Though it has more than its share of local legends and jam-band-festival heroes, the music scene in and around Ithaca has never really broken a big national act. Except, perhaps—and this may be stretching it—for Old Crow Medicine Show, whose members were assembled from that roots-rich musical soil by fiddler and vocalist Ketch Secor in the late 1990s. It’s a stretch because, like any old-time (or at least old-timish) band worth its salt, Secor and company quickly hied out of town, first north into Canada, then pulled by their musical predilections south, to North Carolina. There they had the good fortune to play before and win over flatpicking virtuoso Doc Watson, who booked them to play MerleFest. Since then the band has traveled a sharply rising road to fame and, one hopes, fortune. In the band’s breakout hit, “Wagon Wheel,” Secor sings “I was born to be a fiddler in an old-time string band,” and Old Crow Medicine Show is sincere in its recreation of old-time music; its repertoire reaches far deeper into the American songbook than most acts affecting the style, and its originals offer more than a history lesson. Now appropriately based in Nashville, Old Crow Medicine Show is worthy of the praise that’s been heaped upon it. Let’s consider the band a homegrown treasure.

Although he has made three feature films, including the 1988 cult classic Slime City, horror specialist (and sometime Artvoice film reviewer) Gregory Lamberson calls his new short Johnny Gruesome “the most ambitious thing I’ve ever done.” Having turned to writing novels in recent years (his 2005 book Personal Novels won the Anubis Award for horror fiction), Lamberson quickly learned that “Publishing has largely turned its back on horror fiction that isn’t written by Stephen King or Dean Koontz.” So Johnny Gruesome the film is part of an ambitious multi-media marketing campaign for Johnny Gruesome the book, which will be published by Bad Moon Books this fall. The tale of a murdered high school student who becomes a vengeful heavy metal zombie, the film features local musician Ryan O’Connell and New York City scream queen Erin Brown, who as “Misty Mundae” has a rabid following for her dozens of low-budget sexploitation films. The equivalent of a hard R for violence, nudity, drug use and gore, Johnny Gruesome will be premiered on Saturday night at the Screening Room. Admission is free and open to the public, though space is limited, and the facility has a cash bar. Musicians Giasone Italiano will perform songs from their upcoming Gruesome CD. For more info, visit johnnygruesome.com.

Amherst Celebrates the Arts is a family experience featuring free performances, concerts, art demonstrations, theater, dance and opportunities to participate in hands-on art, all included in a showcase of outstanding artisans and performers. See a plethora of performances by the Amherst Players, American Academy of Ballet, Victorian Dance Society, Ring Masters Handbell Ensemble, MusicalFare Theatre (pictured) and children’s entertainer Glenn Colton; music by Ishani Shah (Indian classical), Hutchinson Family Revival, Amherst Chamber Ensembles, Amherst Symphony and the Amherst Male Glee Club; exhibits and displays by Artyard Studios, Williamsville Art Society, New York State Designer Blacksmiths, Nature Ed-Ventures, Spoonbender Arts, Suzie’s Garden and Fair Trade handmade jewelry and gifts from Ten Thousand Villages. Opportunities abound to create sidewalk art, purchase arts and gift items, eat great food and much more. The museum building will also be open with docents adorned in period dress, welcoming and inviting to all.

In the 1960s, the Beatles returned America’s lost rock, rhythm and blues soul to its native soil. In the mid-to-late 1970s, a high-energy sextet from Sydney, Australia brought the hard-throttle sounds of Detroit to the world. Sadly, there were no faithful throngs awaiting Radio Birdman at Kennedy International Airport. Led by Ann Arbor, Michigan ex-pat Dennis Tek on guitar and Rob Turner on vocals, Radio Birdman’s music recalled the intense, visceral, live energy of the MC5 and the Stooges. The band’s bread and butter (heavy guitar distortion, anthemic choruses and concise songwriting) clearly set them apart from the pack of mustachioed singer-songwriters clogging the airwaves at the time. Still, while the band’s debut LP, 1978’s Radios Appear, never troubled the charts before quickly disappearing (ahem), the record has afforded the group a healthy cult following ever since—and with good reason. Songs like “Aloha Steve and Danno,” “Murder City Nights” and “Descent into the Maelstrom” still burn with a fiery intensity some 30 years later. A compilation of Radio Birdman’s early material was released on Sub Pop in 2001 and the group reformed to release the widely hailed Zeno Beach (Yep Roc) in 2003. Australia’s newest hitmakers? Well, there’s still time. Awesome Color and Handsome Jack open the show.