Acts on the Rise: Wayne Hancock, War on Drugs, So Cow, Mika Miko, Drake & More

Remember when Bruce Springsteen performed at the Childe Harold, a now-shuttered Dupont Circle saloon? No? Neither do we.

But it says so right here in the history books: Springsteen, Childe Harold, three nights, May 1973, just months after the release of "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J."

At that time, Springsteen was an artist most people hadn't yet heard -- or even heard of; but it wasn't long before he became somebody every music fan needed to know.

Here, The Post's contributing music critics pick eight acts in the same boat as Springsteen, circa 1973.

Nobody is suggesting that they'll ascend to Springsteenesque levels; just that they're making music that's worthy of your attention. Oh, and they're all performing club concerts here over the next few weeks.

You can hear samples of their music on The Post's music blog, Post Rock (http://washingtonpost.com/postrock); reviews of some of the concerts will also be posted on the blog, which is forever striving to write about acts you need to know.

If you've read Post Rock, then you, too, have seen rock-and-roll's future, and his name is . . . well, you know.