NOVO Instrumental Music Festival

A new musical festival in Baltimore gets going today, and continues to run throughout the rest of the week. The NOVO Instrumental Music Festival will take place at the Windup Space.

The festival will be a five night event, each paying tribute to local music of the word-less variety. Each show will run you five bucks, with the exception of tonight's show which is free. A fifteen dollar pass is available that will grant you access to all five nights.

The lineup is worth noting throughout the week, but the standout night has to be Friday with Jason Urick, Microkingdom, and Notendo rounding out the bill.

Get the full schedule and each night's lineup after the jump.

Tuesday, March 2:
Out of Your Head's One-Year Anniversary
Set One--8:00pm
John Dierker-reeds
Cam Collins-reeds
Brent Madsen-trumpet
Rachel Gawell-cello
Alan Munshower-drums

Set Two--9:30pm
Ellery Eskelin-sax
Michael Formanek-bass
Susan Alcorn-pedal steel guitar

Set Three--11:00pm
Ellery Eskelin-sax
Eric Trudel-sax
Blake Cramer-vibes
Nathan Ellman-Bell-drums

Wednesday, March 3:
The Water
Expanding Man
JDay
doors 9pm, show 9:30, $5

Thursday, March 4:
Nathan Bell
Yeveto
Insect Factory
doors at 9, show at 9:30, $5

Friday, March 5:
Jason Urick
Notendo
Microkingdom
doors at 9, show at 9:30, $5

Saturday, March 6:
We Used to Be Family
Leisure Icons
Holy Fingers

RUFUSTIVAL 2009

The Metro Gallery just announced its two year anniversary celebration titled RUFUSTIVAL 2009. Named after the owner's dog, Rufus is the mascot of a pretty stacked lineup.

Headlining is one of the loudest bands ever, A Place to Bury Strangers. This distortion-crazed three piece out of NYC put out a pretty solid self titled debut, that rages noise pop to freakishly high decibel levels. The other standout of the festival also hail from NYC, but are a bit easier on the ol' eardrums.

The Dirty Projectors have a higly anticipated release due out June 9th titled Bitte Orca. Reserve a copy on limited cassette via Domino. Tough to put a finger on their sound, the group sports experimental blends of pop and R&B, among many others.

Wye Oak are another welcome addition to the festival, as the release of their new effort The Knot looms closer. Be sure to check out the first track off the upcoming LP right here. RUFUSTIVAL also comes complete with local shoegaze specialists Thrushes. Other acts include Baby Aspirin, The Water, Ecstatic Sunshine, Chairlift, Eureka Birds, The Skydrops, and Pianowire.

The festival will take place outside in the parking lot 2 doors down from Metro Gallery off Charles Street. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased off Brown Paper Tickets.