LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Handsome Sandwich) Plus The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

The busiest concert weekend of the year is upon us, so let's kick things off with previews of some of the hard rock-featured concerts taking place in Sault Ste. Marie today and tomorrow, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you should know!

Local alternative/punk quartet Handsome Sandwich will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook event page yesterday, and the band has yet to acknowledge it publically online. This will be Handsome Sandwich's first Shooters stop in three weeks (following their possibly shorthanded gig there on June 24th), but it looks like TOMORROW'S show will be a fully intact event with no "Ourselves" alternate branding.  Handsome Sandwich have been busy this summer so far, especially having just played at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on Tuesday, and with their Rotaryfest Stage 2 set on Saturday ahead, so hopefully everyone has another fun set of originals and diverse covers in store TOMORROW! Yes, our Stage 2 preview is coming to the SMS shortly, tomorrow if all goes according to plan, so keep watch for that.

A one-nighter due to or resulting in the Fort Creek show there on SATURDAY (preview coming in one of our next two posts), TOMORROW'S concert has a 19+ age limit, no cover charge, and an 8:00 PM start time, as usual at the Dennis Street lounge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Handsome Sandwich live very recently!

Next up, let's preview some shows with advance notice, starting with local classic/hard rock cover quartet Obsession's set during TODAY'S Downtown Street Party on Queen Street East! With the pandemic much less of an issue in 2022, the Downtown Association are bringing back street parties and related events this year, with today's featuring diverse family entertainment on a closed-to-traffic section of Queen between Pim & Spring Streets. The Downtown Association's Facebook page began detailing the full range of activities yesterday, so definitely visit there to see who all is open and present for activities, sales, and more! Obsession (featuring guest performer Jessica Amadio, role unclear) will be performing at the corner of Queen & East Street near Coch's Corner as the lead musical entertainment from 5:00-8:00 PM, while roots/reggae band Unorganized Township will perform in the Mane St. Cafe at 8:00 PM as the final band.

And yes, there will be a fashion show at Stephanie's Joy during Obsession's set, while a drag show will take place at Big Lake Cabin at 8:00 PM, so keep those in mind if either interests you, especially with Pridefest ongoing! The Downtown Street Party is FREE & ALL AGES, and the party proper begins at 4:00 PM. Should be a prime opportunity for Obsession's hard rocking covers to reach a wide family audience, so keep this one in mind before they return to Rotaryfest tomorrow, and here's Obsession live!

Finally for today, let's preview the opening night of Rotaryfest's Stage 1 lineup TONIGHT! As you should be well aware, the Soo's summer festival is back to near normal (re: no midway) this year after being forced into a virtual format in 2020 and a scaled down drive-in format last year due to the pandemic, and everything is back at Clergue Park like normal! Be sure to visit the official website and read the official program from your mailbox/the Sault This Week last week for full non-musical details on the ribs, family entertainment, and so on. The familiar Stage 1 is back beside the James L. McIntyre Centennial Library for the first time since 2019 with a packed lineup of cover acts and select original bands presented by the Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation. Andrew Stuetz will return as the MC, and Saturday performer KT Antler (daughter of prior Stage 1 director Shaun Antler) is the musical director.

The opening night of Stage 1 features a four band lineup, down from five in recent Stage 1s at Clergue Park but on par with last year at Lowe's Plaza. Classic rock cover quartet L!me (featuring Sailor's Tongue and Dirty Few alumni) are headlining in their second Stage 1 set at 9:00 PM, which should be a fine opportunity for this young quartet to show their talents! Tonight's hard rock respite comes from funk/hard rock band The Wyld Stallyns and guest saxophonist Josh Norling at 8:00 PM in their second straight Rotaryfest set, so if you haven't seen their five piece plugged-in sets (now with Soldiers of Misfortune's Alex White on bass), this will be a prime opportunity!  1950s-60s-era classic rock trio Flathead Ford will make their fifth Stage 1 appearance & first since 2017 at 7:00 PM, while Rotaryfest mainstays The Northern Jazz Ensemble will lead off at 6:00 PM in their fourth straight Stage 1 appearance and twelfth overall in the modern era.

Nice diverse lineup of music that arguably gets more modern as the night progresses, and the weather will be nice for Stage 1 attendees tonight, as 9&10 News is calling for it to be sunny with 18-22° temperatures. Music is FREE & ALL AGES, so definitely consider coming down for all of the action this evening, see above for full details on Rotaryfest's Thursday activities, and here's The Stallyns live, albeit unplugged!

That's all for today, but certainly not all for this weekend, as I am planning to look at remaining Rotaryfest lineups tomorrow, with non-Rotary concerts on Saturday and Sunday afterwards, but this could change pending post layouts and if any more bands announce late-notice gigs. Stay tuned!