LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Downtown Street Party #2), A New Album Release, And Much More!!

Here's another packed news post to check out on this Tuesday night, which features a newly released album from some familiar faces, clarification on private events, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT concerning a community event next week, so here's what you should know!

Local acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will be the only SMS-amenable band playing at this year's second Downtown Street Party on Queen Street East on Thursday, July 16th!  This will come three weeks after the first Downtown Street Party of 2026, and with these monthly events progressively moving west, next week's will take place on a closed section of Queen from Brock Street to Elgin Street (basically from the former BMO building to the courthouse). Like last month's street party and the two to come, there will be vendors, family activities & games, beverage gardens, and deals and events at Queen Street businesses open along this stretch. As the Downtown Plaza is facing this block, there will be events there too, including live trivia and a screening of the first Jaws movie. Click here for full details on what to expect in a non-musical sense! Now, who all is performing next Thursday?

As was the case for street party #1, there will be two distinct music stages on/near Brock & Elgin respectively, but as of the most recent public promotion from You Belong SSM, they haven't firmly specified who is playing where. Five acts are confirmed, and Dos Amigos confirmed in this poster for their remaining summer dates (more on those in this weekend's concert previews) that they'll be playing at the Brock Street Stage at 8:15 PM. Classic country band The Stumpy Coldwater Trio confirmed on Spaces that they'd be on the "Spring Street Stage" (the same block, in any event) at 7:00 PM, while classic rock trio Flathead Ford will perform at 9:30 PM, stage unclear. Veteran local/Toronto blues musician Rusty McCarthy and country musician Brendan Hodgson will also perform during next week, and at least one more act is implied (note that the June street party had three acts on each stage).

What is unsaid here is that this street party coincides with the opening day of Rotaryfest, so downtown will be hopping, and as Stage 2 doesn't operate on Thursdays anymore, could you call the street party the de facto Second Stage for night #1? Not the right block of Queen from where Stage 2 used to be, but still! Next Thursday's festivities take place from 6:30-11:00 PM, and it is absolutely a FREE & ALL AGES event. Sounds like another fun time for the whole family, with a dash of punk from Dos Amigos, so visit the above links for more details on one part of a stacked Thursday in the Soo!

Next up, I wanted to acknowledge a recent private house party concert (and another to come) that got some attention on social media. With some exceptions, I don't tend to cover private concerts here (let alone give the address publically) out of deference and respect to the location, often someone's home. On occasion though, you'll see a show advertised that, while not containing a public address, is definitely marketed publically, which was the case this past Thursday when Underground Events SSM brought Nanaimo, British Columbia pop punk quartet Danger Box back for a "Not A Canada Day Show", two weeks before they swing back through here opening for The Ripcordz at Beck's next Saturday. The garage concert also featured Duncan, B.C. alt-punk band Red Lenses (who aren't playing at the Ripcordz show) and locals A.S.D.P. and 5 Dollar Bribe. If you wanted the address, you had to "ask a punk"!

That general rule will apply to Underground Events SSM's next private gig on Friday, July 24th (I cannot 100% confirm if it will be at the exact same locale), but despite being private, it is actually a benefit gig. Entitled "SOOpfest", it will feature a special acoustic set from A.S.D.P. plus rap group Fvksxvad, unspecified guests, and a freestyle/open jam block. Alongside a backyard barbecue, admission is by donation, either cash for the Ken Brown Recovery Home and the $onny Vybe$ memorial or food for the Soup Kitchen. Despite the private trappings, these are three wonderful causes, so see above for more details, and I do hope last week's Danger Box show was a hit! "Ask a punk" for SOOpfest location details later this month!

Finally for today, here's a surprise new album release, as veteran local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage put out their 72nd studio album yesterday via their Bandcamp page! In their first release in almost a year, this is entitled "No Neutrals Allowed: Double Live In Japan At The Boobikhan", which is not the first time that they have released a faux live album purporting to be from a far flung locale. If released physically, this would indeed be a double album, and it's oriented as such, as the first half of the 39 track album is comprised of re-recordings from their lengthy back catalogue (presumably as if they were performed live) with nineteen new songs in the second half. "No Neutrals Allowed" is dedicated to original SKR bassist Dennis Becker (brother of Paul & Dirk), who lost his battle with cancer in September 2024, and as "Ned", he was represented in their "Waerlogas Sagas I" concept album from that same year.

Performer credits for "No Neutrals Allowed" weren't given in text, but ex-bassist Brian Cattapan (Paul's son-in-law) was Photoshopped into the cover artwork sitting behind Dirk on the Boobikhan stage, implying that he guested on at least one song here. If true, it's good to see him working with the masters of the crash again! This album is on sale on Bandcamp for $15 and can be streamed for free there as well, though with our massive backlog of new album releases still to review, this won't be up until early 2027. It is great to see the Beckers, Shane, and Tony back with another huge array of new music, so check everything out above, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Poutine Feast), New Videos, And Hails Updates!!

Before we kick off our likely last news post of June 2026, just a heads up that Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover band Tarnished had to cancel their St. Ignace Car Show matinee gig on Saturday, as per their Facebook page 22 minutes prior to showtime. A reason wasn't given, but Alex & Josh still played their acoustic Bay Mills gig that night, so Chris and/or Ron being unavailable could explain things. Disappointing given the timing, but Tarnished will return to St. Ignace for an outdoor Music By The Bay concert on September 5th! Now, here's a Canada Day SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and more recent news and notes from the last little while!

Local punk/alternative cover sextet BookcluB and their sister acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will reportedly both be among the lineup on WEDNESDAY at The Downtown Plaza as part of the opening Canada Day program for this year's Poutine Feast! Apologies for the short notice, we only caught lineup details for this year in the batch post promoting the touring poutine festival on Facebook (only the paid advertisement version lists any scheduled musical performers, not the static promotional images shared as permanent posts). After 2025 had a reduced music lineup that was never announced on social media, we at least know some of the 2026 performers, with BookcluB and Dos Amigos (neither of which have corroborated the Poutine Feast advertising) joining new local southern/indie rock quartet Eli Russell & The River Fools and classic rock veterans RPM on WEDNESDAY.

Also teased are "...and more!", but who they are isn't known, let alone the timeslots, or the entire Thursday music lineup beyond Jay Case, but we will touch on the Friday program in our next weekend concert previews. Expect games, family entertainment, other vendors, and of course, lots of touring poutine food trucks on WEDNESDAY through Sunday at the plaza, so click here for full details on the daily themes! Poutine Feast is on daily from 11:00 AM-9:00 PM, this is absolutely FREE & ALL AGES (food purchases aside), and 9&10 News is calling for partly-mostly cloudy skies, with temperatures ranging from 25-30°, so prepare accordingly for the heat. Visit the above links for more details, and here's BookcluB live at the plaza!

Next up, here's the first public video that I can actually embed here (not a "Story") from local ska punk/"crackrocksteady" quartet A.S.D.P. in concert! The band still doesn't have a formal social media page outside of Bandcamp, but this was uploaded to drummer "Just" Ralph Barber's personal Facebook page yesterday, and then publically shared to frontman Mikhal Muto's promotion agency Underground Events SSM's Facebook page. This comes from the all-local concert that they headlined at Blaster Powerhouse this past Saturday, and this may not be representative of Adam Smith Death Parade's general sound for two reasons. One is that it's not a ska punk song (rather a cover of Pennywise's "Bro Hymn"), but also because this doesn't just have Mikhal, Tucker, William, and Ralph on stage. No, everyone is on stage, from members of other bands that night (Chris Nielsen and Spencer MacGillivray among them) to other fans and friends.

If you know anything about "Bro Hymn", the community aspect adds a lot, and it's great to see everyone having a blast in what I can only assume is the last song of the night! The attendee who filmed this (I recognize him but don't know his name off hand) unfortunately shot this vertically and only for a minute, but it's a fun watch, and I wonder who brought the balloons? Check it out below, and hopefully some more public videos of A.S.D.P. surface, even without a Facebook page of their own!

Also today, here's the latest from Mikhal's old hardcore punk band Hails, who announced the addition of With Gunfire/ex-Jack Spades guitarist Anthony Orazietti to their lineup on June 3rd, replacing Carmen Muto (Mikhal's cousin). A reason for the switch was not publically announced, but Carmen didn't immediately leave when Mikhal did at the end of 2025, and he has since been confirmed as the new lead guitarist of the aforementioned BookcluB, so follow them for his next live outings. Anthony is a talented and underrated shredder, so hopefully he bolsters the ranks well with Brent & Keegan going forward! While Ha!ls' first local date of the year and with Anthony will be at the Ripcordz concert at Beck's Bar on July 18th, they will actually debut the new lineup on Friday, July 10th at the conveniently named Dock Ellis sports bar in Toronto, which will be a headlining date alongside three bands from the GTA.

Hails are a ripping live act that fans of Brent's past work as a frontman will take to with ease, and it's great to see that their six month+ break from the stage is winding down, so if you won't be in Toronto in two weeks for the new lineup's soft launch, don't miss out on the new Ha!ls lineup with The Ripcordz the following week (on Rotaryfest Saturday, even!)

Finally for today, here's some updates from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9! The band is in the midst of their annual summer break from nightclub concerts, instead focusing on festivals and private events, but even given that, this is a quiet stretch for them, as their only public booking in Sault Ste. Marie until the fall was at Throttle Fest at Runway Park on Saturday, June 20th. If you want to get a glimpse of how the set at the outdoor motorcross/mud drag event looked, then here's a (sadly) vertical clip of Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve covering Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" late in the concert, as per their Facebook page the following day. Silent 9 were playing on a flatbed trailer at Runway Park, and there was an active crowd rocking out at this point in the night, if perhaps with a few bugs. The video is only 20 seconds long, but what we hear is well performed!

Note that the thumbnail image is from much earlier in the set for one reason or another (the video was 100% shot at nighttime), and as such, I do think that the stage lighting on the trailer made Silent 9 look too purple, especially in contrast to the outdoorsy locale, but you shouldn't be expecting Bell Border Jam II either. The description of the video does imply that Silent 9 will be back for Throttle Fest II next year, but with no Rotaryfest or Giovanni's sets this month (or anywhere else), local fans won't be able to see Silent 9 again at a public event until September, unless you wanna drive to Thessalon or White River. Give this new video clip a watch below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news, updates, and concert previews as we enter the month of July! Thanks everyone!

Saturday Hard Rock/Punk Concert Previews, Plus New Live Videos!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for not being able to get About:Blank's late notice Art In The Park acoustic matinee set at Moloney's Alley today into a regular post, but alas, they only announced their involvement on their Facebook page this morning, and they were not on the AI poster promoting the music lineup there. I'd have happily covered it here had it had been announced even yesterday, but I did get the word out on our Facebook page, at least. From here, we leave Sault Michigan to cap off this weekend's hard rock concert previews in Sault Ontario, including new videos from two of the bands in question, so here's what you should know!

We'll pick things back up at Beck's Bar TOMORROW NIGHT, and while Stones & Crows are debuting there tonight, Saturday belongs to Bone Yard 225, as the southern hard rock trio are playing a standard 9:00 PM nightcap concert and doubling up by going "uncorked" in the 3:00-7:00 PM matinee timeslot as well! The extended eight hour concert (with two hour gap) is so they can be the musical entertainment at the Biker Rights Organization's annual Shoot & Scoot motorcycle rally, which starts at the newer A&W on Great Northern Road and ends at Beck's (relocating from The Moose Lodge this year). Also at Beck's, attendees can expect a barbecue and concert action from "the dirty three", but visit the above links for what to expect at the rally, which does involve some field target shooting en route! Bone Yard have long been supporters of motorcycle riding and the B.R.O., and hopefully there's a good crowd for acoustic show #1 and plugged-in show #2!

Greg, Alex, and Warren's marathon day will have no cover charge for general attendees, and this is a 19+ event. Just two weeks removed from their last Beck's stop (which was their first electric gig in three months), hopefully things go smoothly for their southern fried hard rock originals and covers tomorrow, and that they use the 7:00-9:00 break wisely before recorking! Visit the above links for more details on your local 225's double concert and/or the Shoot & Scoot, and for a preview, here's a brand new live-streamed video of them live at the Queen Street Cruise last week! This comes from the outdoor waterfront portion of their Saturday gig during the car show (placed again near Montana's), and it features the guys covering Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music". It's a lively cover played in nice weather conditions, but the video is vertical, and it comes in midway through the first chorus.

Unfortunately, the band representative shot this video as a live-stream for their Facebook page, not a standard video, so as per Facebook's current guidelines, it will vanish from Facebook around July 20th unless they convert it to a regular video or re-upload it.  Give it a watch (while you can?) below, and click here for Greg's own highlight/behind the scenes video from the Cruise proper! No music there, but all of the band make appearances.

Next up, an intriguing package of newer and not-as-frequently seen local bands will join forces at Blaster Powerhouse TOMORROW NIGHT thanks to Underground Events SSM! Ska punk quartet A.S.D.P. (led by promoter Mikhal Muto) will play a rare headlining set tomorrow at the former Soo Blaster, while local metal trio The BAG will return to the site of their album release party in their first show since then tomorrow as the co-headliners, returning the favour after A.S.D.P. opened for them in April. Local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will end a 15 month stage hiatus when they take the stage tomorrow themselves, and it's great to see them back after way too long! Opening tomorrow is the live debut of Riverside Stasis, the new band from Handsome Sandwich, Raincourt, HeadFirst, Jack Spades, and Stones & Crows alumni. The talent is certainly there, but how will things go for their first live concert set?

Admission is $15 via advance tickets from the performers or at The Rad Zone, but the price will jump to $20 at the door. This is an all ages event that will begin tomorrow night at 8:00 PM. Definitely a solid lineup of newer and established local talent that hard rock and punk fans won't want to bypass, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and in lieu of a publically embeddable video of A.S.D.P. (remember, their social media presence is slight), here's The BAG live at the same venue!

Finally for known hard rock concerts this weekend, we'll head north to The Water Tower Pub, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will take the stage for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen at Minelli's 75th anniversary festival this past weekend, this will effectively be a rescheduling of their cancelled April 18th show at The Water Tower Pub due to an unspecified family emergency. Exactly 10 weeks later, they're back, and hopefully there's lots of fun classic and hard rock favourites from Valerie, Joe, Pierre, and Tony once again! I do not know who is playing at this venue tonight, but tomorrow's show will be at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. For a preview, we have some brand new videos of Generations live outside of The Marconi Hall for the Minelli's festival! Shared to the band's Facebook group in a batch post, the videos were shot by drummer Tony Santoro's wife Dawn.

She filmed them covering John Mellencamp's "Authority Song", Brandi Carlile's "The Story", Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", Bryan Adams' "Summer Of '69", and as embedded below, Nazareth's "Turn On Your Reciever". All have Valerie Powley on lead vocals except "Authority Song", which had Tony singing. While the videos are sadly all vertical (you don't have to accentuate the pavement like that when people aren't even standing there), the performances are sound, and this looks like a well staged event fitting a 75th anniversary! Visit the above links to see all of Dawn's videos, and turn on your receiver so you can check out the cover below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Hellrager & Krash), A New Local Band, And More News & Notes!!

Another packed news post is ready to check out for this Tuesday night, and it includes some recent shorter updates, two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this summer with a common band, and first, a new addition to our links & coverage, so here's what you should know!

We have a new-ish local band to add to our active links, and they are local alt-rock quartet The Reeves! You may recognize this band from their debut set at Toystock in November, but at the time, I wasn't sure of their general sound, aside from what their predecessor bands played. The Reeves are basically the successors to 2023-2025 alternative band The Haze (f.k.a. Skinbox), with singer/guitarist/synth player Brad Irwin (ex-Gnaeus) and guitarist Steve Edwards (ex-Pixo Control/Vol.) returning from that group. The rhythm section here is filled out by former Long Shot bandmates Adam Dawe and Jeremy Ganuelas on bass and drums, and it is good to see them back in a new project! While sound descriptions of Skinbox/The Haze pointed to them playing alternative/indie rock and Arctic Monkeys covers, the write-up on Rotaryfest's website says that The Reeves "combine elements of hard rock/blues and other genres to create their own unique vibe".

No word on if the name is an allusion to small town mayors, celebrities named Reeve/Reeves, or some other reference, but their second public concert will see them as the first scheduled band at Rotaryfest Stage 2 on Saturday, July 18th, and their set will reportedly feature "a collection of songs that will become their debut EP". No media of The Reeves is publically streamable yet, but this is a talented group on paper, and they do have descriptions pointing to a heavier sound than The Haze/Skinbox had, though be advised that Steve or Brad took down The Haze's social media pages when that band broke up. Stay tuned for more from them when things go public!

Next up, relaunched local death metal quartet Eden Plague have announced two upcoming indoor concerts that they'll be rocking out at, so besides Rotaryfest, when can you see the former Bear Hunters next? The first of the two will be on Tuesday, July 28th, when they make their debut appearance at Beck's Bar, and the headliners will be Cornwall hardcore metal band Hellrager in their first regional concert since playing at the Northern Vibe Festival in 2023! That's not for a lack of trying, as they dropped out of the last two Northern Vibes, but it will be good to see Hellrager in city limits for a change! Nice punishing sound that is reminiscent of bands like Clutch and Motorhead, and remember that guitarist Jay "Beard" Sarrazin was a member of Spades GT from 2022-2023 (playing with them at Northern Vibe 2022 as a fill-in bassist). He previously came to the Soo with his old band Caym twice in the mid-2010s.

Joining Eden Plague as openers are local metal quintet With Gunfire (the former Sault Side Squad) in their first concert of 2026 and first since finally launching their own Facebook page. Hopefully their recent break has been fruitful towards their promising original slate! Promoted by Eden Plague drummer Johnny Belanger, this stop on Hellrager's Jurassic Punk tour will have a 19+ age limit, no cover charge(!), and an early runtime of 6:00-10:00 PM, which is just as well given that it's a work/school night. This should be a fun one for metalheads across the board, with lots of familiar faces, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

The other new Eden Plague show ahead will be at Blaster Powerhouse on Sunday, August 16th, and apologies for the almost month-long delay in this making the site. Compared to the metal show three weeks prior, this is more of a genre hybrid event as put on by promoters Underground Events SSM, and it will be headlined by Saskatoon "D-beat hardcore punk" band Krash in their local debut. If you like down and dirty hardcore punk with aggressive vocals, Krash will deliver the goods, and they should take names when they rock the former Soo Blaster in two months! Note that the Facebook event page claim that "we're getting our first Saskatchewan band in the Sault!" clearly only refers to Underground Events SSM bookings, as The Sheepdogs played here in April, among other bands from there in the past. Promoter Mikhal Muto's ska punk/"crackrocksteady" band A.S.D.P. are slotted ahead of Eden Plague in the band order here, and may be the last band if you believe the poster.

While not a hardcore punk act, it's only natural that Adam Smith Death Parade get in on this one! A 7:00 PM start time is advertised on the Facebook event page for this all ages concert, and tickets cost $10 in advance (I presume at the venue and through the local openers, as I haven't seen an online ticket sale page). The door charge will jump to $15, and given that this too is on a work/school night, Mikhal pledged that the show will end early due to that. Add another intriguing concert to the pile for your summer plans, just don't krash when driving to Blaster! Visit the above links for more details on both upcoming Eden Plague shows!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or show name:

 

• While not yet confirmed by name within the band's slim social media presence, it looks like former One Shot guitarist Tucker Lidstone has joined the aforementioned A.S.D.P., making them a quartet. Tucker had previously performed at common folk punk-leaning events with frontman Mikhal Muto, and has been pictured in recent photos with the band, including at the Write-Ups show at The Speak Easy in May (source here). No word on if he is the guest guitarist "Keagles" from their debut album "Atom Bombs & Lemonade", but hopefully Tucker is a solid addition to their live roster! 
• Remember when a mystery act named "Benny's Acoustic Thing" was booked to open the Saturday bill at The Northern Vibe Festival last year? Well, that was supposed to be Ben "Boom" Poitras, the singer/bassist for the aforementioned Hellrager, but he and the band both dropped out of last year's festival after the heavy rainstorm severely damaged the Forest Stage overnight. It would have been interesting to hear how his acoustic thing sounded, but alas, blame Mother Nature! Thanks to former Forest Stage curator J.D. Pearce for confirming who Benny was.
• This is old news now, but it looks like the Sunday Night Vinyl Series ended on 104.3 The Fox and their sister Rogers Radio rock stations at the end of 2025, as did the conceit of on-air theme weeks (which always tied in with that week's album of choice). The 8:00 PM series featured Howard Mandshein from 92.1 CITI in Winnipeg spinning a classic rock album from front to back while discussing its backstory and legacy. While inconsistent depending on musical preferences, the Sunday Night Vinyl Series was an informative listen during The Fox's first year! I would have liked to seen newer bands/albums selected though, as well as more Canadian content.

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!

Initial Lineup Details For This Year's Northern Vibe Festival!!

The lineup for the band-centric Forest Stage at the eleventh annual Northern Vibe Festival was announced via their Facebook page yesterday, so what should you know there? While not announced in official promotion, this year will mark a change for Forest Stage promotion, as former Jack Spades/Frightlight frontman J.D. Pearce has stepped down as the curator of the lineup, after handling things there since the Ophir-based festival returned from their pandemic hiatus in 2021. As you may recall, last year's Forest Stage lineups were severely impaired by a Friday night rainstorm, which ultimately caused heavy damage to the stage overnight that left it unusable on the Saturday, with six band withdrawals. That alone isn't an ideal foot to leave off on, especially if this ends up being J.D.'s last turn as a local concert promoter, but kudos to him for booking and curating at Northern Vibe for the past five years despite his move to the GTA! Hopefully we hear more from him soon!

For 2026, Golden Scoundrels/ex-Shit Liver frontman Josh Penno has taken over curation duties on the Forest Stage, and this isn't an isolated happening, as he booked the Dopethrone concert at Jay's Piston Broke Pub last month. The Northern Vibe Festival will return to the former Hempfest stomping grounds on Poplardale Road in Ophir from Friday, August 28th-Sunday, August 30th (rebuilt Forest Stage in tow), and 15 acts are currently listed on the above promotional poster. If that holds steady, it will be the biggest Forest Stage lineup since the pandemic, and likely ever given how infrequently lineup details were published in the 2010s. However, it remains to be seen what days everyone is playing on, which lines up with the J.D. era, as a full daily schedule was generally only made public the week of the festival, if at all. I do get that this encourages people to buy full weekend passes, but still.

If scheduled similarly to past years, no bands will be playing on the Sunday. Four of the acts this year are out-of-town touring artists, with the nominal headliners being Flint, Michigan-based ska punk band The Write-Ups (the first American band ever booked for Northern Vibe), who headlined at The Speak Easy early last month. Good to see them back in our area so soon, and they're a fun band for ska fans! Two touring bands will be making their local debuts here in August, and both are relatively new acts, including Sudbury hard rock quartet Pressure Event and Timmins all-female pop punk quartet Saving Bambi, whose own advertising indicates that they'll be playing on Saturday the 29th (though Northern Vibe isn't technically in Leeburn). As well, Sudbury rapper Ronin705 will return to Ophir that weekend, five years after serving as a late replacement performer at Northern Vibe in 2021.

Of the eleven local acts, only three are returnees from Northern Vibes past, and they include the aforementioned folk/bluegrass quartet The Golden Scoundrels (who played the last two years), local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith for a fourth straight year (presumably with The Big Finish Band in tow again), and local rap supergroup Soundsxvad (members of Sound Syndrome + Fvcksxvad) in an encore from their Ophir debut in 2025. This year has more ties with recent Rotaryfest lineups, with debutantes including funk rock cover quartet The Rhythm Junction, blues rockers Sunday & The Broken Hearts, former Way Backs frontman Jeffrey Wright in a solo country set, and blues musician Josh "The Preacher" McNally and his Jackleg Band, fresh off of their Stage 2 set next month. Other acts at Northern Vibe XI include new local alternative hard rock quintet Riverside Stasis ...

...ska punk quartet A.S.D.P., local/Peterborough folk/country musician Michelle Moran, and curator/Scoundrels frontman Josh Penno in a solo set curiously branded as "Pen Pen Happy Fun Time". Is "Quarter Scoundies" too obvious? Meanwhile, the EDM/DJ-centric Roost River Stage lineup has also been revealed, so click here to see who will be spinning tunes there. As usual at Northern Vibe, you can expect vendors and on-site camping all weekend long to cap off the summer with, though detailed specifics are to be announced on what to expect. In 2025, the daily schedules were expected to run from 6:00 PM-11:00 PM on the Friday and 12:00 PM-11:00 PM on the Saturday, the storm and this year's larger lineup acknowledged. This is a 19+ event, and tickets are currently on sale at this link in the "early bird" tier 1 phase, going for $125 for the full weekend.

No word on if the price will go up once "early bird" sales end, but if you're holding out for single day passes or other tiers, stay tuned to Northern Vibe social media accounts for updates. Definitely a more varied lineup for musical styles, leaning more into blues and country while still harbouring alternative and rap from past years, which is a testament to Josh's aims as a curator, and hopefully things go smoothly with much better weather in a couple of months! Visit the above links for more on this year's Northern Vibe Festival, but we'll let you know when daily schedules and timeslots are announced, and look for more news soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (A.S.D.P.), A New Album Release, and Much More!!

As the long weekend continues, we have a stacked all-Sault Ontario post on this wet Sunday evening, including a new album release, a surprise concert of sorts from a very prominent artist, and more recent updates, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month!

Local promoters Underground Events SSM are hosting a rare all-local concert at Blaster Powerhouse (the newly renamed Soo Blaster, more on that in a bit) on Saturday, June 27th that will be headlined by ska-punk trio (quartet?) A.S.D.P.! Last seen opening for The Write-Ups at The Speak Easy, it will be good to see them in a higher profile headlining spotlight! Co-headlining are metal trio The BAG in their first show since their "Sacculus" album release party at the same venue last month (which A.S.D.P. opened), and one hopes that they'll have CDs on sale next month if you don't have one yet! In a big surprise, local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will also play their first concert since opening for Selias in March of last year (also at Soo Blaster). I was honestly planning to move A Dire Setback to our inactive band links very shortly, so it's great to see that they're still alive, and hopefully their teased recording sessions from last year have progressed!

The opening band here is the debuting Riverside Stasis, which is the new group from former Handsome Sandwich frontwoman Taylor Emlaw and Headfirst guitarist Raine Rancourt, but we await more public information about this band (a jam video featuring the full group was briefly online last week but I can't find it now). Stay tuned! This all ages concert has an 8:00 PM start time, and advance tickets will be $15 once they go on sale (the price will jump to $20 at the door). Looks like a fun night of all-local punk and hard rock is in store, so visit the official Facebook event page for updates!

Next up, let's stick with A.S.D.P. frontman Mikhal "Cha" Muto, as his hardcore punk/extreme metal solo project Choking On Appendages is back, and they released their second album onto their Bandcamp page on April 29th! Coming almost two years after the release of their debut EP "Macabre" (and until now, their only other public act, as they're not on social media otherwise), this album is named "Galactic Acid", and while it only has two more songs than "Macabre", it is over double the length. Mikhal again independently recorded the new C.O.A. album, but this time, he has three special guests. "Bilge" features Golden Scoundrels/ex-Shit Liver frontman Josh Penno on vocals (don't miss the latter band's one-off reunion at Jay's one week from tomorrow!), "The Almost People" features Mikhal's cousin/ex-Hails bandmate Carmen Muto on guitar, and "Teeth" features prolific local folk punk/extreme metal singer/guitarist Chase Wigmore.

You can buy "Galactic Acid" on Bandcamp for $9, or stream all eight songs for free there as well as on Mikhal's YouTube channel, with the description of that single-video upload confirming that the album was recorded last year. I do wish that Choking On Appendages (hell, all of Mikhal's bands) had more of a social media presence, but it's good to see his heaviest project back after almost two years of public silence! Alas, our lengthy album review backlog means that "Galactic Acid" isn't tapped for a review until February, but give the new Choking On Appendages album a listen above and below!

Also, here's the latest from a musician who's been quiet in recent months, namely local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith, who re-emerged in surprising fashion on Saturday, May 9th. As you may know, most members of his local supporting band The Big Finish Band play shows in town as the country rock cover band Elly McWatters & The Drifters (just with A Dire Setback bassist Matt Quinn instead of Matt Fronzi, plus ex-Jack Spades guitarist Jesse Cook), and they were booked to play at Jay's Piston Broke Pub this past weekend. As it turns out, Mike was planning a trip to the Soo then, and after some prior personal teasers, Jay's let the cat out of the bag 90 minutes prior to showtime that he'd be making "a special appearance". I don't know how much of the night was taken over by Mike & The Big Finish Band, but he and Matt F. were on hand for their first public performance together in eight months!

A (sadly) vertical video, complete with an unnecessary text caption, was shared from Mike's personal Facebook page the following day, and while lively, it runs for only 15 seconds and has very loud and distorted audio. I guess you had to be there! Notably, Elly was playing guitar that night after only doing backing vocals for Big Finish Band shows last year following rotator cuff surgery (though this won't be a surprise if you've seen recent Drifters concerts/videos). Mike also hung around to join bandmates as guest judges at Shooters Downstairs Lounge's Talent Quest karaoke competition last week, which Elly won a few years back. Awesome to see Mike back in town for a surprise, so give the video a watch below!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or venue name:

 

• The Dive Gastro Pub (which may be rebranding as The Dive On Queen) debuted a new "Metal Mondays" theme night this past week, as per this AI-generated poster on their Facebook page. They don't go into much detail about what to expect beyond "heavy riffs, cold drinks, (and) good people every Monday night", and "no cover, just metal", but seeing as the former Low & Slow only hosts intimate acoustic artists and DJs, this reads to me like they're just playing metal as the house background music on Mondays now. We'll let you know if things are more involved beyond that, but if you're a metalhead and can swing coming out on a work/school night, maybe The Dive is the place to be tomorrow evening?
• The aforementioned Soo Blaster has indeed rebranded as Blaster Powerhouse, as per their online marketing in recent weeks (though the name has surfaced in some local concert marketing since at least March). As explained in this SooToday article by Darren Taylor, the name change coincides with the completion of the 345 Queen Steet East entertainment venue's recent expansion and upgrades, including a larger arcade, laser tag, bowling lanes, extra family entertainment options, and a video screen on the concert stage, among other new updates. I think a lot of folks will still call it Soo Blaster(s), but a lot of work has been put in, so see above for all that the Powerhouse has to offer!
• Facebook users may have seen a "Story" video recently from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Separate Wayz of their sister band Soundcheck covering Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" at Reggie's Place this weekend, with the twist of Separate Wayz singer Nicole Thibodeau guesting from the audience (she was holding a microphone brought from the stage). Allegedly, Nicole had FOMO (fear of missing out) despite this not being an "epic crossover" of the two bands. What I saw and heard was good, but alas, "Story" videos vanish forever after one or two viewings, and the video was not permanently uploaded otherwise, so if it pops up in your "Stories" strip, watch it A.S.A.P.!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) & Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews!!

For our last post of April 2026, let's look at most of this weekend's hard rock concert previews! Due to the amount (though we have seen busier weekends), I'll hold our preview of Saturday night's Bimbo-headlined concert in Sault Michigan for tomorrow's news post. Now, here's what you should know in Sault Ontario this weekend in a hard rock/punk context, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover sister bands Soundcheck and Separate Wayz will join forces for another "epic crossover" weekend, this time at The Esquire Club TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via Separate Wayz' Facebook page on Tuesday, though note that the venue has not corroborated the bookings on social media. Marking their first joint appearance together since rocking Beck's Bar a month ago, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows will be Soundcheck's first at this Second Line West staple since they played there in February, albeit with no crossover, as Separate Ways singer Nicole Thibodeau was ill that weekend (the shows were originally planned for solely Separate Wayz, but Travis bailed them out on short notice for Soundcheck gigs instead). Of course, remember that the two bands have a 75% identical lineup, just swap Travis for Nicole.

Good to see Terry, Jim, Johnny, and both singers together again for what should be a stacked pair of classic and hard rock shows, so keep both in mind TOMORROW & SATURDAY! Both are 9:30 PM affairs at 9:30 PM with no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, here's some shows that did have advance notice before Tuesday, starting with a rare punk concert at The Speak Easy at Algoma University, where Flint, Michigan-based ska punk band The Write-Ups will make their local concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT! A spiritual successor to the Quit It! concert at the same venue last fall (if with much better promotion), The Write-Ups have the ska bonafides (including a horn section) and socially charged lyrics to go along with a fun and bouncy brand of punk rock that subgenre fans should easily take to tomorrow, so welcome them north of the border in style! Fittingly, newer local ska punk trio A.S.D.P. will be the local openers in their debut at Algoma University's campus pub, and expect their own original cuts to set the mood right! This is the newest promoted concert from A.S.D.P. frontman Mikhal Muto's agency Underground Events SSM.

This stop on The Write-Ups' "Up North Weekender" is an all ages concert (yes, The Speak Easy is licensed), doors open at 7:00 PM, and admission is $15 for general attendees and $10 for current Algoma University students with valid student ID. If you love ska punk, you don't want to miss out on this one, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here are The Write-Ups live late last year!

Also this weekend, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly will return to Beck's Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of their debut at Gateway Casino last week, this will be Linsaey, Frank, Harley, and Joe's first stop at the Goulais Avenue nightclub of 2026, having played one of their first post-reunion gigs there in November. The band promises "another night of great energy & your favourite hits", and who am I to doubt that kind of claim? Their blend of accessible but often heavy covers can be seen at the former Vibe Lounge tomorrow at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. In the increasingly frequent cases where Beck's hosts a band on Fridays rather than a DJ, they don't double up a band on both nights, so Saturday night's band there are classic rock trio The Sidekicks. Visit the above links for more on tomorrow's concert, and here's Quite Frankly live!

Finally for this preview post, prolific local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Misty's Fifties for his second matinee concert there of the spring on SATURDAY! After ending his 2+ month break from concerts at this Second Line West pub in mid-April, this will be the first of three May matinee concerts at Misty's for Tym, so if you're up for a few hours of unplugged rock covers from this veteran talent, then head west on Saturday! Tym will be back every other week for the rest of the month, and we await a public announcement of his schedule at Misty's (and elsewhere) for the summer and beyond. This Saturday matinee concert goes down at 4:00 PM with a presumed 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. It's great to see Tym back on a more normal schedule after his finger healed up, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here he is live! 

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

The BAG & Tym Morrison Concert Previews, Plus The Last Of Crush's Live-Streams!!

Before we begin today's post, we have one more concert cancellation to take note of this weekend, as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 are not playing at The Water Tower Pub tonight, as per the venue's Facebook page yesterday. The band never confirmed the gig on their own social media, and aside from last month's "uncorked" gig at Smitty's, they haven't played live in two months. I'm not sure if their recent break is directly related, but I do want to offer our deepest condolences to guitarist Alex D'Ettore and his family following the recent passing of his daughter Ally. I can't imagine the pain and heartbreak that Alex, Marcy, and everyone who knew and loved Ally are going through, and hopefully things proceed as naturally and respectfully as possible in her honour! Newer local blues rock band The Low Light Company are filling in at The Water Tower Pub tonight.

Today's post otherwise concludes this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, as well as wrapping up our coverage of a recent live-streamed concert, so let's start with the return of local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison to Misty's Fifties TOMORROW! It's been an unusually long 2+ month wait for Tym to play another matinee gig at the Second Line West nightclub, as he was laid up for much of that time healing a broken pinky finger, having last played at Misty's on February 7th before dropping out of that night's Reggie's show due to the injury. Tym returned to the stage on March 26th at The Dive, but he ended up cancelling his next two scheduled Misty's shows for other reasons, so if you have missed his prolific setlist of classic and hard rock cover favourites at this west end staple, head there tomorrow! As usual for Misty's Fifties, this is a matinee concert taking place from 4:00-8:00 PM.

This is a 19+ event with no announced cover charge, and while it is Tym's only scheduled show at Misty's this month, he gets back to a more typical schedule with three shows there in May. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on tomorrow's return to one of Tym's favourite recent stomping grounds, and here he is live!

Lastly for known hard rock concerts this weekend, we'll head to Soo Blaster, where local metal trio The BAG will play their first show of the year TOMORROW NIGHT by headlining their long awaited album release party! While the band has been very cagey on particulars for their debut album "Sacculus" in the lead-up, fans will get their first chance to buy physical copies tomorrow, and assuming it drops on streaming as well, I'll let you know about that when specifics go live! This will be Spencer, Austin, and Bradley's first concert in nine months, and hopefully the anticipation builds to make tomorrow's concert one to remember! Openers will include local death/thrash metal trio Pillory, newer local ska punk trio A.S.D.P. (fronted by this show's promoter Mikhal Muto), and Winnipeg folk punk musician Greg Rekus, who fronted The Inside Job here twice in the mid-2020s and is hopping on this bill mid-tour.

Remember, Mikhal is a huge fan of folk punk, so the shoe fits for the early portion of this concert! As seen in this (AI-animated?) poster from The BAG's Facebook page, tickets cost $15 in advance (via the local bands, promoters Underground Events SSM, and The Rad Zone), but admission fees jump to $25 at the door. This is an all ages show, the concert starts at 7:30 PM, and again, I don't know further details on "Sacculus" (i.e. formats, price, track listing, production details, etc.), so you may be the first to know tomorrow night. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, stay tuned for more from The BAG and the new album, and here they are live!

Finally for today, let's wrap up our coverage of Sault Michigan hard rock trio Crush's live-streamed concert at The Merchants Bar while these videos are still viewable! Remember, as per Facebook's current live-stream video regulations, these will only be left online until around May 11th unless the band converts or re-uploads them to their Facebook page, and click here for our recap of the first two sets' videos. This live-stream abruptly stopped 21:26 into its presumed half hour runtime, but it at least stopped in between songs. From what we can see from The Merch last week, you'll see the guys covering Eric Clapton's "Cocaine", Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell", and Led Zeppelin's "Rock & Roll", before playing an apparent original comedy rock song named "My Cheese" that some attendees were requesting. Kudos for answering the call from their fans when they weren't originally planning to play this one! The last song here is "Fire", an original that ended their Superior Whitefish Battle Of The Bands-winning set in Brimley last year.

Bassist Isaac "Iggy" Royer sings lead on the first two covers, singer/drummer Alex Traynor handled "Rock & Roll" and "Fire", and guitarist Josh Tyler sang "My Cheese". The stage lighting at The Merch was a little too vibrant for my liking, and like with the prior live-streams, this was shot vertically, but the performances are strong with good energy and a sense of humour, and the guys have a good grasp of their covers (you'd hope so given the obvious Tarnished links) while still showing strong original songwriting, so give Crush's third set a watch below (until May 11th?)

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