LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Project 421) & The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

It's now time for for the first of this weekend's concert previews, but first, just some notes on expected shows that won't occur this weekend. The long-hyped Superior Festival in Sault Michigan will not take place on Saturday night, as it's been postponed & relocated, and we'll detail it's changes in an upcoming post. As well, I don't believe Tym Morrison's regular weekly concerts are taking place this weekend, as his personal Facebook page says that he's on vacation out of town this week, even nothing that he's "finally getting to rest with no worries of shows". He'll be back next week though, and we'll cover those in the coming days as well! Now, here's what you need to know for tomorrow & Saturday night, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local classic metal quintet Project 421 and pop punk quartet Stereo North will join forces for a concert THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar! Apologies for the short notice, Stereo North only announced the show on Monday, with confirmation of Project 421's involvement coming later via the official Facebook event page. In a similar vein to The Rockstar Bar's split-bill shows from early last month, this will unite two bands from June's Summer Bash event, and if you like old school metal or punk rock, you'll like this show! This will also be Project 421's second show, and first at The Rockstar Bar, since Curtis McKenzie's return on vocals, but if you can't see them on Saturday, be sure to check them out opening for Lie Among Us & Eternal Prophecy downstairs on Monday! Yes, that preview is coming soon as well. This 19+ concert has no announced cover charge (but bring $5 just in case), and a 10:00 PM start time is likely. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Project 421 live last year!

Moving to previously announced concerts, the ninth installment of J.D. Pearce & Tidal Records' Gonqshow concert series goes down TOMORROW NIGHT at The Algonquin Pub, and it will be headlined by Montreal folk/punk quartet Hard Up in their local concert debut! Harbouring similarities to bands like The Sunk'n City Gypsys, Hard Up blend a folk & roots style with edgy punk rock, with songs taking on similarities of one or both genres, and their intriguing hybrid sound should find a good audience tomorrow! Originally planned to be opened by rap/metal quartet The Apocalypse Afterparty and alternative hard rock trio Mike Haggith & The Din, both bands have since dropped out of the show for unannounced reasons (though in the Afterparty's case, they still haven't publically confirmed their new lineup, so that could be related.) In their place, Honest Job frontman Mister Tahti will play a solo folk set to open the day, and he's a great fit for that side of Hard Up's sound, so if you're a fan of this genre, come early!

Note that despite the new Rockstar Republic club nights on both floors of The Algonquin Hotel on Fridays, previously booked Friday events will go on as scheduled, so the Hard Up show's still on, and the Rockstar Republic will only be upstairs tomorrow night (our source is The Rockstar Bar's Hayley Warnock at this link.) The only official Gonqshow event of August, there's a 19+ age limit in effect tomorrow, as well as a $5 cover, and everything starts at 10:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and don't miss this folk/punk attack tomorrow! For a preview, here's Hard Up live!



We'll close things in  the Sault Michigan area, starting with Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned's shows this weekend, as they'll return to The Sugar Island Music Festival once again TOMORROW, before rocking The Runway Bar in Hessel on SATURDAY NIGHT! The former is the long-running annual summer music festival on nearby Sugar Island, which Banned has played each of the last few years without fail, and they'll be playing roughly in the middle of tomorrow's lineup at 7:15 PM, preceding 3-Zip, Missy Zenker, 3 1/2 Men, and 2 ¢, and ahead of All Arms, Frank Kieronski, and Band of Friends (like in prior years, most bands at this festival aren't familiar from other regular E.U.P. shows that we cover.) Note that there's no other heavier bands on the lineup that I can tell, but 5 of tomorrow's bands are playing on Friday and/or Saturday too, and click here for the full schedule! As for Saturday, this will keep up Banned's recent streak of monthly Hessel shows, so if you're up for a regular bar show, keep this one in mind too!

Saturday's Runway Bar show has a 9:00 PM start time, 21+ cover charge, and no announced cover charge, while tomorrow's Sugar Island Music Festival has $10 admission for the whole weekend (there's no single day deals), it is all ages (kids 12 and under get in free), and you can click here for full details on non-musical events and directions to the festival itself. Check the above links for more details on Banned's busy weekend, and here's Banned live!

Finally for today, Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Ten Kings are scheduled to return to The Northern Pines Lounge in the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of their Savoy Bar concerts this past weekend (which weren't announced publically by the band until after the fact, hence why we missed them on here), these will be Ten Kings' first St. Ignace shows in almost a month, and hopefully their hard hitting covers get another solid reaction with fans at The Northern Pines Lounge this weekend! Note that the band hasn't plugged this weekend's shows on their Facebook page yet, but Kewadin's entertainment page confirms them, and again, they didn't plug last weekend's Savoy shows online either. Like usual for their Kewadin gigs, there are 9:00 PM start times in effect, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details, and here's Ten Kings live in the Soo!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and concert previews in the coming days! Thanks everyone!