes vs The Caribbean vs Tereu Tereu: A Benefit for HIPS. All proceeds will go to nonprofit organization HIPS, which provides services and advocacy for people affected by sex work and drug use.

Bad Friend Records’ co-owner Ryan Little, a member of Tereu Tereu, says the mission of the compilation is simple. “For me, it’s just caring about other humans,” he writes in an email. “Sex workers and prisoners are two marginalized groups that won’t score advocates any political points, so I think they’re important to care about. I learned about that in church growing up — Jesus tended to hang out with prostitutes and criminals.”

Little also has a history of supporting HIPS in particular. “I was part of a HIPS benefit years ago on Exotic Fever Records when I played in the band Pash,” he writes. “Being part of that compilation, which was called This Is A Care Package, taught me a lot about the issues facing sex workers. When I brought the idea of working with HIPS to the bands … they all really felt it was an important issue.”

The album features remixes of songs by local indie-rock acts Deleted Scenes, The Caribbean and Little’s Tereu Tereu — all of them tweaked by the bands themselves.

Some tracks sound like a loose homage to the original recording, like Tereu’s Tereu’s version of Deleted Scenes’ “You Get To Say Whatever You Want,” which turns the guttural slow burn of the original into a four-on-the-floor stomper. Others, like Deleted Scenes’ hypercaffeinated take on The Caribbean’s “Jobsworth,” use the source material as a springboard to something out of this world. “There were no rules!” Little writes. “That was the only way we knew to approach it.”

Tereu Tereu and The Caribbean, along with D.C. guitar experimentalist Harness Flux, play a release show Saturday at Union Arts. The compilation will be available for purchase in advance of its Tuesday sale date, and the show’s $8 admission will also go towards HIPS.

“Bands don’t make much money, period. Most begin and end in obscurity,” Little writes. “But if you put a little effort into it, playing music can be an inclusive way to bring people together to work on stuff that matters to the community you live in.”

Tereu Tereu, The Caribbean and Harness Flux play a benefit for HIPS at Union Arts on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 8 p.m.