58. A Noteworthy Summer

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Summer's around the corner! Three summery things from my end:

1. I've been planting out in the garden with my mom, trying to keep those pesky squirrels away from the sunflowers.
   
   
2. I get to see some of my amazing students graduate and look forward to attending their graduation parties, mostly to eat the food. (They know this, haha.)
   
   
3. Cubbies have turned a corner?? As of writing this, they've won 6 of their last 7. They still need to keep it up to avoid being sellers at the deadline.

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1. Puzzle #57 answer: HEINZ

Correct entries: 70!

I was going to make the grid, but I figured I should leave it to the professionals. Thanks, Gridmaster!

Shortest explanation: The five silly themers each conceal a band name, whose initial letters spell HEINZ, the meta answer. Probably a Level 1, honestly! Note CAT and SUP across the middle also.

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2. Leaderboard (through the first three weeks):

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3. This puzzle is a Week 3 in the month, but it will likelier trend a bit upward to Week 3.5. Thanks to Jay, Peter, Tamara, and Tom for their puzzle-solving insights!

Keep on puzzling, and may all your solves be beautiful!

Mikey G

The answer to the meta is an 8-letter word.