Despite the oppressive heat, July has been a good month for music fans, and it only gets better in the weeks ahead. As the month is ending, it’s almost time for the second event in the Off the Common summer music series. Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield hosts Off the Common on the last Friday of the month throughout the summer. This event is free and takes place from 5:30 to 11 p.m. and features music, arts, vendors, games, and food trucks. It also coincides with the town’s monthly art walk.

The series launched on June 28 with a show featuring headliner Sen Morimoto, a former resident of Wendell who plays a jazzy experimental brand of music. The event was a huge success, with people enjoying the activities out by the common and then going into the venue to listen to the music by local acts Frost Heaves and Hales and Big Destiny. By the time Morimoto came on, the room was full of fans soaking up his creative sounds. The night wrapped up with a wild set of electronic music from Eric Hnatow.

The second show in the series will be on Friday, July 26. While the first show focused on music that could be considered alternative, this upcoming show will present four female singer-songwriters who each bring a unique style and sound to the show.

As with all the shows in the series, they feature a mix of local artists and nationally known touring artists. This upcoming show will present Kimaya Diggs of Easthampton, Daisy Skelton, a former resident of western Massachusetts who now resides in New York, and Kendra McKinley from upstate New York. The headliner will be R&B soulstress Madison McFerrin of Los Angeles.

If McFerrin’s name sounds familiar, it may be because she is the daughter of Bobby McFerrin, a 10-time Grammy-winning vocalist and conductor. Along with his many accomplishments, McFerrin is best known to most people for his hit song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”

But Madison McFerrin hasn’t coasted on her father’s name; she’s worked hard to establish her career. A 2019 Berklee School of Music graduate, her career started with a series of acapellaEPs, which led to Questlove dubbing her music ”soul-cappella.” Her style evolved and she started going for a more produced sound, evident in her debut full-length album, “I Hope You Can Forgive Me,” released in the spring of 2023. The album features her genre-bending sound, including traces of R&B, funk, soul and jazz, and showcasing her beautiful airy vocals in a collection of songs about personal growth.

That album has drawn positive reviews, especially for the song “Run,” which came about when she discovered her great-great-great grandmother escaped slavery. Her father even provides some vocals on the song. Rolling Stone magazine cited the song as one of the best of 2023.

Another standout track is “(Please Don’t) Leave Me Now,” a song inspired by a near-fatal car wreck she survived, which left her with a deeper understanding of the fragility of life.

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Perhaps her best-known song is “Guilty,” a track she wrote in 2021 after the conviction of former Minnesota police officer Derek Chain for the murder of George Floyd. “Guilty,” on which McFerrin sings the word guilty over house beats, resurfaced on the internet in a big way when Trump was convicted on felony charges.

McFerrin is spending the summer touring. She just wrapped up some dates in Europe and is about to launch a U.S. tour. Take advantage of this chance to see her performing in an intimate venue like Hawks & Reed while you can.

Also in this lineup is Kimaya Diggs, who recently released a new single called “Everything is Not Lost.” This song is her first new release following her 2023 album, “Quincy.”

“This song was written when I lost my sense of purpose following the release of my last LP. There’s this feeling of ‘what now?’ when a project is finally out, and I found myself forgetting why I make music,” Diggs said.

Just as she did with the material on “Quincy,” Diggs pours her emotion in the song and delivers lines like “Everything is not lost/ It just needs time to be found.”

“Everything is Not Lost” was recorded live. Diggs was joined by Jacob Rosazza on bass, Caleb Rosazza on guitar, Reed Sutherland on keys, Jake Edwards on drums, Naomi Nye, Lexi Weege, and Emma Pauline on vocals. Sen Morimoto provided some excellent work on saxophone, as did Melanie Charles on flute. The Rosazza brothers co-produced the song.

Diggs said that she eventually found her way back and regained her sense of purpose. Like the song says, it just took time.

You can hear “Everything is Not Lost” on most streaming services.

Kendra McKinley’s latest album about growth and transformation is called “Where Does a Body Begin?” McKinley had said that when she made the album, she wanted to make a record that sounded like a cross between Joni Mitchell’s “Court and Spark” and D’Angelo’s “Black Messiah.” She also has said that she has so many influences that she simply sums up her music as “music for smoking weed with your bra off.” Based on that description, I think we can expect something new and different when McKinley takes the stage. In addition to being a musician, McKinley is also an artist who paints clothing.

Rounding out the lineup is Daisy Skelton. This former resident of Montague returns home to perform her funk and R&B-rooted music. Skelton is also part of the group Project Orange, which performs at all types of special events.

The Deerfield Recreation Summer Concerts will kick off July 19, and will continue every Friday through August 16. These free concerts will be held at Memorial Field in South Deerfield and will run from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Off the Record, a five-piece band that plays your favorites from the 1960s to the 1990s, with a few originals tossed in, will be playing at this first show.

On July 26, Chick ’n’ Wire will perform country, rock and blues. For the Aug. 2 show, T.J. & the Peepers will play a set that ranges from classic rock to jazz. The series wraps up on Aug. 16 with the country band Cobblestone Road.

As for some updates on other summer music series: tonight at the Coop Concerts at the Greenfield Energy Park at 6 p.m., it’s John Stacey and friends Russ Thomas and Pat & Tex LaMountain. The show is free.

The Lava Center in Greenfield hosts a Saturday summer series that presents arts, music, and theater every Saturday at noon. This week, popular local musician Michael Nix, who plays classical guitar, banjar, banjo and mandolin, will perform. The show is free and funded by the Crossroads Cultural District and the Mass Cultural Council.

This weekend, the 1794 Meetinghouse in New Salem is hosting Magpie on Saturday, July 20, at 7:30 p.m. The duo will perform folk music with a focus on topical music and social activism.

On Sunday, July 21, the Meetinghouse presents soft folk rock with singer-songwriter Leah Kunkel. Kunkel has an impressive resume: In addition to writing and singing her own songs, she has provided backing vocals for artists like Carly Simon, Art Garfunkel and Graham Nash. She is also an attorney.

Tickets and more information are available at 1794meetinghouse.org.

Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer who resides in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. She can be reached at Soundslocal@yahoo.com.