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[FUNK] You haven’t truly experienced funk’s filthy groove until you’ve heard the infectious music of Here Come the Mummies. The band of ancient musicians is heading our way for a show at Buffalo Iron Works on Thursday, May 7. The band has been around for the better part of 15 years now with many releases under their belts, the most recent being a string of five-song EPs in 2014—A La Mode, Pull It Off, Shocker, and MuertoDiesel.

[BLUES] Buffalo-born Maria Aurigema grew up surrounded by three brothers, living at the 30-room Degraff Mansion in North Tonawanda, which her dad owned. She was playing guitar and flute before finishing elementary school,  but it was in her teens that she got a toehold on the blues, a byproduct of listening to WBFO’s late night programming.

[POP] Kiesza is a little confusing, so let’s try and straighten it all out. Her full name is Kiesa Rae Ellestad, but she was born Kiesza Szösi. She’s 26, of Norwegian origin, but she’s actually from Canada—maybe less exotic than you thought. She served in the Canadian Navy at the age of 17. She wanted to be a ballerina, but an injury made that impossible. She ran in the Miss Universe Canada pageant.

[ALT ROCK] Blue October’s brand of alternative rock has never been rigidly fenced in, featuring growling rockers alongside heart-on-your-sleeve ballads, and straight-up, Slim-Shady-style rap verses. Their eclectic mix of post-grunge is marked by the emotive and (often) painfully expressive songwriting prowess of frontman, Justin Furstenfeld.

[FOLK] The Ragbirds have been spreading their infectious world grooves since 2005, captivating audiences both at home and abroad. The heart of their sound is the striking beauty in frontwoman, Erin Zindle’s earthy-sweet voice and the poetic language in which she sings her campfire-tale lyrics. Backed by four skilled, multi-instrumentalists, Zindle sings, dances, and switches between various instruments, from violin to percussion.

[ROCK] The Rival Sons walk with a retro-rock swagger that’s funky fresh, and Jimmy Page approved. The California boys spent their early days playing festivals and gigs in Europe, establishing a reputation for an improv-heavy live show. They aimed to offer a similar, lively energy on their studio albums, and succeeded in spades. Their four-album catalog is raw, loud, and dripping black and white. Rock sounds hailing from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s are strewn together and modified by an indescribable modernity in the same vein as the wildest Jack White cut.

[ELECTRONIC/DANCE] I still haven’t been able to figure out why or how the Dutch are able to pump out so many high profile electronica DJs: from Tiësto to Fedde La Grand and now Quintino. The 29 year-old DJ hasn’t yet met Tiësto-levels of popularity, though maybe he has in his own mind. ”My performance has become so much more than the DJ stuff I started out with. I’m in the big league now and want to present myself as the artist that I am,” he says.

[FUN] Finally, that time of the year has come around when the warm weather transforms the Elmwood Village and the West Side from a frozen tundra into a bright arena of joggers, shoppers, college students, and dogs walking their owners.  This weekend, thanks to the Elmwood Village Association, life in the neighborhood is about to move to the next level of cultural vibrancy as Buffalo Porchfest makes its annual return.