LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Peril, Tarnished, Rhythm & Brews, And Hails!!)

Let's dive into some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE) on this Sunday morning, mostly in Sault Michigan and the E.U.P., so here's what you should know!

Local metal/hard rock band Tarnished will play an acoustic matinee concert at Biggby Coffee THIS MORNING?! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show via their Facebook page last night. While this gig may seem abnormal for some readers (Biggby is effectively Sault Michigan's answer to Tim Hortons), TODAY'S show is a return to Alex Traynor & Josh Fair's roots in this band, as Tarnished effectively started off in mid-2019 as a duo playing a weekly Thursday arrangement at the chain coffee shop, a series that continued off and on until the pandemic began in March 2020. The timing of TODAY'S concert leads me to wonder if there's a special event or occasion to warrant the booking, but I have not seen any confirmation of one on the band's or Biggby's end (maybe Cinco De Mayo?). At least they announced this concert in advance, unlike their acoustic Art Center gig that they played last month!

TODAY'S show takes place at the unusually early start time of 10:30 AM, but Tarnished's past Biggby shows (and Alex's prior solo dates there) usually started at 12:00 PM. No cover charge or age limit, but if the format is similar to 2019-20, Alex & Josh would be playing for "tips and coffee". Biggby is still located at 2502 Ashmun Street, near Goodwill and Bins Ahoy. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Alex and Josh (with much shorter hair) at Biggby Coffee five years ago!

Next up, Kewadin Casino have announced their concert slates for this month and next month at the Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace branches via their respective entertainment pages, which is a nice change of pace from their recent month-by-month schedule postings! The bands playing at both locations are largely not hard rock/metal-centric from what I have seen, but not counting this weekend's Fyrbird shows in the Soo, two heavier bands are coming to the regional branches in the next two months, starting with Traverse City metal trio Peril, who will return to The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace for shows on May 24th & 25th (yes, Memorial Day weekend) before returning on June 28th & 29th! This will mean that Peril have played in the E.U.P. for three straight months, following shows that I regrettably missed in this past weekend's concert previews, as they rocked The Rapids Lounge in the Soo this past weekend.

I'm not sure if these were late notice bookings or not, but when I last checked Kewadin's entertainment page for April shows, Peril were definitely not listed, so something went awry. I profusely apologize for missing Peril's Sault Ste. Marie dates on April 26th & 27th, but hopefully Jeff, Adam, and Brooks rocked the house on both nights! We definitely haven't missed Peril's next two weekends though, so if you're in St. Ignace/Mackinac County or are up for the hour's drive south, don't miss their old school hard rocking covers then! These shows (and last week's) are/were 9:00 PM events with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and apologies again for missing last week's shows!

Before finishing up the Kewadin announcements, let's head north to Sault Ontario, where local skate punk trio Hails will headline at The Distraction on Sunday, May 19th! No word on if there's a significance to the date beyond taking place on the Victoria Day long weekend, but it does mirror their Sunday headline concert at the East Street barbershop-turned-concert venue in mid-March. This will be Ha!ls' first local concert since their Bay City, Michigan road trip last month, and if you want an excuse to get out and enjoy some ripping punk originals, you know where to go in two weeks! Like the March show, a solo artist will open for Hails here, but taking over for DJ Seith then is prolific local folk punk/extreme metal singer/guitarist Chase Wigmore in an increasingly rare live set. Good to see him back out there, and he should display his considerable guitar talents!

Note that the poster is likely just playing off Hails and "tales" rhyming, I don't believe they've changed their name to Hails From The Crypt. As usual for The Distraction, this is an all ages show with an 8:00 PM start time, and admission is on a "$5 or pay what you can" model. Visit the Facebook event page for more details on what should be a fun time for punk fans!

Lastly, the other new Kewadin Casino shows from a definitely hard rock-leaning band will come on Friday, May 31st and Saturday, June 1st, when Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews return to The Rapids Lounge in the Soo! Last seen (as far as publically acknowledged shows go, at least) at the same locale over the I-500 weekend in February, readers and local music fans will more recently recognize guitarist Chris Hubbard sitting in on drums with the aforementioned Tarnished in some jam session clips. Assuming that we haven't missed shows that the band didn't publically advertise on social media, it will be good to see Brandon, the Chris', and Ron back at it at month's end (and beginning), so don't miss out on their own hard rocking cover slate! Like with Peril, these are 21+ & 9:00 PM gigs with no cover charge. See above for more details, and stay tuned for a big Kewadin show announcement on May 13th (teasers here!)

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site as the week continues! Thanks everyone!