You’ll often hear the words “slow burn” in reference to The National. Those words might describe the way the band’s music takes hold of you with its subtle and nuanced melodies that grow more rewarding with each listen. It may also reference their career’s ascent, quietly releasing albums that would go on the become staples on critic’s “Best of the Decade” lists.

Looking at the people crowding the front of the stage at The Middle East Downstairs last Saturday night, you might have mistakenly thought you had showed up to a rave—guys wearing neon, girls in hippie summer dresses, with the whole lot decked out in sunglasses. Though I wouldn’t say the majority of concert-goers were dressed like that, it was a pretty good example of the devoted fans that Holy Fuck can draw when they play in Boston.

Working off the recent sell-out success of his project Neutral Uke Hotel at the Somerville Armory, multi-instrumentalist Shawn Fogel brought his main band, Golden Bloom, out to play a sensational set at the Middle East Upstairs back at the end of May.

I’ve now officially seen it all at the Middle East. I had seen everything from rap to punk to belly dancing go down at the Cambridge venue, but I had never seen a 26 piece orchestra pack the downstairs stage. Christopher Pappas, a familiar Boston face for his work with the Everyday Visuals as well [...]

These days, a night without a single worthwhile show is a rare occurrence. Partially responsible for this is a group of young bands and artists on the rise who are homegrown from different Boston schools and scenes. Groups like Southern Belle, Bearstronaut, and Mystery Roar are becoming household names- building a following from playing smaller clubs around the city.

Musically there is a lot to say about Habib Koité. He has played with the likes of Eric Bibb and Bonnie Raitt, become one of Putumayo World Music’s most popular artists, and represented Africa on the world stage. But sales numbers and statistics do very little to capture the essence of this Malian musical titan–the most important part of what he does is heart.

“I hate to ask, but is anyone near the fucking bar?”

That’s Kate Nash, partway through her set at Great Scott, humbly begging her adoring audience for a drink . They were all too happy to oblige, and through the rest of the set, the PBRs and vodka-Cokes fell like manna from heaven.

If anyone ever deserved a drink (and a little manna), it was Nash that evening. The night before, she had tripped in a Toronto hotel and wound up with a sprained ankle. But a twisted joint wasn’t about to come between Nash and her performance, the second on her North American tour.

Francis Farewell Starlite, enigmatic frontman of Francis and the Lights, writes music that makes him want to dance. Far from the relentless booty-shaking electro that the kids are into these days, his songs inspire motion in a frenetic but sensual way. Part disco funk, part Blue Eyed Soul, Francis carefully crafts and curates all of the elements that make their way into his recordings and live shows to create his distinct sound.

“I think the musician’s role is to give advice, to warn people, and to make them aware of what they might not have thought of themselves.” And so it was when I entered the Somerville Theatre last Saturday night to check out Baaba Maal.

When Dan Snaith, the mastermind behind Caribou, slowly ascended onto the Middle East Downstairs stage last Thursday night, there was a stillness in anticipation of his signature kaleidoscopic, electro-psyche pop that would soon be filling the muggy, crowded air. Touring behind the newest album, Swim, released April 20th on Merge records, Snaith and his band, were all clad in matching white t-shirts and white pants.