Defunct Local Band Profile Series: AlgomA

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, as we again check out a local metal, hard rock, or punk act from the past in order to profile their run and activity for modern readers! This month's randomly selected band is one of the most prominent metal bands to come out of the Algoma District in the 2010s, so here's what you should know on them!

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AlgomA

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal

Lineup: (The stage names were primarily used in social media postings in 2013-2014, and were dropped outright by 2015)

"Marty Chase" Kevin Campbell (BeeFMouTH), vocals/bass
"Darby Wigwaus" Boyd Rendell (Molten Imp), vocals/guitar
"Geezer D'Artagnan" Jamie Vincent (Fuller), drums

Audio/Video: AlgomA released four albums on physical media in a three year span in the mid-2010s, though only their debut (October 2014's "Reclaimed By The Forest") saw a CD release. In April 2016, AlgomA released a split with Saskatchewan stoner quintet Chronobot on vinyl records, and they put out another vinyl split in January 2017, this time a single with Finnish doom metal band Hooded Menace. Their final release in September 2017 was one more split named "Trading Faces", this time physically exclusive to cassette tapes, featuring them & local grindcore trio Shit Liver covering various punk and metal songs, including a song of each other's. Note that AlgomA's studio release catalogue comprises of just 12 songs, but the average length of each song is 6+ minutes! While there are some fan shot videos out there from live concerts on YouTube and Facebook, the band's YouTube channel and Boyd's video production company 62nd Chamber Media's channel are the best sources for AlgomA videos nowadays. Here's a full AlgomA concert set at the former Oddfellows Hall in 2014!

Info/Analysis: Publically launching in November 2012 as much-belated successors to Boyd & Kevin's old band BeeFMoutH, AlgomA debuted at 180 Projects on Gore Street in March 2013. While not as prolific as other local bands for amount of concerts (never playing more than five public local gigs per year), AlgomA made their mark opening for familiar touring bands like The Golers, Biipiigwan, Fuck The Facts, and Beaver Slap during their run, often under their own agencies Oh, Right Arm! Promotions and Six. Two. Oh., while also mounting multiple mid-2010s Ontario tours, a Quebec tour in December 2016, and a European tour in the spring of 2017. Partially thanks to their label affiliation with Malaysia's Deadbeat Media, their discography was well covered & reviewed by international metal websites and zines. AlgomA were also known for their series of 2014 private gigs at "Das Bunker", among other varied regional locales.

After taking a 19 month hiatus from live concerts, AlgomA played their final show in May 2019 when they opened for Dopethrone at The New American Pub (their last of seven gigs there). Sporadic social media updates ceased that fall, and the band never re-emerged after the pandemic lockdowns. Bringing local doom metal to heights only otherwise seen via Woods of Ypres, AlgomA's slow and punishing brand of original sludge was a captivating listen, it sometimes cryptically presented, and while Kevin took on more of the vocal load than in the BeeFMouTH days, fans of that band could drop right in after a decade with ease! AlgomA carved a deep local niche in their run, and here's hoping they come back if the time is right!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Our next feature in this series will take us a few years prior to local grunge/psychedlic trio SBD, so look for our next randomly selected profile in this series on or around August 10th! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906, HeadF1rst, And Generations) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to apologize for missing Tym Morrison's Think It Over Thursday acoustic gig at The Dive Gastro Pub tonight in this weekend's previews. While Tym only announced the show on late notice via his Facebook group yesterday, the show was listed right along in The Dive's July 2025 concert calendar, which completely slipped me by in our recent coverage. My profuse apologies again, but don't miss Tym at The Eagles Club next Saturday, and hopefully tonight's Dive show was a hit! Now, here's what you should know for a reasonably quiet pre-Rotaryfest concert weekend as hard rock in the Twin Saults & area goes, starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly on SHORT NOTICE!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations have announced their scheduled solo headlining concerts for this month, and after taking this past weekend off, they'll pick things back up TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Reggie's Place! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced one week ago today by drummer Tony Santoro on their Facebook group. Last seen on Canada Day at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion, TOMORROW & SATURDAY's shows will be their first at this familiar Queen Street East tavern since the end of March, so don't bypass these gigs if you want some hard rock-leaning cover action, especially with some other venues and bands taking a July-August break! After their previously announced Friday headliner at Rotaryfest next weekend, Generations will hit Jay's Piston Broke Pub on Friday, July 25th & Saturday, July 26th as well, so west end fans will approve!

Yes, Generations (sans Valerie) will also host the weekly Thursday jam night on the 24th as well, but we don't treat jam/open mic nights as "concerts" due to their in-built unpredictability. TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S Reggie's concerts and the end-of-July shows at Jay's are all 9:30 PM events with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of Generations' Beck's Bar debut last month! Filmed by Monique Chartrand for their Facebook group, this sees Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre covering Linda Ronstadt's "Blue Bayou" Sadly, this was shot vertically, but the cover is soundly done, and you get a good & bright view of the Canada Day-flocked staging at Beck's, so give it a watch below!

Next up, Sault Michigan hard/blues rock quintet Project 906 will make their debut at Les Cheneaux Distillers' Tipper Room in Cedarville on SATURDAY! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this date via their Facebook page yesterday. Last seen in Brimley two weeks ago, this will be Project 906's first stop an hour away in Cedarville since their Government Bay Barge Bash gig last year (I'll have to see if anyone SMS-amenable is playing that this year too). The Tipper Room is Les Cheneaux Distillers' second location at 74 East Hodeck Street that opened in January, and serves as (from my understanding) a less formal bar/venue than their main production facility/tasting room on South Meridian Street. If you're into vodka, rum, gin, and/or whiskey, keep Les Cheneaux Distillers in mind regardless! Project 906's show there on SATURDAY will uniquely be a 4:00-7:00 PM matinee, so note the timing!

Drummer Jason VanLuven will not be on hand on SATURDAY due to his other band Unfortunate Sun's gig in St. Ignace that night (more on that in a bit), but 906 did not announce if they'd be replacing him or not (they have played with just Brian on hand drums before). This is a 21+ concert regardless with no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video from their Facebook page of the guys at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino last month covering Styx's "Renegade"! Just a 30 second clip, but it's performed with enthusiasm, and it's a good showcase for Billy's vocal range in particular, so check it out for yourselves below!

Also in late notice announcements, Sault Ontario hard rock quintet HeadF1rst will head to Goulais River on SATURDAY NIGHT to take part in this year's Goulais Community Days! Apologies again for the short notice, the band only announced their involvement in this year's festivities via their Facebook page this past Saturday, though frontman Red Jettison did reference the booking in his interview on The Community Pulse last month. SATURDAY's concert continues in the post-pandemic trend of Goulais Community Days hosting a rock concert, with the now-defunct Soundcheck playing there annually from 2022-2024, so HeadF1rst are picking up where they left off on SATURDAY at  the Captain Tilley Community Centre at 592 ON-552. While HeadF1rst are blocked for a full matinee timeslot of 5:00-8:30 PM, the headline attraction on SATURDAY is actually local country musician Brendan Hodgson, who takes the stage at 9:00PM to cap off the night's events.

Whether you like rock or country, you'll find something to like on SATURDAY! Visit the Captain Tilley Community Centre's Facebook group and this schedule poster for more on what family events are going on just north of the Soo between tomorrow and Sunday. This all ages concert has admission via event bracelets ($5 for a day, $8 for the whole weekend, kids 3 and under free), though if you don't want a bracelet and just want to see the concert, admission is $2. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's HeadF1rst live rocking out!

Lastly for this preview post, we'll head back to the E.U.P., as Sault Michigan hard rock cover quartet Unfortunate Sun will return to the stage TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT when they debut at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! Surprising how they've never played there yet, though maybe Fake Chow did? Unfortunate Sun are coming back from a two month break from concerts, last playing live as a short notice fill-in band at the Sault Kewadin branch in May, and it will be good to see Skip, Jody, Tony, and Jason rocking out with their proficient covers once again to kick off their summer slate! Yes, this is why Jason will be absent from Project 906's late notice Cedarville concert on SATURDAY. Whether you're placing bets on the band's kickass levels or not, tomorrow and Saturday's concerts are 21+ affairs at 9:00 PM with no announced cover charge. See above for more details, and here's Unfortunate Sun live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone! 

Our Recap Of Mike Haggith & Red Jettison's 2+ Hour Video Interview From Last Month!!

Apologies for the three week delay in this making the SMS, but local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith and HeadF1rst frontman Red Jettison took part in a 2+ hour long video interview on June 16th! This was for The Community Pulse, a series out of Scarborough hosted by musician Frank Terzo, and while his name would seem very appropriate for a local musician to have, this is one of those "do-it-yourself indie musician" feature programs that Mike has gravitated to in his modern day solo era. If you've followed his interviews and appearances in this realm since 2018, you'll recognize names among prior episode guests that have either worked with, interviewed, or spotlighted Mike. This episode of The Community Pulse actually begins with a Frank Terzo music video (he promotes his own music in this series as well as via guests and collaborators), before the introduction, which includes specifics on the format.

While interviews are definitely most of the story, The Community Pulse features artist spotlights, song premieres, indie music news, and more, so it's a good catch-all if you're in this oeuvre of DIY indie rock artists helping out other DIY indie rock artists! The actual show begins 7:34 into the 2:28:23 episode, with Frank setting things up, acknowledging Father's Day, and plugging some independent musicians and hosts featured in the introductions. We finally see Mike and Red on camera at the 13:50 mark, but I want to preface things by noting that Red is also referred to by his real name Carson Hiltz in the episode, by Mike, Frank, and in text (the Red Jettison stage name is exclusively used in the band's own promotion though). Also, Red is referred to as the "co-host" rather than a guest, which goes along with prior episodes of The Community Pulse, in that Frank always has a remote musician credited thusly, even if they don't ask many questions themselves.

After Frank asks how Mike and Red met, he promotes Mike's own indie label MorningStar Records (more on the No Arrow mention soon) and does some plugs and shoutouts, before he played "Tour Bus Fantasy" from HeadF1rst's new album "Road Trippin'" at the 27 minute mark. Once it concludes, Frank highly praised the song's retro rock vibe, and Red discussed the songwriting process for it, heavily crediting guitarist Rainey Rancourt's contributions there. After discussing the deadlines and time crunch for getting physical copies of "Road Trippin'" pressed and shipped, Red noted that HeadF1rst are already working on new original songs, before Frank does some more shoutouts. We next transition to talk about Mike's music, where he plugs his Frequent Flier fan club/newsletter program, and how you can get his new studio album "Frequent Flier" for free (eventually), while also explaining his thought process beyond releasing it for sale.

Basically, Mike wants to keep the album special for Frequent Fliers, hence why only three songs are posted to stream for free, but he also wanted to offer the whole thing to people who buy physical media and/or non-subcribers interested in buying the songs. The lead single "Brand New Day" is played at 47:57, and when we come back to the interview, Frank immediately calls it a "killer track", again complimenting the retro classic rock vibes of it (I'll hold comment until our review of "Frequent Flier" later this month). Mike next outlines the recording process for this song, particularly the backing vocals. Following more shout-outs, Frank asked how Mike first got into music, leading into Mike discussing his extensive discography, noting that "Frequent Flier" is not one of his "mainline" solo albums, and is one of nine in his back catalogue that is "off to the side". He next outlines his aims for MorningStar Records and promoting other independent acts there.

Red jumps back in next to discuss his feelings on MorningStar and his hope to do a concert featuring just MorningStar-affiliated acts. Frank next sets up Mike's original song "Hot & Cold" from 2023's "All The Best In All You Do", as prefaced by Mike's songwriting process for it and the inclusion of Southern Ontario-based metal guitarist Hetriani (another indie musician who pops up on The Community Pulse and similar shows) as a guest. The song proper (via its lyric video) is played at 1:08:19, capping off the first half of the episode. After strong praise from Red and Frank, another guest pops in on the livestream, namely Laurie Pepi Igo, a pianist out of Massachusetts who also frequents this indie music sphere via her channel Laurie's Mishmosh. After more shout-outs from Frank, Laurie (a Frequent Flier cardholder, no less), praises Mike's program and its offerings, while Red elaborates more on HeadF1rst's lineup and plans for the future.

Laurie gets the spotlight next, with a short song by pianist Donna Mitchell played at 1:31:40 (I guess Laurie features regularly to showcase an independent pianist). After Laurie signs out, Red asked how soon Mike knows what will make his albums (especially given his extensive discography), before we transition to talking about the next song played on air, namely Mike's song "All The Best" from his 2023 album, and you can hear it at the 1:40:55 mark. More discussion about art and songwriting follows, before Frank asks Mike about the freak accident at Rotaryfest 2023 when Mike dislocated his knee while playing "Hot & Cold" on Stage 1, and played on while laying on his back until the ambulance arrived (read our initial coverage of that at this link). At least at this point, Mike can look back and laugh about everything, but he was a trooper for getting through all that two years ago! Frank next asks Mike about how he devised the Frequent Flier program.

The last song played on air in this mammoth episode is the namesake for Mike's label, namely "MorningStar" from his 2020 album "If Ever Comes The Day", as prefaced by Mike elaborating on the song's inspiration and recording process, especially as he started using GarageBand for iOS with that album. You can hear that song at 2:08:19, with 15 minutes to spare. This Community Pulse episode continues with Frank asking about Mike's live music plans, with Mike noting that he and The Big Finish Band were hoping to return to Rotaryfest, but they weren't selected for 2025, though he is hopeful that they might be picked for next year. He did promote their return to the Northern Vibe Festival in Ophir next month, while a pro-shot, multi-cam, full concert video of Mike & crew's set at HeadF1rst's album release party in May is planned to be posted on YouTube soon, along with a live album of that entire concert!

Not all of Mike's announced/teased live album plans have seen their intended conclusion ("Face To Face", for one), so that will be neat if it does come out thusly! Red also plugs upcoming HeadF1rst gigs, including a short notice show to be previewed on the SMS tomorrow, a teased return to the Loud & Proud family fun day at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion (we await confirmation on that event), and their Rotaryfest and Northern Vibe sets ahead this summer. After final words and plugs from everyone, Frank closes by playing "Family" by Liz Aday over the end credits. Entertaining and casual interview/hangout that painted Mike and Red in strong lights! Red was less "co-host" and more "co-interviewee", with Frank asking way more questions, but this is Red's first real toe in the water to this community (unless I missed something). It's always neat to see all of the live-stream commenters and interactions in videos like these too, including many repeat names!

There's a lot to take in, but check out the full Community Pulse episode for yourselves below, and we'll have more from HeadF1rst and Mike Haggith on the SMS this month, starting with a short notice show preview from the former tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Krang & Project 906), The M1 Concert Preview, And A New Punk Cover!!

Here's a new news post to check out on this Tuesday evening, which is half devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, with the back half featuring a special Wednesday night concert preview and a new studio cover to check out, so let's get things rolling!

Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quintet Project 906 will return to The Strongs Tavern in nearby Eckerman on Saturday, July 19th! Not yet announced by the band on social media, this concert was announced by the venue's Facebook page two weeks ago in this poster advertising July events (or lack thereof, as they closed for two days during the Fourth of July long weekend). Last seen on stage in Brimley late last month, the guys last played in Eckerman at the end of May, and hopefully the #summerof906 continues well with another night of strongly performed and crowd friendly hard rock classics next Saturday! You can see Billy, Joe, Dustin, Jason, and Brian take the stage at The Strongs Tavern next Saturday at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on Project 906's next show, unless they announce something on short notice prior!

Next up, remember how two Swiss death metal bands played in Sault Ontario this past Sunday night? Well, another band is trekking all the way from Europe to play in the Soo, as Czech skate punk band Krang will make their local concert debut on Monday, September 8th at The Distraction! An upbeat pop punk band whose songs are heavily based on retro pop culture and nostalgia (yes, the songs are in English), Krang will absolutely pique the interest of local punk fans this fall, so don't bypass their fun original attack in two months! Local support will include online page-less "east end rock & roll" duo The Spaceship Opening (featuring ex-Fitswitch/Redundant bassist Andrew MacDonald alongside Ralph Barber) and A.S.D.P., which I am 99% sure stands for "Adam Smith Death Parade". You may recall seeing them debut as a late replacement band at the private Go Skateboarding Day replacement event last month, which also featured The Spaceship Opening.

The venue describes A.S.D.P. as "crackrocksteady", so does the "rocksteady" reference imply ska punk? I don't known anything else on A.D.S.P., but stay tuned when we hear more! Taking place in The Distraction's current basement locale on East Street (all shows were moved out of the former hair salon upstairs starting last summer), this all ages concert will have a 7:00 PM start time and a cover charge of $15 or "pay what you can". Sounds like a fun way to kick off the fall season in style, so don't miss this stop on Krang's Real Canadian Moose Pit Tour if you can swing coming out on a work/school night! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Also, here's a special mid-week concert preview for your Motorhead fans in the area, as Calgary-based Motorhead tribute band M1 will rock Beck's Bar TOMORROW NIGHT! The first time that a touring band has headlined at Beck's since the Goulais Avenue nightclub re-opened three months ago, M1 will bring a faithful sounding (if not looking) tribute to Lemmy Kilmister and crew to local audiences, and it will be neat to hear Motorhead songs other than "Ace Of Spades" covered at a local concert, let alone this many! As per a quiet update to the Facebook event page, Dodge This singer/guitarist Jason Taillefer will open tomorrow's festivities. Having an acoustic solo artist open for a Motorhead tribute may seem odd, but Jason has ample experience in hard rock bands, most notably the out of town groups Phatstick and Human Disorder, so I'm sure he'd tailor his set somewhat for the occasion, and he is a very talented musician, so don't be late!

This 19+ concert has a 9:00 PM start time (moved up from 7:00 PM), and despite featuring a touring headliner, it will have no cover charge! While the work night scheduling won't be ideal for many, Motorhead fans won't wanna miss M1, especially at that (lack of) price, so visit the above links for more details, and here they are live!

Finally, remember how local crossover thrash quartet Hails released a self-titled album last month without much public warning? Well, that was prefaced by their appearance on the new compilation album "Punk Canada Vol. 4", and they released their contribution to it errrrrrrrrvrywhere on major streaming services on June 10th! Curated and released by Montreal hardcore punk legends The Ripcordz, you can get physical copies of the album (which features covers of Canadian punk bands by modern acts) on vinyl via Ha!ls members, and you can hear the whole thing on Bandcamp at this link, including Sault native Ash Richtig's band Avoid The Comment Section's cover of Grimskunk's "Dead End Violence". Hails contributed a cover of "Meathook" by Toronto punk legends The Almighty Trigger Happy, in their first studio recording with guitarist Carmen Muto in the fold. How is the cover overall?

Played a touch faster than the original (running for just 92 seconds), this isn't quite as ferocious as Ha!ls can get on their heaviest originals, but it's a faithfully executed cover that Trigger Happy fans will like, with a good pace & solid hardcore punk intensity! Give it a listen below or on other major streaming services, check out "Punk Canada Vol. 4" above, and look for our review of Hails' new album in October!

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

Spades GT Updates From Late June 2025!!

Today's SMS post takes us to the world of local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT, who have had an eventful past 2+ weeks! We last left off with them in mid-June, prior to the release of a new podcast interview featuring drummer Tyler Reiner, so what should you know there? This was for Drummers Paradise, a new Barrie-based interview series where drummers interview other drummers, and it's co-hosted by The Feels/Mad City drummer Adam Vetter and... Tyler himself! For the season finale episodes, the two took turns interviewing each other in shorter installments, though click here to watch longer-format episodes featuring the two interviewing other rock drummers (episodes can also be heard on major podcasting services). If you're curious, notable drummers from past local concerts like Andrew McMullen (ex-Fairmounts/Merves) and Tommy Metcalfe (of The Anti-Queens) were interviewed early in season 1, but you should recognize a few other bands.

Tyler's interview from June 20th runs for just 25 minutes, and before any questions are asked, we see a clip of Tyler drumming along to his old band Caym's song "Willow Farm", courtesy of his TikTok page. At least they zoomed in for YouTube's sake to remove the vertical pillarboxing! Strongly brutal performance, especially for fans of Caym's two local dates in the 2010s, and it's neat how the video is monochrome except for his drumkit! The interview proper begins with Adam asking Tyler about his upbringing (yes, his dad & Anvil come up), how he got into drumming and learned how to drum, and what gear he currently uses, before we jump to a different day, where Adam literally tested how fast Tyler could drum in beats per minute to compare to guests from prior episodes. Tyler next discusses his beginning playing in live bands and helping Anvil on their tours, and if you're looking to skip ahead directly to Spades GT talk, that comes in around 16 minutes into the interview.

We next hear about how Tyler was invited to join the former Jack Spades after taking a hiatus following Caym's breakup (he does reference their beginnings in the Soo), before plugging Spades' then-upcoming plans, primarily their new album "United" and how things came together in studio for it. A 90 second clip of the title track is next played, which Adam said was "a killer track". We get more insights about the recording and songwriting process to close the interview out, capping with thank yous and hype for season 2 of Drummers Paradise. Solid and comfortable interview with Tyler giving a bit more personal insight than I've seen from some of his past video interviews, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

In terms of the full band, Spades GT's next concert took place on June 27th when they headlined at the sci-fi themed Toronto venue See-Scape, and in a recent rarity for them, the show was actually all ages! The whole band plugged the show, while emphasizing the lack of an age limit, in this Facebook "Reel" a few days prior, but they did post their usual recap video from that night afte the fact, and while not a "Reel", it is still vertical. After guitarist Daniel Horton picked up singer J.D. Pearce for the drive to the venue, we see the guys mingling outside of See-Scape, before we get shots of everyone inside, where you get good views of the sci-fi and video game-themed decor! This is set to the second advance single from the album ("Demons"), more on that in a bit. After some views of one of the other bands that night, we do see Spades setting up for their set, but unfortunately, there are no clips of their set included here, not even ones dubbed over in post.

The recap video ends with the whole band praising the show and hyping future plans, though Dan did admit to breaking an amplifier. Both for the new material and the venue alone, I'd far prefer longer, raw, and horizontal videos, but this was a well edited teaser, so give it a watch at this link! As Facebook content matched "Demons", I can't embed the video on external websites like this, even though it's Spades' own song and not even in full. However, let's end on something that I can embed here, as since our last all-Spades post on June 17th, they did release the "United" album! Our coverage of the album proper and its release party is coming soon, but for now, let's stay in the rough timeline, as the teased advance singles "United" & "Demons" were released to all major streaming services as promised on June 21st and 28th! Outside of samples in prior Spades video content, I have yet to hear either track, as I'm waiting for our review this fall.

I can tell you that, from what I have heard, existing Spades GT fans will approve! Also, neither song has one of the credited guest musicians. We'll have much more from the guys on the site soon, as we outline the album release proper and its launch party in Toronto that actually took place yesterday. Stay tuned for more on "United" in the coming week, if all goes well, hear the title track below, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (WestFest & The Nameless), Plus The Virvum Concert Preview!!

We're not quite done with this weekend's concert previews, as a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT came to my attention earlier today, and there was a long-since-known-about Sunday nighter yet to be addressed! To fill things out, we have extended details on a debuting local concert festival later this month, so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock quartet The Nameless will rock The Islander Bar in Hessel for the first time TONIGHT! I profusely apologize for the short notice, the band first announced this show via their Facebook page this past Saturday, and it slipped me by until this morning when there was time to slot it into our regular previews. Regardless, The Islander Bar has not publically confirmed TONIGHT's show on their own Facebook page, instead focusing on food & drink specials in recent weeks. It is somewhat hard to believe that The Nameless haven't played in Hessel before, but hopefully their hard rocking cover slate draws a good crowd TONIGHT despite the late notice! This concert takes place at 8:00 PM, has no announced cover charge, and a 21+ age limit as usual for E.U.P. bar gigs. Visit the above links for more on The Nameless' Hessel debut TONIGHT, and for a preview, here they are live earlier this year!

Next up, let's talk about WestFest, a newly announced Sault Ontario community festival on Saturday, July 26th, so what should you know about this? The name does imply the location of the event, as it will take place at Anna Marinelli Park at 169 James Street, off of Albert Street West near the Soup Kitchen. In terms of downtown Sault Ste. Marie, you can't get much further west without hitting Algoma Steel! WestFest is being described as "block party meets music festival", with aims of being a safe, inclusive, and family friendly event, according to the hosts, the West Village Revitalization Project, and you can read more about their plans to give new life to the Steelton and Jamestown areas of the city at this link. The implication is that WestFest will be an outdoor event, but I'm unsure how it will be staged (Anna Marinelli Park is literally a park, after all), so stay tuned for updates on that end.

Six acts will hit the WestFest stage, and the headliners are SMS-amenable, namely local alternative hard rock band Handsome Sandwich in just their second public concert of 2025! Good to see them back playing live a little more regularly, and they'll cap things well at 8:00 PM on the 26th! The band bios on the WestFest website do not mention rhythm guitarist Brandon Ruch, seemingly confirming that he has left the band for unannounced reasons (he wasn't present when they opened for HeadF1rst in May, though nothing was said publically about his status at the time). However, things are amicable, as he is co-headlining at 6:00 PM alongside drummer Johnny Belanger in their bluegrass/country quartet The Golden Scoundrels! Pop rock quartet Jupiter Marvelous performs at 4:45 PM, preceded by folk singer/guitarist Matthew James at 3:45 PM & indie rock quartet Lucy's Diner (who recently changed their name from The Hollow Heads) at 2:45 PM.

Former Soundcheck singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver will continue his summer farewell run before his teased move out of town when he kicks off WestFest at 1:45 PM. Various local vendors and businesses will be on hand in three weeks as well, so click here to see who will be at the park for this debuting festival. As best as I can gather, WestFest has no admission fee, and it is absolutely all ages, but it is a licensed event with an on-site beer garden. This all sounds like a good time for local music fans and families alike, almost like a Rotaryfest encore (all six acts will have played Stage 2 at least once since 2023), so visit the above links for more details on the first annual WestFest!

We'll close this post with one more weekend concert preview, as two death metal bands from Switzerland (yes, really) will make their local debuts TOMORROW NIGHT at Jay's Piston Broke Pub! This one-off return to the glory days of Rosie metal nights will be headlined by Zurich progressive death metal band Virvum and Geneva blackened death metal quintet Stortregn, who will bring their own crushing brutality to local audiences! Virvum's more technical and punishing originals will compliment Stortregn's more black metal-influenced sound well, so definitely don't miss either band if you can swing coming out on a work night! Local support will be provided by thrash metal trio The BAG in their first public date since opening for Sentiment Dissolve in May, and they should set the tone off well with their heavy originals and covers! I am unsure if this show is being put on by The BAG, Jay's, or a separate promoter.

This stop on Virvum & Stortregn's Canada Takeover tour begins at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit, and tickets run for $15.99 at this link and presumably at the door, though I don't know if the price will jump there. Kudos to Jay's for occasionally booking true metal concerts after they largely vanished in the Reggie's West era, and despite being on a Sunday night, hopefully there's lots of headbanging and moshing tomorrow! After all, Virvum and Stortregn are from Switzerland, show them some love! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Virvum live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bookclub, Tym Morrison, And Dodge This) & More Weekend Concert Previews!!

For this second post on our 18th anniversary, we're continuing this weekend's concert previews by looking at Saturday nighters, along with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly of the SHORT NOTICE variety! Sunday's death metal concert featuring Swiss bands Virvum & Stortregn will be in tomorrow's post to give it proper emphasis given its scheduling. Here's what else you should know for this weekend & beyond!

Local classic/hard rock cover trio Dodge This will return to The Dive Gastro Pub for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced yesterday via the venue's Facebook page's concert calendar for this month. This is Dodge This' only advertised gig at the former Low & Slow this month (two open Saturdays on their schedule acknowledged), and fans of their hard rock-infused batch of covers should find a lot to like from Jason, Jamie, and Jeff TOMORROW, so don't miss their latest Queen Street East stop then! As usual for Dodge This shows in "The Naughty Corner", TOMORROW'S Dive concert takes place at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Dodge This live!

Next up, prolific local classic/hard rock singer/musician Tym Morrison will continue his busy summer of acoustic solo dates when he rocks Misty's Fifties TOMORROW for another matinee concert! Most of Tym's 2025 dates ahead are at this Second Line West staple, and while we're on the subject, let's add two more shows of his to the calendar now that things aren't as clogged for announcements late in the year from just one artist. Among other still-too-distant dates, Tym will set up shop at Misty's for Saturday matinees on September 27th & October 11th, so while we'll be seeing him six times there prior (tomorrow included), keep those two fall gigs in mind! Meanwhile, Tym will also return to Beck's Bar on Sunday, September 28th for another matinee there, via those shows' Facebook event page. Regardless, Tym's ample setlist of classic and hard rock favourites should pull a solid reception tomorrow, so don't miss out! 

Tomorrow's gig and this fall's at Misty's are 4:00 PM matinees with 19+ age limits and no cover, and while the Beck's show in September is similar, it starts earlier at 3:00 PM. Visit the Misty's shows' batch Facebook event page and the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!

Also, here's a brief detour from this weekend, as local alternative/punk cover supergroup Bookclub will rock The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on Tuesday, July 29th as part of the City of Sault Ste. Marie's annual Summer Concert Series! The lineup for 2025 was announced via this concert calendar post from the city's Facebook page on Wednesday, with Bookclub being the only SMS-amenable band scheduled for this year. This year's Summer Concert Series kicked off with Angry Joe & The Growlers yesterday (Generations' Canada Day show on Tuesday was separate), with the big downtown tent playing host to live musicians every Tuesday and Thursday ahead until August 21st. Good to see Bookclub back at it with another fan-friendly night of unique rock covers, so don't miss Mikey, Brandon, Dustin, Al, Erin, and Josh there later this month! The Facebook post plugging the series notes that the shows are "weather permitting", so the tent may not be enough rain cover for comfort. Keep tabs on the forecast if you can!

All concerts in this series are FREE & ALL AGES, and run from 7:00-9:00 PM (the Growlers show last night was an hour later though). While largely more for general audiences than SMS loyalists, it's always good to see lots of live music at the Pavilion, and hopefully all of the shows ahead have a solid turnout, Bookclub included! Visit the above links for more details!

Finally for this post, let's head back to Beck's Bar for this weekend's entertainment, as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will take the stage there TOMORROW NIGHT & SUNDAY for a unique double header! Fifteen years after the then-country cover quartet debuted at what was then The Vibe Lounge, Bone Yard will return to this Goulais Avenue nightclub with a full plugged-in concert there tomorrow, and it will be fun to see how things go as they conduct their next sermon at a new-ish locale, especially given how Greg and crew have changed since the last time! However, in a rarity for Beck's since opening, the same band is playing consecutive nights there, as Sunday's matinee slot goes to your local 225 "uncorked", a'la their acoustic Water Tower Pub and Gateway Casino gigs. Interesting to see Greg, Alex, and Warren playing both formats at the same venue, let alone the same weekend, so keep both in mind depending on what you like!

As hyped by Greg in this Facebook "Reel", tomorrow's Beck's concert is at 9:00 PM, the Sunday matinee is at 3:00 PM, and things are 19+ with no cover charge regardless. Dodge This singer/guitarist Jason Taillefer is the Saturday matinee performer at Beck's tomorrow, but remember that this is a fully blocked matinee concert of its own, and he isn't "opening" for Bone Yard (and yes, Separate Wayz/ex-Soundcheck frontman Terry Eaton is this week's DJ tonight). Visit the above links for more details on this weekend's concerts, and for a preview, here's "The Dirty Three" live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Sylo & Tarnished!!)

Just before things get rolling on the SMS, today marks our eighteenth anniversary since launching the original group. No major plans to commemorate the day, but just a brief thank you acknowledgement to all of our readers and followers for continuing to stick around and read/engage with our content, and here's to another big year for local metal, hard rock, and punk music ahead! For our first batch of weekend concert previews for July 2025, we have an all-LOCAL CONCERT ALERT post, mostly of the SHORT NOTICE variety, so here's what you should know!

Sault Michigan hard rock/classic metal quartet Tarnished have a busy and all-short notice concert weekend ahead, and before we get into all three gigs, I apologize for the short notice on all of them, Tarnished only announced the three via their official Facebook page earlier today. Is that a record for late notice gig announcements by one local band at different venues on a given weekend? Regardless, Tarnished will kick off the Independence Day long weekend TONIGHT when they return to the annual Fourth of July parade in Sault Ste. Marie, marking their fourth straight year playing on a float during the parade! Of course, the idea of a SMS-amenable band playing during a parade is still uncommon for bands other than Tarnished, but it'll be like a brief concert coming to you, which will be neat if you're checking out the parade TONIGHT! Obviously, this is free and all ages, but where can you see Tarnished along the parade route?

As last year, the parade begins TONIGHT at 7:00 PM behind the U-Haul on Davitt Street, running until Magazine Street, and will move north along West 14th and Ashmun Streets, as well as West Portage Avenue, so pick a good spot to enjoy the parade, with some hard rocking tunes from Tarnished alongside! Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy skies with weather around 70° (21° Celsius), which sounds like fine conditions for a parade! Click here for complete details on the parade itself. Tarnished will continue the rocking in short notice show #2, as Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron will set up shop at The Savoy Nightclub TONIGHT at 10:00 PM! This will be Tarnished's first show at the 117 West Portage Road bar in over two years, and while The Savoy's modern social media presence isn't high, it is good to see that they're still open and hosting live music there! This is a 21+ concert with no announced cover charge.

Finally for Tarnished's busy long weekend, they'll return an hour south to St. Ignace TOMORROW NIGHT as part of the annual Music By The Bay summer concert series at American Legion Park at 200 North State Street, and in one more new show announcement, they'll return there on Saturday, August 16th as well! Good to see Tarnished spreading their wings and helping prove that there's more going on for St. Ignace concert venues than just Kewadin Casino, so keep TOMORROW'S show in mind! Click here for the full daily schedule at the Music In The Bay series too, it runs until the end of August. This is another free & all ages concert taking place from 7:00-9:00 PM, and while the stage is covered for the band's sake, be advised that 9&10 News is calling for a 40-60% chance of rain TOMORROW with 75° weather (24° Celsius). Visit the above links for more on Tarnished's shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, and for a preview, here they are live!

Finally for this all-LOCAL CONCERT ALERT post, Sault Ontario hard rock quartet Sylo will return to Reggie's Place TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced on the venue's Facebook page on Sunday (remember, Sylo don't have an active Facebook page). This has been a long time coming, as Sylo haven't played a show on record at Reggie's since 2022, so it will be neat to see Eli, Alder, Owen, and Jakob back at this Queen Street staple for a rare solo headlining appearance! Sylo have been making the most out of their return to active gigging this summer, and here's hoping for more of the same entertaining originals and covers from this talented young foresome TOMORROW! This is a one-nighter due to or resulting in classic rock cover quartet RPM playing there tonight. TOMORROW'S Sylo concert is at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details, and here's Sylo live!

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That's all for now, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!