LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Prince Fest), The Next LSSU Battle Of The Bands, And New Videos!!

In what will be a productive day re: knocking items off of our backlog that began building up last month, we have another packed news post today, including new videos from two bands seen on stage together earlier this month, initial details on a returning annual battle of the bands, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for a new regional festival. Here's what you should know on this warm Tuesday evening!

A debuting summer concert festival in Prince Township (20 minutes west of the Soo) named Prince Fest goes down on Saturday, August 29th, and it will be headlined by Toronto-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer! While this is being co-promoted by DeMarco's Boots & Saddles Roadhouse at 2667 Second Line West, Prince Fest will be an outdoor event in the adjacent baseball field at the corner of Second Line and Airport Road. Along with live music, advertising so far (the AI-generated posters linked here & here) indicates that there will also be local food and craft vendors, a beer garden, children's activities, at least one food truck, an on-site barbecue, a baseball tournament, and 3-on-3 basketball. More updates are sure to follow! Destroyer are by far the best known touring Kiss tribute to Sault Ste. Marie fans, having played here at least 6 times in the last 15 years, most recently at the former Soo Blaster in October 2023.

Good to see their faithful take on the Kiss back catalogue here again, if a little further west than you may expect! Local support will come by way of acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos and country rock solo musician Mike Robitaille, who has frequently played at the Boots & Saddles. Prince Fest is expected to run from 12:00-7:00 PM, it is absolutely all ages, and I have not seen any reference to a cover charge or ticket fee. 705Live Sound Co. will be on hand here too. Why not add one more community festival before the summer ends, and it's neat that one is happening so far west, so hopefully Prince Fest is a big hit at month's end! Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, get ready, as the fourth annual Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands returns to Sault Michigan on Thursday, October 22nd! Now, the official advertising on LSSU's Arts Center's page erroneously lists this as the third annual battle there, even though this is 100% year 4 (The Sole Aggressors won in 2023, Molly & The Other Guys won in 2024, and The Dynamic Duo won last year), so hopefully that gets fixed in time for the Facebook promotion to begin. Thanks to generous sponsorship, this year's LSSU Battle will have the biggest prize purse yet, as after three years of $150 and $50 gift cards for first & second place, there will be prizes of $1,000, $500, and $250 for first-third place! If the same as the last two years, judges (primarily made up of LSSU faculty) will assess the competitors, who will each have 15 minute sets to compete this fall. The past three LSSU battles had six or seven acts apiece, though 2024 was once slated to have eight.

Video auditions are now being submitted at this link, and while last year's battle curiously only had solo artists and duos, the raised cash prizes should ensure a wider swath of artist submissions. We'll let you know when the official competitor lineup is announced, but could The Dynamic Duo attempt to repeat as champions where the prior winners didn't? Admission for general attendees will be $10 USD ($5 for kids 10 and under), and yes, this is a Thursday nighter, as the previous three LSSU Battles also were. Two EUP battles of the bands in a three month span with $1,000 top prizes ain't a raw deal, so visit the above links for more details, and click here to buy tickets!

We'll head back to Sault Ontario for the back half of today's post to look at some new videos, starting with the first 2026 concert videos from local space/hard rock duo The Spaceship Opening! On August 1st, Andrew and Ralph played their first show of the year when they opened for 5 Dollar Bribe at a multi-local band concert at Blaster Powerhouse, and they shared photos from it the next day to their Facebook page. While they teased that "videos (are coming) soon", only one has followed since, a video shot by an attendee named Kayla of them playing "a little ET cover". Whether they mean ET: The Extra Terrestrial or not, I can't identify the 22 seconds of music being played here, but the chugging riff sounds good, and being a duo, they are better framed for the vertical dimensions! I'd still have zoomed in a bit more though. Give this a look below, and hopefully The Spaceship Opening have more videos soon!

Finally for today, let's look at some new videos from the aforementioned 5 Dollar Bribe, who spent some time posting some non-concert videos to their Facebook page in late July and into this month that largely call to mind their pre-debut viral/comedy uploads on Instagram. To promote the aforementioned August 1st concert at the former Soo Blaster, drummer Chase Chapman starred in this video from July 28th where he demoed a kickflip, and had some help from "Jimbo Jenkins". Watch the video to find out who "Jimbo" is! Another video followed two days later that started with an attempted cover of the intro of Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O Mine" before abruptly phasing to waking up in a field where Jayce and Tyler were, and beyond plugging the Soo Blaster show, I'll let you decipher what happened next! The day of the show, they posted an episode of "Dwayne's World" (one guess as to what they're parodying) where Chase was a guest of Dwayne and Garth(?) to promote the band and concert. 

Always good to see homages to classic SNL, even if needlessly letterboxed into vertical dimensions despite being a square video! Lastly, on July 31st, they covered At The Drive-In's "Patterns Against User" with Jayce on lead vocals, though for one reason or another, I can't embed it here. The level of covers that 5 Dollar Bribe will source from is always impressive, especially for their age, and they have a good tight sound on this post-hardcore deep cut, even if the video quality itself is fairly blurry. As it's apparently unembeddable, here's the "Dwayne's World" video, but give all of 5 Dollar Bribe's new uploads a watch at the above links!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Double Down), The Destroyer Concert Preview, And New Videos!!

As promised, we're wrapping up this weekend's hard rock concert previews in today's post, with added SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to boot! As well, we have some new videos on both sides of the border to look at also, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced these shows via their Facebook page yesterday, and the venue didn't acknowledge them until after the band did. We haven't seen Double Down live in over a month, last seen rocking Reggie's, with TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S shows being Joel, Adam, Brad, and Ric's first at the former Roosevelt Hotel in over three months. We haven't heard too much from Double Down since the summer, but it is good to see this familiar veteran outfit back at it, and hopefully their hard rocking covers go over well in the west end TONIGHT & TOMORROW! These shows have 9:30 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits. See above for more details, and here's Double Down live!

Next up, here is one more hard rock concert preview for this weekend, and it's arguably the big one, as Toronto-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer will return to Soo Blaster TOMORROW NIGHT! Certainly no strangers to Sault Ste. Marie, this will be Destroyer's (at least) sixth headlining concert here, last seen locally at Soo Blaster in April 2022. If you're a Kiss Army soldier, you'll be right at home with Destroyer's faithful sounding & looking stage show, and after so many prior appearances in city limits, you know that they pull a decent crowd, so if you want the best, this is the next best thing! Like last year, there will be a local opening band, with this show being led off by new pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue (featuring Cherry Crush and Settle For Silver alumni). Admittedly, Bourbon Blue do not lean towards hard rock from what I have seen, but they have a talented lineup and should get things off on the right foot tomorrow!

This 19+ concert has doors opening at 7:00 PM and $20 advance admission (well, $22.63 with taxes/processing fees) at this link, and the door charge jumps to $25. VIP booths will also be available, expense acknowledged. Kiss fans will absolutely want to head to Soo Blaster for all of the action tomorrow, so see above for more details, and here's Destroyer live!

Also today, let's zip over to Sault Michigan for a lengthy new video from local classical metal band Theatre of Night's YouTube channel! In July, they posted this 92 minutes-long video featuring 24 original instrumental metal songs, so if you want to hear their recent non-Christmas output in a convenient and free place, this is a good way to do it! With one exception (two if you count the intro), these songs are otherwise compiled on their "Compilation: Epic Instrumental Metal" album, which quietly received a paid release in May of last year on Amazon for $9.49, and is also available on iTunes/Apple Music. Note that this image is the cover artwork, despite singer Rachel Mender being pictured on the cover of an instrumental album. I wish Theatre of Night had better promoted releasing a new album, even if just a compilation of one-off metal songs, as I'd have formally reviewed it on the site last year when it was still new & timely!

Given our backlog of new albums to review already, I won't be able to get to this (or any unreviewed past) Theatre of Night album until next year at the earliest, but give it a listen above, on Spotify, or on YouTube below, complete with dark and suitably epic imagery to accompany each song! I'll hold comment pending a possible future review, but if you like progressive and classical-inspired metal, you'll take to this release! No word on if the track listing being almost alphabetical is intentional or not though. Stay tuned for more from Theatre of Night soon!

Finally for today, here's a new performance video from veteran Sault Ontario hard/progressive rock guitarist Mike Cliffe's YouTube channel, his first there in over a year! The video has Mike "noodling" a song that he self-deprecatingly named "'Scuse the Bad Note or Two Around the 2:13 Mark". You can see what he means when 2:13 hits, complete with a momentary head shake, but the performance is otherwise solid and all-business, with the Audiofumes podcast host showing his underrated skill on this short instrumental, so definitely check it out for yourselves below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Destroyer & The Wyld Stallyns), Plus Weekend Concert Previews!!

A relatively quiet concert weekend is upon us for hard rock fans in the Twin Saults, but we do have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE) to pad things out with, so here's what you should know on this Thursday night!

Local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns will provide musical entertainment at TOMORROW'S street party on Queen Street East to coincide with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds' home opening game! Apologies for the short notice, I only heard about this show earlier today via SooToday, but a Facebook event page had been online for the past two weeks. Regardless, The Stallyns have not confirmed their involvement on their own Facebook page, but given drummer Derek Turner's ties with Village Media, them playing makes sense when you realize their precise location TOMORROW. Queen Street will be closed between Bruce & Dennis (naturally given where GFL Memorial Gardens is), but rather than play at street level on a pop-up stage as normal, the band will be playing on the rooftop of Village Media headquarters at 298 Queen Street East!

Very Beatles-esque conceit there, but totally unique for this city, so look up for The Wyld Stallyns' rocking covers TOMORROW! Food/alcohol vendors, OLG promotions, and family activities will also be on tap for this all ages event, which takes place at 3:00 PM in the leadup to the Greyhounds hosting the Sudbury Wolves in the Gardens at 7:00 PM. Likely one of this year's final outdoor hard rock shows in the Soo, 9&10 News is calling for sunny weather of around 20° TOMORROW during the festivities. Visit the above links for more details, here's The Stallyns live, and go Hounds go!

Next up, we'll pause our weekend concert previews for a second for another new concert taking place further in the timeline, as Toronto-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer will return to Soo Blaster for a headlining concert on Saturday, October 14th! Announced oddly late given who the headliners are, this will be Destroyer's (at least) sixth local headlining concert, most recently taking the stage at Soo Blaster in April of last year. Fans who have seen Destroyer live will know that they deliver a faithful rendition of Kiss classics in visual and auditory senses, so if you want the best, the next best thing will be here in a little over two weeks! Local support this time will come by way of new local pop rock cover quartet Bourbon Blue (featuring Turner Up and Soo Fighters alumni), and while not as heavy as Fort Creek from last year, there's a lot of talent in their ranks, so don't be late for their lead-off set next month!

Admission for this 19+ & 7:00 PM concert is $20 in advance (on par with last year) or $25 at the door, and VIP booths will be available if desired. No word on online ticket sales yet, but last year's Destroyer show did have them. Should be a good time for Kiss Army members in the Soo, so definitely visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Moving back to this weekend's concert previews now, we'll next stay downtown on Queen Street for local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard's scheduled return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge TOMORROW NIGHT! A one-nighter due to Shooters' fall decision to host DJs on Saturdays, this show was announced via the venue's Facebook event page last month, but has not received active promotion on their end nor the band's since. Assuming that all is well, Bone Yard should have a solid evening of hard and southern rock favourites in store for fans and Shooters regulars alike tomorrow, so keep this show in mind for your end-of-month delectation! This 19+ show has a 9:00 PM start time and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Bone Yard live!

Lastly for this weekend's known hard rock concerts, we'll head to the west end, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck are slated to rock The Esquire Club TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Their first of two concert weekends booked for the last third of 2023 at this venue, these will be their first shows since playing at Jay's last week with guest singer Darrel Ford, and as far as I can tell, their full lineup (with Cameron) will be back in full force for this weekend's gigs. While the band proper hasn't publically acknowledged them on Facebook, The Esquire Club has, so fingers crossed that the guys have lots of entertaining hard and classic rock favourites ready to go for fans this weekend! As usual for their gigs here, expect 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges tomorrow and/or Saturday. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live last year!

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

Handsome Sandwich Release Concert Preview, Plus Destroyer Concert Videos!!

As promised, we're rounding out this weekend's concert previews today with a special extended preview of a big event tomorrow night, with some concert videos from last month to round things out with. Here's what you should know, starting with that concert preview!

An album release date months in the making comes to fruition TOMORROW NIGHT when local alternative hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich release their debut album "Deconstructed" at their release party at The Loft! As a refresher, The Loft is the concert venue on the third floor of the Algoma Conservatory of Music at 75 Huron Street (the former St. Mary's Paper building), and is managed by Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori, whose bandmate Bill Priddle was very much involved in the "Deconstructed" recording sessions. By all public accounts, The Loft is very high end as concert venues in Sault Ste. Marie go, both from attendance and performance standpoints, so click here for full details on the amenities and technical qualities that are in store for this and other concerts. We have not seen Handsome Sandwich on stage since The Soo's Got Talent finals in October, though they've hardly been idle since then!

It's also been at least since T.S.G.T. last year that they had May 6th dialed in as a release date for this album (I still don't know the significance of May 6th), and after 7+ months of final studio work, video shoots, mastering, and promotion, we're almost over the finish line for "Deconstructed"! In the pandemic era, heavier album releases on physical media have been the exception, not the rule, so fans of physical media will love that "Deconstructed" will be on sale tomorrow on CD (price unclear), so bring extra cash to get yours! I do not know if streaming copies of the album go live before the show or afterwards. Set-wise, Handsome Sandwich plan to play every song on "Deconstructed" in order, allegedly the only time that they plan to do this live, and the set will be filled out by newer original songs not on the album (no word on possible covers).

Their set is at 8:30 PM, while local indie rock quartet Man Feelings will open the proceedings at 7:30 PM. Not a hard rock or punk band, but they're a talented group in & of themselves, so don't miss them either! An all ages event, admission is $25 at the door or via this link, though seating is limited. If you can't make it, Handsome Sandwich have confirmed that at least their set will be "live recorded" (The Loft is adjacent to a recording studio and is wired for soundboard audio/HD video), but what form they mean for the recording is not known. This is primed to be a huge night for Taylor, Jesse, Mitch, Rafael, and Johnny, so don't miss out tomorrow, visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's the Sandwich live!

We'll close today with videos from the concert from Toronto-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer at Soo Blaster on April 15th! Apologies for the delay in these making the site. Filmed for Christopher Paci's excellent YouTube channel, he uploaded ten videos from this show, including eight of the headliners tackling the Kiss classics "Firehouse", "Shout It Out Loud", "Calling Dr. Love", "I Was Made For Loving You", "Love Gun", "Detroit Rock City", "I Stole Your Love", and as embedded below, "Rock & Roll All Nite". Really nice seeing a sizeable crowd on the floor for this show, and while the audio can be scratchy with the audio setup and/or through this camera (I can see why Chris didn't title "I Stole Your Love"), you get a really good sense of Destroyer's authentic sounding and looking presentation! I wonder if the Kiss cabbie was there? I imagine he'd approve! Give these a watch for yourself a look above and below!

Chris' other two videos are of local openers Fort Creek, with their videos being of them covering Black Stone Cherry's "White Trash Millionaire" and, as embedded below, The Goo Goo Dolls' "Long Way Down". Unexpected cover in the latter case, but the southern hard rockers pull it off well and it lets Justin flex his melodic vocal abilities! Possibly thanks to not being on the floor while filming, the audio quality is clearer on these too, so check them out for yourselves above & below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Fyrbird & Peril) Plus This Weekend's Hard Rock Concert Previews!!

Today's post is devoted to new or upcoming concerts, both to preview this weekend's slate and to announced LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS ahead! We're mostly looking at E.U.P. gigs here, with a Sault Ontario stop for good measure further down, so here's what you should know!

Traverse City, Michigan classic metal trio Peril will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino for concerts on Friday, May 12th & Saturday, May 13th! Announced via this concert calendar shared to their Facebook page earlier this month, these have since been confirmed on Kewadin's entertainment page's listings of lounge bands through the end of May (we will address Tarnished's return to the Soo Kewadin in an upcoming post). These will be Jeff, Adam, and Brooks' first shows at The Rapids Lounge since playing there in late January, and will hopefully prove to be another entertaining weekend of hard rocking covers for fans and lounge regulars alike, so don't miss out on next month's action! Peril will be on both nights at 9:00 PM with no cover charge and a 21+ age limit, as usual. Visit the above links for more details, and we'll look at their sister band's Kewadin gigs this weekend in a bit!

Next up, let's dive into this weekend's concert previews, starting with the return of Manistique hard rock duo Fyrbird to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino themselves TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT, but that's not all from them! Last week, band representative Shannon Hider posted their current schedule through the end of the year on their Facebook group (we had previously known about their E.U.P. gigs through next month), so when else can you see Fyrbird in our neck of the woods? The next new-to-us gigs within an hour of the Soo will see them rock The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on September 22nd & 23rd, before returning to The Rapids Lounge in Sault Ste. Marie on November 17th & 18th. More spread out, but they will be back! Also, note that they'll be seen often in Paradise, Newberry, Gould City, Curtis, and Naubinway as well, which are not in our coverage range.

Remember, we stop at an hour's drive from Sault Ste. Marie, but of course, those towns are in Chippewa, Mackinac, or Luce County, so don't disregard them if you happen to be in the area, as they play there more than under the Kewadin umbrella. Tonight, tomorrow's, and this fall's Kewadin gigs from Fyrbird are at 9:00 PM with no cover charges and 21+ age limits. Hopefully Fyrbird's hard hitting two-man cover attack goes over well for Yooper fans this weekend and beyond, so visit the above links for more details, don't miss them tonight and tomorrow in the Soo, and here's Rick & Jamie live and in concert last year!

Also, let's head further south in Michigan for the aforementioned shows this weekend from Peril's sister band, namely Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm, who will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace branch TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT themselves! Fresh off of rare gigs in Indiana this past weekend, these will be the Peril sister band's first shows in St. Ignace since February, so not a huge time between gigs there, but definitely still another fine opportunity or two for their hard hitting yet fan friendly covers & originals on a local stage awaits local fans this weekend! Like with Peril in the Soo next month, Scarkazm's concerts tonight and tomorrow have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here & here for more details on Scarkazm's St. Ignace shows this weekend, and here they are live!

Finally, let's head north to Sault Ontario, as Toronto-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer will make their (at least) fifth local concert appearance here TOMORROW NIGHT, when they rock Soo Blaster for the first time! Fans of Kiss may recall last seeing Destroyer give rock n' roll to you at the former Canadian Nightclub in March 2019 (with a planned May 2020 return cancelled due to the first pandemic lockdown), so it'll be great to see Destroyer's faithful take on Kiss' classic original hard rock sound and stage show on a local stage again, and fans should be in good hands after their prior gigs here went well! Support will come by way of local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek, who are stepping out of the studio for their first set since their headlining weekend at Jay's last month and their first appearance at Soo Blaster since playing there in December. With Fort Creek's long-gestating new album still in the works, look for new studio material mixed into tomorrow's high profile set!

Sponsored by Sessions Cannabis, this 19+ concert has doors opening at 7:00 PM, and tickets run for $20 (up from $15 in 2019) or $25 for VIP passes, perks unclear, though note that on Eventbrite, the only advance tickets there cost $27.96 with taxes/service fees already applied. If you're a fan of Kiss, you owe it to yourself to check this show out, as Destroyer are the next best thing to the real thing, and Fort Creek will be a good match to kick off the evening, so don't miss out tomorrow, visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Destroyer live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Destroyer, Leash, And Bone Yard) & Spades GT Updates!!

Today's post was reshapen in progress due to discovering some concerts taking place next month that I hadn't heard about as soon as I probably should have, so factoring them into what we already knew, we mostly have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS today, plus updates on a prominent local band's album recording sessions. Here's what you should know!

Hamilton-based Pearl Jam tribute band Leash will make their local concert debut on Saturday, March 4th when they perform at Soo Blaster! Given the touring tribute bands that usually make their way to Sault Ste. Marie, one paying homage to a grunge/alternative rock band is definitely unique, so that alone should get many readers curious! While the vocals aren't a perfect match to Eddie Vedder, Leash have the musical chops to pay justice to Pearl Jam, and it'll be interesting to see how Leash go over next month! There are no advertised opening bands. Announced by Soo Blaster's Facebook page in a relatively quiet fashion (hence why I only just heard about it today), this is a 19+ event with doors opening at 7:00 PM, and tickets run for $25 in advance at the venue or this link or $30 at the door. A $320 VIP booth package with bottle service is also available as an option for online ticket buyers if you are so inclined.

Hopefully Leash go over well in just under two weeks, as it'd be neat to see more musical diversity in the tribute bands that stop in the Soo (especially post-pandemic wben more bands are touring), so visit the above links for more on this show next Saturday!

Next up, local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard will be in concert elsewhere on Saturday, March 4th, specifically The Water Tower Pub on Great Northern Road! This show was quietly announced at the end of a post on their Facebook page earlier today where they were otherwise hyping up remaining availability of their recent run of official Bone Yard t-shirts, but it's a surprise announcement in another way, as they were slated to play at The Coulson Entertainment Center in Sudbury next weekend, as per their Facebook concert calendar from last month. According to The Coulson's website's concert calendar, Bone Yard are definitely not playing there on March 3rd & 4th (giving way to Sudbury's own Natalie Crispo Band), and were instead postponed to/re-booked for March 24th & 25th, so Sudbury genre fans and relocated Saultites should keep their delayed trip in mind!

As far as The Water Tower Pub goes, the venue has yet to confirm this booking on their Facebook page, but Bone Yard are not playing on Friday the 3rd, as The Water Tower Pub usually books separate acts on Fridays and Saturdays. If they (or The Bearded Lounge?) play anywhere else next Friday, we'll let you know! Next Saturday's concert will have an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and look for more from Bone Yard soon!

Also, Toronto-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer will return to town on Saturday, April 15th when they rock Soo Blaster themselves! Their first local gig in just over four years (last seen at the former Canadian Nightclub in March 2019) and their fifth date here since 2010, some readers may recall that Destroyer were slated to play at The Canadian in May 2020, a show cancelled for very obvious reasons. It's great to see Destroyer bringing their impressive brand of Kiss tribute action back to the Soo for a relocated make-up date, so if you want the best, they'll be the next best thing to the best! Local support will come by way of southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek, in a familiar spot for them following opening for Metallica tribute Sandman at Soo Blaster last year. Unless dates in the interim are announced, this will be Fort Creek's first show in three months, and it should prove to be another solid platform for their hard hitting covers & originals, so don't miss out!

Sponsored by Sessions Cannabis, this 19+ event has doors opening at 7:00 PM. Despite the Facebook event page and poster indicating that you can buy tickets online via Eventbrite, I have not found a working link for online sales, so contact Soo Blaster directly by phone if you want yours immediately (for reference, Destroyer's 2019 show had $15 tickets, and prices for the pandemic-cancelled 2020 date were never publicized). The local contingent of the Kiss Army should circle this date on their calendars, especially given the Saturday night timing, so visit the above links for more on Destroyer's return in two months!

Finally, here's some more details on local/Barrie crossover thrash quartet Spades GT's ongoing recording sessions for their first full-length album, courtesy of their Facebook page! On Sunday (day 6 for the former Jack Spades in studio), they revealed that frontman J.D. Pearce had begun tracking "some heavy vocals" for the album, and they shared this photo of the band with producer Kyle Marchant later that day. Despite Monday being Family Day, the guys were back in studio and welcomed two guest musicians in to record appearances on the record, one being Andrew Moorehouse, who is the lead singer of Innisfil punk band The Fast Life. Spades GT guitarist Daniel Horton joined The Fast Life last year, so some synergy between the two bands can't hurt! The other confirmed guest is none other than Anvil frontman Steve "Lips" Kudlow, which is a huge get on paper, but has closer ties than you may recall!

Remember, Lips' long-time bandmate (drummer Robb Reiner) is the father of Spades GT drummer Tyler Reiner, so they definitely had a leg up to give him a call, especially being based in the GTA now! The pictures posted on Facebook suggest that Lips will be guesting on guitar. Sounds like Spades GT are building up anticipation and content the right way for this album, so definitely stay tuned for more updates as they roll in, and look for weekend concert previews on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

More Likely Concert Cancellations, Plus Tarnished's Newest Live-Streamed Shows!!

For this 69th straight daily post at the SMS, we do have new video content, but let's start with the latest on the local concert calendar and the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer extended the state's stay-at-home order until Friday, June 12th, and you can read more about this announcement at this link or your preferred Michigan news sources. Businesses cleared to re-open in the Sault Ste. Marie area can still do so, but this order means that casinos must remain closed through at least this date, Kewadin Casinos included. As such, I have removed The Lows' concert at The Rapids Lounge in the Soo on June 12th from our calendar, as well as Peril's scheduled June 12th weekend shows at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace. The one-nighter at The Rapids Lounge on June 13th from Pontiac hard rock band Tripp 'N' Dixie will remain in our listings for now.

Note that Tripp 'N' Dixie have not posted on their Facebook page at all since February, so if the show is publically cancelled, it may be through Kewadin or the state government before the band. In Sault Ontario, the only remaining concert scheduled this summer in our calendar is the Alienator-headlined show at Soo Blaster on June 4th (next Thursday), and I have reluctantly opted to remove it as well. As of this writing, Soo Blaster have not announced that they'll be re-opening in time for this show, and even if, I can't see this going on when everything else around it has been cancelled. In any event, neither Alienator nor local openers The Bear Hunters have publically acknowledged the show on their Facebook pages. If I am wrong, I'll redact this! Lastly, I have to give a huge apology, as a hard rock concert (obviously now cancelled) was scheduled for yesterday in the Soo that we completely forgot to cover on here, to be headlined by Toronto-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer!

To have been held at The Canadian Nightclub, this show was announced back in January via it's Facebook event page, and it would have been Destroyer's fifth local concert appearance since 2010, and first since rocking the same venue in March of last year. Promotion of it didn't visibly get far (ticket prices weren't even listed), and while I definitely regret not covering this one in the winter, it never took place anyway for sadly obvious reasons. Hopefully Destroyer return to the Soo when things settle down!

The second half of today's post takes us back into live-streamed concert territory, as Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished held their 13th & 14th at-home concerts on their Facebook page on Friday and yesterday! After switching to a two hour set for the prior two installments, and dealing with a mid-show power outage on night #2, Alex & Josh has originally planned to do two hour sets again last week, but both only ran for an hour (or so) due to warm temperatures during recording. That said, the audio quality remains poor across both live-streams for my setup, so Audacity manipulation and maximum volume may be necessary. Friday's live-stream again has the wide-screen video letter-boxed in standard definition, but they finally corrected the aspect ratio problems in yesterday's live-stream, so that one is embedded below. Starting with Friday, that set features 2/3rds of Tarnished covering Three Doors Down's "Kryptonite", Incubus' "Drive", ...

...Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl", Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World", Kenny Wayne Shepherd's "Blue On Black", Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love", Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock & Roll", Poison's "Talk Dirty To Me", Bob Seger's "Turn The Page", Skid Row's "18 & Life", and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising". As for yesterday, Alex & Josh tackled Sublime's "What I Got", REO Speedwagon's "Take It On The Run", The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Fishin' In The Dark", and Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box", before Josh swapped out his guitar for his acoustic bass. Afterward, the guys play a new original song named "Cabin Fever" from their upcoming EP, Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5", Billy Idol's "White Wedding", Alex's own solo track "Crazy World", Green Day's "Basket Case", Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust", The Romantics' "What I Like About You", and Cameo's "Word Up". This was a nice selection of tunes overall from these two nights!

The audio quality remains a deep concern, but the guys seem to have a strong handle on these covers, new and old alike, and the stage lighting does add some visual flair to the performances! No word on when we'll see Tarnished back with more live-streams (and for how long), but give these a watch above and below, and stay tuned for more from their camp!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison) & This Weekend's Hard Rock Concert Previews!!

Let's dive into the last concert weekend of March 2019 in today's post, luckily without any short notice shows (at press time?) That said, we do have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to add to our listings for next month, so here's what you should know for hard rock bands this weekend and beyond!

Prolific local singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will continue his long-term arrangement at Gliss Restaurant with acoustic matinee concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY, but while we're at it, I'm rolling his April concert schedule into our listings too! Remember, due to their length and amount, we approach Tym's concerts (particularly the Gliss ones) a month at a time for our coverage on the SMS. As such, expect Tym's ongoing run at Gliss to continue unabated through next month (and beyond), with April dates scheduled twice weekly on April 5th & 6th, 12th & 13th, 19th & 20th, and 26th & 27th. Keep these supper-time shows in mind at this popular Spring Street restaurant next month, plus tomorrow & Saturday's March-closing gigs as well, for more strong entertainment! As well, Tym has two traditional nighttime shows next month at different frequent venues of his, both on Fridays, including at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on April 5th and at Room 21 on April 19th.

Tym's busy schedule is always welcome to see, so keep these shows in mind if you're up for some hard rocking unplugged covers this spring! If he is returning to Mark's Breakfast Plus or elsewhere next month, then those gigs haven't been publically announced yet. Tomorrow's, Saturday's, and next month's Gliss shows all have 6:00 PM start times and no stated age limits or cover charges (but mind the locale), while the Roadhouse & Room 21 shows are 19+, at 10:00 PM, and have no cover. Visit the Facebook event pages linked here, here , and here for more details, and here's Tym live!



Next up, Tym does have one more show this weekend, as he's opening for new-ish power rock band Re:Born in both acts' Soo Blaster debut TOMORROW NIGHT! A precursor to Re:Born's set opening for The Killer Dwarfs at the same venue next month, this will be the Project 421 successors' first concert of 2019, just their fourth total, and their first public appearance since Elly McWatters replaced Robert Nevitt as their new lead singer last fall. Headlining a warm-up gig is a great way for Re:Born to shake off the stage rust, so prepare for a classic metal cover and original blast tomorrow at the former Woolco/NCO building on Queen Street East! Remember, their set will be as a four-piece due to guitarist Frank McGillivray's out of town work commitments. Of course, the aforementioned Tym Morrison is opening in a rare supporting appearance at standalone non-charity concert, and his unplugged hard rock covers should set the tone well tomorrow night!

A 9:00 PM start time is in effect for this 19+ concert, which will have a $5 cover charge. If you love old school hard and classic rock with an increasing slate of original tracks, you'd be well served by going to Soo Blaster tomorrow to see Re:Born's return after over 5 months away! Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Re:Born live!



In a brief detour to the Eastern Upper Peninsula, fans can see Traverse City, Michigan classic metal trio Peril back at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! These shows were originally advertised as taking place at the St. Ignace Kewadin via this concert calendar in January, and if this wasn't a typo, a reason was not publicized for the concerts' relocation. Marking their first Soo Kewadin stops of 2019, Peril's hard rocking brand of classic covers always a welcome sight when they travel north, fans should give Jeff, Adam, and Brooks a solid welcome back this weekend! No word yet on shows in the second quarter of 2019 or beyond for Peril, we'll let you know when they're confirmed, but their sister band Scarkazm will be in the Soo in May.

Tomorrow & Saturday night's concerts have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no announced cover charges. In spite of the mistaken/outdated venue listing from January, Peril should put on a great show both nights in Sault Ste. Marie, so keep tomorrow & Saturday's shows in mind, and stay tuned for word on when Peril will return to St. Ignace! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Peril live!



Finally for this weekend's hard rock concert previews, we'll head back to Sault Ontario, where Windsor-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer will return for a well anticipated headlining concert THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at The Canadian Nightclub! Last seen locally in May 2015 (with their planned July 2017 gig here cancelled on late notice), Destroyer's well regarded brand of Kiss tribute action has proven to deliver the auditory and visual goods across Canada, and if you're up for a night of authentic Kiss action, you know where to be on Saturday! The local openers will be local hard rock cover quartet Griphook (who opened for Destroyer here in 2015), ending a nearly two year-long stage hiatus of theirs dating back to Rotaryfest 2017. It's great to see Joel, Brian, Dan, and Tony back after far too long, but how much stage rust will Griphook have after the long layoff? Head to The Canadian on Saturday to find out, and hopefully there's much more to come from!

Admission for this 19+ concert is a flat $15 at the door, which is cheaper than in 2015, but that event did have discounted advance tickets, so take that for what you will. A 10:00 PM start time is advertised, and if you're a loyal Kiss Army member, you won't want t miss out on Destroyer's first Sault Ste. Marie gig in over 4 years! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Destroyer live last month!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates, plus this month's CD review in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Destroyer), Northern Film Showcase Preview, And Much More!!

Before we begin today's post, just one more Joni Radford-related note, as her obituary is finally on SooToday, which notes that memorial contributions to the Canadian Cancer Society, ARCH Hospice, or the Sault Ste. Marie Humane Society. Also, it's made clear there that yesterday's services were a private family event, which I didn't know when including in our last post, as the spread on social media among contacts made it seem more open. If I erred in mentioning them here, I do sincerely apologize, and our best thoughts remain with the Radford and Morin families.

Now, let's dive into today's post, which includes some assorted recent updates, a new song, a preview of a special event taking place this weekend, and first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as Windsor-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer will return to Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday, March 30th at The Canadian Nightclub! This will be Destroyer's fourth local concert appearance in the 2010s, and their first since May 2015 (their July 2017 show at The Rockstar Bar was cancelled on short notice, which slipped us by at the time.) Kiss Army members should definitely keep an eye on this show, as Destroyer's faithful looking and sounding brand of Kiss classics should deliver a solid turnout at The Canadian in March, so don't miss their local return then! In a surprise announcement, the local openers will be reunited hard rock cover quartet Griphook, in their first public concert appearance since Rotaryfest 2017. Griphook had previously opened for Destroyer locally in 2015, so if you loved that show, here's an encore!

It's great to see Griphook finally end their nearly 2 year long hiatus, and they are now back in our active band links, but how will they sound after the layoff? Be at The Canadian in two months to find out! This 19+ concert has a 10:00 PM start time, and while admission fees have not yet been announced, note that Destroyer's 2015 concert had $12 advance tickets and a $16 door charge. This should be a great chance for fans to get their live Kiss fix and welcome Griphook back to the public stage, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up, this isn't a concert, but for an event as unique as this, I felt it deserved one more preview on here, as local filmmaker and rock bassist Nathan (Jonna) Bouliane and McBully Productions are hosting their second annual Northern Film Showcase THIS SUNDAY at Shooters Downstairs Lounge (formerly Breakaway Bar & Grill) at 69 Dennis Street, with a theme centered around music videos from local artists! This event is intended to bring local musicians and filmmakers together to make connections, generate exposure, and network for future collaborations, and creators on both sides are encouraged to attend the showcase, which will feature mystery live performances, speeches from local musicians, and a screening of at least 10 music videos. Two are on the heavier spectrum for SMS readers, including The Bear Hunters' "I Fear No God" & Mike Haggith's "The Nature of The Times", though I'm fairly certain neither is performing live.

The other videos come courtesy of Audiosmile, Renee Landry, Kalle Mattson, Mike Mikus, Jackson Reed, Mic Swiff, Britta Wolfert, and at least one publically uncredited performer (one is in the new Facebook cover video for the event, so you might be able to play detective.) Tickets are $10 and can be bought at Shooters or presumably at the door, while this has a special 4:00 PM start time. This is definitely a unique event for this area, but it'll be a great chance for musicians and filmmakers to meet and discuss mutual interests, and local music and film lovers can see some professionally done music videos as well! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Also today, here's some updates regarding the Ozbourne concert at The Canadian Nightclub in March, starting with a date change, as the show has been moved from Friday, March 29th to Saturday, March 23rd, as per updates to the Facebook event page. A reason for the date switch wasn't announced, but it's not often where a concert is moved to an earlier day, so fans will get their Winnipeg-bred Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath tribute action a little sooner! A local opener has also been announced, they being blues rock trio The Paul DellaVedova Band, in a rare non-Rotaryfest support appearance from them. Interesting genre disparity here, but Paul and company can go heavy on occasion, and they should warm the crowd up well in two months! Notably, they replaced acoustic country duo The Bearded Lounge as the openers, with that band originally advertised last week at this link, but a reason for their withdrawal wasn't announced either. See above for updates!

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

• As per their Facebook page, local indie/punk trio Northwest will try their hand at CBC's annual Searchlight music competition again this year! The guys made the Northern Ontario regional semifinals in this event back in 2015, and with a new EP, now seems like a good time for them to try again in this national search for Canada's best new artist! Full contest details for prospective musicians can be found at the above links, and stay tuned for when voting kicks off!
• In their first proper Facebook page post since it's launch, new local Tool tribute band Parabol thanked everyone for liking them so far (they're already at 255 fans!), and they teased "possibly scheduling a show in March." With Destroyer and Ozbourne already booked for that month, why not one more tribute band concert for good measure? If this gets confirmed, we'll let you know!
• The most recent installment of Ernest Skinner's Rock Talk column on SaultOnline went online on January 12th, where he largely talked about live albums from bands and his opinions & reminiscences on them. Interesting read with a lot of good points, so give it a look at this link! No sign yet of new Rock Talk columns, including some with more teased musician interviews.

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Oh!NO 2017 Music Festival & Curtis McKenzie), Plus More Concert Previews!!

As promised, let's round out this weekend's currently announced hard rock concert previews today, focusing on Saturday-only events, but to lead off, we have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one of a huge scale, the other on SHORT NOTICE, so here's what you should know!

Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will return to The Vape Escape on MacDonald Avenue for another solo concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced via it's official Facebook event page on Tuesday, and it was held for our second preview post due to it's relatively later scheduling among shows over this stretch. This will be Curt's fourth solo appearance at the new e-cigarette/vaping lounge behind Tim-Br Mart, and first in over a month, though he has played a pair of solo concerts elsewhere in the interim. That said, this show will be different from his prior Vape Escape sets, as he'll have a special guest on hand, namely former Haggith bandmate Caleb Cachagee, who is advertised to be playing a set on bass. It's not 100% clear whether Caleb is opening for Curt or is backing him up for one set, but it's great to see them back on stage together, so come out TOMORROW to see how this shapes up!

Like his prior Vape Escape shows, TOMORROW's event is a 7:30 PM affair with no announced cover charge, and you must be 18 or older to attend. Curtis' resurgent solo project has been impressing fans all over again locally, and it's clear that The Vape Escape has been a favourite venue for his solo sets in recent months, so definitely consider attending this one for some solo hard rock cover action! See above for more details, and here's Curt live!



Next up, here's one more huge show before our Destroyer preview, as Six, Two, Oh. are hosting the Oh!NO 2017 Music Festival on Saturday, September 9th! We waited to plug this on the site, as the venue was originally somewhat ambiguous, but we can now confirm it's taking place in Leeburn, Ontario (near the Bruce Mines town limits) at Robbie's Church near the Highway 638 & Center Line Road turnoff, though I don't know if this is a formal active church or just the name given to it. Sort of a distant spiritual successor to Das Bunkerfest, this concert will see twelve musical acts playing all day, including 5 out of town attractions, so who all can you expect? In no particular order, the touring bands will include Sudbury punk trio Lightmares, Barrie all-female punk quartet Beaver Slap (fresh off of their Rockstar Bar show last month), Toronto country/indie rock quartet Run Coyote, Hamilton garage punk rockers Artificial Dissemination (who opened for K-Man & The 45s here last fall), and Thunder Bay "desert rock" quintet The Franquilizers (who opened for 1971 here last summer.)

The roster of local bands at the Oh!NO Festival will include punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, doom metal trio (and Six, Two, Oh.'s own) AlgomA, a debuting local band named Slumshine (no word on their lineup, sound, or online pages at press time), alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback, reunited extreme metal quartet Winkstinger (in their first public concert in well over a year), new local indie/hard rock trio Vol. (featuring Pixo Control and Aldous alumni), and a solo set by Treble Charger guitarist Bill Priddle. How's all of that for a stacked lineup? I admittedly can't find any details yet on Slumshine, but it's great to see Winkstinger back on stage after a lengthy hiatus (they're back in our active band links), and it'll be interesting to hear how each band sounds! Also, just for clarification, Run Coyote no longer feature ex-Caddy Street Avenue drummer Andrew Dal Cin in their lineup, in case you saw the name and assumed he'd be back home for this event.

Six, Two, Oh. will be filming bands at the Oh!No Festival, which takes place at 11:00 AM until 2:00 AM with no stated age limit, and admission is $25, though this includes pick-up & drop-off at The Station Mall parking lot in a rented bus (a'la 2013's Big Loonie Bus Show), so if you'd rather not drive an hour, you have an alternative! Camping, a bonfire, and food vendors will be available on site, and tickets are now available at The Rad Zone, Case's Music, Northland Music, Coch's Corner, Big Guns Barbershop, and maybe The Gore Street Cafe. This concert is shaping up to be a huge event to help ring in the fall, so visit the official Facebook event page for current & upcoming details!

Finally for today, we'll wrap up this weekend's currently known hard rock concert previews, as Windsor-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer will make their long awaited return to Sault Ontario with a headlining gig at The Rockstar Bar TOMORROW NIGHT! Making their fourth local concert appearance on record tomorrow, this will be Destroyer's first trip north to the Soo in over two years, and for fans clamoring for Kiss classics on a a local stage again, this tribute should deliver the visual and auditory goods! You wanted the best, so here's the next best thing to the best! Unlike their May 2015 show here (opened by the now-inactive Griphook), Destroyer have no advertised local acts kicking off the evening tomorrow. This 19+ event has a 10:00 PM start time, and while official sources oddly aren't publicizing prices for tickets (available at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk), 2015's show saw $12 advance ticket sales that jumped to $16 at the door. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Destroyer live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news either tonight or tomorrow morning! Thanks everyone!