LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Powerslug, Peril, Monkey's Uncle, And Driven), And Our First "Local" Shows In St. Ignace!!

Continuing with our news and our special coverage expansion posts, this newest post is all about LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS concerning possibly the most active concert venue for our newly added coverage area, that being the Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace! Three of the 5 Kewadin Casinos now fall within where we cover (those being the branches in Sault Michigan, St. Ignace, and Hessel), but while the Kewadin Casino in Hessel doesn't have much live entertainment at its Northern Nook Lounge, the St. Ignace Kewadin has roughly an equal amount of live entertainment at their Northern Pines Lounge, and as a result, it & The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Kewadin have a lot of common bands on their past & present schedules. Judging by the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino's entertainment page, they have only two scheduled acts that aren't playing at the Sault Kewadin this year, and only one band are playing in the Soo and not St. Ignace for the current Kewadin schedules, so things are definitely very familiar! With the expansion to St. Ignace, that gives us SIXTEEN new hard rock and metal shows in the area, along with two more newly announced hard rock shows at the Sault Kewadin, but before then, just a note on other bands confirmed at both branches through the end of the year.

Bands also on the schedules for the Sault & St. Ignace Kewadin Casinos through December include classic rock bands Aisle8, Bittermoon (with Monkey's Uncle alum Jim Belleau), and Crossroads, local cover rock quartet Chump Change (featuring Oddfellow's Jason Haske), local indie acoustic duo Fallen Heroes (only at the Sault Kewadin), solo artist Gabe Couch (St. Ignace only), Oscoda classic rockers Grounded, indie rockers The London Gentlemen (featuring ex-Nixxon Dixxon members), and local country artist Paul Perry, so if any of those artists pique your interest, check the above links for their next local dates at both Kewadin Casino branches!

Now, let's get to our first ever local concert announcements on the site in St. Ignace, as local hard rock trio Powerslug will return to both the Sault Ste. Marie & St. Ignace Kewadin Casinos this year! Even in the Sault Kewadin's case, they're new to the site, so those were newer additions to the schedule, but no matter what, Chris Leask, Chris Gurnoe, and Bob Helsten will bring the rock at their next Kewadin stops in 2012! The guys will hit The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on August 10th-11th and November 23rd-24th, which these shows bookending a return to the Rapids Lounge in Sault Michigan on November 2nd-3rd, so keep these dates in mind! All six shows should have 21+ age limits, no cover charges, and 10:00 PM-ish start times. Check the above links for more details! Despite a lack of online pages yet, a band featuring I.S.O.M., Kilacel, and River Witch alumni are guaranteed to bring some hard hitting tunes to the Kewadin Casinos this year, so keep all of their upcoming concert weekends in mind, especially knowing how late notice many of their other shows get announcements on!

Next up, Charlevoix metal trio Peril have two concert weekends lined up at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino this year! This talented and hard working metal band (featuring former Bad Side drummer Brooks Elliott) will rock St. Ignace on August 24th-25th and November 9th-10th, adding to concert weekends at the Sault Kewadin next weekend, October, and December, meaning they're alternating Kewadin branches for stops each month (except September) through the rest of the year, so there's plenty of chances to see Peril live in the Eastern U.P. in 2012! Note however that Peril's own concert listings photo from May credits the August weekend as being at the Sault Kewadin, which appears to be a simple error, so don't get confused! Like the Rapids Lounge shows, Peril should be on at around 10:00 PM with no cover charge and a 21+ age limit in both August and November in St. Ignace, and check the above links for more details! Peril should rock either Kewadin well with their hard hitting classic metal covers, so don't miss them this year, and remember to go see them next weekend in the Sault!

Also new to our Sault Michigan-area concert listings are two St. Ignace concert weekends from local hard rockers Monkey's Uncle! Though updates on the band's current incarnations and concerts at other venues are as scant as ever (sadly), Kewadin Casino's entertainment pages do confirm that Monkey's Uncle will return to The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on August 31st & September 1st, and then again on November 16th & 17th, which are sandwiched between stops at the Sault Kewadin next month, in October, and December, so if nothing else, you know when Henry Switzer & company will be rocking Kewadin Casinos next! Like the Peril shows, I'd assume the next two St. Ignace weekends for Monkey's Uncle will have 10:00 PM-ish start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits, so check the above links for more information! These should be some solid shows, as even though recent news and information is minimal, their old material has provided us with some nice previews, so go check out Monkey's Uncle's hard rocking sound at either Kewadin Casino from next month onward, and if I hear more on them, I'll have it here!

Finally for new Northern Pines Lounge shows in St. Ignace, Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven are returning to the Eastern U.P. for a pair of concert weekends this year! Though no Sault Michigan dates are in this latest batch, they are regularly seen in St. Ignace at a couple different venues, and trips to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin are lined up for September 28th-29th and December 7th-8th for Driven this year, so keep them in mind! Like the above shows, Driven should be on at 10:00 PM with no cover charge and 21+ age limits for all four of their next St. Ignace Kewadin dates, and of course, check the above links for more details! Though online media of Driven in action is fairly sparse, they have a nice hard rock sound with loads of covers in store, so don't miss their next Northern Pines Lounge shows later this year, and stay tuned to the SMS in the next while for more Driven concert news for another St. Ignace venue in 2012!

That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for a review of TONIGHT'S 47th Rosie metal night and a special CASS Cafe video showcase, our first of maybe four to get everyone caught up on that high school concert series! Thanks everyone!