Friday Cheers has knocked it out of the park again. Hot damn.

In the past few years, the concert series has gone, for me, from a fun thing to think about doing on Fridays in May and June to a year-round source of either in-season joy or off-season anticipation, and I’m over the moon about what this upcoming season has in store. Much of that has to do with getting to take Baby YHT to her first Friday Cheers (and getting to Instagram pictures of her wearing the adorable miniature pink camo noise cancelling earmuffs Mrs. YHT bought her a while back), but it’s also because this lineup is giving me the feels.

Here are the specific feels I’m experiencing:

• I’m excited. Seeing Jason Isbell’s name just about made my head explode, and I can’t wait to see Sleepwalkers on that stage. It’s such a great setup for them, I think, because their sound is so big and diverse — I can picture all of Brown’s Island getting behind them. Can’t wait.
• I’m a little crestfallen. I’ll be out of town on the weekends Future Islands and Hurray for the Riff Raff are playing, and their openers — White Laces and Joe Pug, respectively — are favorites as well. Them’s the breaks, I guess.
• I’m intrigued. Given the quality of the names I do recognize, the names I don’t seem even more interesting. Two stand out for me: Snarky Puppy and Son Little. The former is paired with Butcher Brown, and I’m at the point in my Butcher Brown fandom where I want to know and hear more more more, and anyone they’re associated with or playing with is immediately captivating. I tried out Snarky Puppy’s most recent album, I Like It Here, and I’m in. Looking forward to seeing them. The intrigue around Son Little is a little different. I know one song of his very well — “The River” — but I haven’t heard much else. I can’t remember how I found out about “The River,” but it has the aura of a song that’s already been weathered by a few decades, both because it sounds like it could be from another time and because falling for it was so easy. Like I knew I’d like the rest after just a few seconds. Given that relationships with the bands I love most often start this way, that’s one Friday Cheers I won’t plan on missing.

Check out the full schedule above, click here to start snagging tickets, and sample Son Little and Snarky Puppy below. And join me in saying congrats and thanks to the organizers for another job well done.

Son Little — “The River” [Spotify/iTunes]

Snarky Puppy — “Sleeper” [Spotify/iTunes]