Friday Night Concert Previews, Including Switchfoot & The Lazys!!

Our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend concert previews are getting off to a late start following yesterday's sad breaking news, and as luck would have it, tomorrow is quite busy for concerts (mercifully, all with advance notice), so let's dive right in for post #1! Hard rock bands booked half or entirely on Saturday (Peril, Bon Jovi Forever, and Silent 9) and Sunday's late notice TNT matinee will be in our next preview post later today.

We'll kick things off TONIGHT with this weekend's arguable main event, as San Diego alt-hard rock quartet Switchfoot will make their local debut at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! Best known among casual fans for their rock radio hit "Meant To Live", Switchfoot are touring in support of their new album "Forever Now", and have two+ decades of hit singles on the Christian charts as well as more crossover singles on the rock side of things like "Dare You To Move", and they should find a good audience for their often hard-edged set tonight! Florida emo/alternative quintet Anberlin (of "Feel Good Drag" fame) will also make their Soo debut tonight as openers, and with their own Christian crossover sound, they should fit in while also demonstrating their own unique contemporary originals! This all ages concert goes down tonight at 8:00 PM.

This show hasn't sold as well as other modern hard rock concerts at The Dreammakers Theatre have so far, so plenty of good tickets are still available in the second-fifteenth rows ($91), further back ($81), or standing room only ($71), while there are also VIP passes on sale. You can buy tickets at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, at the in-person box office, or via Kewadin Casino's new mobile application. Hopefully things do well across the board tonight, even if it's not a long weekend for Yoopers, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Switchfoot live!

Next up, let's head to Sault Ontario to kick off the holiday long weekend in style at Blaster Powerhouse, where Australian hard rock quartet The Lazys will make their local debut TONIGHT! A relatively rare example of a non-domestic band whose get more airplay here than in the States (104.3 The Fox were even doing ticket giveaways), The Lazys' old school-tinged originals like "Hot Under The Collar" and "Too Tough To Die" are loud rocking anthems that will be very neat to see on a local stage for the first time! Winnipeg "nu grunge punk n' roll" quartet The Bloodshots are joining them on their Too Tough To Die Tour, and if that name is familiar, it's because you just saw them open for their sister Nirvana tribute band Aneurysm at Beck's Bar last month. Not every day where a touring band comes here on two different tours a month apart, but they left a good impression in the west end last month, so how about an encore?

The local openers are alt-hard rock band Riverside Stasis in their first of two different concerts tonight, so while this is pricier show, it's also the one with more hype and promotion, and hopefully Tea and the guys set the good tone before they make their own way to Beck's Bar! This all ages concert will itself begin at 8:00 PM, and tickets cost $40 at this link or at the former Soo Blaster, though the door price will jump to $50. This should be a fun and explosive way for Sault Ontarians to kick off the long weekend, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's The Lazys live!

Also taking place TONIGHT is the return of local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 to The Water Tower Pub for one night only! Announced via their under-maintenance website's concert calendar but oddly not plugged by the band on Facebook since, this will be an "uncorked" show as usual at this particular locale. No word on when we'll next see "the dirty three" in their plugged-in splendour, but if you like their softer side and/or miss The Bearded Lounge, consider a trip to The Water Tower Pub tonight for their classic, southern, and hard rock covers gone acoustic! In their since-deleted concert calendar for October 2026, The Water Tower Pub had listed tomorrow's timeslot there for "TBC", which I took to mean "to be confirmed", but is there a band with that acronym playing instead? Tonight's show from your local 225 is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Bone Yard live!

Finally for weekend concert preview post #1, we'll head west to Beck's Bar, where a trifecta of local bands will join forces for a FREE concert TONIGHT! The aforementioned Riverside Stasis will head west to headline this show, fresh off of opening for The Lazys at Blaster Powerhouse, so if you're a fan of this union of Headfirst and Barbarians alumni, you have two chances to see them live tonight, one much cheaper than the other! Opening this show are ska/crust punk quartet ASDP (whose frontman Mikhal Muto is promoting the concert via Underground Events SSM) and local "diamond rock" quartet Stones At The Alter (featuring ASDP bassist William Wardlaw on guitar). Note that S@TA haven't plugged this concert on social media, and haven't posted at all or played live since the spring, but this will be a good way for them to get back out there! This concert takes place tonight at 9:00 PM and is 19+ as usual.

A completely free (not even "pay what you can") event from Underground Events SSM is rare, so definitely consider coming out for all of the original and cover action, especially if you're priced out of/not a big fan of The Lazys. You'll get to see Riverside Stasis either way! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Riverside Stasis live!

That's all for now, but we'll have more weekend concert previews on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Switchfoot & Sandman), The Dopethrone Concert Preview, And More!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert in this weekend's previews, as Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished returned to The Driftwood Sports Bar in St. Ignace last night. While the venue (which doesn't regularly host live bands) had been promoting the show for over two weeks, Tarnished only announced the show on under three hours notice on their Facebook page, blaming this on frontman Alex Traynor forgetting "to hit 'Post'". Tarnished haven't announced a booking on more than three days notice since (ironically) their Halloween show at The Driftwood last year, so I can't be too shocked, but I do apologize, and hopefully the concert was a hit for the band & attendees alike!

Now, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and an SMS-adjacent event's return, and we'll start with Toronto-based Metallica tribute band Sandman will return to Sault Ontario when they become headline at The Full Throttle Saloon on Saturday, July 25th! Making their (at least) fifth local appearance, local fans last saw Sandman when they played at the former Soo Blaster in July & October 2022. Notable as the only tribute band that Metallica has officially licensed (details here), you may also recognize members Rick Van Dyk, Paul Fonseca, and Brent Niemi from being mid-late 2000s members of Helix. I have seen Sandman twice, including at my first ever 19+ concert in June 2008, and they deliver the goods for fans of 1980s and early 1990s Metallica, so hopefully things go well when they invade Steelton in two months! No word yet on a local opener, but note that Headrush (who opened for Crazy Babies here) feature guitarist Wes Greco, who opened the October 2022 Sandman show with The Soo Fighters.

This 19+ concert has a 10:00 PM start time, and ticket prices will cost $50 at the venue. If you're curious, their Soo Blaster gigs in 2022 had advance tickets that cost just $20. This is still cheaper than the $70 Crazy Babies show, but all of The Full Throttle Saloon touring tribute concerts have had tickets that are considerably higher than comparable local shows elsewhere, so be mindful of everything prior. No word on if the former Primavera Hall will permit admission at the door (they did not for Crazy Babies). Hopefully this is another hit as they continue bringing in tribute rock bands, so see above for more details on the Saloon's third touring tribute concert!

Next up, here's the big new concert announcement from two weeks ago at The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, as San Diego alternative/hard rock quartet Switchfoot will make their local debut on Friday, October 9th! Best known for their early 2000s top 20 crossover hits "Mean To Live" and "Dare You To Move" (and decades of success on the Christian charts), Switchfoot have drifted away from their earlier hard rock material somewhat in recent years, but they should have lots of early hits in store along with cuts from their new album "Forever Now", and it will be interesting to see how they go over in four months' time! Florida alt-rock/emo band Anberlin will open on October 9th in their own local debut, and they're best known for their songs "Feel Good Drag" and "Impossible". Like Switchfoot, they are a Christian band but also strive for mainstream appeal, and their sound has crossed many subgenres!

Presented by Rock 101 (though The Promise or KFM easily could do so too), tickets run from $71-$91 USD depending on location in the theatre, while VIP admission for $191 will guarantee you a center section seat in the first six rows, among other perks. You can buy tickets for this all ages and 8:00 PM concert at this link, at the in-person box office, and at 1-800-KEWADIN. This should be an interesting night for fans of 2000s rock, and something a little different from what typically comes to Kewadin Casino, so visit the above links for more details on this fall concert!

Now to a special Monday night concert preview in Sault Ontario, as Montreal "slutch metal" veterans Dopethrone will rock the Soo for the first time in seven years TOMORROW NIGHT at Jay's Piston Broke Pub! Last seen at the former New A in May 2019, fans can expect another blast of sludgy doom metal from this well travelled and punishing trio, so don't miss out if you can swing the work/school night action! Joining them on tour are Vancouver goth metal band Tribunal, a mixed-gender group whose brand of orchestral and atmospheric doom will definitely deliver something a little different for fans in attendance tomorrow! Local support includes a one-off 15 minute set from 2010s grindcore staples Shit Liver (who opened for Dopethrone in 2019 in the final concert of their original run). It will be great to see Josh, Mike, and Matt back for one more blistering good time, if not a long time!

The relaunched Bear Hunters (now known as Eden Plague) will kick things off in their first show since a private Leeburn event in 2023, and their first public gig in city limits since 2021. Same lineup, but new songs and a fresh start, so it will be very interesting to see how Eden Plague go over tomorrow after eight years of sporadic activity, hiatuses, and breakup teasers! Promoted by Shit Liver/Golden Scoundrels frontman Josh Penno, this 19+ concert has a 7:30 PM start time, and tickets cost $20 at Jay's and The Rad Zone, with door admission costing $25. This should be a brutal night of metal, and a nice throwback to the 2010s from the openers, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Dopethrone live!

Finally, do you remember when The Distraction on East Street hosted occasional "punk rock sewing club" nights in 2024 & 2025? Well, they are back at a new venue! As you may recall, The Distraction closed indefinitely (permanently?) due to the fire code issues reported during last July's Ripcordz concert, but promoter Mikhal Muto (of Underground Events SSM) has struck a deal with The Speak Easy at Algoma University to bring the conceit back for three Thursdays this summer (June 25th, July 23rd, and August 20th). The idea is to sew and craft your own projects (theoretically patches on clothing given the "punk sewing" theme. but there's no limits), and while you're encouraged to bring crafting materials, tables, scrap fabric, and (of course) punk background music will be provided. The idea exists where musicians could play here too, presumably acoustic ones, which did happen at least once at The Distraction.

This is more "SMS-adjacent" given that it's a craft night and not a concert, but the punk themes are all over the place here (think of all of the patches you see on people's clothing at concerts!), and Mikhal has been a supporter of this idea right along. Promotion emphasizes that this is a safe space too, so if you want to hang out in an inclusive area and sew patches and anything else while listening to punk rock, circle these three Thursdays on your calendar, and who knows if this could lead to more? That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS this week! Thanks everyone!