The 2025 Northern Vibe Festival Preview!!

The tenth annual Northern Vibe Festival kicks off TOMORROW NIGHT with another stacked lineup of local and touring musicians descending upon the old Hempfest grounds on Poplardale Road in Ophir, so here's our extended preview! This annual camping & concert festival once again sees vendors, activities, food & drinks, and more along with the live music, so be sure to visit the official website for this weekend's complete non-musical details! Once again, there are two distinct stages for Northern Vibe, with DJs and EDM artists performing on the Roost River Stage (click here for its schedule), while bands and solo musicians will set up shop on the Forest Stage once again, as curated by Spades GT frontman J.D. Pearce for a fifth straight year in his annual return to local concert promotion. 15 acts (up from 10 last year) will grace the Forest Stage between tomorrow and Saturday, so who all can you expect to see an hour east of the Soo this weekend?

Just to preface things: the official schedule (released unusually early on August 11th) was considered "tentative" at that point, but there has been no contradictory announcements to go against what was stated then. Five bands will perform tomorrow during the shorter opening day program, which will be headlined by the local debut of Sudbury-based Tool/A Perfect Circle tribute band Avessel at 10:00 PM. They have the chops, so welcome them to the Algoma District in style tomorrow night! New (and maybe one-off) jazz/standards group The Josh Norling Quartet will co-headline at 9:00 PM, while hard rock quintet HeadF1rst will be the only band from this year's Rotaryfest to pull the summer festival double at 8:00 PM. The Friday bill kicks off with an extended rap block, including the merged Fvcksxvad/Sound Syndrome supergroup SoundSxvad at 7:00 PM & The CSWS Crew at 6:00 PM.

Nice diverse array of music to check out tomorrow, including heavier stretches from Avessel and HeadF1rst to keep things rocking, so keep everything in mind if you'll be in Ophir for night #1 of Northern Vibe X! 9&10 News is calling for cloudy skies with temperature going from 26° down to 18° as the night progresses. Note that they are forecasting rain in the 11:00 PM hour, which may affect Avessel's set, but the forecast isn't projecting more than a 20% chance prior. Visit the above links for more on the Friday Forest Stage lineup, and here's Avessel live! 

The longer program on SATURDAY will feature ten bands, and your headliners this year are local Pink Floyd tribute band Dark Side Of The Soo, as the Bourbon Blue side project will build on their recent Beck's gig by closing Northern Vibe in prog rock style at 10:00 PM! Niagara Falls prog/improv rock band The Road Waves will return to Northern Vibe as the 9:00 PM co-headliners in their fourth Ophir appearance, while local alt-hard rock quartet Handsome Sandwich will become the only band to play all five years of this festival since the post-pandemic relaunch at 8:00 PM. This year's other two touring bands (both from Cornwall) take the stage prior, including hard rock quartet Don't Tell Sarah in their second straight year at Northern Vibe at 7:00 PM, and speed metal band Hellrager (featuring ex-Spades GT guitarist Jay Sarrazin) at 6:00 PM, returning for their own second year after dropping out last year.

Folk/country quartet The Golden Scoundrels (featuring fellow Spades alum and Handsome Sandwich drummer Johnny Belanger) will return for their second Forest Stage set at 5:00 PM, preceded by the first of two shows this weekend from local/Barrie alternative/hard rock musician Mike Haggith and his Big Finish Band at 4:00 PM, one year removed from their set that had professional cameras rolling. Will things get filmed thusly again? As revealed on Wednesday the 13th, the 3:00 PM band named The Barbarians are actually the new band fronted by ex-Elements/Wyld Stallyns singer/guitarist Rob Speers (replacing his originally announced solo set), and he will be joined by Handsome Sandwich bandmates Taylor Emlaw and Rafael Medina as well as Boat Dads drummer Kevin Harrison. They're described as a "party band", but what specifically do they play, especially compared to Rob's old bands?

Note that these three musicians have backed up Rob at some solo dates this year, but is this the start of a formal new band, or are The Barbarians a one-off? The 2:00 PM block is listed as "bingo break" on the schedule, and based on promotion since then, it appears to literally be a break in the schedule with no band. I haven't seen direct reference to bingo being played or scheduled elsewhere, but get your dabbers ready just in case! We'll let you know if something else is afoot then. The 1:00 PM set belongs to debuting local punk/hard rock quartet Spun Out (featuring Caveman Morrison and Half Past alumni), who were themselves late additions to the Forest Stage lineup, so come out to Ophir to hear how they sound! The Saturday bill will be lead off by "Benny's Acoustic Thing", which has yet to be elaborated on in official social media promotion. I believe I know who Benny is, but just in case, I won't make an assumption in case I'm incorrect.

Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for a high of 22° dipping to the mid teens on Saturday night, and there is a chance of showers in the afternoon, though they're not expected for most of the day (skies are projected to be mostly cloudy early and partly cloudy late). Note that 2023 Forest Stage performer and local magician Ryan McFarling will be back this weekend as a general performer on the festival grounds and does not have a formal timeslot, so keep an eye out for him! Even with no A Dire Setback this year, this year's Northern Vibe lineup is stacked, and after it briefly looked like last year's festival would be the final one, it's great to see everything back and in full swing for the tenth installment! This 19+ festival goes on rain or shine, and if you haven't bought your tickets yet, online sales closed yesterday, so you'll need to buy yours at the gate. The in-person rate isn't given online, but it will be higher than the advance fee was.

For reference, advance tickets cost $125 in advance (for the full weekend) and $80 (Saturday only; there were no Friday-only passes), and while Sunday is part of the schedule, that's strictly for campers to pack up and wrap up, there's no bands that day. There's a lot to take in off the grid once again this weekend, so visit the above links for full details on Northern Vibe in 2025, and for a Saturday preview, here's Don't Tell Sarah live! 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Northern Vibe Festival 2025!!)

In a major change in approach from past years, The Northern Vibe Festival's (tentative) Forest Stage schedule was publically revealed yesterday via their Facebook page, meaning that we can formally give the Ophir-based outdoor concert festival's 2025 lineup the LOCAL CONCERT ALERT treatment with advance notice to spare! Since the J.D. Pearce-curated era began for the Forest Stage in 2021, the band schedule has never been publicized any sooner than the week of the festival (and not at all in 2021 or 2022 by festival organizers), but this has slowly been improving, and I'm glad to cover things nice and early! Even if the intent was to ensure that you have to be there for the whole thing, I'd still wanna know who's playing on what day and when.  So, who all will grace the stage at the former Hempfest grounds on Poplardale Road this year? As of yesterday, all acts from April's tentative lineup (possibly sans one) are still scheduled, plus late additions Spun Out, so who's on & when?

The shorter Friday lineup on August 22nd will be headlined at 10:00 PM by Sudbury-based Tool/A Perfect Circle tribute band Avessel in their local concert debut, which isn't a bad spot for them to make a first impression on Algoma District fans! Avessel are Friday's only touring band, and with the fire lighting ceremony (remember the impressive bonfire?) coming in between, the Friday co-headliners are new local jazz/standards group The Josh Norling Quartet at 9:00 PM. Hard rock quintet HeadF1rst will make their Ophir debut at 8:00 PM, and the day's program begins with hip hop performers, including Fvcksxvad/Sound Syndrome supergroup SoundSxvad at 7:00 PM and online page-less collective The CSWS Crew at 6:00 PM. Very eclectic musical lineup for night #1, but there's a lot of talent to be had whether you're into rock, rap, or jazz, so don't miss out next Friday as the tenth annual Northern Vibe begins in style!

As for the longer Saturday, August 23rd program, organizers have similarly given the 10:00 PM closing duties to this year's other tribute band, namely local Pink Floyd tribute (and Bourbon Blue side project) Dark Side Of The Soo, while the highest slotted touring band at 9:00 PM are Niagara Falls prog/improv rock band The Road Waves in their fourth appearance at Northern Vibe and first in three years. Local alt-hard rock quartet Handsome Sandwich will become the only band to play on the Forest Stage in all five years of the J.D. era at 8:00 PM, while touring bands from Cornwall will return in the preceding two timeslots. Hard rock band Don't Tell Sarah (who played last year) are up at 7:00 PM, while speed metal veterans Hellrager (featuring ex-Spades GT guitarist Jay Sarrazin) will return at 6:00 PM, following their 2023 set in Ophir and their quiet withdrawal from last year's event.

Fellow (Jack) Spades alum Johnny Belanger will play his first of two sets that day at 5:00 PM with folk/country band The Golden Scoundrels, who also played here last year, while the 4:00 PM timeslot belongs to local/Barrie alternative/hard rock standout Mike Haggith & his Big Finish Band in their third straight year on the Forest Stage. Questions arise with that afternoon's band slots, starting with "Barbarians" at 3:00 PM. I am not 100% certain on who this band is, but one possibility is the Vancouver speed metal quartet of that name. Note that former Elements/Wyld Stallyns frontman Rob Speers is the only absent name from the April lineup posting on this schedule, so could The Barbarians be a new band of his? Regardless, we'll let you know when more is publically confirmed! The 2:00 PM slot is listed as "Bingo Break", and barring this being a Rob Speers-led project, could that legitimately mean that bingo is being played for an hour?

Again, when more is confirmed, we will let you know on if Bingo (Break) is literally a band's name-o or if you'll need your dabbers for the occasion! New local alternative/punk quartet Spun Out (featuring Caveman Morrison, Half Past, and Disciples Of Rock alumni) will make their live concert debut on the Forest Stage at 1:00 PM, and the Saturday lineup will be led off at 12:00 PM by "Benny Acoustic Set", previously labelled as "Benny's Acoustic Thing". I have a hunch as to who Benny is, but no concrete proof in writing, so I'll leave it there for now, but he should get things off on the right unplugged foot if I have the right guy! Assuming that organizers continue posting promotional images for individual bands on their Facebook page in the next two weeks, we should eventually know more on The Barbarians, Benny, and (if this is a band) Bingo Break, so follow along there for potential updates!

The concurrent & DJ/EDM-centric Roost River Stage schedule was also released on Friday, so click here to see who's performing there next weekend. Tickets for The Northern Vibe Festival remain on sale for $125 (full weekend) and $80 (Saturday only) at this link, so if you haven't bought yours yet, do so while you still can! The festival takes place rain or shine, it is 19+, and while Sunday the 24th is part of the schedule, that's the camping/pack-up day with no scheduled bands. Click here for full details on expectations, ground rules, and directions to what should be a blast in the bush next weekend, visit the above links for more on this year's Forest Stage lineups, and look for more on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!

Cory Marks Concert Videos & Northern Vibe Festival Lineup Updates!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for missing a late concert cancellation on here, as classic/hard rock cover trio Dodge This dropped out of their planned Beck's Bar show on Saturday night. A reason for the cancellation wasn't announced, but Beck's Facebook page only confirmed the news at 10:00 PM that night, after the show was to have began. Hopefully all is well in Dodge This' camp, and that we see them again on stage soon!

Today's post otherwise takes us to updates on an upcoming concert festival, but first, here's some long overdue videos from North Bay country/hard rock musician Cory Marks' last two shows here! This first one is actually from his Machine Shop gig in September of last year, and I think this one slipped me by until now because it was uploaded as a "Shorts" video (a.k.a. YouTube "Reels"). While it is brief and vertical, at least you can embed it on external websites and play it in a background tab! This actually comes from the YouTube channel of Ben Bullett Mortlock, who was a session guitarist in Cory's live band, and it features 56 seconds of footage from that night, including arrival at the venue, and black & white soundcheck clips. All of this is set to the studio version of Cory's song "Whiskey For Sale". I say this a lot for highlight videos, but I hope the raw footage of this gets uploaded at some point!

Beyond my usual complaints about vertically framed videos, the quality of the video footage here is great (I couldn't tell you if the audio matches up), with lots of strong angles of the band, venue, and fans, so hopefully someone is sitting on the fuller (and maybe not vertical) raw materials? Kudos to Ben for this "Short" regardless, so give it a watch below!

Next up, let's transition to Cory's third local concert, a special acoustic event at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre in June as part of the Hope Air Day charity initiative for improving remote health care access in northern communities. This intimate event (which had free admission) was actually live-streamed by the Hope Air Facebook page, but alas, I wasn't able to cover it here as hoped due to our busy existing summer schedule. Facebook now has a 30 day time limit for hosting and viewing live-streamed videos, unless they're re-uploaded or converted to regular videos prior, which Hope Air did not do for the Cory Marks concert here, so it vanished from Facebook around July 6th. We're not completely stuck in terms of covering it now though, as attendee DJ Chris Mat uploaded two videos from that night to his YouTube channel! One is of local folk musician Matthew James, who replaced The Dust Covers on short notice for unannounced reasons as the opening act.

Cory's 1:41-long video features him covering Bryan Adams' "Cuts Like A Knife", another good sign towards his country/rock crossover appeal if you weren't familiar with his rock radio crossover singles already. I get the sense that Chris zoomed in a lot, but you see what you need to see for Cory's one man performance here, and he sounds good on this domestic rock classic, so give it a look below, and apologies again for not being able to cover the full live-streamed concert in time! Hope Air is a great charity, and I hope the local festivities helped their goals and promotion in the area! 

Lastly for today, here's some clarifications and updates re: the lineup for the Northern Vibe Festival in Ophir over the August 23rd weekend! Like last year, organizers are posting individual promotional images for the musical performers on their Facebook page on a sporadic basis, and one is a brand new addition to the lineup, namely debuting alt-rock/punk quartet Spun Out! Confirmed for the festival on July 11th, the band features former Caveman Morrison vocalist Dean Duguay and former Half Past/Winkstinger bassist Ryan Disano, alongside a guitarist named Joe and a drummer named Jamie. I am not 100% on their identities, not aided by the lack of an online page, let alone the horror movie effects on their first band photo, but it will be neat to hear how they sound! I don't know who, if anyone, Spun Out are replacing at Northern Vibe, but seven of the Forest Stage bands on the tentative April lineup have yet to get a Facebook promotional image at press time.

Regarding the advertised Tool tribute band, they are not a Parabol reunion, nor are they even local. They are Avessel, a joint Tool/A Perfect Circle tribute band from Sudbury, who will be making their local concert debut off Poplardale Road in three weeks. Avessel don't have a website or social media page beyond Instagram, but what I have heard points to a strong take on songs from Maynard James Keenan-fronted bands, so don't bypass them! Lastly for updates on advertised bands, the rap performance by Soundsxvad isn't a renaming of Fvksxvad, rather a one-night-only merger of MCs from that collective as well as Sound Syndrome. Apologies for any confusion from our initial coverage of this year's lineup, and thanks to members for clarifying on Facebook! Time will tell if there any other lineup adjustments, so stay tuned for more updates on the lineup and who exactly is playing on what day when things come out, and we will keep you posted!

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