Sound Summit returns to the majestic Mountain Theater on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais on Saturday, September 7, for a day of great music and celebration. This year’s event features an eclectic and diverse lineup. Co-headlining the intimate gathering are two indie-rock icons: virtuosic guitarist and deft lyricist Courtney Barnett and rock/folk/psychedelic powerhouse Kurt Vile.

Deep in the Purgatoire River Valley in the southern Colorado mountains sits the bucolic village of Weston, home to the Monument Lake Resort and the one-of-a-kind Caveman Music Festival. A pristine landscape undiscovered but by the adventurous few, there is no place in the whole of the United States better fitted for an event as equally unique.

The Beale Street Music Festival returned to Memphis after a nearly three-year pandemic-induced hiatus. One of America's oldest music festivals made its triumphant return marking its 44th anniversary. The three-day event, steeped in the polite mannerisms associated with the region's southern charm and gracious manners, overcame a plethora of obstacles, including those related to the Covid epidemic, logistical problems, and weather issues.

Whoever did the booking for the Village Voice 4Knots Festival at South Street Seaport knocked it out of the park. It was a fantastic, eclectic mix of bands and genres, both local and far-flung, performing on two stages, all of whom were immensely talented and put on great, highly entertaining sets. Luckily Mother Nature cooperated as well, a day that had been forecast for intermittent thunderstorms turned out to be clear blue skies with a great breeze off the East River.

Kurt Vile's fifth long player is a humble opus if there’s such a thing. His lyrics could be hopeful, could be melancholy, it’s tough to tell – the almost-eponymous opening track (substitute “Day” for Daze in the title) sums it simply, it’s hard to explain, (my love) in this daze. Vile’s vocals throughout Wakin On A Pretty Daze are soft and flatline, yet they tend to hint at a humble crispness around the edges. As warning, his melodies keep alongside his voice, slow and meandering with only the slightest deviance.