The 14th Annual Blind Baby’s Holiday takes place this weekend, starting today (Thursday, Aug. 9) and going until Sunday (August 12). Located in northeastern Niagara County’s Freedom Park (Hartland, NY), the festival grounds are only a little more than ten miles outside of Lockport. The event showcases the talents of area musicians and visual artists as well as headliners Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, Sleeping Giant, the Room, Rusty String, Catpolice, ON THE SLY, Bearhunter, Feebes, dj robdecker, Lower Town Trio, Smackdab, Headie LeMar, Six Pin Acoustic Series, Macromeltdown and many more—about 20 musical acts in all. Weekend passes run from $30 advance to $40 at the gate. Camping is encouraged but ticket holders may come and go throughout the weekend. Visit www.blindbabysholiday.com for tickets, directions and more info.

San Francisco “Arcade Rock” band Karate High School just posted the first single from its upcoming album, called “Burning Up For You,” off of The League of Tomorrow, due to be released on September 4. Frontman Paul McGuire wrote the songs on League of Tomorrow based on the adventures of characters in his comic book fantasy of the same name. Secret undergound societies, deals with the devil, buried time capsules filled with secret knowledge and a 100-year curse—these are the themes underlying the band’s latest effort. Deeper and more sincere than a lot of groups who fall into the Arcade Rock genre, KHS’ lyrics deal with the dark issues befitting a serious graphic novel without foregoing the fun. The band plays at Kenmore Lanes’ “Rock-n-Bowl” on Saturday (Aug. 11) at midnight. $5 gets you in, $10 includes bowling too.

Seattle’s Band of Horses (formerly called just Horses, and prior to that, Carissas Weird) headlines a show at the Tralf Music Hall on Sunday (Aug. 12) with tour mates Love as Laughter. Both bands are West Coast indie mainstays and Sub Pop recording artists, with links to stars of the label like Iron and Wine and Built to Spill. Band of Horses’ sophomore album Cease to Begin is due out on in October, following 2006’s acclaimed Everything All the Time. Love As Laughter is still riding the wave of 2005’s opus Laughter’s Fifth and working on a new record scheduled for release in 2008. An eight-song CD featuring the catchy single “Coconut Flakes” is available on the Love As Laughter website. Saturday’s show starts at 8pm with an opening performance by Brian Wheat and Groggy Darlin’.

Indie-rocker and Buffalo native Tom Sartori returns to his hometown for a week’s worth of shows, beginning with a performance at Club W tonight (Thursday, Aug. 9). Sartori recently made news as a co-star on NBC’s The Singing Bee, a hit reality/game show hosted by Joey Fatone. Sartori is one of the house band’s lead singers, performing the music and lyrics to an endless variety of popular songs from yesterday and today. Contestants on the show must accurately finish the line to the song when Sartori stops singing. Tom takes a break from his new TV job for a string of performances in the Buffalo area: He’ll play early shows starting at 6pm at Cabana Sam’s on Aug. 12 & 19, a 10pm show at Desiderio’s on Broadway on Aug. 17 and another 10pm set at Buffalo Sports Garden on Aug. 18

Twenty-one-year-old Marc Scibila just wants to get his message across. At age six he began playing piano and composing his first songs. “The songs demand to be written,” he claims of his musical journey, which includes a Christian set of ideals and Billy Joel-like piano talent. Scibilia is a WNY native, born and bred on Grand Island, a Kiss 98.5’s Buffalo Idol contest winner, and recording artist by the age of 13. Scibilia recently released Fixity, which was recorded in his home studio, and he has been touring with SONICFLOOd, a contemporary Christian group based in Nashville, Tennessee. With raw, emotional songs, Fixity showcases Scibilia’s conviction in his music. On Wednesday (August 15), Club Infinity will host a CD Release Show for Fixity, with Scibilia and special guest Michael Tait (of DC Talk). Doors at 7pm.

Atmospheric indie-rock band the Winter Sounds hails from illustrious Athens, Georgia, birthplace of groundbreaking music for the past three decades. Signed by Livewire Recordings just within the last year, the label recently released the Winter Sounds’ debut album Porcelain Empire, a world of dreamy, new-wave synth-pop that echoes the sounds of Interpol, the Killers, Sister of Mercy and the Smiths. The band stops by Bufffalo mid-way though a near year-long tour that began in March and is set to continue through the end of December. The Winter Sounds plays at Merlin’s next Thursday (Aug. 16) with support from Drivers to Warsaw and Nick Gordon. The show starts at 9:30pm.