Summer doesn't officially start until June 21st, but in Brooklyn, the informal kick-off feels more like the first week of June thanks to the annual Northside Festival. Growing exponentially since its inception in 2009, Northside provides sensory overload in the best way possible, with hundreds of bands playing intimate showcases in various venues stretching from Williamsburg up to Greenpoint and out toward Bushwick's borders. But in order to make your hunt for great live music a little easier, here are a few of our concert picks for the upcoming long weekend! See you on the dance floor (or in the mosh pit).

Thursday, June 8th Kamasi Washington, 7:30 pm @McCarren Park The renowned jazz saxophonist, producer, composer, and bandleader will take the stage at McCarren Park on Thursday night. Sandwiched on a killer bill between openers Jay Som and headliners Dirty Projectors, Washington might melt your face off with his searing tenor sax. If that scorching woodwind sounds familiar, it's because he’s played with the likes of Kendrick Lamar (To Pimp A Butterfly, DAMN), Thundercat, and Ryan Adams. -- Madison Bloom

Aldous Harding, 9:30 pm @Park Church Co-op If this goth-folk New Zealander doesn’t bewitch you with her stunning voice, we don’t know what will. Aldous Harding recently released her sophomore LP Party, and its mournful hymns will surely become all the more staggering within the high ceilings of the Park Church Co-op (she also plays Baby's All Right on Saturday). Saps beware: you may want to bring Kleenex. -- Madison Bloom

No Joy, 10 pm @Knitting Factory Brooklyn We've long admired shoegazey shredders No Joy, who released their four-track CREEP EP this February. They don't just bank on head-banging distortion (though the dual guitarists' hypnotizing ripples of blonde hair prove there's plenty of that), deftly deploying well-crafted hooks with every ferocious track. They headline a bill featuring chilled-out Dutch power pop from Amber Arcades (fans of Camera Obscura or Still Corners take note) and Eartheater, the solo project of multi-instrunentalist Alexandra Drewchin that has to be seen to be believed (vacuum cleaners are often part of the show). -- Lindsey Rhoades

Shilpa Ray, 11 pm @Sunnyvale A harmonium-wielding heir to Patti Smith, Shilpa Ray is no one to be trifled with. Her snarl alone makes for a compelling live performance – but when it’s paired with heartbreaking melodies and the occasional pedal steel, you really feel like you’re in the presence of the rarest and rawest of performers. -- Madison Bloom

Friday, June 9th

William Basinski, 9 pm @National Sawdust If you’re looking to hear something atmospheric, experimental, or just downright gorgeous, pop by National Sawdust for a set by composer and multi-instrumentalist William Basinski. Basinski is perhaps best known for his collections of dissolving tape loops entitled The Disintegration Tapes, and his contemporary work is very in keeping with that hypnotic, cyclical aesthetic. If you’d like to be lulled into a tranquil dream state, don’t miss this set! -- Madison Bloom

Yvette, 11:45 pm @Terra Firma Conversely, if you are absolutely not trying to chill out at Northside, and prefer to move your bod a bit more brashly, get thee to Terra Firma, where local noise duo Yvette will rev you up. This band is a must-see for anyone into distortion, shouting, and infectious, driving drum rhythms. -- Madison Bloom

Big Thief, 11 pm @Rough Trade It's hard to follow up a breakout debut, especially when it's named Masterpiece. But Brooklyn band Big Thief aim to do just that with Capacity, which happens to drop the same day they take the stage at Rough Trade for a Northside appearance (they're also playing Saturday at Park Church Co-op). Lead vocalist Adrianne Lenker is easily one of the best lyricists we've come across in recent years, her sweet voice often breaking into a raw moan as her bandmates' backup fury blooms. -- Lindsey Rhoades

Flock of Dimes, 1am @Baby's All Right We're sort of obsessed with Jenn Wasner, whose soaring vocals first made our hearts pound as one half of Baltimore-based duo Wye Oak. Now relocated to North Carolina (after a tip from her pals in Sylvan Esso), Wasner's still one of the hardest working women in indie rock. Last September, she released If You See Me, Say Yes, the debut LP from her solo electropop project Flock of Dimes. If you can stay awake long enough for the late show at Baby's, definitely say yes to seeing Wasner live. -- Lindsey Rhoades

Saturday, June 10th

Timber Timbre, 10pm @Music Hall of Williamsburg Riding in on the brilliance of their new record Sincerely, Future Pollution, Timber Timbre are likely to knock your socks off on Saturday night. Expect spooky, swampy, synth-washed blues atmospheric and elegant enough to soundtrack the new Twin Peaks. -- Madison Bloom

Nightspace, 10 pm @Vital Joint There's a nebulous quality that the name Nightspace implies - one of liminality, of dissolution, of suspended time and identity. It's appropriate then, that queer artist of color Bailey Skye would adopt such a moniker to create their glimmering electronic darkwave debut Birth/Decay. Beautiful and surreal, these six tracks offer throbbing post-gender post-punk that's unlike anything else you'll hear at Northside. -- Lindsey Rhoades

Audiofemme Showcase, 12:15 pm @Knitting Factory Brooklyn Come hang out with us and listen to some of our favorite new artists! We’re co-hosting an awesome, five-hour daytime showcase with Glamglare featuring Blonde Maze, Gold Child, Letters to Nepal, Kinder Than Wolves, GIRL SKIN, and Josh Jacobson - you can read more about these artists here. Sets start at 12:15, so come say hi and hear some mind-blowing music!

PREVIEW10+ Must-See Bands @ Northside Festival