LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Alienator, Scarkazm, And Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide) And More Updates!!

Let's get back into some news and notes on the SMS today, as we continue clearing out a recent backlog of news. Today, we have some assorted short topics at post's end, but leading off, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS ranging from this month to the end of the year!

Local Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide will play their first concert of 2020 when they play their usual St. Patrick's Day weekend concert on Saturday, March 14th at LopLops Lounge! This will be The Tide's first show since rocking the same venue just before Christmas, and will be their second straight St. Patrick's Day themed event locally since downscaling their touring (the prior few years' worth of seasonal gigs had been out of town.) Of course, green beer and Irish themes will abound, but this concert has a double meaning, as it coincides with LopLops owner Stephen Alexander's birthday that day. Sounds like a fun way to celebrate the occasion in two ways, so don't miss The Rising Tide's Celtic punk originals next weekend, perhaps with teasers for their upcoming album? Like last year, there are no advertised openers for this 19+ & 10:00 PM event, but unlike last year, admission is $10 rather than $15. You can buy tickets at this link and presumably at the door.

It's great to see Dustin and company back in action after a relatively quiet winter, and with their favourite holiday backdrop combined with Stephen's birthday, this should be a lively one to take in the festivities with next weekend! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, this show hasn't been formally announced on social media at press time, but promoter Mathieu Villebrun (a staple attendee of local metal concerts) asked me to help get the word out on the site. The show in question will reportedly see Thunder Bay post-hardcore/sludge trio Alienatör make their local concert debut on Thursday, June 4th when they headline at Soo Blaster! A newer but firmly established band in Thunder Bay who recently opened for Soulfly there, Alienatör's punchy and intense brand of extreme metal has some doomy grit and strong talent throughout, and it will be neat to see them on a local stage in four months! Mathieu also told me that local death metal band The Bear Hunters will open in their second live concert of 2020, and it's great to see them playing a little more regularly than we're recently accustomed to! Tickets for this presumably 19+ show will be $8 in advance or $10 at the door, and will be available at Soo Blaster, The Rad Zone, and through Mathieu directly.

A Facebook event page, posters, and other official advertising are forthcoming, as is the ticket onsale date. This should be a solid concert for extreme metal fans, and while Mathieu's not a regular sight for us in terms of concert promotion, I believe he was involved with the Cattle Decapitation show here in 2009. Fingers crossed this concert is a huge hit for all involved, so stay tuned for more information when it rolls in!

Lastly for today's new show announcements, let's head to the Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm have announced five Kewadin Casino gigs for the end of 2020! All announced via event pages on their Facebook page, these are not yet confirmed on Kewadin's website, which hasn't updated the entertainment page for either of the local branches' lounges past July as of this writing. After having no advertised Kewadin stops at all this summer (yet?), Scarkazm will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on October 2nd & 3rd, as well as a rare non-Friday/Saturday gig when they provide the New Year's Eve entertainment there on Thursday, December 31st! These dates sandwich a return weekend at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin branch, scheduled for November 27th & 28th, and for what it's worth, Scarkazm's sister band Peril have not followed suit with late 2020 show announcements yet.

As usual for Scarkazm's local dates, expect all five of these to be 21+ affairs with no cover charges and 9:00 PM start times. This veteran trio always delivers a hard hitting night of covers and possible originals when they come north of the Mack, so keep these dates in mind at year's end, and visit the official Facebook event pages linked here for more details! Scroll to the end, each date has an individual event page.

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or event name:

• Sault Ontario punk/metal quintet Jack Spades announced on their Facebook page earlier today that they're taking a break from live concerts until the Anti-Queens show at The Rockstar Bar on May 23rd, so they can focus on writing and recording new studio material. The band didn't elaborate on if they plan on releasing a third CD or if this is just to work on new songs, but new Jack Spades music is never a bad thing! Stay tuned for updates!
• Local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock solo artist Mike Haggith revealed on his Facebook page on Sunday that his upcoming album "If Ever Comes The Day" is finally finished, and to look for updates this week. At press time, nothing has followed, but Mike has elaborated more about the album on his personal Facebook page, so more is definitely coming soon. Keep posted on Mike's social media accounts for more details!
• The Roberta Bondar Pavilion will again host the Sault Ste. Marie Recreation and Culture Department's annual Summer Concert Series in July & August, and musicians are being sought to play this year! Like in 2019, this series will see live acts playing under the big tent on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and hard rock acts like Soundcheck and The Wyld Stallyns played in the series last August. Click here for the application form and related information if you or your band are interested in playing! The deadline is April 30th.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!