LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tarnished), More Weekend Concert Previews, And New Videos!!

Here's weekend concert preview post #2 for this busy weekend in the Twin Saults and area! Along with previously known gigs, we have a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, and new videos from two of the local bands in question, so here's what you should know!

Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover band Tarnished will return to The Lakeside Lounge at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the casino's Facebook page on Wednesday, confirming that their schedule of bands at their new-ish acoustic-leaning lounge are indeed going beyond August. SATURDAY'S concert will be Tarnished's first at Bay Mills in two weeks (albeit a one-nighter due to the new karaoke nights there on Fridays), but they have played since in both St. Ignace and downstate in Cheboygan, reportedly playing on a pirate ship in Mullett Lake this past Saturday. For the life of me, I can't find details on this event (even though it wasn't local, I'd have at least mentioned it here had someone said more), but hopefully it was a swashbuckling good time! Like Tarnished's summer shows at The Lakeside Lounge, SATURDAY's gig will be in acoustic two-man-band form.

As such, don't look for Chris & Ron, who only play their electric gigs, but they should be present for Tarnished's St. Ignace show next weekend. This concert is a 21+ affair at 8:00 PM on SATURDAY with no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a video of Alex & Josh at The Lakeside Lounge back in June! Quietly uploaded to Bay Mills' Facebook page during the show, the vertical video sees half of Tarnished covering Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry" for 26 seconds. Interesting choice that doesn't really suit their background beyond Tarnished leaning to the 1980s covers lately, but Alex's singing is an improvement to me, so check out this new unplugged video from Bay Mills Resort & Casino below!

Next up, let's head north to Ontario, but an hour east of the Soo to Bruce Mines, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will be the featured band for day #1 of this year's Central Algoma Exhibition (a.k.a. the Bruce Mines Fall Fair) TOMORROW NIGHT! Two nights removed from their special midweek Beck's gig with Spencer Pine, "the dirty three" will close out the opening night of the fair, playing immediately after the demolition derby at 6:30 PM, so a start time is not known (the intent may be so you have to see the derby prior). The bulk of the exhibition activities are on Saturday and Sunday, including a classic rock/country-leaning concert on Saturday featuring Sault Ste. Marie cover bands Sunday & The Broken Hearts, Whiskey Hippy, Out & Out Country, The Cloud Bandits, and Evinrude(?!), so be sure to visit the fair's Facebook page's AI-generated posters and schedules for the full itinerary and non-musical event listings.

Tomorrow's Bone Yard show (complete with on-site beer garden and food vendors) will have a $10 gate fee for admission to the fair/demolition derby, but the concert will have a separate $30 ticket price. This may seem steep, but included is admission to Saturday's concert, so keep that in mind! Fun little change of pace for Greg, Alex, and Warren, so if you're up for the drive east for the car smashing action, you'll get some southern fried hard rock as the nightcap! See above for much more on the Bruce Mines Fall Fair, and here's your local 225 live (videos with Spencer are coming soon!)

Now back in Sault Ste. Marie, Hamilton-based Led Zeppelin tribute band Led By Zeppelin will make their local debut on SATURDAY NIGHT at The Sault Community Theatre Centre! This show comes exactly eight weeks to the day from a different Led Zeppelin tribute band (London's Zed) serving as the featured headliners at Rotaryfest Stage 1, so Zeppelin fans will get a quality encore if so desired! I'm not one to compare tribute bands against each other, and Led By Zeppelin have a handicap in this regard, as the members don't attempt to dress like Robert, Jimmy, John Paul, or John. Musically, they nail the Zeppelin sound well, so don't miss out what should be a fun concert for classic hard rock fans on Saturday! All of the action goes down at White Pines Collegiate's on-site theater on Saturday night at 8:00 PM, and tickets are on sale for $61.02 (adults), $49.72 (seniors 65+ and students 16-25), and $27.12 (kids 15 and under).

Most center section seats have sold in the first eight rows, but left/right section seats and further back seats in the center are still readily available. The price point compared to Rotaryfest (free) will be a concern for many, but the former Kiwanis Theatre is a fancier, high quality indoor venue, so keep that in mind. Buy tickets online at this link, at the door, or at the Station Mall box office, see above for more details, and here's Led By Zeppelin live!

Finally for weekend concert preview post #2, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to Gateway Casino for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Two weeks removed from their most recent gigs at Reggie's Place, this will be Valerie, Joe, Pierre, and Tony's first stop at the Bay Street casino in over a month. This veteran group should have lots of entertaining classic and hard rock covers in store, so don't miss out if this is up your alley on Saturday! Gateway Casino gigs are all Saturday nighters at 8:00 PM regardless of band, with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of them live at Reggie's late last month! This was filmed by prolific local concert attendee and supporter Audrey Marshall for her personal Facebook page, with half of the band sharing it separately to their Facebook group afterwards.

The 64 seconds long video sees Generations covering "Your Daddy Don't Know" by the early 1980s Canadian hard rock band Toronto. Solid choice that definitely suits Valerie's vocal range, and it's a good, lively performance, though I do wish Audrey had filmed for longer than 64 seconds. Give it a watch below, and look for much more from Generations on Saturday!

That's all for now, but we'll conclude our weekend concert previews with Nate's Chow and Tym Morrison next! Thanks everyone!

Prince Fest, Tarnished, And The Nameless Weekend Concert Previews!!

Let's mow through most of the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews today, by looking at Saturday-only Sault Ontario gigs as well as hard rock shows in Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula, which is where we're leading off, so here's what you should know on this Friday morning! Previews of tomorrow's Bone Yard show and frontman Greg Simpson's Sunday matinee gig will be in our next news post.

Local classic/hard rock cover band Tarnished will return to Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT at their new(?) Lakeside Lounge! The last scheduled concerts of any kind for their summer slate there (as per this calendar), Tarnished confirmed on their Facebook page that these will be acoustic concerts featuring just singer/guitarist Alex Traynor and guitarist Josh Fair. This goes in line with the Lakeside Lounge's live music schedule, which has only scheduled solo artists and duos. We'll let you know when they return to the stage fully plugged in with Chris and Ron in tow, let alone with Isaac in Crush! You can enjoy their hard rocking acoustic covers this weekend in Brimley at 8:00 PM both nights with 21+ age limits and no cover, but for unclear reasons, Saturday's show is a half length affair ending at 10:00 PM rather than midnight. See above for more details, and here's Alex & Josh live!

Next up, local hard rock quartet The Nameless are advertised to rock The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen locally at the finale of the Hell To Paradise motorcycle rally elsewhere at the Soo Kewadin last month (with a road trip to Republic in the interim), The Nameless are getting their maiden bookings at The Rapids Lounge just in time, as it is closing this fall in advance of heavy renovations and the construction of a new sports bar opening at the Sault Ste. Marie branch next year. Bands are scheduled through at least the end of September, but of course, we'll let you know if The Rapids Lounge survives past then or closes early (for what it's worth, the band has not posted on their Facebook page in over two weeks). Assuming everything is a go, the hard rock cover action is at 9:00 PM tonight and tomorrow with 21+ age limits and no cover. See above for more details, and here's The Nameless live!

Now north to Sault Ontario, but 20 minutes down Second Line West, as the first annual Prince Fest takes place TOMORROW! To be held at the corner of Second Line and Airport Road in the baseball field adjacent to co-promoters DeMarco's Boots & Saddles Roadhouse, this festival is being well hyped across multiple AI-generated posters on social media, with vendors, family activities, food & drinks, kids entertainment, and on-site baseball and basketball tournaments, so be sure to visit the DeMarco's Facebook page for full non-musical details! The musical portion will be headlined at 9:00 PM by Toronto-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer, who have played here multiple times since the SMS launched (including at the former Soo Blaster three years ago), so it will be good to see their faithful and entertaining take on Kiss' classic catalogue again tomorrow night! Local acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will play the middle set at 7:00 PM.

Capping off their busy weekend of three shows in three days, hopefully Dustin & Mikey have a solid audience west of the Soo tomorrow evening! Frequently seen Boots & Saddles performer Mike Robitaille will kick off the music with an acoustic country set at 5:00 PM, and both local openers are blocked for two hours apiece. While Prince Fest is an all ages event beginning at 12:00 PM, organizers have clarified that only the first five hours have free admission. The three musical acts will have a separate ticketed admission of $35, which is up $15 from Destroyer's show here in 2023, but remember that that wasn't part of a festival. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for 19-23° temperatures during the band portion of Prince Fest and mostly cloudy skies, plus a slight chance of rain early in Destroyer's set. Keep tabs with your preferred weather forecasts for potential updates. It will be mostly cloudy in the afternoon too with a high of 24°.

Should be a fun time if you're out east or are up for a drive (if not quite as nice for sky conditions as The Northern Vibe Festival will get 90 minutes east), and between Destroyer's well known take on Kiss' hit singles, Dos Amigos' unplugged punk covers, and Mike's own talents, music fans will have a little something to like regardless of genre preference! Visit the above links for much more on what to expect outside of the Boots & Saddles on Sunday, and here's Destroyer live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Bone Yard/Greg Simpson previews and more next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Aneurysm), Another Brimley Battle Of The Bands Video, And More!!

Our backlog is almost cleaned out, so to continue towards that goal, here's another news post to check out tonight, including one more video from a battle of the bands last year, some assorted shorter updates, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, so here's what you should know!

It's been two & a half weeks of putting this show off amidst our severe backlog, but its number has finally been called, as Winnipeg-based Nirvana tribute band Aneurysm will make their local debut on Wednesday, September 23rd at Beck's Bar! The first Nirvana tribute in the Soo since The Pixo Control's one-off turn as Like A Pisces over a decade ago, this show actually has more in common with the Rush tribute concert at Reggie's in July 2022, in that the tribute band is the sister group for a touring original band who will be playing the opening set as themselves. In this case, the band is Winnipeg "nu grunge punk n' roll" quartet The Bloodshots, who alone would be an intriguing headliner here with their up-tempo melodic, yet in your face original sound that blurs genre lines, but they do Nirvana justice in available media, so fans of grunge and alt-rock should have a blast, work/school night scheduling acknowledged!

This concert will have a 9:00 PM start time in "Saulte Ste. Marie", it is 19+, and it will have a $10 cover charge (as best as I can tell, there won't be advance ticket sales). If you can swing a Wednesday nighter in late September, this should deliver the goods for Nirvana fans, let alone The Bloodshots' own entertaining originals, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details on all of next month's action!

Next up, I wanted to wrap up our look at Dafter, Michigan singer/guitarist Molly Escherich's videos from her sets at the Superior Whitefish Festival in Brimley, as we haven't talked about her "Music In The Park" acoustic set last year! Molly's solo unplugged sets don't lean as heavy as what she plays in bands (perhaps understandably), but she does throw in some hard rock covers in unplugged settings. Before she and The Other Guys played an abbreviated 10 minute long set in that evening's battle of the bands, Molly played a more standard 40 minute set in the afternoon, which was prefaced by the announcement by her mother Tiffany that she had won a major scholarship award for middle/high school music students, allowing her to afford the tuition at the Interlochen Academy For The Arts. She begins her second year there next month, and of course, belated congratulations to Molly on her success as she furthers her musical career and education downstate!

The actual set begins 5+ minutes in with covers of Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down", Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Still The Same", Radiohead's "Creep", and Eddie Rabbitt's "Drivin' My Life Away", before playing her own original song "Will This Last Forever". After tackling Cat Stevens' "The First Cut Is The Deepest" (perhaps the Sheryl Crow version?), Molly next plays her own original "Cheap Cologne" (which she played with The Other Guys in the battle later on), before finishing out with covers of Zach Bryan's "Something In The Orange", The Doobie Brothers' "Listen To The Music", Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain", and Coldplay's "Yellow". If you're curious, all songs here except the four from "Creep" to "The First Cut..." were played in Molly's Music In The Park set this year. Also, only five songs here were clipped out as indivdual YouTube uploads, so use the links above to see everything.

I'm thinking that the other six didn't get singular uploads to minimize on banter with people off-stage and/or false starts/minor flubs, but for a then-13 year old who had just received extremely exciting news about her further education in music, I'm not inclined to be judgy. Molly performed well here, and covered a lot of musical ground in this set, so give her full 2025 acoustic Superior Whitefish Festival set a watch below!

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

 

• A bonus 16th act has been added to the Northern Vibe Festival's Forest Stage lineup this weekend, namely Darius McRae, a teenage acoustic singer/guitarist who you may recognize from local theatrical productions and from performing in Superior Heights Collegiate's student rock band Steel Rock at Rotaryfest Stage 1 in 2024 & 2025. How will he sound on his own? Be in Ophir this coming weekend to find out! The full two day schedule has been released, but as it's now short notice for us (as usual for this event), stay tuned for our extended Northern Vibe preview next week!
• In yet another example of a local band posting a Facebook "Story" that I can't embed or link to here, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly shared a brief vertical video of them covering The Arrows' "I Love Rock N' Roll" (well, the Joan Jett version) at last week's Outspoken Brewing concert. Actually, the show took place outdoors beside Outspoken, which is honestly for the best, as the space for concerts inside is very small, hence why you more hear of acoustic solo artists and DJs there. Hopefully the concert went well for the band and fans, even if I truly don't like the idea of "Stories"!
• Underground Events SSM posted a "Things To Do In The Soo" events listing on their Facebook page on August 15th featuring upcoming concerts from them and other promoters, even ones that haven't been formally unveiled yet. Of note, the second SOOpfest fundraiser will indeed be on September 19th (bands and location to be announced), and there will be a "mixed bill" Thanksgiving weekend concert on October 9th followed by a "metal show" on October 30th. If they're listing them without info, the latter two must be from Underground Events SSM too, so stay tuned for details on both!

 

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

More New Videos & Related Updates From The EUP, Plus A New Live Video Of The Gambit!!

Here's another news post as we continue staying busy on the SMS this weekend, and it just so happens with our backlog clearout that we have a heavy focus on Sault Michigan and/or the Eastern Upper Peninsula again today. This includes a follow-up to recent coverage from a local battle of the bands and local musicians' involvement in an indie film premiering later this month, but we are capping things off on the Canadian side for a new live performance video. However, we'll start south of the border, so here's what you should know on this Sunday morning!

While featuring the video yesterday of Molly Escherich's Music In The Park set at last month's Superior Whitefish Festival, I realized that a video from last year's battle of the bands at this Brimley-based festival was also uploaded to her YouTube channel! While the Dafter-based teenage singer/guitarist led The 8th Fire to second place in year #2 of this battle, and she led Molly & The Other Guys to victory at 2024's Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands (more on this year's soon), the two battle runs bookended an off day for Molly as a local battle competitor. Molly & The Other Guys were revived with a mostly new lineup for 2025's inaugural Superior Whitefish Festival battle, but with five competing acts (four guaranteed prizes), Molly & crew surprisingly finished in last place. Possibly because of this, the video is now unlisted on YouTube, but it was publically shared to her Facebook page at the time. 

For this set, Molly was joined by returning Other Guy Nathan Webber (ex-Tarnished/Exit 808) on guitar, alongside bassist Destini Smith (who guested with Tarnished at the previous year's LSSU Battle) and Molly's brother Cayd on drums. Cayd was a very late replacement for About:Blank drummer Kade DesArmo (what are the odds on the similar first names?), stepping in that same day for his first ever appearance as a drummer in a live concert. Things started with a full band version of Molly's original song "Cheap Cologne", before Molly put down her guitar for a cover of Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Old Time Rock & Roll". and then picked up a tambourine to cover Paramore's "Hard Times". This was actually the entire set, and as Molly explained on her Facebook page at the time, they wanted "to give the band some stage time" despite the lack of rehearsal and the drummer change, so the set was heavily pared down from the expected 45 minute runtime.

The 10 minute length will likely explain the lack of a podium finish last year, but I did notice timing issues during the set, and to me, they picked two covers that would have suited having a second guitarist present (Molly or otherwise). Still, they did perform well and likely would have won cash had they played a full set! This would end up being the swan song for any version of The Other Guys, with The 8th Fire becoming Molly's new full-band concern last month, let alone her heading to Interlochen last fall, but she has a bright future ahead, and Nathan, Destini, and Cayd are talented musicians too, so give Molly & The Other Guys' 2025 battle set a watch below!

Next up, let's stay in the EUP by heading north to Sault Ste. Marie for... the premiere screening of an indie horror movie? On Saturday, August 22nd, Lake Superior State's Arts Center will host the premiere of Yooper Frankenstein, a locally-filmed and produced horror movie by local filmmaker Dave Cairns that was shot here from mid-2024. The movie will be screened twice that evening at 7:00 & 9:00 PM, and the movie will definitely be R rated for violence, adult content, coarse language, and disturbing scenes (it is a horror movie, after all!). Teasers from the shoot have been shared to the movie's Facebook group and across multiple YouTube videos, one embedded below, but why is this relevant to SMS coverage? Well, look at who is soundtracking the movie, namely Viscera frontman "Blind" Bob Quinn, X's & Y's/ex-Life's Eclipse guitarist Jason Mills, and ex-Half Stupid/Plastic frontman (and former Crooked Music owner) Zac Crook!

Blind Bob also has a small acting role in the film proper, and Zac is the film's music director. Zac and Jason have shared songs from the film to YouTube, and while what they have shared so far is atmospheric and feels inspired by 1980s horror classics, there will be some level of metal music, as heard in the teaser below from YouTube user gothicsoldier (listen to those drums!). A locally made horror movie in Sault Michigan is sure intriguing, and they've certainly put the work in over the past two years, but will this be horror's answer to Escanaba In Da Moonlight? See above and below for more on Yooper Frankenstein and the premiere in two weeks! 

We'll close this post with a rare live video from veteran Sault Ontario punk supergroup The Gambit's Facebook page! As you may recall, they played their first public concert set since Rotaryfest Stage 2 in 2024 on August 1st when they opened for 5 Dollar Bribe on an all-local bill at Blaster Powerhouse. This was just their fourth show period since changing their name from The Sick Sons in 2022, and given their stacked lineup and original material, it's a shame that they don't play more often. This video captures the last 2 minutes of what I believe to be a new original song named "Searching For A Signal" (if it's a cover, I don't know the original at all), and while the audio levels are too loud and staticy as filmed, it's an upbeat punk rocker that fits in line with members' past bands! Good stuff, and hopefully we're not waiting until 2028 for The Gambit's next gig, so give their new video a watch below!

That's all for now, but there should be at least one more post on the SMS later today! Thanks everyone!

New Videos From Mike Haggith, Molly Escherich, And The Floor Between Us!!

As our slow clear-out of the backlog continues, here's a new news post on this Saturday afternoon that takes us from the EUP to Southern Ontario before finally coming home to Sault Ste. Marie, but we'll start in Michigan with another recent full set video, so here's what you should know!

In a follow-up from our coverage of last month's Superior Whitefish Festival battle of the bands in Brimley, Michigan, you may recall that there was a separate Music In The Park concert before the battle featuring acoustic-leaning performers. One was 8th Fire frontwoman Molly Escherich just hours before she led her new band to a second place finish, and like with the main band, her solo matinee set was shot in full for her YouTube channel! I have been more selective with acoustic singer/guitarists in our band links in recent years, as for metal, hard rock, and punk, it doesn't play in as well for song choices, and anyone with a guitar can play a set live and call it a day, but what does a 56 minute set of Molly's entail in 2026? In performance order, the 14 year old Dafter native covered Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Still The Same", The Eagles' "Take It Easy", Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down", ...

...The Doobie Brothers' "Listen To The Music" (which The 8th Fire covered in their battle set), Carole King's "It's Too Late", Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary" (briefly), and "Have You Ever Seen The Rain", before playing the original song about the perfect boat day with her dad that led off The 8th Fire's battle set. Covers resume with Noah Kahan's "The Great Divide", The 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up", Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive" (also covered by The 8th Fire that night), another attempt at "Proud Mary" that was more successful than previously, Zach Bryan's "Something In The Orange", Coldplay's "Yellow", and Little Big Town's "Boondocks", before Molly ended her set with two more original songs named "Cheap Cologne" and "Always Known". Molly definitely has some other hard rock covers in her back pocket from past solo gigs that I want to look at in the future, but her solo set is definitely more varied.

Regardless, she is a very talented singer and guitarist who is still rapidly improving (being at Interlochen will help in that!), and for her age, she has an ease about her on stage and a good audience rapport already! If you saw her battle set with The 8th Fire, the three common songs from Molly's solo set (one being an acoustic solo performance too) will either be an interesting contrast or feel redundant, but remember that a lot of early festival attendees didn't stay for the battle, or vice versa. Good stuff, and with a dash of the hard rock to come that night, so give Molly's Music In The Park set in Brimley a watch below, and we'll have more from her soon!

Next up, let's head north of the border (and yet still south) to Barrie, Ontario, where local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith returned to Athletic Kulture Stadium there on July 4th to sing "O Canada" at a Barrie Baycats baseball game! Now competing in the renamed Canadian Baseball League, the Baycats welcomed Mike to sing the anthem at games in each of the past two seasons, though rain delays got in the road of his original 2024 bookings. For Mike's game this season, he sang before Barrie's clash with the Hamilton Cardinals on the Fourth of July, and regrettably for the home team and fans, the Baycats lost 8-1. As always though, the game was live-streamed on Barrie's YouTube channel, and if you want to just check out Mike's performance, he is introduced by the PA announcer at the 7:42 mark. Mike sings well, as you'd expect given his talents and pedigree!

I just wish the game went better for the Baycats, but they are in fourth place in the nine-team league, which would guarantee them a playoff spot if the season ended today, so best of luck for a strong run over the rest of the CBL season. Give Mike's performance (and the game) a watch below!

Finally for today, I wanted to mention the local comedy/art rock band The Floor Between Us, who have came up sparingly in our coverage in recent years. If you're not familiar with them, their lineup features one-time Soo's Got Talent finalist Colin Gasparelli on vocals & guitar alongside singer Ivy-Rose Morrison, Stones & Crows bassist Nicholas Gingras, and Spaceship Opening/ASDP drummer Ralph Barber (an "Andrew M." played keyboards for them once too). Their music is very eclectic, experimental, and has more in common with a lot of 1960s pop rock and bands like They Might Be Giants than heavier styles, but there's a joie de vivre and clear sense of humour across their original music, so I do recommend checking out their material on maior streaming platforms to see what you think! However, they do occasionally cover some songs that cross the SMS' radar in concert.

The Floor Between Us are fans of the English anarcho-punk band Chumbawamba, best known for their one mainstream hit "Tubthumping", which they have covered live (here they are playing it unplugged at a Korah talent show featuring Ralph's ASDP bandmate Mikhal Muto on cajon). However, they haven't just gotten up again after being knocked down, as they covered their 1994 b-side "The Day The Nazi Died") at one of their Sault Theatre Workshop fundraiser concerts in November. More of a politically charged folk song that would definitely fit an English pub (complete with Nicholas on added percussion), this is well performed with sharp lyrics, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

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

A New Band In Our Sault Michigan Links, Plus New Videos!!

I hope everyone had a good Civic Holiday, especially if you had the day off! Alas, not everyone in Sault Ontario did. For our sixth post already this month, we have the latest on a new addition to our Sault Michigan band links and a new teaser video for an upcoming festival, so here's what you should know!

Over a week removed from their debut at this year's Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands, let's roll new Sault Ste. Marie/Dafter hard rock band The 8th Fire into our coverage! Successors to the former Molly & The Other Guys, The 8th Fire is the new live band project from 14 year old singer/bassist and Interlochen Arts Academy student Molly Escherich. She is joined here by Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins (who also provides backing vocals and occasional lead vocals) and former Exit 808 drummer Jackie Moon, who was one of The Other Guys when Molly led them to victory at 2024's Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands (more on year #4 of that annual event soon). Presumably taking their name from the Anishinaabe's Seventh Fire Prophecy, The 8th Fire logged just one practice before the battle of the bands in Brimley last month, and yet still won second place, which ain't too bad!

Quietly launching their Facebook page in May, I'm not sure how much we'll see The 8th Fire in terms of regular bookings, as the fall semester at Interlochen begins after Labour Day, and Molly's own summer calendar from her solo Facebook page doesn't list any further 8th Fire gigs. The Facebook page must mean that we'll see them again, but will something new be announced short term? Could they compete at the next LSSU Battle? We'll let you know if we hear anything, but if you're curious to see more of Molly, Joe, and Jackie, their full Superior Whitefish Battle set was filmed in full for her YouTube channel! You can also watch Molly's acoustic performance from the pre-battle "Music In The Park" matinee block at this link, and that may make the SMS yet pending if she covered anything heavy. If you missed my review of the battle, Molly started the set with a solo acoustic original about a perfect boat day with her dad.

Afterwards, The 8th Fire proper covered Redbone's "Come & Get Your Love", The Doobie Brothers' "Listen To The Music", Green Day's "When I Come Around", Hole's "Malibu", Seven Mary Three's "Cumbersome" (with Joe on vocals), Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive", Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean", Judas Priest's "You've Got Another Thing Comin'", and Ozzy Osbourne's "Mr. Crowley". I won't repeat my original thoughts from my live review, especially this soon after, but it was a solid set despite the lack of rehearsal and Joe's broken guitar string, and I will note that The 8th Fire did seem to get heavier as things went along! Molly's channel also uploaded the "Mr. Crowley" and "Billie Jean" covers as separate videos, though the "Billie Jean" one was cropped into normal widescreen orientation, which I heartily welcome, especially as the full video was shot vertically (look at all that tent!).

Good stuff overall, and here's hoping we see more of The 8th Fire before too long, but give their full Brimley set a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Molly and the Whitefish Festival Battle!

We'll close today with another video from a female-fronted local band, but this time in Sault Ontario, as local alt-hard rock band Riverside Stasis posted this video on their Facebook page on July 22nd to promote their set at the second annual WestFest at Anna Marinelli Park this Saturday! Featuring the band's current four-piece lineup (Liam Dinsmore hadn't left yet when this was shot, but they knew he was leaving shortly and wouldn't be at WestFest), the guys take turns promoting the festival and their set at 5:00 PM, ending with a new(?) audio clip of them jamming, though the audio quality isn't high, and did this video have to be vertical too? Still a good teaser, so give it a watch below, and our WestFest preview is coming later this week!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for mid-week concert previews on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!

The 2026 Superior Whitefish Festival Battle Of The Bands Review!!

It's been way too long since I've made the point of crossing the border to see and review a concert in Sault Michigan or the Eastern Upper Peninsula, and with last night harbouring the second annual Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands, that seemed like as good a reason as any! I made the half hour drive southwest to Brimley (nice country drive there), and for context, the festival was set up not far down the road from Bay Mills Resort & Casino, and you also passed Pickles Bar & Grill en route. While I didn't take part in the bulk of the non-concert festivities, the layout by the Riverview Park & Campground saw food trucks, vendors, and tents bordering an open area for games and activities to take place. Like last year, bands performed under a large white tent that had room for some attendees to be under in case of inclement weather, though many were happy to sit and watch outside.

Skies were cloudy and overcast all evening, but there was zero precipitation, and temperatures were reasonable. The battle format saw bands play 45 minute sets with 15 minutes for teardown and setup, and all got a "one song left" warning from the sound guys (there was no dedicated battle MC, but there were PA announcements regarding festival events, last call for whitefish meals and drink sales, and the battle awards). The battle was judged, but there was no announcement made concerning judging criteria or who was on the judges panel. Good crowd of people too, and there was a real community/family aspect to who stuck around all night!

The opening set at 7:00 PM went to local southern rock/country duo Blood, Sweat, and Beers, who were playing their first show in 2½ years last night. This is the old/new band from former Fake Chow/Unfortunate Sun singer Skip Parish, who was joined on guitar by his brother Stephen, and their set definitely leaned away from the rock covers from Skip's recent band work. The all-covers set saw them tackle songs by Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Mellencamp, Deana Carter, The Eagles, Zach Bryan, Eddie Rabbitt, Post Malone, and Steve Earle. I'm not a big southern rock or country guy (let alone The Eagles), and I do think Skip's vocal range suits rock more, but the Parish brothers had a good sound going and a fun camaraderie! I especially liked Stephen's stage presence, coming off amusingly aloof and oblivious to the setlist and what was happening. Nice and casual southern fried unplugged set to lead off!

Second up last night was local punk/hard rock duo About:Blank, who were the only band present with any substantial inclusion of original songs, playing nine of their own tracks here, including "Shedding Skin", "Tread On", "Peaches", and "Run & Hide". A mix of familiar and unfamiliar acts were covered also, including Adult Books, Green Day, Turnstile, and The Orwells. I did see Parker Talentino solo at the LSSU Battle of the Bands in 2024, but in a full band setup (current duo lineup acknowledged), About:Blank delivered a set that had a lot of nods to early 1990s grunge with punk and hardcore influences, including some screaming for effect. He and drummer Kade DesArmo paired well for a chaotic but well composed batch of songs, including when Parker switched to bass for their closer "Unheard" (with its very "Barracuda"-ish riff). Good stuff, and hopefully we hear more from About:Blank before long!

The third band last night was reunited local classic/pop rock cover quartet The Whole Shabang, with singer Candy Fultz and her husband Lawrence (on guitar) back alongside bassist Mitchell Willis. On drums here was Mark Livermore, who was recently seen in The Chris Barker Band. Playing their own first show in two years, The Whole Shabang covered songs by Trick Pony, The Neon Trees, Robert Palmer, Billy Joel, Elle King, The Cranberries, Aretha Franklin, Radiohead, and Gretchen Wilson, for a set that really was a jack of all trades range of covers (dare I say, "the whole shabang"?). There was a hang-up when they restarted "Respect" after Candy got her foot caught in the microphone cord, but they had a fun and lively sound with everyone performing well, and lots of dancers hit the front of the stage, which is quite welcomed! You'd never guess they'd been inactive for as long as they were!

Closing the battle past sunset were The 8th Fire, who are the new local hard rock band from Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich alongside her former Other Guys bandmate Jackie Moon (ex-Exit 808) on drums, plus Proiect 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins on guitar. We'll have more on them in an upcoming post, but they look to be more than just a short term band made for a battle, as there are 8th Fire t-shirts! No word on what the first seven fires were though. Molly actually kicked off the set with an original country song about a perfect boat day with her dad, but the full-band songs were all covers, where they tackled Redbone, The Doobie Brothers, Green Day, Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Judas Priest, and Ozzy Osbourne. Joe even took over lead vocals for a cover of Seven Mary Three's "Cumbersome", and killed it on guitar, especially on "Mr. Crowley" (including playing behind his head at one point!) If only we had gotten that Project 1327 crossover!

Molly has improved vocally since I last saw her in person at the 2024 LSSU Battle, and while some songs were still out of her range, she adjusted well (and remember, she is fourteen years old). Jackie drummed well with enthusiasm, and Molly's bass work was strong, though Joe did break a guitar string late in "Billie Jean". Not a bad debut set at all, and hopefully we hear more from The 8th Fire before Molly heads back to Interlochen!

After judges' deliberations, the PA announcer revealed the winners of the battle, and the $1,000 first place prize went to.... The Whole Shabang! The 8th Fire debuted with a $750 second place finish, while About:Blank won $500 for third place, and Blood, Sweat, and Beers claimed $250 in fourth place (so everyone got something for showing up). The Whole Shabang also earned the right to play a bonus set (or as the announcer called it, a "jam sesh") in the 11:00 PM hour, but I didn't stay for that, owing to a combo of depleting camera batteries and the half hour drive back to Sault Ontario. I don't know what the judges criteria amounted to for the battle proper, but the order did fall in line with who had the biggest and fullest live band presentations, not to mention the crowd engagement levels. I will say that I don't think originality was supremely high as a criterion for the judges, as About:Blank would have ran away with that.

Still, this was a triumphant return gig for The Whole Shabang (they look ready to play regular shows again instantly), and kudos to everyone for an entertaining night of live music! No word on if the LSSU Battle will return for year #4 this fall or not, we'll keep you posted, but I do need to come across to the EUP for more concerts already! You can check out our photos from last night at this link or at our Facebook page, and here's Blood, Sweat, And Beers covering Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason", About:Blank playing "Dilletante", The Whole Shabang covering The Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See" (with flute!), and The 8th Fire covering Hole's "Malibu"!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for much more on the SMS this week, feature posts and regular news posts alike! Thanks everyone!

The Superior Whitefish Festival Battle Of The Bands Preview!!

Next up as we wind down this weekend's concert previews is a road trip 20 minutes southwest to Brimley, Michigan, where the second annual Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands goes down TOMORROW NIGHT! I completely missed last year's for coverage on here until after the fact, and I'm not letting year #2 slip past me, especially as this is shaping up to be another intriguing event! As you may recall, the Superior Whitefish Festival returned after a decade+ hiatus last year, and they had a battle of the bands to help end the festivities, which was won by Tarnished's then-new and all-original spinoff band Crush. While five acts played last year, only four are doing so tomorrow night, but the prizes are still the same, with a whopping $1,000 going to the first place band, as well as the right to play an encore set at night's end! Second-fourth place will receive $750, $500, and $250 apiece, meaning that everyone gets $250 to just show up. That's not a raw deal!

The Superior Whitefish Festival is brought to you again by the Bay Mills Indian Community, and honours the importance of whitefish in Anishinaabe communities. It will feature whitefish meals alongside with local vendors, family entertainment, competitions, and cultural displays, so visit the official Facebook event page and the host links for non-musical details. Everything goes down tomorrow at 12099 West Lakeshore Drive (near the Riverview Park & Campground), and if the battle is staged similarly to last year, there will be a large tent for bands to play under with space for attendees. Unusually compared to other local battles (even compared to last year) is that competing bands have one hour timeslots, and while I have not seen confirmation as to whether a judges panel, an audience vote, or another method determines the winners, you will have ample time to assess!

The Bay Mills Indians Community Tribal Chairperson Facebook group has a schedule of all events posted, confirming set times for tomorrow's battle, including that the opening band at 7:00 PM will be Blood, Sweat, And Beers, who are a revival of former Fake Chow/Unfortunate Sun frontman Skip Parish's old band with his brother Stephen. They get sporadic mentions on personal Facebook postings, and played occasional shows in Brimley and Hulbert Township in 2024 and 2025, the former being acoustic. Will that be the form that they take tomorrow evening? The 8:00 PM set belongs to local punk/hard rock band About:Blank, who played at the pre-battle Music In The Park concert at the Whitefish Festival last year, and were competitors at last fall's Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands. Recent promotion on their Facebook page indicates that they will play tomorrow night as a duo.

They never did confirm Jon Stone by name as a permanent band member, so the video of him playing with Parker & Kade must have been on a guest basis. Regardless, will About:Blank keep up their recent live momentum? Reunited local cover rock band The Whole Shabang will play their first show in almost two years as the 9:00 PM band, and while not familiar from our coverage, their lineup at least used to feature Stoned Ape Evolution alum John Napoletano, while Candace Fultz was their lead singer. Infrequently seen on the stage as recently as 2024, what do they play, and do they indeed provide "the whole shabang"? Find out tomorrow! Last up at 10:00 PM is Dafter singer/guitarist and Interlochen Academy student Molly Escherich, who you may recall fronting The Other Guys to victory in 2024's LSSU Battle and also competing in last year's Superior Whitefish Battle. Molly will be fronting a new band named The 8th Fire tomorrow though.

The 8th Fire actually have a Facebook page (something that The Other Guys never had), which implies that we'll be seeing Molly and them again, but who all is in the band, what do they play, and do they hew close to the hard rock-leaning stuff that Molly has played in full band settings previously? And Molly is just fourteen years old, but plays at a level well beyond her age, so don't sleep on them tomorrow night! Note that I read on personal Facebook shares that local folk musician Kevin Blakeney wanted to sign up to compete again this year, but organizers opted to exclusively host full bands this year (he and Kaleb "NDN Summer" Shannon played solo sets in last year's battle, where Kaleb finished in second with Kevin in fourth). If you're curious, the day opens with the acoustic-leaning Music In The Park concert, which includes veteran duo Whistle & Fish at 5:00 PM, Seth Haske at 4:00 PM, ...

...Molly Escherich solo at 3:00 PM, Mark Bowen at 2:00 PM, and "Family Band" (credited to "Christian P" in the schedule) at 1:00 PM. I am not seeing anything about an admission fee for the Whitefish Festival, but it is absolutely an all ages event, and it is expected to end at midnight, given that the battle winners will be playing a bonus set at 11:00 PM. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy skies turning into rain by Molly's set, so hopefully the tent is big and well covered just in case! Temperatures for the battle will be 66-73° tomorrow evening (19-23° Celsius). This battle looks well formatted with great prizes again, and it still amazes me that the EUP is eating Sault Ontario's lunch in terms of actually hosting battles successfully in the 2020s, so best of luck to all four bands tomorrow night, visit the above links for full details on the Superior Whitefish Festival, and we'll let you know when results come out! Thanks everyone!