Maybe you’re finishing up your sophomore year, eagerly moving into your first apartment and sticking around for the summer since you’re paying rent anyway. Maybe you’re a graduating senior who’s hanging around for a few warm months of lingering posterity. Or maybe you’re a townie. Whatever the case, if you’re sticking around Burlington for the summer, you have no excuse — except, perhaps dwindling funds — not to have a music-filled summer. Allow me to guide you through a summer of Rock n’ Roll in B-town — the sex and drugs are in your court. There are a number of types of concerts you can attend, and Burlington does a pretty good job of accommodating them. The trick to having an envy-inducing musical summer is to hit as many types as possible. The electronic show Burlington is pretty good at attracting electronic acts. In the past year, Higher Ground has hosted Pretty Lights, Big Gigantic, Lotus, Bassnectar, Atmosphere and many more. Surely, there will be a number of worthy electronic shows this summer as well. If your friends are anything like mine, they will all go to any or all of them. Thus, if you do not go, you will feel left out. It doesn’t really matter at shows like this whether or not you know the band/DJ very well; these shows are pretty much like raves with really good music — you will have fun and it will not matter that you only know one of the songs. Of course, knowing the music is a plus, but it’s not necessary. Furthermore, these shows sell out very quickly, so when your friends start talking about some “sick” techno DJ you’ve never heard of coming to Higher Ground, buy yourself a ticket — you won’t regret it. The outdoor show It’s the summer, which means that, with any luck, it will actually be warm and beautiful in Burlington. After a particularly chilly winter, you might as well enjoy the heat. Seeing a show outside will feel particularly summer-y as you prance around in a sundress/T-shirt and shorts, soak up the sun and — if you’re lucky enough to be over 21 — hit up the beer garden. Recommendation: OAR or Grace Potter and the Nocturnals on the Burlington Waterfront. Part of the Lake Champlain Maritime Festival, OAR is playing on Thursday, Aug. 11, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals the following Saturday and Sunday. Friday’s headliner has yet to be announced. The indie show Aside from electronic acts and jam bands, indie artists may be the most popular kinds of acts to stop off in Burlington between Boston and Montreal, or wherever. They love the ticket sales, and all the hippy/hipster hybrids eat up their banjos and soft vocals. These are the shows that most people actually don’t drink/do drugs for, and are so glad that they abstained when they experience a, like, natural high from the music. All snarkiness aside, I saw Broken Social Scene at Higher Ground last fall and it was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. A successful music-filled Burlington summer wouldn’t be complete without hitting up at least one indie show. Recommendation: Indie darling Bright Eyes on July 29 at the Shelburne Musuem. *Also accommodates the outdoor show category. The out-of-town show Part of the reason for Burlington’s bustling music scene is its location sandwiched between Boston and Montreal. While this situation does draw acts here, it also means that even greater musical variety is relatively close by — Boston is 3.5 hours away, Montreal is about 2. With no classes on Wednesday mornings — hopefully — and many popular artists touring, the summer is the perfect time to take a roadtrip to a bigger city for a bigger show. Recommendation: Dispatch. Burlingtonites loves Dispatch, but they’re not coming here for their summer tour as a recently-reunited band. They are, however, playing three shows in Boston on June 24, 25 and 26 at the Fleet Center. Good luck getting tickets though — all three nights are, not surprisingly, sold out. The local show These may be best to play spontaneously. Everyone and his or her roommate has a band or knows someone in a band, and a number of local Burlington musicians are pretty good. Whether at Nectar’s or in someone’s basement, it wouldn’t be a melodically complete summer in Burlington without hitting up a couple of local shows.