LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison) & Eastern Upper Peninsula Weekend Concert Previews!!

It's another busy weekend for hard rock concerts in the Twin Saults and EUP, and its largely because of the EUP why we have to break our previews into three posts! The plan is to look at this weekend's Rock N' Roll Ave, Bone Yard 225, and Generations concert (plus WestFest II) in our next post, with Sunday's short notice Curtis McKenzie matinee as part of our next general news post once we get back in the swing of clearing out our backlog. For now, here's what you should know, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT in Sault Ontario and another new northern date!

Just one day removed from his late notice addition to the Maddy's Mighty Mutts Family Fun Day (more on that hopefully soon), local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison will play at The Up & Down Lounge at 24 Second Line West for a second straight Thursday TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via his Facebook event page on Tuesday, and at press time, The Up & Down Lounge has not corroborated that he is playing there again TONIGHT. They did start with two straight Jason Taillefer solo acoustic concerts there, so if Tym is playing two straight too, is that the scheduling pattern here, or is Tym legitimately a short notice booking? Regardless, it's good to see Tym staying busy as the summer marches on, and hopefully there's a decent crowd in the west end TONIGHT for his unplugged classic and hard rock covers! Remember, acts play indoors at the Up & Down despite the patio being open.

In one more new booking, Tym will make the 45 minute drive southeast to Ije's Place in nearby Desbarats on Friday, August 14th, as per this Facebook event page! This will be Tym's third show at Ije's, following two shows at the Central Algoma cafe & bakery last month, most recently this past week. though be advised that Ije's Facebook page hasn't plugged that Tym will be back there yet either. Both TONIGHT'S Up & Down Lounge show and next week's trip to Desbarats are 6:00 PM concerts with no announced cover charge, and while the Up & Down gig is likely 19+, Ije's should be all ages as it's not a nightclub. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, let's head across the border to Michigan for some hard rock concerts in the EUP, and we'll start in St. Ignace, where local classic/hard rock trio Peril will return for a special outdoor concert TONIGHT as part of the town's Music By The Bay summer concert series at American Legion Park! Aside from one or two annual gigs in this series, Peril (and Scarkazm) exclusively play at Kewadin Casino when they make trips north of the Mackinac Bridge, so if you want to see Jeff, Howard, and Brooks outside, earlier in the day, or just somewhere other than a Kewadin branch, keep tonight's show in mind! If you can't make it, Peril will be back on Friday the 21st, though be advised that they have not corroborated either booking on their Facebook page in recent weeks. TONIGHT'S concert runs from 7:00-8:30 PM, and it is absolutely free & all ages. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for sunny skies and temperatures of 72-74° (22-23° Celsius) tonight.

Looks like good conditions are in store for TONIGHT in St. Ignace, so if you'll be in the area or up for the hour's drive from the Soo, consider swinging by for Peril's next local concert! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Peril live a few years back!

Now let's take the half hour drive northeast along Saint Martin Bay to Hessel, where rebranded local hard rock cover band Nate's Chow will play their first show under this name TOMORROW NIGHT at The Islander Bar, but that's not all from them! As you may recall, the band formerly known as Unfortunate Sun rebranded as Nate's Chow (taking their name in part from their predecessors Fake Chow) after frontman Skip Parish left the band in March. Their Facebook description now lists them as a trio with Jody, Brett, and Jason sharing vocals, and while the band's AI-generated imagery does include photos featuring a band of four animals, including their beaver mascot (Nate?) on vocals, drummer Jason VanLuven confirmed on the venue's Facebook page that this will be "our new 3 piece singing debut". We will get into their other three new dates (all in September) in an upcoming post so we can keep our weekend concert previews on a reasonable schedule.

This one-night-only concert takes place tomorrow at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. It will be interesting to hear how Nate's Chow sound, especially if they lean more to the generally heavier covers that Unfortunate Sun played compared to Fake Chow, though with Skip absent (and back in his country/southern rock cover duo Blood, Sweat, and Beers), things could be wide open, especially as the rest of the band aren't established frontmen. That, or "Nate" the beaver is singing, if you believe AI! See above for more details, and here's the former Unfortunate Sun live!

We'll close this post back in St. Ignace, where Ontonogan hard rock quartet Nolium will make their EUP debuts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Northern Pines Lounge at their Kewadin Casino branch! The heaviest and most originals-focused of the three new-to-the-EUP touring bands debuting under the Kewadin umbrella this summer (our Rock N' Roll Ave preview is in our next post!), fans of modern grunge, alternative, and hard rock will take to their cover range, and fresh off of a show in Wisconsin for them, why not zip east across the peninsula? Nolium are a solid band with good enthusiasm and some eclectic song choices that bands in the EUP don't often play, so keep their shows in mind for this weekend! As usual for Kewadin lounges, these are 9:00 PM affairs with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and here's a full-set video of Nolium live!

That's all for now, but our weekend concert previews will continue with Rock N' Roll Ave and Sault Ontario concerts next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Downtown Street Party #2) & A Video From Last Month's Sandman Show!!

For our ninth post already this month, this is a two topic post, starting with a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month, and ending with a video from a recent tribute band concert here. Let's get things rolling!

Over one month after the City of Sault Ste. Marie's second Downtown Street Party on Thursday, July 16th was cancelled due to that day's severely poor air quality, they will host the planned third (now second) one on Thursday, August 20th! Originally scheduled to take place on a closed stretch of Queen Street East from Elgin to Dennis Street, they're basically doubling the size of this one to include the Brock-Elgin stretch that was gypped out of last month's street party, so this will virtually take place from the former BMO building all the way down to the bus terminal. Going along with this, they will try again for the Downtown Plaza aspects of last month's cancelled street party, including re-booking Nicole Does Trivia and the live screening of Jaws 1 there. Click here for full details on non-musical activities to expect on Queen Street two weeks from tomorrow (even a rock climbing wall!)

Musically speaking, there will actually be three "stages" for Street Party #2, but sadly, none of the acts on the 20th are ones who were scheduled for the cancelled street party last month (nor were any of them scheduled for Stage 1 at Rotaryfest that same day). One stage will be up... way up atop Village Media headquarters (a space they call "The Canopy"), which has sparingly hosted live bands in recent years, and this is where SMS readers will likely be most interested, as punk/alternative cover sextet BookcluB and local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith (presumably with The Big Finish Band) will be playing on the roof at 9:30 & 8:15 PM respectively! Opening on The Canopy is Dustcovers frontman "Just" Tom Peer with an acoustic set at 7:00 PM. This should be a fun and unique experience, Mike's high elevation day job acknowledged, so don't bypass this action in just over two weeks!

As for the other stages, they will try again re: having bands at the corner of Queen & March Streets (the cancelled Brock-Elgin street party would actually have been from March-Elgin), and that stage will be headlined by prolific local folk/blues musician Jay Case with support sets from blues singer/guitarist Josh "The Preacher" McNally and his Jackleg Band, as well as folk singer/guitarist Matthew James. The bonus third stage will basically be a reprise of Stage 3 from Rotaryfest, in that it will feature EDM artists/DJs, including Skeletune, Hippie Business, and Flummoxx (all set times are identical to The Canopy's). The EDM party goes down outside of Outspoken Brewing between Elgin and Bruce Street. Downtown Street Party #3 #2 runs from 6:30-11:00 PM on Thursday the 20th, and it is FREE & ALL AGES! The third and final Downtown Street Party for 2026 goes down on September 17th from Dennis-Gore Street, as the parties move west down Queen Street.

Unhealthy levels of forest fire smoke was an unexpected wrench in last month's plans that hopefully won't rear its ugly head again in two weeks, for Northwestern Ontario's sake, let alone wherever that air drifts! Otherwise, these street parties go ahead rain or shine, but still, I do hope that there's no rain to worry about after the two month wait for another one of these! With BookcluB and Mike Haggith's rooftop involvement, this is the most SMS-friendly of the three street party lineups too, so keep everything in mind in two weeks, and visit You Belong SSM's Facebook page for more details!

To close this post, let's look back at a video from one of the concerts that we are backlogged alone in terms of just covering videos from, namely the Sandman concert at The Full Throttle Saloon! The former Primavera Hall have been oddly quiet on social media since this show took place on July 25th, but Mike Blair's 705Live Sound Co. were on hand to man the soundboard for this hard-touring Toronto-based Metallica tribute band, and he did get a video for the 705Live Facebook page! FYI, despite running sound for Rotaryfest Stage 2, Mike didn't post any videos from Clergue Park. The Sandman video runs for 71 seconds of them playing "Enter Sandman" (complete with Rick jokingly mispronouncing "Sault"), and Mike makes effective use of the zoom lens to let us "walk up" to the stage from the soundboard!

It's always fun to see Sandman's faithful take on 1980s and early 1990s Metallica on a local stage, even if this concert's ticket prices were noticeably higher than past shows here, and the crowd looks decent from what is visible. Give Mike's Sandman video a watch below, and hopefully the Saloon proper shot something to upload when their social media break ends!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!

Rotaryfest 2026 Fallout (Part 2!!)

Today's second post (eight already this month!) takes us back to last month's Rotaryfest for more media and videos and whatnot from that survived the air quality index levels to rock out at Clergue Park! Check out yesterday's first post linked here for what's known to be circulating publically from the first four bands on Stage 1 on Friday, July 17th. We'll next look at the co-headliners on that Friday, namely local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush, who were filmed by the prolific Christopher Paci for his YouTube channel. Yes, Dopethrone, Three Days Grace, and Bush fans, Chris' videos for all of these concerts are among our still ridiculous backlog, stay tuned hopefully soon! Chris swung by Clergue Park late, and only filmed three videos that night, with his only Headrush video being of them covering Greta Van Fleet's "Highway Tune".  Bizarrely modern choice for them, especially given earlier marketing putting them as primarily covering 1980s music.

I am admittedly not a Greta Van Fleet fan, but Headrush do cover this song well, and it's a good match for John Anderson's vocal range! The crowd sounded receptive too, so give their Rotaryfest 2026 video a watch below, and yes, I am well aware of their Laird Fair gig, that too is coming to a proper post as soon as possible! This backlog will take some time!

Chris' other videos on Rotaryfest Friday were of North Bay classic rock cover band Just Press Play, whose lineup features long-time Stage 1 sound tech and former That's Chester/Obsession guest guitarist Dan Belanger. Rain cropped up during their set, which is obvious by the small crowd and scattered umbrellas, but kudos to Chris for filming what he did, and that includes covers of Foreigner's "Hot Blooded" and, as embedded below, Cheap Trick's "The Flame". Just Press Play sound good on these covers, with strong vocals and tight musicianship, and they did hint on their Facebook page to wanting to play here again, so hopefully (if outdoors) there's no rain or smoke to worry about! Just press play on these videos above & below!

Over on Stage 2, The Sault Blues Society took over the Friday lineup for a fifth straight year of Friday Night Blues. None of the acts have major social media presences at a level where they are posting videos online to watch on public and official sources, alas. Still, Bob Davies snapped photos of all five bands on the Second Stage that night, so click here for some really nice photos, and familiar faces lined all five groups! Moving back to Stage 1 on Saturday, July 18th, the earliest band that has a public video to my knowledge (outside of our coverage) is classic rock cover quartet Mid Life Crysis, who the aforementioned Chris Paci filmed covering 'Til Tuesday's "Voices Carry" before he hit the road to see Bush in St. Ignace. "Voices Carry" isn't the biggest 1980s cover choice in retrospect, but it's soundly covered by this experienced and familiar local band (in their tenth Stage 1 appearance), and it lets Lori show off her vocal range!

We'll close our second Rotaryfest fallout post with the next Saturday band with public videos, namely classic rock cover quartet RPM, whose entire set was filmed across multiple cameras for their Facebook page! You can see the songs broken up in individual videos linked below, but they eventually posted a full-set video combining everything into a 49 minute watch. In order, Dino, Marcel, Rob, and Joseph played a medley of songs by The Romantics, Neil Diamond, John Mellencamp, and John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band, followed by Duran Duran's "Hungry Like The Wolf", The Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar", John Mellencamp's "Authority Song", The Outfield's "Your Love", Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Looking Out My Back Door", Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues", Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way", Poison's "Talk Dirty To Me", Huey Lewis & The News' "Walking On A Thin Line", ...

...Bryan Adams' "Summer Of 69", and AC/DC's "TNT". Credit to Out & Out Country/ex-That's Chester drummer Ric Datson for helping set up the multiple cameras here, in a similar way to his Double Down footage from Rotaryfests past. While only really dipping their toes into heavier covers late, RPM are a talented group who have definitely improved as an ensemble and individually over the past decade, and they had a good crowd for their set (which I saw most of, so I can vouch for how they went over!) Give RPM's full multi-camera set a watch for yourselves below!

When we pick up our Rotaryfest fallout coverage (hopefully soon-ish), we'll look at any extant public videos from the last four bands on Stage 1, and if there's space, the Saturday lineup on Stage 2, but our next post will be a news post. Stay tuned for that and more in the near term! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison), Wednesday Concert Previews, And A New Video!!

(Updated at 6:08 PM) With there being a pair of mid-week concerts of note TOMORROW (one being a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT), let's focus our latest post around them, plus some more upcoming new concerts and a new live video, so here's what you should know on this Tuesday morning!

Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post TOMORROW, and while we're on the subject, let's roll the rest of his August dates there into our calendar! Apologies for the short notice on TOMORROW's concert, I really should have got the ball rolling on his August dates last week, as I wanted to go month-by-month with them given the amount. August 2026 has four Wednesdays, so fans of the former Caveman Morrison and Nostalgic Band frontman can see Tym go unplugged at The Trading Post TOMORROW and then on August 12th, 19th, and 26th, with his weekly summer concert arrangement at this outdoor stage scheduled to run through mid-September. Hopefully weather holds out throughout, and Tym's skilled covers should get a solid reception TOMORROW and beyond! All four shows have adjusted 7:00-9:00 PM start times.

These are all ages concerts with no cover charge, and 9&10 News is calling for 20-21° temperatures and partly cloudy skies during Tym's scheduled two hour block TOMORROW. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live! 

Finally, let's head to The Roberta Bondar Pavilion, where local dog rescue charity Maddy's Mighty Mutts will host their first ever Family Fun Day! To promote Maddy's work and give back to the community, attendees tomorrow can expect a barbecue, craft and food vendors, kids activity, a beer tent, dogs up for adoption, and more, so visit the official Facebook event page for full non-musical details! A stacked lineup of local musicians are supporting Maddy's Mighty Mutts tomorrow, including anywhere from nine to eleven acts, though unfortunately, I have not seen a verified performance schedule. Based on the advertised 8 hour timeframe, I'd be expecting some half-hour long sets, especially from the solo acts. The listed band order puts the bands first, and in order, they include young local hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe, southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 (with new single in tow!), Josh & Todd from local folk/bluegrass quartet The Golden Scoundrels...

...as their duo spinoff Half Scoundies, classic/hard rock cover duo TNT (Terry Eaton n' Travis Sharpe from Soundcheck unplugged), and country rock cover veterans Tex Riviera & The Ride (not "Tex & The Relix") The solo performers include Bone Yard frontman Greg "The Ranting Rockstar" Simpson (featuring a guest appearance by Travis from TNT), Dive Gastro Pub regular Arin Karki (a.k.a. Arin Jung), Dodge This/ex-Phatstick singer/guitarist Jason Taillefer, newer local country musician Jazmine "Jazz Marie" Ladouceur, former Project 421/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie, country cover veteran Leslie Cook, and in a late addition via this AI generated poster from this morning, the aforementioned Tym Morrison. That's quite a solid lineup of familiar faces, many not regularly seen on multi-band bills like this, so keep all of this in mind! However, be advised that the new AI poster omits three acts (Tex & The Ride, Arin Karki, and Leslie Cook), even though Tex's Facebook page confirmed an hour prior that they were playing tomorrow.

Have any of the three dropped out (theoretically, someone must have for Tym to join this bill), or did Maddy's and/or the AI program forget a few names? We'll let you know if anything concrete is said! Also newly confirmed is that unspecified "friends" will guest with TNT during their set. Alas, the Wednesday scheduling is far from ideal, especially for an event starting before people working 9:00-5:00 are off the clock, but hopefully there's a decent turnout given the quality lineup & other activities. I have not seen any firm postings indicating a cover charge, but bring cash just in case to support Maddy's work and the vendors on site! This is absolutely an all ages event (dogs are welcome too!), and it is slated to run from 2:00-10:00 PM. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy skies tomorrow with temperatures ranging from 18-22°, and while the Roberta Boundary Bondar Pavilion tent is acknowledged, the show should avoid tonight's rain.

Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's the first original song from listed headliners(?) 5 Dollar Bribe! This video was uploaded to their Facebook page from their headlining date at Blaster Powerhouse on Saturday, and features Jayce, Tyler, Randy, and Chase playing their own original "Cold". A 1990s tinged hard rock song with grunge influences and some surprising screams from Jayce, this is a promising start that seemed to go over well this past weekend! I'd definitely be interested to hear more original music from 5 Dollar Bribe, but will they play this tomorrow under the tent? Be there to find out, and check out the "Cold" video from Saturday night for yourselves below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS ahead! Thanks everyone!

A New Band In Our Sault Michigan Links, Plus New Videos!!

I hope everyone had a good Civic Holiday, especially if you had the day off! Alas, not everyone in Sault Ontario did. For our sixth post already this month, we have the latest on a new addition to our Sault Michigan band links and a new teaser video for an upcoming festival, so here's what you should know!

Over a week removed from their debut at this year's Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands, let's roll new Sault Ste. Marie/Dafter hard rock band The 8th Fire into our coverage! Successors to the former Molly & The Other Guys, The 8th Fire is the new live band project from 14 year old singer/bassist and Interlochen Arts Academy student Molly Escherich. She is joined here by Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins (who also provides backing vocals and occasional lead vocals) and former Exit 808 drummer Jackie Moon, who was one of The Other Guys when Molly led them to victory at 2024's Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands (more on year #4 of that annual event soon). Presumably taking their name from the Anishinaabe's Seventh Fire Prophecy, The 8th Fire logged just one practice before the battle of the bands in Brimley last month, and yet still won second place, which ain't too bad!

Quietly launching their Facebook page in May, I'm not sure how much we'll see The 8th Fire in terms of regular bookings, as the fall semester at Interlochen begins after Labour Day, and Molly's own summer calendar from her solo Facebook page doesn't list any further 8th Fire gigs. The Facebook page must mean that we'll see them again, but will something new be announced short term? Could they compete at the next LSSU Battle? We'll let you know if we hear anything, but if you're curious to see more of Molly, Joe, and Jackie, their full Superior Whitefish Battle set was filmed in full for her YouTube channel! You can also watch Molly's acoustic performance from the pre-battle "Music In The Park" matinee block at this link, and that may make the SMS yet pending if she covered anything heavy. If you missed my review of the battle, Molly started the set with a solo acoustic original about a perfect boat day with her dad.

Afterwards, The 8th Fire proper covered Redbone's "Come & Get Your Love", The Doobie Brothers' "Listen To The Music", Green Day's "When I Come Around", Hole's "Malibu", Seven Mary Three's "Cumbersome" (with Joe on vocals), Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive", Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean", Judas Priest's "You've Got Another Thing Comin'", and Ozzy Osbourne's "Mr. Crowley". I won't repeat my original thoughts from my live review, especially this soon after, but it was a solid set despite the lack of rehearsal and Joe's broken guitar string, and I will note that The 8th Fire did seem to get heavier as things went along! Molly's channel also uploaded the "Mr. Crowley" and "Billie Jean" covers as separate videos, though the "Billie Jean" one was cropped into normal widescreen orientation, which I heartily welcome, especially as the full video was shot vertically (look at all that tent!).

Good stuff overall, and here's hoping we see more of The 8th Fire before too long, but give their full Brimley set a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Molly and the Whitefish Festival Battle!

We'll close today with another video from a female-fronted local band, but this time in Sault Ontario, as local alt-hard rock band Riverside Stasis posted this video on their Facebook page on July 22nd to promote their set at the second annual WestFest at Anna Marinelli Park this Saturday! Featuring the band's current four-piece lineup (Liam Dinsmore hadn't left yet when this was shot, but they knew he was leaving shortly and wouldn't be at WestFest), the guys take turns promoting the festival and their set at 5:00 PM, ending with a new(?) audio clip of them jamming, though the audio quality isn't high, and did this video have to be vertical too? Still a good teaser, so give it a watch below, and our WestFest preview is coming later this week!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for mid-week concert previews on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!

Rotaryfest 2026 Fallout (Part 1!!)

It's been over two weeks without diving into fallout and videos from this year's Rotaryfest music lineups from external sources and the performers themselves, so let's start combing through what I'm able to find from YouTube and social media today! Remember, the Thursday lineup on Stage 1 was cancelled due to that weekend's severe air quality index counts, and possibly due to the air quality, SooToday didn't send reporters down to cover the remaining bands with any depth (though a picture of Headrush's set was in this press release). Starting our coverage on the opening music lineup on Stage 1 at Clergue Park on Friday, July 17th, the local Facebook page Seldom Seen SSM was on hand to film local Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band Mellowship Slinky's opening set, specifically of them covering "Can't Stop". Not a hard rock song like early Peppers, but if you miss Anthony rapping, this fit that bill!

Of note, Mellowship Slinky (featuring Reeves frontman Brad Irwin) recruited former As It Stands drummer John Mignacca to fill in for an absent Joe Rosso that day, and it is good to see John behind a drumkit again! Unfortunately for all involved, it was raining very heavily on Friday to kick off the day, so the crowd levels weren't great, and understandably so. I hope the Seldom Seen SSM filmographer had an umbrella to protect their camera, and I hope the stage roof provided sufficient protection for their set! Seldom Seen SSM hung out to film the next band on the Friday, namely local jazz cover quartet The Jazz Cats (featuring Convegence's Jacob Valois and the first of four Rotaryfest sets this year from saxophonist Josh Norling). They played a familiar instrumental that I could not immediately identify by name, and the rain held off for this song! Alas, drummer Nick James was completely obscured by the drumkit at this angle.

The closer angle and drier skies helped the view otherwise, and this was a strong performance by a talented ensemble of true jazz cats! The 7:00 PM third set by country musicians and Way Backs alumni Jeffrey Wright and Meggy Lee was well documented, with attendee Kyle MacGinnis filming thirteen videos for this batch post shared to Jeffrey's Facebook page. Kyle helpfully labelled each video by cover, and generally filmed full songs, and you'll recognize covers of Willie Nelson, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John Denver, and (of course) Johnny Cash songs among the set. Kyle opted to shoot all 13 videos vertically though, which was really not ideal, both for the distantly tiny zoom on the performers (Jacob Valois among them again) and because he captured many rows of empty chairs in frame on all videos. Blame it on the rain, I get it, but why accentuate empty seats when you can just rotate your phone and zoom in to the stage?

If you like country music, Jeffrey and crew delivered a skilled and respectful set! YouTube user MistressRayvin also posted two videos to her channel of Jeffrey & Meggy, including "Fishin' In The Dark" as a "Shorts" video, and their cover of Bob Seger's "Turn The Page" (which Kyle didn't film). We'll stop for today with a video of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly, who posted a highlight video of their late replacement set onto their Facebook page. The 3+ minute video sees them covering songs by Alannah Myles, The Top Notes, Wheatus, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Shania Twain, Collective Soul, and The Black Keys, among others. I'm no fan of "Teenage Dirtbag" or "Lonely Boy", and I'd far prefer full songs over sub-30 second highlights, but the performances are solid, and I would definitely rather hear Linsaey sing that Wheatus song than hear the original!

The rain looks to have held off for their set too, and the crowd levels seem good from what is visible on screen, though did the video need this much letterboxing? Give it a look below, and don't miss Quite Frankly at Outspoken Brewing and Gateway Casino this weekend!

When we pick things up on Rotaryfest 2026 music fallout (not sure how quickly given our backlog, mind you), we'll look at the closing Friday sets from Just Press Play and Headrush, the Friday Night Blues concert on Stage 2, and if space allows, the start of the Saturday lineups, so stay tuned for all of that and more on the SMS in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Recent News & Updates From Bone Yard 225, Eden Plague, And Fort Creek!!

For today's second post, let's continue clearing our our July backlog with some more recent news and updates from three local bands, so here's what you should know as the Civic Holiday long(?) weekend continues!

Let's go in alphabetical order by starting with southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, who released their fourth studio single (and first since January of last year) to major streaming platforms yesterday! I'll hold comment on the song for now, pending our review of Bone Yard's long-gestating debut album, but the song is named "Welcome To The ShitShow", which the guys have used as a tagline for live concert introductions in the past, and they have been playing it during their full-band plugged-in concerts. As per Distrokid, you can hear the song on Spotify, Apple Music, and (as embedded below) via YouTube Music, while it is definitely on Amazon Music too and a handful of smaller/foreign-targeted services. Without giving too much away, it is classic rock-tinged. No idea why it has taken well over a year and a half for them to release a new studio track, but it's good to see things progressing!

Of course, hopefully this weekend's Beck's concerts were a hit on all fronts, and if you want to hear the song live, your next chance will likely be at the Algoma Tree Services meet & greet concert on Saturday, preview forthcoming. Check out "Welcome To The ShitShow" (no space before "Show") below or on your major streaming platform of choice! 

Next up, here's the latest from local death metal quartet Eden Plague (née The Bear Hunters), so what's new from their camp? Following the fulfillment of their 11 year old petition to play on Stage 2 at Rotaryfest last month, the band revealed on their Facebook page on July 23rd that frontman Nik Deubel had "just finished recording vocals for our first two singles" (presumably referencing "Primal Genesis" & "Colony Of Parasites"). The attached photo features Nik standing in a mystery location, which the band noted "doesn't look like a studio", and invited suggestions as to where he was. Occam's Razor would (to me) suggest a music video shoot, but the band did share a "Story" on Facebook last month featuring Nik tracking vocals for one of the new songs at Dustin Jones' Mission Control Studios. Alas, "Stories" vanish forever after being seen once or twice, so as much as I'd prefer a permanent public source, you'll have to take my word for it.

On Tuesday, drummer Johnny Belanger starred in the video embedded below live from Beck's Bar where he and the members of Cornwall metal band Hellrager promoted that night's concert featuring the two bands. Fun promotion while it lasted, and interesting to see two very different eras of Jack Spades/Spades GT uniting with Johnny and Jay on camera together! Three videos of Eden Plague's set on Tuesday were also shared from Instagram user frutigeraerhoe's page, but either due to their privacy settings or the fact that they're tiled in a batch post, I can't embed them here. Well shot and with a familiar brutality that old Bear Hunters fans will appreciate, especially as I recognize the songs being played! Solid camera angles by frutigeraerhoe too from a side-stage angle that you don't often see at Beck's. The last of the new videos is another vertical update video, though external embedding of it is not allowed.

Why, I have no clue, but it stars guitarist Mitch Sirie, who rarely stars in online promotion like this. The video (shot while lying down with his cat) featured him complimenting the Hellrager show, even positively comparing it to the former Roosevelt Hotel metal nights, and then plugging the Krash concert at Blaster Powerhouse that they're helping open on Sunday, August 16th. He accidentally called fellow local openers ASDP "ADSP" twice (believe me, I have made that mistake a lot), but he hyped the show well and highly complimented Krash! See above and below for more from Eden Plague, and if you need $10 advance Krash tickets, contact the band A.S.A.P.!

Finally, we have new updates from local southern hard rock band Fort Creek, who had been largely silent on band matters since last year, so what's new in their camp? Last week, the band posted on their Facebook page to reveal that they were finally looking for a new bassist so that they can begin playing live concerts again, and they encouraged fans to pass the search along or suggest possible candidates. Fort Creek last played live when they opened for Josey Scott at The Rink at The Canal District in August 2023, with then-bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer Anthony Fabiano quietly leaving shortly afterwards. The band opted to scrap original material written with them and start their debut album over fresh, with Fort Creek since adding a new drummer and releasing their first formal studio single ("One For The Road") last year, followed by a teaser for their next song "Sweet Rosie" in December.

Fort Creek also revealed yesterday that they are planning to shoot a music video this month with Golden Scoundrels/ex-Shit Liver frontman Josh Penno's Spacebag Productions (who handled the "One For The Road" music video), and they are looking for an actress to play the flag girl for a drag racing scene. Is this for "Sweet Rosie" or a different song? Does this imply that they're shooting at Runway Park or somewhere else? In any event, click here for full details on the actress search, and for more updates from Fort Creek, who will hopefully end their 3 year concert hiatus soon! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes tomorrow! Thanks everyone!