Duke City Sound Stage (2013 Ridgecrest SE) is a fresh, all-ages venue on the edge of a tree-lined suburban Burque neighborhood. It's the perfect place to celebrate everything eternal and ethereal about the coming summer. On Friday, May 1, the joint plays host to a show featuring San Diego pop-punk sensation Western Settings. The genre sometimes gets a bad rap, and it's no wonder with bands like Blink-182 carrying around that pumped-up, melodic banner. But when done right—think Descendents, FIDLAR and even (gasp!) Nirvana—pop-punk can be profoundly satisfying. And this quartet from the sunny shore does just fine.

Guitarists Will Castro, Kevin White and Dylan Wolters, bassist Ricky Schmidt and drummer Adam Kissel collectively possess the ability to make their listeners want to simultaneously sing along and mosh ecstatically. And there's a tune called “Iocane Powder” in their repertoire. Inconceivable! Denver's propulsive punkers Black Dots and local lunatics Russian Girlfriends, a band starring former members of Glitter Dick and Koffin Kats, also rock out. Opening indie-folk act Quietly Kept features Calah Mae and Bat Wings For Lab Rats' Rob Nakai. Admission to this fab foray can be procured for 10 bucks, and the all-ages show starts at 7pm.

(August March)