If there was any doubt: The Boston Celtic Music Fest will be online for its 18th year due to coronavirus restrictions.

The board of the music venue and arts nonprofit Passim has seen some turnover, with Jerry Potts stepping down as chair and musician Annie Bartlett elected by the board to replace him. Passim announced the creation of an annual giving program in honor of Potts.

Billy Dean Thomas’ seven-track EP “For Better or Worse” is unapologetically left-leaning, intersectional and inclusive, even while addressing the 2020 election and racial justice.

Housecat’s sunny debut single, “Disco D,” waxes poetic about the ways we lean on each other for relief from loneliness, a highly-caffeinated, mid-pandemic nod to the social interaction we all so dearly miss.  

The lineup of Boston Music Awards nominees for the year is rich with Cambridge and Somerville venues and performers.

Longy School of Music has capitalized on temperate fall weather to give students a socially distanced platform for performance at Harvard Square’s Sheraton Commander Hotel.

Philanthropic organization the Live Music Society distributed its first round of grants this week to 20 small music venues across the United States, part of $2 million projected to be given away to venues in need. Cambridge folk institution Club Passim was a grant recipient.

While Sheer Queer Fest, an annual music festival with Cambridge roots, was canceled for September due to Covid-19, its messaging is still particularly relevant: loud music that defies oppression, and anger as a step in the healing process for those who have been systemically wronged.

Independent Venue Week, running through Friday, shines a spotlight on programming from more than 100 independent venues in the United States, including Once Somerville and Harvard Square’s Club Passim. 

I’ve listened to my review copy of Linaire nearly 50 times in six weeks, and it’s brought me to the verge of tears virtually every time.