LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished) & More Related Updates!!

Local hard rock/classic metal band Tarnished have announced a number of concerts into September via their Facebook page on Thursday, and while not all truly "local", fans in the E.U.P. will have multiple chances to see them ahead! Not counting their then-upcoming & late notice show at The Merchant's Bar on Saturday (more on that in a bit), Tarnished's next show will be at Byce's Michihistrigan Bar & Grill in Gould City (90 minutes southwest of the Soo) on June 15th, with a return booked for there on July 12th. Not in our coverage range, but if you're in western Mackinac County or are up for a road trip, keep these dates in mind! Yes, the venue's name is misspelled in the band's poster (forgetting a "hi" both times). The Michihistrigan shows bookend a return to Shelly's Rainbow Bar in Ishpeming (3 hours west of here) on Saturday, July 6th, which will notably fall near Independence Day, so fans in the western/central U.P. may want to note that extra just in case!

Unless something truly local is announced in the interim, Tarnished's next gigs within an hour of Sault Ste. Marie will be on Friday, July 19th and Saturday, July 20th when they return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino for their first shows at that Kewadin branch since 2022. Hopefully things go well for Tarnished in two months' time in their St. Ignace return! Expect these to have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. One week later, Alex, Josh, and Parker (and crew?) will play at "Hamilton Pub" on Saturday, July 27th, but where is that? I am not 100% certain, but the likeliest match is the Hamilton St. Pub in Saginaw (3½ hours south of the Soo). This is the sort of thing where specifics would be a good idea, especially as I don't recall Tarnished playing somewhere with a similar name, so hopefully they or the venue clarify the locale!

Back in town, Tarnished will play their first advertised dates in the Soo since this past Saturday when they rock The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino on Friday, August 2nd & Saturday, August 3rd before returning there for dates on September 27th & 28th! Always good to see Tarnished's hard hitting originals and covers on their home turf, so keep these two weekends in mind! Like at St. Ignace in July, these are free & 21+ shows starting at 9:00 PM. The guys will also return to the Grand Marais Music & Crafts Festival in Grand Marais (2 hours west of here) on August 8th as their free Thursday headliners, which should be a fun time if you're in the neighbourhood or wanna hit the road, so see above for more on the festival! Lastly for the show announcements, Tarnished will play at "Barn Fest" on August 30th & 31st. Like the "Hamilton Pub" show, Tarnished didn't give details here, so what is Barn Fest?

The likeliest candidate is a returning concert festival in Rose City (3 hours south of the Soo), and you can get details on last year's Barn Fest at this link. Stay tuned for clarifications when they are made by Tarnished, venues, and/or promoters! Closing with more Tarnished news, the guys announced on Wednesday (after a day of teasers and fan guesses) that they'll be releasing a new studio single named "Lightswitch" on May 31st on "all music streaming services". I highly doubt that it will be on all of them, but I encourage Tarnished to prove me wrong. Regardless, I am curious to hear it! As for their show at The Merch on Saturday, the band posted a bunch of pictures from it on their Facebook page yesterday, confirming that Josh Fair (a.k.a. "Josh Tyler") was indeed on lead guitar again. Bassist Parker Talentino played rhythm guitar, while frontman Alex Traynor just sang without playing guitar for at least part of the evening.

Rhythm & Brews' Chris Leask and Ron Suchey guested on bass and drums as advertised, while their bandmate Chris Hubbard guested on drums for a few songs as well, much like he did in Tarnished's recent Ratt jam session cover. Josh's personal Facebook page now credits him as the band's lead guitarist, so that seems pretty official in at least his case, though it's not 100% clear if Alex and Parker's roles have permanently changed, let alone who will be their new full-time drummer. Despite the fact that the rest of their promised full set videos from the battle of the bands in Alpena are still not posted on Facebook, Tarnished have announced that "some videos of us playing our 80s style covers LIVE" are coming soon, so look for those in the near future if all stays on track! Seems like exciting times for Tarnished in 2024, so see above for more details on their Merch show and upcoming plans, and look for more on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!