LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (HeadFirst), The Big Wreck Concert Preview, And More!!

We'll take a brief break from our Sault Michigan/battle of the bands coverage to look at some recent Sault Ontario topics in today's post, including a new video, a preview of a major concert taking place tomorrow, and leading off, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month, so here's what you should know on this Monday night!

New local classic/hard rock quintet HeadFirst will return to Reggie's Place for concerts on Friday, December 22nd & Saturday, December 23rd! These dates were announced at the end of their post on their Facebook page on Tuesday where they talked about their Reggie's debuts this past weekend and thanked everyone for coming out. Photos were attached from the gigs, allowing us to see (if not via a video) how they look on a public stage, and for what it's worth, bassist Claire Jeffrey appeared to sing lead without playing bass on at least one song during the weekend. Landing gigs on Christmas weekend may be a mixed blessing for both weather and for many attendees having family commitments for the holidays, but hopefully this talented young group sets a festive tone with a good crowd! These are 9:00 PM shows with 19+ age limits & no cover. See above for more details, and don't miss HeadFirst at Toystock on Sunday!

Next up, here's a big mid-week concert preview, as Juno Award winning Toronto hard rock band Big Wreck will return to The Machine Shop for a headlining concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Best known for hits like "That Song" and "Blown Wide Open", this will be Ian Thornley & crew's first concert in town since they headlined at the same venue back in February 2018. This will also be their first local date since Chris Caddell & Sekou Lumumba replaced Brian Doherty (R.I.P.) & Chuck Keeping in their lineup. With songs from their upcoming EP "Pages" as well as fan favourite originals & Thornley holdovers to be expected, this should be a great time for domestic hard rock fans! London pop rock quartet Texas King (who headlined at Odeno at Sault College in the mid-2010s) will return to the Soo as openers, with their own distinct original sound sure to be welcomed back by fans!

Guelph hard rock solo artist Vilivant pulled out of Big Wreck's North American tour two weeks ago due to logistical issues (source here), but hopefully she can make it to the Soo down the road! This concert will still have three acts, as Watchmen frontman Daniel Greaves was added to this tour as an extra performer before Vilivant dropped out. Look for classic Watchmen songs like "Stereo" & "Any Day Now" in Daniel's show-opening set! This all ages concert takes place at 8:00 PM tomorrow, and while this show is all ages unlike 2018, ticket prices have jumped to $49.50 (plus online processing fees) if bought at this link rather than chancing the door. It's been well over five years since Big Wreck played in town, and while the Tuesday night scheduling is not ideal, hopefully there's another solid turnout at The Machine Shop tomorrow for their high energy hard rock hits! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Big Wreck live in 2018!

Finally for today, while local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith has confirmed that The Soo's Got Talent finals was the final gig for his solo band in 2023 (as per his Facebook page two weeks ago), we haven't heard the last from him, Chris, Jacob, and Brandan this year! While Mike was in town for the finals, everyone took part in a "top secret" video interview that saw a preview clip uploaded to Mike's Facebook page on Wednesday, where you see everyone sitting in what looks like someone's jam space. The clip does not capture a specific question from the interview, nor does it give away who is doing the interviewing and for what outlet, but we do see bassist Jacob Quarrell eat a purportedly seven-months-old slice of pizza! If nothing else, this will be reason to see the full interview to gain context, assuming it isn't cut from the final product. Give the teaser video a watch below!

That's all for today, but we'll pick up our recent Sault Michigan coverage on the site next! Thanks everyone!