On May 24, Transit Collective is launching its debut compilation CD. Who is Transit Collective, you ask? Transit Collective is a group of a dozen high school students from around southern Manitoba who participated in this year's Manitoba Music/ACI Manitoba Youth Mentorship Program. The students spent three months in workshops and mentoring sessions to learn more about the music industry. Their final project was a compilation CD featuring 13 independent Manitoba artists, branded as Transit Collective.

Artists contributing their music to the project include: The Electromatics, The Ripperz, Oldfolks Home, John Blackwood and the Housewives, Devon Bate, Radiation, The Paps, The Playing Cards, Flying Fox and The Hunter Gatherers, Ingrid Gatin, Effect and Cause, FAME, and Codename: The Sharks.

The all ages Transit Collective CD release concert features The Ripperz, Effect and Cause, and The Playing Cards at the Park Theatre on May 24. All proceeds from the $3 cover and CD sales will be donated to the Spence Neighborhood Association.

This week's featured download comes courtesy of young alt.pop outfit The Playing Cards from the quartet's second recording, Underwater, which was released on May 15. Catch "River Ghosts" in The Loudspeaker until May 28.