LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Nelson) & The Three Days Grace/Finger Eleven Concert Video Showcase (Part 2!!)

Before we tackle this weekend's hard rock concert previews, here's an extra news post as our backlog continues getting slowly cleared out (and more and more stuff is being added as it is!) This post covers some late but welcomed videos from a major springtime concert in Sault Ontario, but let's start with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with a festive flair for Sault Michigan later this year!

California-based hair metal/hard rock duo Nelson will return to The Dreammakers Theater at the local Kewadin Casino on Friday, December 11th, but this won't be a run of the mill concert. Last seen unplugged opening for Night Ranger here this past October, Matthew & Gunnar's headlining return will be a part of their "Christmas With The Nelsons" tour, which will be a multimedia concert featuring their  nostalgic reflections and media from Christmases past with their families (including their celebrity grandparents Ozzie & Harriet Nelson and father Ricky Nelson), while playing Christmas carols and songs from their own back catalogue. You can read more on the concert proper at this link, and this sure will be an interesting way to marry hair metal (presumably acoustic again) with a warm and fuzzy Christmas experience, so keep this in mind for your holiday event plans! Click here for more information on the Christmas With The Nelsons tour.

Presented by Oldies 93 rather than Rock 101 (perhaps a hint that this won't be wall to wall Nelson songs from their early 1990s heyday), tickets for this all ages are now on sale at this link, at the in-person box office, or at 1-800-KEWADIN running from $26 to $46 apiece depending on row and section, which is a really good price if you like Nelson and Christmas, let alone the idea of them together. This will be a unique event for sure over the holiday season, so visit the above links for more details!

The rest of this post is comprised of belated new videos from the Three Days Grace/Finger Eleven concert at GFL Memorial Gardens in Sault Ontario in April! These come from prolific local concert filmer Christopher Paci's YouTube channel, but for one reason or another, Chris didn't upload his videos from this show until last month. Better late than never, but if you were wondering why our coverage of videos from this sold out concert stalled out after one post, this may help explain that! Chris filmed twenty videos at the Gardens on this night, with 13 coming from the headlining Norwood, Ontario hard rock quintet's set, so what did he film? Three Days Grace videos here included "Never Too Late", "Painkiller", "Mayday", "Just Like You", two songs from the acoustic campfire section ("Lifetime" & "Lost In You"),  "I Hate Everything About You", "Pain", "I Am Machine", "Break", "Animal I Have Become", "Dominate", ...

...and as embedded below, their closing song "Riot". Chris was on the floor here, and while not in the closest rows, he had a good clear view of the stage while still allowing for lots of attendee heads to validate the turnout and audience response (look at all the cell phones!). As I noted in our prior post on videos from this concert, Three Days Grace sounded good here, and while I do prefer Adam to Matt vocally, they pair off each other well, and it is interesting to hear how each other does songs from the other singer's era as the band's sole frontman. Give Chris' 3DG videos a watch above & below!

Shockingly, Chris is the only YouTube user that I know of to upload public videos of either opening band (in our first 3DG/F11 concert video post, the lone Finger Eleven video was from Facebook). In terms of Finger Eleven, he filmed the Burlington alternative/hard rock quintet playing six songs, including "Good Times", "The Mountain", "One Thing", "Slow Chemical" (Kane's theme!), "Above", and as embedded below, their closing song "Paralyzer" (complete with partial intro cover of Genesis' "That's All"). Some vocal wear from Scott aside, Finger Eleven sound good here, and the fans were definitely into their familiar hit singles, even if I like them heavier and darker than on "Paralyzer". Give these a watch above & below as well! 

Finally, Chris filmed a single video of Edmonton hard rock band Royal Tusk's opening set, but based on what I gathered from show reviews, there were delays getting fans from the lineup into the Gardens, so Royal Tusk were playing while a lot of fans were still making their way inside. This performance of their newer original song "Vindicate" has a solid edge to it with clear melodic vocals, and it sounds ready for radio airplay! No word on what the QR codes on the screen link to, my phone couldn't latch on to them clearly enough. Give the sole public local Royal Tusk video a watch below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for most of this weekend's concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Angelmaker), New Concert Videos, And More Recent Updates!!

After a couple of quiet days coming out of the long weekend, here's another busy news post on this Wednesday night, including recent concert videos and some more shorter updates, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this summer that extreme metalheads may want to pay attention to!

An international touring roster of deathcore bands will descend upon Blaster Powerhouse (still listed as Soo Blaster on the AI-generated poster) on Thursday, August 20th, with Vancouver deathcore septet Angelmaker headlining in their local debut! Yes, they have seven members (including three guitarists and two singers), and things add up well to a brutal and chaotic brand of death metal that fans of Whitechapel and Lorna Shore should take to well, so don't miss out when they come here in three months! Also playing here that night are British deathcore band Ingested, who may have a new lead singer on this tour run. Regardless, this Metal Blade act brings ferocity and hardcore elements to their death metal attack, and they'll pair well here, as will Nevada deathcore project Disfiguring The Goddess, whose djent-influenced sound will also go over well with the crowd at the former Soo Blaster! At least two local support bands are being sought, so what should you know there?

Promoters Heavy North Entertainment (in their first booking of 2026) are calling this "the ultimate metal concert", and they are looking for "emerging bands in the metal/core genres" to kick off the night, so message heavynorthentertainment@live.com with your EPK and links to audio and video of your band if you're interested! At this point, Tyler has not announced a start time or admission fees, but the show will presumably be all ages. The immense hype in the promotion (especially contrasted with the AI poster) has raised eyebrows among local metalheads already, but if you're into deathcore at all, this will be a massive bill, so see above for more details!

Next up, here's some recent concert videos, starting with (as far as I am aware) the last remaining public video from last month's Three Days Grace concert at GFL Memorial Gardens! This comes from YouTube user Brian Myles, who you may recognize from filming at Theory Of A Deadman's pre-pandemic concert here in February 2020. Brian only got one video at this particular show, and it's of the Norwood hard rock quintet playing their classic single "Riot". While it is basically the whole song, this was sadly shot vertically, and the audio is somewhat muffled. That said, the crowd was very animated as seen from this floor seating vantage point, and Matt & Adam pair well on vocals here! I'm really surprised at the lack of videos from this concert to be posted in publically accessible places, but what we have does give a good sampling of Three Days Grace's set, at least. Watch Brian's video below, and we'll let you know if any other videos turn up!

Also, let's take a look at videos from the Ozzy Osbourne/Black Sabbath tribute band Crazy Babies' concert at The Full Throttle Saloon on May 9th! The $70 ticket price and lack of admission at the door did get a lot of attention in the lead-up, but it must have been a hit, as the former Primavera Hall are bringing Epic Rush there next month, and the return of Metallica tribute band Sandman is being teased on the venue's Facebook page as well. Details on that are forthcoming, but if you didn't come out for the Crazy Babies, their Facebook page has you covered! Videos (all vertical, unfortunately) include two very Zakk Wyldesque guitar solos (linked here & here), their set-opener "I Don't Know", singer Rod Clarke giving everyone 'Cheers' before playing "No More Tears", and as embedded below, 4 minutes of them tackling the Sabbath standard "War Pigs".  Despite the ticket prices, this concert seemed to draw well!

Whether we will see The Full Throttle Saloon book touring bands that aren't tribute acts is to be determined, but Crazy Babies delivered for Ozzy fans two weeks ago, and they definitely sound good across these videos! The filmer had reasonable camera angles to capture things at a generally nice vantage point at the stage's far right corner too, even if vertical. Check these out for yourselves above & below, and hopefully Rod and the Babies come back!

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

 

• In new postings on their Facebook page, rebranded local death metal staples Eden Plague (née The Bear Hunters) have confirmed that their lineup is unchanged from how it has looked since they permanently shrunk to a quartet in 2016. Regarding their return opening for Dopethrone at Jay's on Monday, they will "have a couple of new songs... as well as some of your old favourite 'Bear Hunter' songs" in their set that night, while calling this "a kick ass, reminiscent, but new show" to "welcome in our new chapter". One assumes that the new songs will be from their planned "final album" that was teased to be in the works in 2023, but maybe they've been working on music that we don't know about yet? Stay tuned!
• Local classic/hard rock cover bands Soundcheck & Separate Wayz will join forces for an "epic crossover" gig on Saturday, August 15th when their five combined band members take the 3½ hour drive north to Chapleau! This road trip will see the sister bands serve as musical entertainment for that weekend's Gold Rush Nationals Drag Race, as per the AI-generated poster on Wawa radio station CJWA's website. Hopefully the show is a blast for Terry, Jim, Johnny, Travis, and Nicole, let alone race attendees, and keep it in mind if you'll be points north then to realistically check it out!
• Sault Michigan hardcore punk trio Viscera have another out of town gig booked, this time 5 hours south in Melvindale (outside of Detroit), where they will open for Taylor thrash metal quintet Convulsis at Rooster Rager II on July 25th! This Friends For Animals Of Metro Detroit fundraiser will notably also feature Detroit deathcore quartet Living Dissection, featuring former local metal guitarist Mike Libertoski (of Slackjawed Rats and Galactic Alignment fame). Always cool to see what Mike's up to nowadays, so keep this Yooper double bill in mind if you'll be downstate in two months!

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

Three Days Grace/Finger Eleven Concert Video Showcase (Part 1!!)

Have you been wondering where our coverage of last week's Three Days Grace/Finger Eleven concert at GFL Memorial Gardens has been? So have I, but compared to Triumph & April Wine at the arena last month, videos have been surprisingly harder to come by, and barring belated videos being posted from that night, I'll be lucky to fill two posts. Despite the relative lack of videos, the show was a huge hit with a sold-out audience (I'm told that The Sheepdogs drew well that night at The Machine Shop too!), and Kenneth Armstrong from SooToday got 12 solid photos of the headlining Norwood, Ontario hard rock quintet's set for this article! Nothing of Finger Eleven or Royal Tusk though. We'll highlight uploads from three filmers today, starting with Three Days Grace's set-opener "Dominate", which was one of five songs from their new dual-singer album "Alienation" to be played last week.

This was filmed by YouTube user MsSawfiler (who also filmed one Triumph video last month), and if you need context as to why the video screen has a random kid on it at the start, Three Days Grace literally preceded their set with an old Station Mall commercial! You can see fan-shot video of just that moment on (where else) Station Mall's Facebook page. As for the song itself, this is a well shot video (helped by Ms. Sawfiler being right along the extended stage walkway), so Matt and Adam get nice and close! The audio is a little muffled here, but it's a quality first look at Three Days Grace's first song, so check it out for yourselves below!

The most prolific filmer (so far?) of Three Days Grace was YouTube user MasonTheGoat, who also filmed at last year's Our Lady Peace concert at the Gardens, and he shot seven videos of the headliners last week! Again, nothing of the openers. Mason filmed 3.D.G. playing "Break", "Pain", "Kill Me Fast", "Apologies", "Don't Wanna Go Home Tonight", "Never Too Late" (which was his only vertically shot video), and as embedded below, "World So Cold". If you're curious, of the 17 pre-"Alienation" original songs in that night's setlist (according to Setlist.fm), 11 were from their first four albums with Adam Gontier on vocals, and 6 were from the three albums after Matt Walst replaced him, with the other singer providing backing vocals or follow-up verses as needed. They also played three covers, two in the acoustic portion (more on that in a bit) and a rendition of 3 Doors Down's ballad "Here Without You".

Mason was in the stands for this concert, and while not close to the stage, he zoomed in a bit, and he had a good side-stage vantage point that lets us see the crowd levels well. The stage lighting is really accentuated from where he was too! Audio is somewhat quiet (though not as muffled), but given where he was seated, you can't complaint too much, so give Mason's videos a watch above and below as well!

Today's last videos actually come from 104.3 The Fox's Facebook page, and much like at the Triumph show, a representative of the Sault Ontario rock radio station included short videos from the show in a batch post alongside a handful of photos. Five of their six videos were of Three Days Grace, including clips of them playing "Dominate", "Animal I Have Become", 10 seconds of the crowd chanting the band's name, and "Kill Me Fast", but embedded below is 31 seconds of them playing "Lost In You" during the acoustic break, which is set around a faux campfire on this tour (you may recall seeing a contest from The Fox to win a chance to be on stage for it, hence the onlookers!). During this stretch, they also played "Lifetime" and a medley, the latter of which included a cover of "Porn Star Dancing" by Matt's old band My Darkest Days (it would be interesting to hear how that came across in an unplugged setting!)

Alas, they don't cover Saint Asonia at all in return ("Better Place" is too good of a song to leave untouched, but that's just me). Like with The Fox's Triumph videos, these are all vertical, and were clearly shot from the stands, but they zoom in a lot to capture the action while it lasts, and the campfire motif is well done for a palate cleanser! Give these a watch above & below, and hopefully longer (and horizontal) videos of the campfire songs surface!

Finally, let's take a look at (surprisingly) the only public video that I have found from Finger Eleven's support set, which was also included in 104.3 The Fox's aforementioned batch post. This sees the Burlington alt-hard rock quintet playing "Together Right" from their 2023 greatest hits album, and it's a decent quality performance that accentuates the stage well despite the verticality of the aspect ratio! Scott does seem to be straining his voice a bit, but the energy and enthusiasm are clearly there, so give this video a watch below, and hopefully more turn up!

We do have a little bit more from the Three Days Grace (and Triumph) concerts to come, so stay tuned for all of that and more on the SMS as the month of May rolls along! Thanks everyone!

The Three Days Grace/Finger Eleven Concert Preview, An Inactive Band Note, And A New Soundcheck Video!!

Let's take a look at some news and notes on this Monday evening, including our extended preview of a major concert tomorrow, a band newly moved to our inactive links, and a surprise live concert video find, so with all of that said, here's what you should know!

We'll start with today with a huge concert preview for TOMORROW NIGHT, as Norwood, Ontario hard rock icons Three Days Grace and Burlington alternative/hard rock quintet Finger Eleven will return to the Soo at GFL Memorial Gardens! For Three Days Grace, this will be their third time at the arena, and first since headlining there in December 2009, and of course, this is their first local date with ex-My Darkest Days singer Matt Walst on vocals, notably with original frontman Adam Gontier returning to the band in 2024 to give them two lead singers. The two do share vocals throughout the night, so if you wanted to hear Adam do "I Am Machine, or Matt do "Animal I Have Become", let alone new stuff like "Apologies", this is your chance! As for Finger Eleven, local fans last saw them opening for I Mother Earth at The Machine Shop in 2018, and this will mark (at least) their fifth concert appearance here, and first at the former Essar Center.

In the almost eight years since we last saw Finger Eleven here, they have kept touring and released their new album "Last Night On Earth" last year, so expect classics like "First Time" and "Falling On" along with newer cuts like "Adrenaline" as the take the stage! Opening the proceedings tomorrow are Edmonton hard rock quartet Royal Tusk in their local debut, and they've been slowly gaining traction on domestic rock radio with songs like "Head Up" and "Hated" from their new album "Altruistic", so don't sleep on their accessible but hard hitting original sound tomorrow! This stop on Three Days Grace's Alienation Tour is brought to you by Live Nation, and while neither local rock radio station is a presenting sponsor, both have had ticket giveaway contests. A 7:00 PM start time is advertised for this all ages concert, and limited tickets are still available at this link or at the in-person box office, starting at $116.50 in section 119.

Other sections and general/floor seating will run $157.25, but there's not many left. VIP passes are also available, so see above if you're so inclined. The sixteen years long wait for Three Days Grace alone will be cause for excitement, but add in Finger Eleven's return and Royal Tusk, and you've got one hell of a Tuesday night out, so don't miss out on all of tomorrow's action in spite of the work/school night scheduling! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Three Days Grace live!

Next up, I have reluctantly moved local alternative/hard rock band Handsome Sandwich to our inactive band links. While not at our one year inactivity threshold, I'm now inclined to believe that they quietly disbanded in late 2025, thanks in part to their "Collage" EP's abrupt release in September, their lack of any public updates since, and most members currently focusing on new projects. After a year's hiatus during the pandemic, guitarist Jesse Cook & drummer Johnny Belanger brought Handsome Sandwich back in the summer of 2021, but not as the genre-less cover trio that fans had known since 2017. Now with singer Taylor Emlaw in their ranks, they became favourites at local concerts for the next four years, including two Rotaryfest Stage 2 sets, tour runs in Southeastern Ontario, and their 2023 release party for "Deconstructed" at The Loft.

The band last played live at the Northern Vibe Festival in August. Since then, Johnny has been playing with ex-guitarists in both Eden Plague and The Golden Scoundrels while also joining the revived Stiffler's Mom offshoot Wheelhouse, Taylor is working on a new project with HeadFirst alum Raine Rancourt, and bassist Rafael Medina has moved back to his native Colombia, where he has joined the band Adios Celeste. Handsome Sandwich had a good eight year run locally in two very different halves, and they stood apart musically with a fun alt-rock sound and pointed lyrics. Best of luck to everyone (including James, Mitch, and Brandon) in the future!

We'll close today with a new/old video of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck that made its way to YouTube in September of last year! This was uploaded to former drummer Glen Thomas' personal YouTube channel shortly before the band reunited without him, and it comes from Soundcheck's set at Toystock at the Grand Gardens in November 2022. In their fourth of five consecutive Toystock sets, Soundcheck were represented here by Glen alongside founding guitarist Terry Eaton, singer Cameron Oliver (who is not playing guitar here at all), and guest bassist Rob Gilmar, who frequently sat in for Paul Belair in the early 2020s (Jim Michaud would join the band permanently a few months after this gig). Soundcheck were filmed here by an uncredited attendee covering The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy" and Big & Rich's "Save A Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" to close their set.

Alas, this video was shot vertically, but we do get the unique visual of the filmer walking to the stage early on, and they do focus on Cameron as he roams the stage on the latter cover (also note the uncredited guest singer on "Save A Horse"). I admittedly don't have love for either of these cover choices, but the performances are lively and the crowd was receptive, so fans of the 2019-2025 Cameron era of Soundcheck will want to give these covers a watch below, and best of luck to Cameron in Nashville!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Three Days Grace) & Exit 808 Updates!!

No, I didn't forget the big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT from yesterday morning, so here's what you should know about that, as well as some updates from a local band's recent Halloween gig!

Norwood, Ontario hard rock quintet Three Days Grace will make their long awaited return to Sault Ste. Marie on Tuesday, April 28th at GFL Memorial Gardens! Announced yesterday morning as part of the band's world tour in support of their new album "Alienation", this will be Three Days Grace's first appearance in the Soo since headlining at what was then the Essar Centre in December 2009, and third total after debuting at the downtown arena in January 2008. Of course, in that sixteen year gap since we last saw them, singer Adam Gontier left the band and was replaced by bassist Brad Walst's brother Matt, only for Adam to return full time last year with Matt sticking around, giving 3DG two frontmen. We never saw Three Days Grace with Matt Walst as the sole singer here, but they kept on racking up rock radio hits with him like "Painkiller", "The Mountain", and "So Called Life", so how will they sound with Adam singing too?

This won't be Matt's first time performing in the area though, as he fronted his old band My Darkest Days (of "Porn Star Dancing" fame) at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in April 2012, while Adam fronted his own band Saint Asonia at The Dreammakers Theatre in February of last year, shortly before he rejoined Three Days Grace. No matter which singer/era of the band you prefer, it's awesome to see Three Days Grace coming back to the Gardens, especially with current hits like "Mayday" and "Apologies" in their back pocket, so don't miss out in five months' time! Joining them for most of the Canadian leg of the tour is Burlington alt-hard rock quintet Finger Eleven, in their first local concert appearance since opening for I Mother Earth at The Machine Shop back in April 2018, and their (at least) fifth total here, each one at a different venue. Since we last saw them, they just released their new album "Last Night On Earth".

Fans can expect a set full of classics like "Paralyzer", "One Thing", and "Good Times" in Finger Eleven's return to the Soo after eight years, so don't bypass them either! Edmonton hard rock quartet Royal Tusk will make their local debut as the opening act in April, and they have been building decent momentum with their radio-friendly brand of metal originals like "Aftermath" and "First Time" (no relation to the Finger Eleven song of the same name), and they should set things off on the right foot in the spring! No word on whether Rock 101 or 104.3 The Fox will be the presenting radio sponsor for this Live Nation concert, but both local rock stations have announced ticket giveaway contests. Public on-sale tickets go live at the in-person box office or online at this link on Friday at 10:00 AM, and tickets will start at $55 with VIP packages also being available. This will absolutely be an all ages concert, and a 7:00 PM start time is advertised.

Tuesday nighter or not, this will be a huge concert for local hard rock fans, and even if Three Days Grace were coming solo, the sixteen+ year wait alone (and all of the hits they've released since) will ensure a strong reception in twenty-four weeks' time! Visit the above links for much more on Three Days Grace and Finger Eleven's show at the Gardens next year, and get your tickets A.S.A.P., as they are guaranteed to move quick!

Let's close today with some new updates from Sault Michigan hard rock band Exit 808, starting with the clarification on their Facebook page that bassist Blaze Beairl was definitely at their Halloween weekend "Fright Night On The Bay" concert at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley on November 1st. While not seen in videos from the event, they did share pictures featuring him in costume as a rapper, and as it turns out, he was trading off with new band member Brad Pringle throughout the night. Whether the two will juggle/alternate bass indefinitely or if Blaze will hop on other instruments in the future, I don't know, but as the band said, "(we) love our teenagers on stage!". Of note, singer Dillion Semasky appeared to have a mad scientist costume for part of the night but he did not have the coat on in the videos. Speaking of which, we have a new video to share with Blaze on bass, so what should you know there?

Uploaded to their Facebook page on Friday, this Brad and Amy-less cover of AC/DC's "T.N.T." also features guest singer Molly Escherich (as the other two videos did), and has her and Dillion trading verses. Filmed from a strong horizontal angle (if only for 39 seconds), this cover is well handled with the two singers adapting well without cloning Bon's vocal style! No word on how bar patrons were reacting to game 7 of the World Series, but if any Sault Ontarians were in attendance, I feel your pain! Check out Exit 808's AC/DC cover below, and stay tuned for more from them soon!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison) & Project 906 Concert Previews!!

After a pair of very busy weekends for local hard rock and metal fans in the Twin Saults, things are slightly less hectic to kick off August 2024, as I'll only need two posts to cover this weekend's heavier concerts! To spread things out, I'll hold our previews of this weekend's Tarnished, Half Past, and Curtis McKenzie shows for our next news post hitting the site hopefully by tomorrow. Now, here's what you should know on both sides of the border, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, some on SHORT NOTICE! (Updated at 1:07 PM)

Local classic/hard rock cover singer/guitarist Tym Morrison has another full month of acoustic solo concerts ahead at his usual seasonal haunts, starting with a show at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post TOMORROW NIGHT and a matinee at Misty's Fifties on SATURDAY! Apologies for the short notice on this weekend's non-Dive shows, I should have rolled in all of his August dates on the site last month. While we're on the subject, the former Caveman Morrison frontman will bring his unplugged classic and hard rock covers back to The Trading Post (weather permitting) on Friday, August 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th, while west end fans will be able to see him on Saturday, August 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st at Misty's! Remember that he only plays at the former venue seasonally, and that arrangement ends for 2024 late next month.

Yes, this weekend's shows fall on the Civic Holiday long weekend for many readers, while the August 30th-31st shows are on the Labour Day long weekend, so if you get either Monday off, keep the scheduling in mind! Note that Tym was originally scheduled to play a "Think It Over Thursday" concert at The Dive Gastro Pub tonight as well, but it was cancelled due to illness, as per the venue's Facebook page earlier today. No word on if Tym's health will impede TOMORROW or SATURDAY's shows, but we'll let you know if we hear anything, and hopefully he feels better soon! TOMORROW'S and this month's Mike Case Stage shows also begin at 7:00, and SATURDAY'S and this month's Misty's matinees are at 4:00 PM. None have a cover charge, and the Misty's Fifties show is presumed to be 19+. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for sunny skies TOMORROW with temperatures hovering around 25°.

The forecast implies that we're coming out of the humid snap that has hit the Soo hard this week, but it'll still be a warm one for fans seeing Tym out on Great Northern Road TOMORROW, so stay cool and hydrated where possible! Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here and here for more details on all of Tym's August concerts, and here he is live!

Next up, let's head to Sault Michigan for some live hard rock concerts this weekend, starting with local hard/blues rock quartet Project 906, who have a busy weekend ahead via two outdoor concerts in the E.U.P.! The guys will first head to Pickford TOMORROW NIGHT for an outdoor set at this year's Pickford Hay Days, taking place this week throughout the town, but 906 will be performing at Pickford Township Park at 287 Harold Street #279. Food trucks will be on hand thanks to the Hay Days festival, but there will be a more poignant cause to support as well. Guitarist Joe Jenkins' wife Mary Jo has been diagnosed with breast cancer, and while tomorrow's concert is free, the band is raising money to help support Mary Jo and the family at this difficult time. The Curbside Cravings food truck at Hay Days will also be donating some proceeds to Mary Jo tomorrow.

Having lost my mother to ovarian cancer, I can definitely relate to what Mary Jo and the Jenkins & Croft families are going through right now, so our best support and wishes go out to her during this fight! You can enjoy Project 906's hard rocking covers tomorrow night at 7:00 PM with no cover charge or age limit, and weather is expected to be similar to Tym Morrison's Sault Ontario show TOMORROW, with sunny-clear weather at 73-80° Fahrenheit (23-27° Celsius). Visit Hay Days' Facebook page for full details on remaining festival events and the official Facebook event page for more on 906's show proper! That's not all for the #summerof906 this weekend though, as Billy, Joe, Dustin, and Jason(?) will also head to Cedarville for another special outdoor concert on SATURDAY when they join three other bands for this year's Government Bay Barge Bash, literally playing on a barge on the water off the coast of the Les Cheneaux Islands!

Project 906 will literally be rocking Lake Huron just off the coast of Government Island (near Bumpas at 74 East Hodeck Street) as the second of four bands on Saturday, joining Sugar Island rock quartet Dirty Musky (more on them soon) at 6:00 PM, Cedarville classic rock veterans Shipheads On Shore at 4:00 PM, and veteran pop rockers The Mark Bowen Band at 12:00 PM (906 are at 2:00 PM). For the record, the Barge Bash is not openly tied to any charitable drives for Mary Jo, but I doubt they'd turn away any support there. There's no age limit or cover charge for the Barge Bash, but as it's being held on the water, attendees with boats or a love of the beach/swimming will obviously benefit. As this is outdoors, the current weather forecast is calling for a high of 84° Fahrenheit (29° Celsius) with sunny-clear weather, so very similar to tomorrow in Pickford. If you love the warm summer weather, it should be ideal waterfront conditions then!

Whether you'd prefer to see Project 906 on terra firma in Pickford or in Government Bay surrounded by water and boats, you have some very appealing outdoor options this weekend! Visit the above links for complete details on both of their shows ahead, and for a preview, here they are live!

That's all for now, but we'll wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Curtis McKenzie & Soundcheck), Plus Weekend Concert Previews (Part 1!!)

Another busy concert weekend is upon us in the Twin Saults, and with Rotaryfest taking place next week, it's going to get worse before it gets better in that regard! I will actually need three posts to get to everything on the hard rock/punk spectrum this weekend, with today's post devoted to SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and some previously announced artists playing on tomorrow. The current plan is to cover this weekend's Master Nate & The Reprobates, Peril, Project 906, and Generations shows in preview post #2, with The Nameless' Saturday nighter in Sault Michigan being in a news post to wrap things up by that morning. Here's what you should know to lead off this busy mid-July concert stretch!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return for this year's Goulais Community Days THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band has not publically confirmed this booking, but they are advertised in festival promotion, and members have mentioned it in personal Facebook posts. This will be the (at least) third straight year that Soundcheck have made their way to the Captain Tilley Community Centre at 592 ON-552 in nearby Goulais River for the community's annual summer festival, which will have loads of family entertainment just north of the Soo, so check out the official poster for this weekend's complete itinerary! While not playing tomorrow night, singer/guitarist Terry Eaton will dust off his DJ hat to fill that role as the baseball tournament begins, while SATURDAY's concert has an 8:00 PM start time (running until midnight) and a 19+ age limit.

To see Soundcheck on Saturday, there will be a special $2 cover charge unless you have a bracelet for your pass to Community Days ($5 for a single day, $8 for everything Friday-Sunday), in which case you'd get in to the concert free. Note that The Hwy 17 Band and The Four For All Band are also playing earlier on SATURDAY, but their sets are all ages matinees and don't directly lead into when Soundcheck would take the stage, so they're not "opening" for them. Visit the above links for more on Soundcheck's Goulais Days return on SATURDAY as they warm up for their Rotaryfest Stage 1 return next weekend, and here they are live!

Next up, former Haggith/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will return to The Dive Gastro Pub for another solo headlining concert THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, Curt did announce this show via his Facebook page last week but I didn't catch advertising for it until this week. This will be Curtis' third show at the former Low & Slow at 648 Queen Street East, all on SATURDAYS during The Dive's "Patio Play" series of outdoor concerts there (he will also be playing an indoor show there on Thursday, August 8th). Since resuming work as a live solo musician this year, Curt has exclusively played at The Dive, and his hard rock covers (you can see full setlists on his Facebook page) have clearly been a hit there, so here's hoping for more of the same on SATURDAY NIGHT! This show has a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy weather on SATURDAY with a high of 27°, so it will be a warm one.

Be advised that they are also projecting a 10% chance of rain that night, and while it's too soon to go off of an hourly forecast, stay tuned to your preferred local weather report if you have any concerns. Also, if you're curious, tonight's "Think It Over Thursday" musician is The Crossed/Deter alum Josh McNally (haven't heard his name in a long time), who plays blues nowadays. Visit the official Facebook event page for more on Curt's patio gig on SATURDAY NIGHT, and here he is live!

Now to shows that we knew about in advance, starting with southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225's return to The Water Tower Pub for another "uncorked" concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen at the Great Northern Road nightclub at the end of May, this will be Bone Yard's first acoustic concert since rocking Gateway Casino early last month, and is their only public show this month to not take place at Reggie's Place (remember that they are not playing Rotaryfest next weekend, let alone anywhere else at press time). If you like seeing your local 225 unplugged, consider a run to this high quality central venue tomorrow! According to personal Facebook posts, Headrush (John Amendola's new classic rock band that debuted at last year's Toystock) are playing there on Saturday. Tomorrow's concert has an 8:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new lyric video!

We already featured their new single "FAFO" on the site earlier this month, but on their new YouTube channel last week, they also uploaded a lyric video of it, so now you can learn the words and sing along if you so choose! The video proper features a slideshow of pictures of Greg, Alex, and Warren, along with some brief video clips from a gig at The Esquire Club (why they used vertical footage when the video proper is in 16:9, I have no idea). Well put together otherwise, and it lays their view of the world out there, so check it out below, and don't miss Bone Yard 225 tomorrow!

Finally for this first weekend concert preview post, prolific local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will continue his weekly summer arrangements at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post TOMORROW NIGHT and at Misty's Fifties on SATURDAY! This weekend sees a return to last month's status quo of the two weekly gigs following Tym not playing at Misty's this past Saturday due to his wedding that same day. Of course, congratulations to the happy couple, and I'm glad things went well! If you're up for acoustic classic and hard rock covers at The Trading Post's outdoor stage tomorrow or want to welcome Tym back to Misty's on Second Line West for Saturday's matinee, you know where to go for all of this weekend's action! Both shows have no cover charge, the Mike Case Stage gig is all ages at 7:00 PM, and the Misty's show is a 4:00 matinee as usual for these ongoing weekly series.

Weather-wise, tomorrow's outdoor Trading Post show is forecasted by 9&10 News to have sunny weather in the 22-25° range, so summer lovers who don't mind the warmer recent temperatures will be right at home tomorrow evening! Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here and here for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

That's all for now, but look for part 2 of this weekend's concert previews on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906!!)

Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 have announced their summer concert slate via their Facebook page, which is the sole topic today! No word on where they've been since their last date in February, but they have multiple dates around the E.U.P. scheduled in July and August, while also announcing solo dates from frontman Billy Bernier in Mackinac Island (which is outside of our coverage range) and at The Islander Bar in Hessel tomorrow night. I'm not sure if Billy's solo show is basically Project 906 unplugged or if he explores less hard rock in his sets, so I won't cover that show on here just in case, but keep it in mind if you're in Hessel! If you want to see the full splendour with Joe, Dustin, and Jason too, they have two private bookings next month, but their first public date in five months will see them rock the aforementioned Islander Bar on Friday, July 5th with a return planned for Saturday, August 10th!

The former show is a normal affair, but the latter will be a special matinee set during the Les Cheneaux Islands Antique Wooden Boat Show, an event that 906 did play last year as well, albeit at a normal nighttime timeslot then. It's too soon yet to know what possible changes could be in store on August 10th, but last year, The Islander Bar had four nights of live music from different nightly acts the week of the boat show. Stay tuned for any updates! On Saturday, July 13th, Project 906 will return to The Well Diggers Watering Hole & Feed Lot in nearby Kinross for an outdoor concert, and their first show at this venue since last summer. Should be a good time in a relatively unique setting, so keep their Well Diggers return in mind also! Then on Friday, July 26th, the guys will return to the Soo for a concert at The Merchant's Bar alongside "special guests" The City Lines, so who are they?

As best as I can tell, 906 are actually opening for The City Lines, a power pop trio from Ann Arbor whose frontman is Sault Ste. Marie native and Sault Tribe member Patrick Deneau. Not the heaviest band going, but fans of indie rock and midwest emo (let alone more recent material by The Northwest) will take to The City Lines, and it's cool to see Patrick play a show at home like this, let alone the rare sight of Project 906 opening for a touring band! Moving ahead to August for another festival set, Project 906 will make their debut at Pickford Hay Days on Friday, August 2nd, and while they didn't specify the locale beyond saying that it'd be outdoors, the festival's Facebook event page confirms that they're playing at Pickford Township Park (no word on extra bands). Click here for full non-musical details on Hay Days, but food trucks will be nearby for festival and/or concert attendees, and you are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.

The last of the newly announced Project 906 shows will see them play in Cedarville on Saturday, August 3rd for this year's tenth annual Government Bay Barge Bash, which I am pretty sure is returning to its literal location on a floating barge in Government Bay in front of Bumpas at 74 East Hodeck Street. Promotion for this year's Barge Bash has not begun that I've seen, but this event has featured multiple bands in recent years, and how unique is it to see bands playing literally on the water? Note that one of the bands that played last year's Barge Bash (which didn't have known-to-me hard rock bands at the time) was Dirty Musky, a new band featuring 415E alumni Dave Menard and Brett Blackwood alongside Brett's dad Fran (of Clownsack fame). Despite that lineup, Dirty Musky have given no indication of their set/sound on social media, so I won't rush them into our coverage, but keep them in mind!

Most of these shows have 8:00 PM start times, but the Pickford show is at 7:00 PM, the Cedarville show is to be announced (remember, multiple bands play that), and the Hessel boat show gig in August is a 4:00 PM matinee. The Islander Bar, Well Diggers, and Merch shows are all 21+ while the rest are all ages, and while none have a stated cover charge, do inquire within as far as the annual festivals go. It's great to see Project 906 back (even without Strongs Tavern returns booked, surprisingly), so look for their hard rocking cover slate at multiple E.U.P. venues in the coming months, and stay tuned for more news on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!