Friday, July 14, 2023

Rotaryfest Stage 2 & Wyld Stallyns Concert Previews!!

Our extended Rotaryfest weekend concert previews continue marching onward on this Friday morning, and due to how long our write-up for Stage 2 went this year, I am pushing our preview of tomorrow's Project 906 show in Eckerman, Michigan to our next post. That, and the sudden occurrence on Stage 1 yesterday that everyone was talking about, will get addressed on the site shortly, but let's dive into previews of Sault Ontario concerts taking place tomorrow for our third weekend concert preview post this week!

We'll start today's previews by heading back to Rotaryfest at Clergue Park for this year's Stage 2, as the originals-focused Second Stage returns to its "Redirected" locale beside the Art Gallery of Algoma for its seventh year there and sixteenth total, hiatuses aside. Last year's Friday Night Blues theme night addition went over well, so it is back this year with five bands, including The Rusty McCarthy Band (in Rusty's fourth Stage 2 set as frontman) at 8:30 PM, blues/rockabilly quartet The Steeltown Playboys (who played the drive-in Rotaryfest in 2021) at 7:30 PM, progressive/blues rock trio The Hyperion Effect at 6:30 PM, indie rock trio All The Tired Horses (who played Stage 1 last year) at 5:30 PM, and blues rockers Smokehouse (in their second straight Stage 2 set) at 4:30 PM. No hard rock/punk bands here, but if you like the blues, come on down for all of the FREE & ALL AGES action, assuming that the weather forecast doesn't complicate things!

As for Saturday, the seventh "Redirected"-era program of younger indie-leaning bands is curated again by stage director Dustin Goodall (ex-Free Beer/Id Iota), with local alt-hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich headlining this year in their second straight Stage 2 set at 8:30 PM! Their strong momentum following their "Deconstructed" album release (review coming this month) should be a good omen for a fun set, so don't miss out tomorrow! Local progressive rock veterans Machines Dream will play their record sixth Stage 2 set (seventh if you count 2021) as co-headliners at 7:30 PM in arguably the biggest show of their original lineup's summer 2023 reunion, so expect a highly proficient block of originals from them! Online page-less alt/indie rock quartet The Hollow Heads will play their second straight Stage 2 set at 6:30 PM, ahead of pop rock sibling band Distich at 5:30 PM.

Folk singer/songwriter M.D. Dunn plays the Second Stage for a fourth time at 4:30 PM, ahead of three Rotaryfest newcomers, including folk/pop singer/guitarist Matthew James at 3:30 PM and resurgent country/folk musician & radio host Brian Tremblay at 2:30 PM. Tomorrow's opening band are Suicide Kings successors Far From Fine in their first show of the year, first since changing their name from Ravencore, and just their second public gig outright. The Rotaryfest program intriguingly calls them "a punk-rock powerhouse", which largely goes against what we know musically from Mike, Mitch, Matt, and Austin, but it will be interesting to hear how they do in their sophomore gig tomorrow at 1:30 PM! As always, this is a FREE & ALL AGES event, and but do keep tabs on the weather forecast for tomorrow, as 9&10 News is calling for a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Otherwise, they have mostly cloudy skies with a high of 23°. Their hourly forecast doesn't go that far ahead yet, but The Weather Channel projects likely thunderstorms during the majority of the Stage 2 timeslots. Yes, Stage 2 has a roof, but that won't help attendees, so follow your preferred local weather forecast for updates if you are at all concerned about rain during tomorrow's Stage 2 sets. The music should be hopping, and with heavier bookends, there should be a little something for everyone by the Art Gallery, weather permitting. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Handsome Sandwich live on Stage 2 last year!

Finally for today's previews, let's head to Shooters Downstairs Lounge, where local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns will take the stage TOMORROW NIGHT! This is basically the afterparty for their Rotaryfest Stage 1 set tomorrow at 5:15 PM, and given the weather forecast during their set (23° with thunderstorms according to The Weather Channel), them playing at Shooters later in the night may prove to be advantageous given that they everyone will have a roof over their heads! Whether you're seeing them for a first or second time tomorrow, The Stallyns' fan-friendly and often heavy covers should get a solid reaction at the Dennis Street nightclub, so don't miss out! A one-nighter due to tonight's concert from Vancouver world rock band Stubbs & The, tomorrow's Wyld Stallyns show is a 19+ affair with no cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Stallyns live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Project 906 preview and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!

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