LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (K-Man & The 45s, Bloody Diamonds, And Banned), Plus Six, Two, Oh. Show Updates!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed show on here, as local classic/hard rock quartet The 3 Day Millionaires apparently played at The Rockstar Bar on Friday (at least, I can't confirm if they played last night too.) The band and venue never confirmed the shows online publically, and I only heard about Friday's show via drummer Scott McLurg's personal Facebook page yesterday. Hopefully it was a great show, we'd have covered it had we known about it! Now, here's some concert updates, and first, some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS on both sides of the border! (Updated at 11:49 PM)

Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned will return to the annual Sugar Island Music Festival for sets on Friday, August 12th & Saturday, August 13th! No strangers to this annual local music festival after having played there annually in recent years, Banned will up things with two sets this year, which will see them play at 7:45 PM on the 12th and 8:30 PM on the 13th. As usual for the Sugar Island Festival, the lineup at large is comprised of folk and country bands, largely sans online pages, with many repeating from past years, including acts like 3-Zip, All Arms, 3½ Men, 2 ¢, and Frank Kieronski sharing the stage with Banned on both days. For the full schedule for both days (and Sunday the 14th), visit this link! However, note that Banned themselves have yet to confirm their involvement this year. As usual, admission is $10 for the whole weekend (no single day passes) via buttons that you can purchase at Grooves Music in the Soo, or at The Hilltop Bar, Ed's Bayview Store, and the Westshore Convenience Store on Sugar Island, and presumably at the gate.

Kids under 12 get in FREE with adult accompaniment, and click here for details on camping and other fees, plus directions to the festival grounds. It should be fun to see Banned back on familiar summer festival ground next month, so consider the trip east to Sugar Island in two weeks time for all of the action, and see above for full details!

Next up, we'll head north to Sault Ontario for a pair of newly announced September concerts from promoters Six, Two, Oh. at The New American Pub, starting with the return of Montreal ska punk favourites K-Man & The 45s, who will return to the Soo on Saturday, September 17th! Making their fourth fall concert appearance in Sault Ste. Marie in as many years, this will be K-Man & The 45s' second local concert at The New American, but this year, it has the added quirk of being in support of their new album! We're well accustomed to this fan friendly quintet's ska punk intensity by now, so make sure to bring extra cash to get your copy, and might we see a Ska-Mones set for good measure? Recently dormant local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements will reprise their 2015 role as openers for The 45s on September 17th, but unlike last year, a second local opening band may be added. Like the Bloody Diamonds show on the 2nd, this show has a $5 cover, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time. It's great to see K-Man & The 45s back in the Soo once again, so visit the official Facebook event page for full current information on their return!

Six, Two, Oh.'s other newly announced New A show in September will be headlined by Halifax/Toronto dark blues rock quartet Bloody Diamonds on Sunday, October 2nd! Not to be confused with the more locally familiar Diemonds (who are also a female fronted band from Southern Ontario), Bloody Diamonds are coming off the recent release of their "Tough Love" EP, and their catchy yet gloomy blend of blues and hard rock should be the right medicine for many fans at The New A in October! Local alternative hard rock trio The Din will open in one of their first post-CD release concerts (and a rare New A appearance), while at least one additional local band is to be announced. A $5 cover charge is in effect for this 19+ show, which will start at 9:00 PM on October 2nd. This should be a fun night of hard rocking action, so visit the official Facebook event page for current and upcoming details on this show!

Finally for today, here's some local opener details for two more upcoming Six, Two, Oh. shows at The New American Pub that we had announced on the site already, as confirmed on Facebook event pages in the last few days! One is the Debutaunt concert on August 9th (one week from Tuesday), which has quite the eclectic opener lineup to support the Edmonton pop punk band, as rapper Mikey Thomas & stand up comedian Shane McGuigan will open this show! I wouldn't have predicted either (and I'm not familiar with Shane at all), but it'll definitely be interesting to see how this merger of punk, rap, and comedy goes on August 9th! The other lineup addition is for the Big Brother-headlined show on Saturday, August 20th, as the aforementioned Elements will open in their first announced concert in four months, so welcome them back to the stage in three weeks time in their first of two upcoming ska punk shows at The New A! At least one more opener is to be announced for that show, so stay tuned for updates!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes next month! Thanks everyone!