LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Skid Row/Buckcherry, Northern Echoes, And Soo Soundcheck!!)

As promised, today's post is stacked, courtesy of three big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS across both sides of the border, so here's what you should know!

Local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich & indie/punk quartet The Northwest will hit up The Sault Community Theatre Centre for the first time each as part of a four band event on Saturday, June 10th! Entitled Soo Soundcheck (no known relation), this is one of two multi-band events taking place in June at the former Kiwanis Theatre that share very similar branding & support from the Canadian Heritage Fund & Case's Music (if these aren't promoted internally, I don't know who's putting them on). This will be Handsome Sandwich's first announced concert since their album release show at The Loft next Saturday, while The Northwest have yet to play on a local stage in 2023. This event will see them & indie rock quartet Man Feelings (Handsome Sandwich's openers next week) opening for sporadically seen progressive rock band Machines Dream.

Be advised that the image on the ticket sale page does not include The Northwest, and while Occam's Razor says it's an old listing, we'll let you know if they actually dropped out (the image above was from Machines Dream's Facebook page on Monday). An all ages event with doors opening at 6:00 PM, tickets are $16 for adults and $12 for students, seniors, and kids 12 and under, and you can buy them at this link (use the code s@undcheck2023 by Sunday to get $4 off of an adult ticket). Very intriguing idea, especially to use such a large theatre for an all-locals concert like this, talented as they all may be, so visit the above links for more details, but we're not done with the S.C.T.C. yet!

The other June show at White Pines' on-site theatre will see local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns and online page-less alternative/punk quintet Bookclub join forces again on Sunday, June 25th, this time in a concert dubbed Northern Echoes! Making their fourth joint appearance since Bookclub debuted last fall (with the Festival of Beer coming next for them next Saturday), Northern Echoes is suggested on the ticket sale page to be tribute band-centric, though if Bookclub and The Stallyns are taking on one-off tribute themes for the day or not, I couldn't tell you with certainty yet. This does call to mind J.D. Pearce's old Halloween parties, which leaned into one-off and temporarily renamed cover bands by the late 2010s, but again, I know nothing. At least one more band is teased to join this bill though, and we'll let you know when they are revealed, tribute/cover band-themed or not.

Ticket prices and start times are the same for Northern Echoes and Soo Soundcheck, but be advised that Northern Echoes has $8 admission for kids 12 and under, not $12 (no word on why there's a distinction). Click here to buy Northern Echoes tickets! Presumably, the S.C.T.C. box office at Station Mall can also hook you up for both. Something about these events leaves me thinking that there's more going on with them/the venue than current promotion is letting on, so stay tuned in that regard, but hopefully The Wyld Stallyns and Bookclub make use of the huge stage in mid-June, despite being a work/school night for many. Visit the above links for continuing updates on both concerts as they roll in!

Finally, here's that big new concert at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, as New Jersey glam metal quintet Skid Row and Anaheim hard rock quintet Buckcherry will join forces there on Saturday, October 28th! Both bands are no stranger to the Soo area, with headliners Skid Row last playing here in October of 2005, back when the late Johnny Solinger and Dave Gara were on vocals and drums. This time, Erik Gronwall and Rob Hammersmith have the honours, and Skid Row have been getting lots of positive renewed attention since Erik took the mic thanks to their new album "The Gang's All Here", so expect cuts from that disc and hit songs like "18 & Life", "I Remember You", and "Monkey Business" in their set this fall! Yes, Skid Row were also supposed to play at Runway Park in Sault Ontario in June 2008, in a cancelled show more famous now for the linked battle of the bands won by Sense of Truth (imagine if they reunited to open for this!)

Meanwhile, Buckcherry have played in our area at least four times since 2011, most recently at Soo Blaster in Sault Ontario in October 2021, at the Soo Kewadin in an outdoor gig with Pop Evil in 2019, and in The Dreammakers Theatre proper in 2012. While not a hair/glam band, Buckcherry have multiple songs with lyrics and themes that fit right in with Skid Row, and the contrast in sounds will appeal to a wide array of local rock fans! Expect Buckcherry hits like "Lit Up", "Sorry", and "Crazy Bitch" in their return set this fall, of course. Support will come by way of Philadelphia hair metal quartet Britny Fox, who Hair Scare fans may recall seeing at The Dreammakers Theatre way back in January 2009 when they opened for Great White. In the 14+ years since, only bassist Billy Childs remains, but hits like "Long Way To Love" & "Dream On" are to be expected!

Presented by Rock 101, tickets go on sale to the public on May 12th at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, and at the in-person box office. Tickets will start at $45, but the full price range is not out yet. Pre-sale codes will be available if you sign up at this link, and the pre-sale tickets become available on May 10th. This is an all ages event with an 8:00 PM start time. This should be a huge concert for hard rock and hair metal fans, and with this being the Halloween weekend, who knows what horrors await in six months! There's plenty of time to get amped up for this one, so visit the above links for complete details, and stay tuned for this month's CD review and more news and notes on the site very soon! Thanks everyone!