What, you think you can kick back and relax just because you indulged in a couple of music festivals last week? Well, in all honesty, that’s probably the responsible approach. But it would also involve missing out on some pretty awesome shows, many of which have absolutely no connection to that giant rodeo that hits town this time of year.

Case in point — Warp Records recording artists Flying Lotus will be at the Hifi Club on Wednesday, July 8. I could use this space to talk about how Flying Lotus’s 2008 album, Los Angeles, was a near-perfect blending of hip hop, jazz, electronica and other influences and that it earned rave reviews comparing it to Madlib and J Dilla, but all you really need to know is that it’s gonna be phenomenal. Seriously.

If you want to get the party started earlier, Chicago duo Flosstradamus will be spinning at the Gerry Thomas Gallery on Friday, July 3. The pair is tightly connected to other Chi-town exports like The Cool Kids and Kid Sister and has made mixtapes for Pitchfork and spun at Lollapalooza, so you know they know how to get things done. Should be fun.

On Tuesday, July 7, Black Francis, a.k.a. Frank Black, a.k.a. Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV, a.k.a. the frontman of quite possibly the most influential band to emerge from the ’80s college-rock underground, will perform at the Grand Theatre. Judging from his decision to book the show as Black Francis, it’s likely that Thompson will draw mostly from his last two albums, both released under that moniker, but the odds are decent that some Frank Black and the Catholics tunes (or even some Pixies ones) could pop up. Regardless of what era he draws from, Thompson is an absolutely electrifying performer and his impact on modern music can’t be overstated.

And as much as it’s fun to dance around it, it’d be foolish not to acknowledge the Calgary Stampede, the greatest outdoor show on Earth. With daytime Coca Cola Stage performances from the likes of Karl Wolf, Divine Brown, Serena Ryder and The Trews and a Stampede After Dark series featuring Kardinal Offishal, Face to Face, DJ Z-Trip, Hawksley Workman and more, there’s no shortage of music in the coming weeks. If you can stand the cowboy hats, that is.