As we mentioned on social media recently, we call this month “Rocktober” around here. And there are few places in San Francisco where that’s exemplified better than The Independent. With their standard varied lineup for the best in a wide swath of genres, October at the Indy has a few major highlights.

October 12: The Dodos

Beloved locals The Dodos have returned and are mere days from releasing their much anticipated (but is anything they do even moderately anticipated?) seventh studio album, Certainity Waves. They’ll be kicking off a national tour at home that night. Don’t miss it — you might end up falling in love at a Dodos show, like our former editor Annie did.

October 14: The Twilight Sad

Scotland is far north enough that in the summer, the sun doesn’t set until 10 or 11pm. The extra daylight must get them time for endless experimentation: though they’re known to be noisy, they’ve pulled in everything from a theremin to a full-on orchestra to create an organized cacaphony of sound. Their name comes from a poem, but, since they hail from a town outside of Glasgow, the surreal, seemingly endless sunsets of Scotland seem reflected in it, too.

October 18: The Joy Formidable

Slightly further south comes the Joy Formidable. Formed in 2007 in Wales, the classic crunchy rock guitars meeting melodic vocals made them a perfect fit for the major leagues. They signed to Atlantic for their first two records, then struck out on their own. But think of it this way — you get to see an Atlantic act in the relatively intimate environment of The Independent.

October 24: The Welshly Arms

Alternatively: The Welshly Arms are not Welsh. They’re from Ohio. You can tell because they a) insist on recording in their hometown of Cleveland, and b) they sound about as American as they come: wailing, desperate blues rock. The name is also much less poetic: it comes from this classic SNL sketch. Close out your trip around the world without ever leaving The Independent with the Welshly Arms.