A New Local Punk Band, Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

Hey guys, before we get into this weekend's concert previews, we have an apparent cancellation to announce, as Sault Michigan hard rockers Highway 63 are not playing at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino this weekend, despite Kewadin's entertainment page advertising them. The band's Facebook page doesn't list the shows among their 2015 calendar, which makes it the second weekend from Kewadin's schedule that they weren't actually playing, but they have more new shows that we'll mention on the site in the coming days, so keep an eye out! Now, today's post features other confirmed hard rock shows this weekend, a new video, and leading off, a new band, so here's what you should know!

We have a new local punk band to add to our active band links, and they are Stereo North, who some of you may have seen make their live debut last week at the Bon Soo Marquee! Quietly formed late last year, their lineup features singer/guitarist Andrew Pucci (ex-Starlit Sins), lead guitarist Matthew Anich, bassist Bill "Orthae" Bennett (last seen with T-Rex Manning), and drummer Brett Norton. Self-identifying their genre as "alt/pop-punk/rock" on their new Facebook page, they do welcome booking requests for future concerts. Photos from The Marquee (some previously seen on members' personal Facebook pages) can now be seen on their page, including of what appears to be a stage banner, and a video from their set is online too, so what else do we know? Honestly, not much yet, as it's just a 7 second video to largely show off the crowd for their set, but compared to the night of The Marquee that I saw last year, the crowd is at least 99% better, so this year's retraction to one night helped in that regard!

In the video, we only hear a snippet of (I think) the start of one of their songs, mostly showcasing the guitar melody. What little I've heard sounds good, but we'll have to see what's announced and posted next from Stereo North in the coming weeks! Like them above, see their first video below!

Now to the weekend's concert previews, and we'll stay in Sault Ontario to start, as local hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison's ongoing weekly concert arrangement at The Harp Bar & Grill will return for an acoustic show TONIGHT! It's only tonight though for Tym hosting and playing at jam night, as the Saturday show has been shelved this week due to a Tom Petty tribute concert taking place this weekend (source here), which personal Facebook posts suggest will be a reunion of Free Falling, the local tribute from last year's Rotaryfest. If Saturdays work better for you, be sure to be at The Harp on February 21st, as the longtime Caveman Morrison frontman is scheduled to play both nights next weekend! For tonight though, you can take in his varied hard rock covers at 10:00 PM, there's no announced cover charge, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and here's Tym live at The Service Grill!



We'll close our known previews out in Sault Michigan, where Kinross hard rock trio Banned will return to the regional stage at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen at the St. Ignace Kewadin last month, these will also be their first shows in the Soo since their Rapids Lounge stops two months ago. Alex, Wayne, and Don haven't been playing at quite the same torrid pace over the winter, so if you haven't gotten a chance to see the guys through the snow, a trip to the Sault Kewadin would handle that nicely either tonight or tomorrow! There's no announced cover charges for either night, you must be 21 to attend, and both shows have 9:00 PM start times. For more details, visit the above links, and here's the guys covering Fall Out Boy in St. Ignace last month!



Finally for today, here's another new video from Sault Ontario grunge/hardcore duo Bad Back (or, as the description again calls them, "Bad Jerk"), this time playing (I believe) a reggae version of their original song "Oh!" Uploaded to drummer Nathan Sauve's YouTube channel on Wednesday, this again comes from the same jam session as their slowed down punk covers from earlier this week. Is Bad Jerk an alternate name for these adaptations, or just a self deprecating shot at themselves? Aside from a sped up ending (which ends abruptly), this isn't a bad rendition, and it's not "garbage" as they called it, but Jamie's vocals are hard to hear. Give Bad Back/Jerk's new video a look below!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and updates over the weekend! Thanks everyone!