The Return of the Multiple Cat represents the first set of new material from Pat Stolley's band The Multiple Cat in a dozen years, but the man has hardly been slothful.

As a founder and a member of bands, Stolley was intimately involved in the Quad Cities-based Future Appletree label - active for half a decade starting in 2002. And from Daytrotter.com's beginning in 2006 to summer 2008, he was the Web site's primary recording engineer; he estimated he's logged roughly 800 Daytrotter sessions and still typically records between 12 and 24 a month.

That experience, he said last week, took a toll. "For a while there, I was so depressed about music in general because of having worked for Daytrotter and seeing the amazing amount of bands and stuff out there - how much noise there is out there. It makes you just want to pick up your toys and go home.

"But then there's this other thing: I don't really have a choice. I'm going to keep writing songs and recording them, whether anyone is going to listen to it or not."

Several reviews of the Sumner Brothers' second studio album, I'll Be There Tomorrow, start similarly. No Depression's begins: "There's no reasonable explanation why I have not heard the Sumner Brothers before ... ."

Actually, there is a reasonable explanation. The Vancouver duo - playing Rozz-Tox on June 11 and recording a Daytrotter.com session while in the Quad Cities - has built a following in western Canada and the U.S. west coast over the past seven years; but it has never played "out east," in Brian Sumner's words. I didn't ask, but I think "out east" likely includes the Midwest.

"We're the turtle in the race, where we just kind of slowly grow every year," he said in a phone interview last week.

But I'll Be There Tomorrow is bringing a lot of new ears to the group following a self-titled studio album and two collections of home recordings. "It's just careful planning on our part," Brian said of the positive attention the 2012 release has received. The brothers have conscientiously cultivated media relationships, he said, which paid off when the record came out in September.

The members of the band that became the Trishas - playing June 6 at the Redstone Room - knew almost immediately that they had something special. But it took some prodding for them to pursue it.

The country quartet - Jamie Wilson, Liz Foster, Kelley Mickwee, and Savannah Welch - was assembled to perform at a 2009 tribute to country singer/songwriter Kevin Welch, Savannah's father. Foster explained in a recent phone interview that Savannah was hesitant to participate but willing to as part of a larger group. The women weren't friends - most of them knew one of the others, Foster said - so their initial rehearsal was their first time spending any time together.

"You can put four people together and have them all sing the right harmony notes, but it still doesn't blend," Foster said. "You have to really learn each other's voices to really click right."

But during that first rehearsal, on "Satan's Paradise" (written by Kevin Welch and Claudia Scott), the clicking was evident. "We just hit the note, and it was ridiculous," she said. "Of course, we're girls, so we're all jumping around, screaming."

Seeking a reprieve from the unyielding noon sun at the 2012 Summer Camp Music Festival, I head to the Soulshine Tent for a bit of shade and cold drink. Upon entering the tent, I see festival musician Jaik Willis and a camper wrapping up a music jam together. I take a seat, and Jaik invites a young woman to the stage who is next on the open-mic list. With her cowboy hat pulled down tight and a with slow foot tap; she starts her a cappella version of "Me & Bobby McGee." Within moments you can hear the rasp build in her voice as she works her way toward the chorus. Her brow wrinkles, and - as if she were kicked in the stomach - she buckles over and unleashes her vocal wail. She tears through 'til the end and quietly passes the mic back while the small group of observers erupts into cheers, and I think to myself: "This is Summer Camp. Expect the unexpected." I don't remember the young woman's name, but her passionate one-off performance was unforgettable.

Top-tier musicians and fans will be descending on the 13th Annual Summer Camp Music Festival from May 24 through 26 at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, Illinois - a drive of less than two hours from the Quad Cities. The festival has a diverse and exciting lineup along with camping on festival grounds. One hundred thirty different acts will bring everything including blues, rock, bluegrass, dubstep, and hip hop to one of seven stages.