It's often been said of larger than life characters that if they didn't exist someone would have had to invent them. Thankfully we had Michael Riley, because it's difficult to imagine the twisted cosmic novelist that would have been necessary to come up with him. Riley was the personification of dichotomy. He was a fixture as an employee in Clifton music stores, but a fatal stroke June 18 ended his reign as the unofficial Mayor of Clifton Music.   

The boys in Flight Station blend hard-hitting, riffy verses with soaring, harmonized choruses, and then they add some synths and a layer of post-production sheen, package the thing, call it a Pop song and sell it. They have lofty major-label-fame-and-fortune-goals. Head to the Madison Theater Thursday to celebrate their new music video with Windsor Drive, Rosemary Device, Walk the Moon and Watson Park.  

The Northside Fourth of July Festival starts at Hoffner Park at 6 p.m. on Friday when the Rock ‘N’ Roll Carnival comes to town and transforms the Park into a giant beer garden. There, you’ll get an eyeful of deliciously deviant and exotic delights such as fire breathers, aerial dancers, sword swallowers and drag queens. Man Halen, Wussy, Culture Queer and more bands provide the soundtrack until 1 a.m. Then, on the 4th, drag yourself out of whatever gutter you slept in and stumble into the parade along Hamilton Ave. at 11 a.m. It ends at Hoffner Park, where the carnival becomes a festival featuring Vaudeville shows, a gypsy circus, food and artist booths and more live music by The Lions Rampant, Fists of Love and seven more bands until 1 a.m.  

As soon as the laser sears the aluminum surface of Eat Sugar's new CD, 'It's Not Our Responsibility,' any booty with a soul attached is liable to grow a mind of its own, get itself up off the chair and shake its proprietor around like a useless sack of meat. But while the bumpin' backbeat is undeniable, Eat Sugar are far from routine, mindless dance-party rockers.  

Sometimes, when you get two solo artists together for a collaboration disc, you’ve just got to have two separate release parties to celebrate. And when you have the distinct pleasure of living in a border city separated from another border city by a river, you’ve got to make sure those release shows cover both metro areas. Such is the case with Ryan Malott and Kelly Thomas and their debut EP, which will see international distribution thanks to Deep Elm Records.  

Ryan Malott, of 500 Miles to Memphis, and Kelly Thomas, of The Fabulous Pickups, team up for a debut EP. The Covington-based singer/songwriters will hold a release party and full-band show this Friday at the Northside Tavern (with fellow Kentuckians The Lions Rampant) and on July 3 at the York Street Cafe.  

The Subway Lounge is the nexus of genesis for The Kiss Me Everlasting, whose debut show, a free one, starts at 11 p.m. Friday night. The band counts Ali Edwards (Ruby Vileos), Dan McCabe (Roundhead), Dave Morrison (Ass Ponys) and Max Bender (Thee Shams) among its ranks, so The Kiss Me could sound a little like all of those bands, or nothing like any of ‘em.  

Eat Sugar’s new disc, It’s Not Our Responsibility, will make any booty with a soul attached grow a mind of its own, get itself up off the chair and shake its proprietor around like a useless sack of meat. But while the bumpin’ backbeat is undeniable, Eat Sugar are far from routine, mindless dance-party rockers. The band plays an in-studio on woxy.com’s Lounge Acts at 4:30 p.m.  

Ditch the car, grab a board (or just come watch) and head to the Newport riverfront for Rollin’ on the River, an all-day fundraising event on Sunday from noon-6 p.m. The Galaxie Skateshop, in cooperation with Able Projects and the City of Newport, presents a free, open “skateable art” park featuring ramps, obstacles and mural work and appearances by local pro skate teams Effort, Instrument and Fickle. Then at 8 p.m. the party moves to the Southgate House for a show with The Lions Rampant, The Read, The Highlight Reel and DJ Chin, a silent auction and bring-your-own-T-shirt screen-printing.  

The Afghan Whigs are local legends around these parts: Birthed in the late 1980s initially as a Garage Punk outfit, the scrappy lads became critical darlings and cult faves in the ’90s after recording on two major labels. More than 20 local bands pay tribute to the Whigs Saturday night at the Southgate House, with proceeds benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Society.