Baltimore Independent Music and Arts Festival

Last year, Morphius Records mahout David Andler surveyed the remnants of wobbly local “music industry” event the Baltimore Music Conference and relaunched the idea of such a gathering as the Baltimore Independent Music and Arts Festival (BiMA, for short). If nothing else, the inaugural BiMA fest proved more industrious and better organized than its predecessor, booking crammed bills of various artists into venues around town. The second annual event seems out to top that track record so far with four days of shows at the Ottobar, the Sidebar, the Windup Space, Charm City Art Space, and more. The full schedule of shows and parties is more than we can do justice to here (visit bimafest.com for the whole thing), but below are some highlights. BiMA offers all-access passes for the whole weekend or individual days at various price points (see the web site for details); all prices below are for individual door admission to each show.

THURSDAY: Highlights include local death-metal titan Misery Index headlining a heavy-music showcase at the Ottobar (7:30 p.m., 2549 N. Howard St., [410] 662-0069, theottobar.com, $12), and a show at the Windup Space featuring reunions of long-defunct local bands Motio and Octopus (7 p.m., 12 W. North Ave., [410] 244-8855, thewindupspace.com, $8).

FRIDAY: Violin-fueled indie/punk band the Shondes headline a Charm City Art Space bill that also features Silence Kid and a presentation by Hollaback! Baltimore head Shawna Potter (7:30 p.m., 1729 Maryland Ave., ccspace.org). Joe Squared hosts North Carolina-based Free Electric State (featuring erstwhile Baltimoreans David Koslowski and Shirlé Hale), the Sky Drops, and others (9:30 p.m., 133 W. North Ave., [410] 545-0444, joesquared.com, free), while the Ottobar presents an epic bill featuring (at one point or another) the Flying Eyes, Sal Bando, Lazlo Lee and the Motherless Children, and Landspeedrecord! (6:30 p.m., $9).

SATURDAY: Among the nine (nine!) bills at various venues tonight, the Golden West Café hosts ex-Jawboxer J. Robbins’ Office of Future Plans and local gaziness Thrushes (10 p.m., 1105 W. 36th St., [410] 889-8891, goldenwestcafe.com, $7); the Ottobar hosts an album-release show from Bosley along with sets from Egg Babies Orchestra, the Bellevederes, Red Sammy, and others (6:30 p.m., $13); Joe Squared offers Femi the DriFish and friends (10 p.m., free); and the Sidebar puts on an afternoon-into-night indoor/outdoor minifest featuring sets from (among many others) pop-punk titans the Queers, National Razor F.D.I.C., and the Fishnet Stalkers (4 p.m., 218 E. Lexington St., [410] 659-4130, side bartavern.com, $18).

SUNDAY: Hollywood, Ladypiss, Roomrunner, and standup comedy from erstwhile local frontwoman Ellie Beziat highlight a bill at the Ottobar (6:30 p.m., $5). Adam “Out of Your Head” Hopkins coordinates a non-Tuesday early evening of experimentalism and improv at the Windup Space (5 p.m., $8), followed by more steadily rhythmic action from hip-hop band Soul Cannon and others later on.

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