The law of the season dictates there has to be one Ultimate Summer Music Weekend. We in the biz call it the USMW for short. It’s a weekend of tunes rolling in somewhere between beach bar mist and nautical bliss. This year it arrives Aug. 7 to 10 with a steamer trunk packed with local favorites, yacht rock, blockbuster symphonic scores, and contrarian doom and gloom booms. Parrothead or metalhead, the USMW has something for you.

Guster’s On the Ocean

Aug. 8 – 10, State Theater and Thompson’s Point, Portland

Somerville’s very own Guster sails up Maine for its seventh On the Ocean festival. Friday is a Hits & Bits variety show at the State Theatre. The rest of the weekend has Guster headlining two nights at Thompson’s Point with Hanson, the Mountain Goats, Fruit Bats, Joy Oladokun, Karina Rykman, Joe & Marc Pisapia, and more on the undercard. To make it extra nautical, the band has curated fan experiences from harbor cruises and kayaking trips. ontheoceanfest.com

Yacht Rock Revue

Aug. 8 & 9, Leader Bank Pavilion

How good is Yacht Rock Revue? The band has originals so smooth they can slip them in between “Africa” and “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl).” Keep your Hawaiian shirt on. YRR will play 90% classics. Served up with the perfect blend of earnestness, cheek, and musical chops, the band will deliver songs about sailors, pina coladas, and tropical illusions. Make it a trifecta and road trip to Hampton Beach for the Aug. 7 show. yachtrockrevue.com

John Williams’ Film Night

Aug. 9, Tanglewood

Maestro John Williams probably defines the sound of the season more than the Beach Boys. The Boston Pops conductor laureate wrote the scores to so many definitive summer blockbusters: “Jaws,” “Star Wars,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,” “Jurassic Park.” Williams curates and current Pops conductor Keith Lockhart conducts an evening of immortal music and matching film clips. bso.org

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band

Aug. 9, Ocean Mist, South Kingstown

The ultimate Rhode Island bar band at the ultimate Rhode Island beach bar! That’s it. That’s the pitch. And it’s immaculate. oceanmist.net

Andy Frasco & The U.N.

Aug. 10, the Beachcomber, Wellfleet

Andy Frasco is spending the week touring the New England coast with shows from Rhode Island to New Hampshire. The legendary Beachcomber is where you should fall in love with this boisterous buoy of rock magic. Don’t know Frasco? Start with his glorious tune “Smoking Dope n’ Rock n’ Roll.” andyfrasco.com

Somergloom

Aug. 7 – 9, Deep Cuts, Medford and Crystal Ballroom, Somerville

Since 2021, Somergloom has been bringing heavy, dreamy, heavy, wild, heavy, arty music that is heavy (did we mention it’s heavy!) to the city. This year the festival invites you to skip the sun, surf, sand, and beachy vibes for some, yes, that’s right, heavy tunes by Sumac, Body Void, the Keening, and many more. somergloom.com.

Yacht Rock Revue. (Photo Irma Ali)