LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (ARCH Run & Quite Frankly!!)

This news post had some big changes while it was being written, thanks to a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month for a wonderful cause, but first, here's another new show and a related update from a talented foursome who suddenly have a high profile July ahead!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly will return to Beck's Bar for one night only on Saturday, July 11th! The band announced the show on their Facebook page on Sunday as a secondary note in a post thanking everyone for seeing them at The Water Tower Pub the previous night, and it's always good to get advance word of shows at Beck's on a band's end! This will be a 9:30 PM event with a 19+ age limit and no cover as usual. While we're on the subject, Quite Frankly made a big announcement yesterday, as they will make their Rotaryfest Stage 1 debut on Friday, July 17th at 8:00 PM! There has been lineup shuffling to create this opening, as local Tragically Hip tribute band The Luxury have quietly dropped out of the closing 10:30 PM set on Saturday the 18th (I have not heard a public reason as to why). Festival organizers opted to move classic rock trio The Sidekicks into that timeslot instead.

As The Sidekicks were originally the 8:00 PM Friday band, that timeslot became available, so kudos to Linsaey, Frank, Harley, and Joe for stepping in to play the Soo's summer festival! Quite Frankly will be the third-to-last band that night, only behind headlining North Bay classic rockers Just Press Play and local veterans Headrush. Click here for the updated Rotaryfest Stage 1 schedule, hopefully all is well with The Luxury, and visit the above links for more on Quite Frankly's plans over the next month!

Next up, the full band lineup for the third annual ARCH Run at Jay's Piston Broke Pub has been announced! The annual Algoma Regional Community Hospice fundraiser motorcycle rally will take place on Saturday, July 25th, and along with the rally proper that starts and ends at the former Roosevelt Hotel, there will be a draw for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. If you want to take part as a rider and/or pledge for a great cause, click here. After not plugging a band schedule last year despite reportedly hosting live music all day and night (Bourbon Blue played inside Jay's as the nightcap), Jay's have mercifully publicized a schedule for 2026, albeit via an AI-generated poster on their Facebook page. Country rock cover quintet Elly McWatters & The Drifters will serve as the indoor closing band this year at 9:30 PM, but the rest of the bands will be playing outside on Korah Road, so who all can you expect for the ARCH Run on July 25th?

The closing outdoor band at 8:00 PM will be young hard rock cover quartet 5 Dollar Bribe, in what may be their highest profile gig yet, so keep this one in mind! They'll be preceded by country rock cover veterans Tex Riviera & The Ride (who played the ARCH Run in 2024) at 7:00 PM, with newer classic rock quartet Doo & The Boyos taking the stage at 6:00 PM. No sign of Stones At The Alter in the advertising here, for the record. New local alt-hard rock quintet Riverside Stasis will play another outdoor summertime gig at 5:00 PM (we'll have more on WestFest II when the full lineup goes live), preceded by acoustic 1960s classic rock duo Whiskey Hippy at 4:00 PM. A mystery band named The Korner Monsters are scheduled for 3:00 PM, and while I have zero idea who they are, note that 2024 had a mystery band too (The Hoovers, who ended up being most of Soundcheck with a singer from their old open mic nights).

Could The Korner Monsters be similar? We'll let you know when/if we hear anything! Lastly, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith (or, if you believe the AI bot, Mike Haggath) will kick off the music schedule at 2:00 PM, presumably with The Big Finish Band in tow. Most are playing with The Drifters that night anyway! Nicely varied lineup of music with a lot of hard rock to go around, and kudos to everyone for donating their time to support ARCH! Attending the concert will be free, but donations and pledges would be absolutely welcomed if you are able. The outdoor portion will be all ages, but you'll have to be 19+ to see Elly & The Drifters inside. If you're wondering, this will be the only ARCH benefit rally/concert this year, as the Dragonfly Run (the former Ride For ARCH that was held at Jay's in 2023 before things split in two between venue & organizers) has ended after a decade-long run, as per this statement last month.

Co-organizer Marcy Catherine D'Ettore said that "we have a lot on our plate right now", and that "I don't feel (that) I can give (the Run) the amount of time, effort, and care that it deserves this year, and something this meaningful should never be done halfway". While not mentioned directly, Marcy and her husband (Bone Yard 225 guitarist Alex D'Ettore) lost their daughter Ally in the spring, which must have played a factor into where priorities lie. Marcy & Alex did a lot for ARCH and the community with this ride, and at least they're ending things on a high note in terms of what they did accomplish! Visit the above links for more on the ARCH Run, and look or more news and notes on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Bone Yard 225

After a slight delay, here's this month's YouTube Channel Profile, as we again take a look at a randomly selected YouTube channel whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk musicians/concerts! This month, we drew a channel from a prominent veteran local band who have been hard at work in the 2020s, so here's what you should know!

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Bone Yard 225 (http://youtube.com/boneyard225)

Owner: Likely Bone Yard 225 singer/drummer and local graphic designer/event organizer Greg Simpson

Channel Timeline: Launched on June 5th, 2024; Videos posted from the following month through January 2025

Channel Summary: Though active locally since their 2009 beginnings as a country cover band, Bone Yard only launched their own YouTube channel in 2024, coinciding with their expansion into original songwriting as a southern/hard rock trio. Their channel includes three lyric videos for their three released studio tracks so far, a brief clip from the 2024 Dragonfly Run featuring their music, and a teaser for a radio interview.

Why You Should Watch: "Boneheads" will likely be mostly interested in this channel for the YouTube copies (with lyrics!) of their original songs, as the Dragonfly Run video features one of those songs again and the interview teaser obviously doesn't have the full recording. While the guys haven't visibly updated this channel in over a year, your local 225 are far more active for posting and sharing videos on their Facebook page, and (recent break acknowledged) are still active, so hopefully we see some more YouTube activity and original music when the time is right!

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

Dragonfly Run: Bone Yard 225 are well known for their charitable involvement in Sault Ste. Marie, including performing at and promoting the annual Dragonfly Run (née Ride For ARCH), which made its debut at its current Grand Gardens homebase in August 2024. In their second upload to YouTube, the band shared this video of motorcycle riders hitting the road from the Grand Gardens to kick off that year's proper rally, with their debut original song "F.A.F.O." as backing music. complete with on-screen text to thank all involved. Kudos to Greg, Kerry, the rest of the band, and all staff and volunteers for supporting the hospice for so long!

 

 

Gypsy Spell Lyric Video: The three studio original songs posted here include the aforementioned "F.A.F.O." and "The F Word" (originally named "Fuck!"), but the most popular and longest of the three is "Gypsy Spell" from January 2025. Another lyric video, this features a slideshow of live photos, fans, logos, and promotional images, with the song being about being seduced by a woman under the titular spell. As on the other songs here, Greg is joined by guitarist Alex D'Ettore and bassist Warren Reville. I'll hold comment on this song proper pending our review of Bone Yard's album-in-progress, but fans of "the dirty three" will enjoy the danceable hard rock on offer!

 

 

Bone Yard 225 on the "Smart as Trees" Podcast on theborderline.ca radio!!! Wed Jan 29th @ 12 noon!: The title of this video does a lot of the explaining on its own, but this 67 seconds-long teaser (their last YouTube upload to date) features a slideshow of photos relating to Bone Yard's appearance on local internet radio station The Borderline, where they were interviewed by Adrian Vilaca for an episode of Smart As Trees. The band used "F.A.F.O." as backing music again, but spoken word studio bumpers that Greg, Alex, and Warren recorded at the time are also layered in. This was an informative 40-minute interview that outlines their then-current status and future aims well, if with some adult language, so give it a listen on demand above!

 

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, our latest randomly selected channel is that of Woodward Avenue Studios, the locally based recording studio owned and utilized by members of Convergence, so look for that on or around May 26th, and stay tuned for more news and this month's CD review soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Hot Girls), Plus The Mike Haggith & Napoleon Concert Previews!!

A busy weekend is upon us to end September 2025 with, so we'll have to break things up into three posts once again! As such, our previews of Wolf Fest, Outspoken Brewing's Oktoberfest, and Bone Yard 225  & Tym Morrison's next shows are slated for our next post, with Double Down's Saturday nighter coming after that. Look for all of those shortly, but let's lead off our previews with some downtown shows tonight and tomorrow, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Grand Rapids punk/power pop trio The Hot Girls will make their local concert debut TONIGHT at The Whisky Barrel! Apologies for the short notice, this show was announced with time to spare on September 16th via the venue's Facebook page, but between The Whisky Barrel not being an SMS staple and the band not seeming amenable to our coverage on sight, I didn't jump the gun at the time. A well travelled touring band with a clear sense of humour, The Hot Girls' upbeat brand of original rock should find a willing audience TONIGHT, so don't miss out on what should be a fun concert with riffs and laughs at the Gore Street-based Scottish pub! Unusually for a show with a touring band, TONIGHT'S concert is FREE, but it is definitely a 19+ booking with an 8:00 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details on TONIGHT's show, and for a preview, check them out on Bandcamp! I honestly can't find a live concert video of theirs to embed here.

Next up, remember how there was supposed to be a battle of the bands TOMORROW at the Downtown Plaza featuring Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band? Well, the battle has been turned into a normal concert, with Mike & crew now headlining! The plaza nor 705 Live Sound Co. have elaborated on the reason for the changes, but I can only assume that band signups weren't terribly high (remember, there hasn't been a battle on this side of the border in eight years), so organizers are turning lemons into lemonade by hosting a normal concert with who signed up. As such, this will be The Big Finish Band's first concert since the Dragonfly Run, and perhaps their last outdoor gig of the year given that it's now the fall, so consider coming out to the Downtown Plaza for all of the action! Online page-less space rock duo The Spaceship Opening will (fittingly) be opening tomorrow, so don't miss Andrew and Ralph to lead things off this evening!

No word on if The Spaceship Opening had signed up for the battle too, though I wonder if the promised $200 voucher will be given to one/both bands? Tomorrow's concert will be a FREE event at 7:00 PM and it is definitely ALL AGES. With the outdoor locale at the Downtown Plaza (covered stage acknowledged), 9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy skies with a temperature hovering around 16°. While it is a shame that the battle proper isn't taking place, kudos to everyone involved for keeping the show going, even on a work/school night! Visit the official Facebook event page for more on tomorrow's special concert, and for a preview, here's some brand new videos of Mike & The Big Finish Band live! They had cameras rolling at the Dragonfly Run in spite of the rainy forecast on August 24th, and while they had protection from the elements, it looks like the weather held up enough!

At the annual ARCH Hospice motorcycle rally outside of The Grand Gardens North, Mike had multiple cameras set up to film their sets (click here to check out their full setlist from that day), and while I don't know if we'll be seeing more from the Dragonfly Run, two videos were shared to Mike's Facebook page of him and the band playing "Carousel" and, as embedded below, "An Act Of Strength".  Strong performances as you'd expect from Mike, Chris, Elly, Matt, and Brandan, so look for more of the same (and with better weather) tonight at the Downtown Plaza!

Finally for this preview post, we'll head to Soo Blaster TOMORROW NIGHT for the local concert debut of Toronto post-hardcore quartet Napoleon! Headlining the fourth show from local promoters Heavy North Entertainment since their relaunch last year, Napoleon bring an in-your-face blend of punk, screamo, and metal to the table in their intense live attack, so come on down tomorrow to jump in the pit! The opener lineup has drastically changed since this show was first announced in July, with the original roster of four local bands dropping to three, with only one band (online page-less metal quintet The Sault Side Squad) surviving throughout. Originally, the openers were also to include promoter Tyler St. Amour's dormant death metal band Bardo, progressive metal quartet Convergence, and Instagram-only hard rock quartet Maynard Hayes, but all three have quietly dropped out for unannounced reasons. Hopefully all is well with all three bands!

In their place, fans will get to see veteran hard rock quartet Half Past in their first show since May (and a rare turn for them opening for a touring band), as well as party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty in their first of two Soo Blaster gigs in an eight day span. Still a solid and diverse lineup, so don't be late tomorrow! The aforementioned 705 Live Sound Co. will be at the controls for this ALL AGES show, which has an early runtime of 5:00-10:00 PM, and tickets run for $12.75 in advance at this link or $20 at the door. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Napoleon live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Nameless), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

Before we begin this weekend's non-Northern Vibe Festival weekend concert previews, we have cancellations to take note of, as Sault Michigan hard rock band Exit 808 are not playing at The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino tonight and tomorrow night. The band revealed on their Facebook page earlier today that they made the decision to drop out due to the Soo Kewadin not allowing bassist Blaze Beairl into the bar due to being underage (he's only entering grade 10). Blaze wasn't a permanent member of Exit 808 when they last played there in January, and the band said that "we're just not feeling comfortable stepping onto the stage" without a full lineup, so this may have been a short notice decision once the casino realized that a teenager was in the band. Exit 808 have played shows without Blaze this year, including at Musicians Unite in March, but if this was a late call, it'd be tough to get a guest fill-in for this weekend anyway.

Based on the photo shared with the announcement, ex-guitarist Nathan Webber is pictured, but I don't know if that's a giveaway that he'd have played this weekend or not. Also, the band did note that the St. Ignace Kewadin and Bay Mills have exempted Blaze for concerts at their lounges despite being casinos, but keep all this in mind, as if The Rapids Lounge don't budge, we might not see Exit 808 back there with Blaze in tow until 2031! I don't know if a late replacement band was signed or not. Stay tuned for more from Exit 808, but let's start our previews with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, with a missed concert apology to follow!

Local hard rock quartet The Nameless will return to The Merchants Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced via the band's Facebook page yesterday, and true to form, The Merch's Facebook page has not acknowledged the gig whatsoever. Fresh off of their tent-protected outdoor show in Goetzville this past Saturday, this will be their first public date in Sault Ste. Marie proper since rocking The Merch at the end of May. According to their Facebook page, TOMORROW'S show will be The Nameless' last before "we take a little break to focus in a bit and spice up the setlist", so if you're a fan of Joshua, Michael, Mike, and Jamie's hard rocking covers, come down to The Merch, as I don't know how little this break will be! The Nameless are up TOMORROW at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are live!

Now to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will hit the stage for another solo acoustic concert at The Fraternal Order of Eagles Club TOMORROW NIGHT, but sadly, we missed a show of his last night. Much to my surprise, I saw this brand new photo on Facebook this morning of him performing at The Dive Gastro Pub yesterday for their latest "Think It Over Thursday" concert (of note, he was playing outdoors on their patio rather than in the "Naughty Corner", presumably a summer bonus when weather cooperates). Alas, Tym only announced the booking via a Facebook event page yesterday morning, with The Dive following suit an hour later (they didn't post an August calendar on Facebook either), so the late notice combined with yesterday's Northern Vibe focus didn't help at all. I profusely apologize for missing yesterday's Dive concert, but hopefully Tym and attendees had a blast, and I'd have covered it had I known!

If you want an encore or make-up date, head to Steelton tomorrow for a show that had lots of notice! Tym's latest Eagles Club show (and last one until November) takes place at 8:00 PM with no cover charge and a presumed 19+ age limit. Visit the Eagles Club concert's Facebook event page for more on tomorrow's acoustic hard rock cover action on Wellington Street West, apologies again for missing his Dive show yesterday, and here's Tym live!

Finally for this preview post, the tenth annual Dragonfly Run goes down on SUNDAY NIGHT with live music in tow! For the third year since the former Ride For ARCH rebranded, this annual charity event will see a motorcycle rally through town to support the Algoma Regional Community Hospice, and the homebase returns to The Grand Gardens North for a second straight year, so attendees can take in local vendors, family friendly entertainment, bike games, prize tables, caricatures, tattoos, food & drinks, and more, so be sure to visit the official Facebook event page for full non-musical details! While the Facebook event page says that there will be "live bands all afternoon", only two are playing on Sunday, including returning southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 (who have spearheaded this event right along), and in a mild surprise that is on physical posters but not well marketed on social media, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith & his Big Finish Band in their second show of the weekend!

Good to see Mike & crew back in the Soo proper (and one day after their Northern Vibe set tomorrow), so don't miss out on their set! According to Mike's Facebook page, they're on at 3:00 PM with your local 225 headlining on Sunday evening. The Dragonfly Run proper begins at 10:00 AM, it is absolutely all ages, and it is a FREE event, though donations to ARCH are definitely encouraged. While The Grand Gardens hosts bands indoors for Toystock, the bands are slated to perform outside in the parking lot, so be advised that 9&10 News is calling for a 70% chance of thunderstorms from Sunday morning onwards. The run will go on rain or shine, but I don't know if they have provisions to move the bands indoors if need be, so keep tabs with event organizers for updates on that front. Whether riding in the rally or enjoying the Grand Gardens festivities, the Dragonfly Run is a great event for a great cause!

Visit the above links for complete details on what to expect at the Dragonfly Run (especially depending on what Mother Nature has planned), but come out to enjoy the fun if you can, and for a preview, here's Bone Yard 225 live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's CD review on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225) & A Locally Relevant Cover Song!!

Today's post covers a bunch of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS from a prominent local band as they book up their remaining dates for the summer, while a cover of local note ends things. Here's what you should know!

While local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 aren't playing at Rotaryfest again this year, they're staying busy with new show announcements for next month, so where can you see Greg, Alex, and Warren in August? All of these shows were announced on the band's website's calendar, and follow two private gigs and two tour dates, one being at Thessalon's Community Days on August 1st and the other actually already having taken place, that being the Motorcycle Poker Run in Kirkland Lake (a whopping 7 hours northeast of the Soo) this past Saturday. Props to them for supporting the cause and making that far of a drive! Frontman Greg Simpson used to live in Kirkland Lake, and he even did a radio interview with CJKL 101.5 on their morning drive show the previous day too. In terms of the new concerts, Bone Yard's next local date will take place on Friday, August 8th when they rock Reggie's Place!

The guys will also headline there on August 29th & 30th for the Labour Day long weekend, so fans of this prominent downtown venue will like that your local 225 are returning there a few times next month! If you're wondering why Bone Yard aren't playing at Reggie's on Saturday the 9th, it's because they are returning as the headliners at this year's Algoma Tree Services community meet & greet/charity barbecue that night! Like last year, expect Bone Yard to rock out at 7:00 PM with classic rock veterans Angry Joe & The Growlers also returning as the lead-off band at 1:30 PM, and alongside the music and food, there will be family activities, a staff meet & greet, and a bonfire. Keep this public outdoor event in mind at 1424 Haviland Shores Drive in Goulais River next month! After another Thessalon road trip (a second straight gig at the Aubrey Falls Trading Post Pig Roast), they have two charity gigs lined up in late August.

On Thursday, August 21st, "the dirty three" will perform at the Cruisin’ To End MS motorcycle show at the newer A&W at 659 Great Northern Road, so hopefully the weather holds up for this outdoor fundraiser event for multiple sclerosis! Expect some vendors and refreshments along with MS Canada donations and promotions, plus the bike show, far from the first such event that Bone Yard 225 have been involved in at a local A&W. Lastly for their August calendar, Bone Yard will rock the returning Dragonfly Run motorcycle rally for the Algoma Regional Community Hospice on Sunday, August 24th, as it returns for its third year since rebranding from the Ride For ARCH and second at its current homebase at The Grand Gardens North. Bone Yard remain heavily involved in the Dragonfly Run's organization, and this special charity concert should also feature family activities, vendors, a silent auction, and games like last year, though keep tabs for updates.

No word yet on the full band schedule, but last year, Bone Yard played at 5:00 PM sandwiched between Mid Life Crysis and the recently-dormant The Haze, with bands beginning at 2:00 PM. Only the Reggie's shows next month are 19+ with 9:30 PM start times. The Algoma Tree Services event begins at 1:30 with Bone Yard at 7:00 PM, and the A&W sets begin at 6:00 PM. Visit the above links for more on Bone Yard 225's end-of-summer schedule as their hard rocking "sermons" continue march onward!

We'll close this post with a nod to tomorrow night's cancelled Headstones show at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion, as I was saving a cover of theirs with a local relevance for our preview of the event. Alas, I was writing up the preview when I found out that the concert was off! In 2019, the Kingston punk/alternative veterans recorded a cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" as a non-album single. Of course, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sunk in Whitefish Bay in 1975, just 15 miles from the Soo, and the ship's loss remains a vivid memory for many in the Twin Saults and area almost 50 years later. While Hugh Dillon and crew aren't local, their website's page on the cover notes that they found the original song "profoundly meaningful", and it got strong feedback from fans when it was played at VIP soundchecks. For the single release, they even shot an official music video for the cover, so what should you know there?

In the video, Headstones members are seen walking across ice covered waters while footage of ships, shorelines, and the wreck itself are seen in between, eventually transitioning to the band performing outside at nighttime. The cover is very Headstonesy and would fit in well with their original radio hits, and drives around at a steady clip that rocks up the song but doesn't distract from the somber tone. The harmonica comes in at a good time too! Whether The Headstones would have covered the song here tomorrow, I don't know (Setlist.fm last logs them playing it in a regular set in 2023), but the local relevance is noted regardless. Check out The Headstones' Gordon Lightfoot cover below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225) & The HeadFirst Concert Preview!!

Today's post will see us finally wrap up this busy weekend concert preview run, but leading off are lots of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming months, so here's what you should know on this Saturday morning!

Local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 have announced their concert schedule for the spring months via their website's concert calendar! Greg, Alex, and Warren are taking the rest of this month off from public dates, with only a private anniversary party being listed for tonight, while their next public show will be on the road, as they'll head 90 minutes east to Thessalon for an "uncorked" gig at their curling club during their mixed bonspiel on Saturday, April 5th. It's rare when they play acoustic gigs outside of Gateway Casino and The Water Tower Pub, so keep that in mind if you're in the area next month! Most of the local dates will see Bone Yard return to Reggie's Place, so you can enjoy "the dirty three" for full weekends on April 11th-12th and 18th-19th (the Easter long weekend), and then on May 2nd-3rd, 16th-17th (the Victoria Day long weekend), and 30th-31st. Reggie's has definitely proven to be their favourite venue in recent months, so you have lots of chances ahead to see them on stage there!

The guys will bring their "sermon" back to The Coulson Entertainment Center in Sudbury on April 25th-26th, in effective reschedulings of their planned Sudbury gigs in January due to electrical upgrades. Obviously not local dates, but your local 225 do enjoy their biannual Sudbury road trip and have made many fans out there, so don't forget about them too! Bone Yard 225's next public "uncorked" date in the Soo will see them return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only on Saturday, May 10th, so keep their return to this popular central venue in mind for next month if you want to enjoy their lighter side! They are not scheduled elsewhere on Friday, May 9th. The last new date will see the guys debut at the Downtown Plaza for an outdoor show on Saturday, May 24th which will serve as a promo party for the Dragonfly Run, the ARCH benefit motorcycle rally with attached concert that Bone Yard put on & heavily support every year.

Specific details are forthcoming, but a promotional event to get the word out for the Dragonfly Run is a good idea, and given that the plaza is an outdoor-ish venue, hopefully the weather holds up in two months! We await specifics on a start time, full lineup, and admission fee for that event, but it will definitely be all ages. The Reggie's shows are all at 9:30 PM, the Water Tower Pub concert is at 8:00 PM, those are 19+ events, and none have an announced cover charge. To wrap up today's Bone Yard 225 updates, they appear to be spending most of this month working in studio, with this picture of singer/drummer Greg Simpson playing drums at their jam space on Thursday, with "new tunes being churned out", and Greg confirmed that they are in the midst of "studio time" in this "Reel" the previous day. Good to see Bone Yard staying busy this month, so definitely keep posted for more on their next original music and their April-May concerts!

Finally for today's post, let's wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews with local hard rock quintet HeadFirst's return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only TONIGHT! This is the second in an (at least) three show run of Saturday nighters at the Dennis Street nightclub where everyone is going all out for the occasion, with Shooters selling themed drinks and menu items that are only being sold during HeadFirst concerts, discounted drinks if you wear official band merchandise, and teased new songs from their upcoming "project". Fresh off of opening for Selias at Soo Blaster last night, hopefully Red, Raine, Liam, Claire, and Anthony rock the house tonight with their fun and hard hitting originals and covers! The series will also see HeadFirst rock Shooters on April 12th, with more themed dates allegedly to be announced. In terms of St. Patrick's Day themes this weekend, Shooters' DJ night yesterday was full of them.

Given that HeadFirst proper are the raison d'etre for tonight's themes, I'm not seeing much in the way of green/Irish frills for this concert, but inquire within if you're hoping for green beer and such. The raw|lust|hot rock band takes the stage tonight at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on tonight's concert, and for a preview, here's HeadFirst live!

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

Dragonfly Run, Wax Mannequin, And The Fixer Concert Previews!!

(Updated on Sunday at 12:38 AM) Let's finally wrap up this weekend's concert previews after five posts on this very busy penultimate weekend of the summer months! Just as a reminder following yesterday's ARCH Run preview, I will not be taking sides or elaborating on the schism between the Dragonfly Run and Jay's Piston Broke Pub (leading to the launch of today's ARCH Run), but if you want to read the Dragonfly Run's side of the issues, click here. Regardless of what happened between both sides, both are benefits for the Algoma Regional Community Hospice and any support that we can give ARCH is more than welcomed, no matter how you do it!

Now, TOMORROW'S motorcycle rally/concert is the annual Dragonfly Run (rebranded from the Ride For ARCH last year), which has moved from Jay's to The Grand Gardens on Great Northern Road, which is also the homebase of Toystock (both events share common organizers). This event will feature a motorcycle rally starting and ending at The Grand Gardens from 1:00 PM onwards, while there will be family friendly activities, vendors, a silent auction, and games inside and outside throughout the day, plus a pasta buffet, so be sure to visit The Dragonfly Run Facebook page for complete non-musical details! In terms of bands playing tomorrow, all will be inside The Grand Gardens a'la Toystock, and while there will only be three bands, all have 90 minute sets so you'll get to see more of them than you otherwise might at a community festival! Veteran classic rock quartet Mid Life Crysis have been bumped up as headliners at 7:30 PM.

As such, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 now have the middle set at 5:00 PM. In their second charity motorcycle-related concert in a four day span (following the Cruisin' The Dub bike show on Thursday), Bone Yard should be in good spirits to cap off a busy stretch in terms of getting the new look Dragonfly Run put together, and hopefully they rock the house as only they can! Alt-rock band The Haze (who played one of their first sets at last year's Dragonfly Run under their old name Skinbox) will kick off the day's musical program at 2:00 PM. Entry is by donation to this ALL AGES event, unless pledging to take part in the motorcycle rally, and things run in person at The Grand Gardens from around 1:00-9:00 PM aside from the rally registration beginning at 11:00 AM. The bands will be indoors, but for the sake of the outdoor activities, the forecast has 24-27° temperatures with sunny-mostly sunny weather and no chance of precipitation.

It sure looks like Greg, Alex, Warren, and crew have got a great event in store for the community, be you a rider, music fan, or just want to enjoy some family entertainment, and ARCH is extremely deserving of any help that you can give it, so consider biking down to The Grand Gardens for the second Dragonfly Run tomorrow! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Bone Yard 225 live!

Next up, there's more SMS-amenable concert action taking place TOMORROW NIGHT at two downtown venues, and we'll start at Soo Blaster, where two female-fronted metal bands from out west will make their local concert debuts! Thunder Bay gothic metal quartet The Fixer are the headliners here, and with their dark but melodic brand of original material getting some decent buzz so far in the 2020s, they should leave a strong impression on local fans tomorrow! Joining them on tour and in the Soo tomorrow is Winnipeg metal quartet Indigo, whose sound is a touch heavier with some harsher screaming thrown into the mix, so don't bypass them at Soo Blaster either! Your local support here are death/thrash metal trio Pillory in their Soo Blaster debut, their first show in Sault Ste. Marie proper since 2019, and just their second show of 2024 following their long awaited reunion. Not everyone was able to travel to Leeburn last month, so hopefully Pillory get many heads banging as they continue their reintroduction to local fans tomorrow night!

Another concert brought to us by promoter Mikhal Muto (fresh off his Southern Ontario road trip with Hails), this stop on The Fixer's Love & Misfortune tour is ALL AGES with an 8:00 PM start time, and admission is $15 in advance at this link or $20 at the door. Metalheads will definitely be curious to check out this concert, even on a work/school night, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's The Fixer live!

Finally as we wrap up one of the busiest non-Rotaryfest concert weekends I've ever previewed, we'll head to The Whisky Barrel, where Hamilton "weird folk art punk" solo act Wax Mannequin will play the Soo for the second time in under three weeks TOMORROW NIGHT! While definitely not a regular occurrence, the conceit of a touring band playing here twice in both directions on a tour is not unheard of, and this is an example of that, with Chris Adeney bringing his creative hybrid of indie rock subgenres with some punk and metal sounds back to a local stage eighteen days after returning here for a public show at "Adrian's house". Despite this show being at a formal venue, it is a smaller deal, with just Wax Mannequin playing, but it is FREE (though tips are welcome!). It is a 19+ affair and it also starts at 8:00 PM. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Wax Mannequin live in Sault Ste. Marie earlier this month!

Uploaded by promoters Piecing It Together Shows to the event page (nice to see a public embeddable video as opposed to a "Story"), this minute-long, square-dimensioned video from the outdoor show at "Adrian's house" features Wax Mannequin playing their original song "Sick Boy", which has quite evocative lyrics as Chris plays along to a backing track. The audio quality is great, and it's a shame that more videos from the show weren't uploaded (not counting vanishing "Stories"), but if you liked what you saw on August 7th, or want to see what the fuss is about, head to The Whisky Barrel on Gore Street tomorrow night as Chris makes his way back home!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for formal news and notes to resume on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225)!!

Local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 have updated their website's concert calendar to reflect their slate of summer concerts taking place in August, so when can you check them out then? Their first show that month will be out of town, as they'll be heading 90 minutes east to Thessalon to play at the Aubrey Falls Trading Post & Outpost Camp on Saturday, August 3rd for their Civic Holiday weekend pig roast. Thessalon is outside of our coverage range, but hopefully this show goes well despite the atypical venue, and keep it in mind if you're in Central Algoma moreso! And yes, it is that Aubrey Falls, namely Bone Yard singer/drummer Greg Simpson's old That's Chester bandmate. Your local 225's first truly local show of August 2024 will see them rock Algoma Tree Services' sixth annual community meet & greet/charity barbecue on Saturday, August 10th! This will be Bone Yard's first ever appearance at this event.

Readers may recall that the musical entertainment at the Goulais River-based business over the past two years was local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck and classic rock band Angry Joe & The Growlers, and according to their website's calendar, Bone Yard 225 will be replacing Soundcheck as the headliners this year for unannounced reasons. In the past two years, I didn't hear a peep about this event until after it took place, so kudos to Bone Yard for publicizing it, and hopefully lots of money is raised for the Kiwanis Club that weekend! The Growlers kick things off at 1:30 PM with Bone Yard headlining at 7:00 PM, and there is no cover for this public, outdoor, and all ages event. Click here for more updates! On Friday, August 16th, Greg, Alex, and Warren will hit the road (if still nearby) to perform at the opening night of this year's Laird Fair outside of Echo Bay! 

The Laird Fair (a.k.a. the North Shore Agricultural Fair) is new to me as SMS coverage goes, but music is not new there, with last year's featured act being local country singer Mark Tarantini and his solo band. If similarly staged/plotted, Bone Yard 225 will rock a covered stage at the fairground site at Lake George Road East at 9:00 PM. Specifics on this year's fair are not out yet (follow their Facebook page for updates), but this should be an all ages event, and I didn't see reference to a cover charge last year. See above for more on the 2024 fair so far! On August 17th and 31st, Bone Yard are slated to go "uncorked", but not at one of their usual two acoustic haunts, as they'll rock Gino's Fired Up Kitchen & Bar at 1076 Great Northern Road for the first time on those Saturday nights! Gino's (which re-opened after heavy remodeling early last year) began hosting live musicians on weekends on their patio this past Friday.

So far, Gino's has welcomed Matthew James and Leslie Cook for shows at their covered patio (apparently the largest one in town), and while there is a roof on the patio, one imagines that live music will only be a seasonal thing if Gino's keeps it going into 2025. Will hard rock-leaning acoustic performers beat Bone Yard 225 to the Gino's stage before August? Stay tuned, but both of their shows are 6:30 PM affairs with no cover charge or stated age limit. The Gino's dates sandwich two shows elsewhere in August, starting with Bone Yard's return to the second annual Dragonfly Run (the rebranded/re-organized Ride For ARCH) on Sunday, August 25th! Their concert events move from an outdoor stage outside of Jay's Piston Broke Pub to The Grand Gardens on Great Northern Road this year, and Bone Yard 225 knows the new locale very well via their involvement in the annual Toystock charity concerts there in November.

Of course, the Dragonfly Run is a motorcycle rally supporting the Algoma Regional Community Hospice, which has attached community events to support ARCH, the concert included. No word on who else will be playing, but Bourbon Blue offshoot Nicky & The Southpaws and alt-rock band The Haze (née Skinbox) also performed last year. Just for the record, I am not getting into the recent controversy over this event vs. the unrelated ARCH Run that Jay's Piston Broke Pub is hosting the previous day at/outside the Korah Road venue, but if you want to read the Dragonfly Run organizers' statement about why they didn't return to Jay's for 2024 and their view on a competing rally/festival that same weekend, click here. Expect family activities, a bike show, and yes, the rally proper based at The Grand Gardens on August 25th, and this is an all ages event as usual.

There is no cover unless pledging/riding in the rally, with Bone Yard 225 playing at 7:00 PM. Lastly, the guys will return to The Water Tower Pub for one more "uncorked" show on Friday, August 30th as they kick off the Labour Day long weekend! As usual, that one-nighter has an 8:00 PM start time, no cover, and a 19+ age limit. Like last year, Bone Yard 225 are prioritizing special events over normal nightclub gigs to end the summer, so there's a lot to take in as such with their classic, hard, and southern rock cover attack, so see above for more details, and look for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard, Generations, And Soundcheck), Plus New Videos!!

Today's post is devoted to a batch of new LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month, with mostly fold in with some new live concert video uploads, so here's what you should know on both fronts!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only (as is standard at this venue) on Friday, September 1st! Announced by drummer Tony Santoro on their Facebook group last night, this will be their second concert since formally adding Flat Stanley/Dorian Grey guitarist Tony Kajnar to their lineup, though fittingly, he guested with them at their last Water Tower Pub gig at the end of July. Hopefully this show goes well for this talented veteran foursome, and that they keep the good times rolling this fall! Expect a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. See above for more details, and while we're on the subject, here's some new videos from their set at the block party on Queen Street East on Sunday! These were live-streamed for attendee Mario Naccarato's Facebook page and subsequently shared publically to the band's Facebook group by Tony Santoro's wife Dawn.

The videos include Generations covering The Beatles' "Day Tripper" and, as embedded below, both Miley Cyrus' "Flowers" & The Tragically Hip's "New Orleans Is Sinking", the latter with bassist Pierre Anthony on vocals (yes, Lime covered "New Orleans Is Sinking" to end the very next set). While somewhat distantly filmed from the stage, at least Mario shot these horizontally and had good audio from his camera, so Generations fans will enjoy these varied covers above & below!

Next up, we'll head downtown to Shooters Downstairs Lounge, where fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to the stage for one night only on Friday, September 8th! This will be Soundcheck's first announced concert (barring a late announcement this week or next) since returning to Algoma Tree Services' community meet & greet two weeks ago, and their first show at Shooters since playing a full weekend there in late July. No word on why they're not playing on Saturday the 9th, but this concert has a 19+ age limit, a 9:00 PM start time, and no cover charge. Soundcheck (one word) may not plug this show online, so it's good that Shooters posted a Facebook event page to get the word out, and hopefully Terry, Cameron, Jim, and Glen deliver lots of strong classic and hard rock favourites for fans in a few weeks! See above for more details, and stay tuned for more from Soundcheck!

In one more brand new Shooters Downstairs Lounge hard rock show announcement, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard will return there for another concert on Friday, September 29th! This will be Bone Yard's first stop at the Dennis Street nightclub since playing there in mid-July, and while this too appears to just be a one-nighter, hopefully Bone Yard's southern fried hard and classic rock covers are another hit to end September with! Like Soundcheck above, expect this to be a 19+ event with no cover and a 9:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and we have some new videos of Bone Yard to mention while we're on the subject! These were live-streamed by a band representative during their Dragonfly Run headlining set at Jay's Piston Broke Pub on Saturday night (the other bands were outdoors, it turned out), so what can you see here?

All sadly shot vertically, the videos include covers of Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show's "The Cover of 'Rolling Stone'",  both Van Halen's "Eruption" & The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" (it's only natural), The 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up", and as embedded below, Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls". A mix of songs we've seen filmed a lot from Bone Yard shows and some rarer cuts for videos, but Greg, Alex, and Warren are on their game with a receptive crowd on each song! I may not quite get when local bands cover "What's Up", but it does get a response, clearly! Give each of Bone Yard's new Dragonfly Run videos a watch above & below!

Finally, Shooters also confirmed new local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9's previously announced date there on Friday, September 22nd, hence why we didn't confirm it above, but we do have a new video of them to share here! As uploaded to the band's Facebook page on Sunday, this comes from a private gig that the Obsession successors played at a camp party at Bass Lake (north of Leeburn) this past weekend, with Silent 9 seen covering Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train". This isn't an ideal video of Silent 9 in that it's 19 seconds long and filmed from a boat leaving the dock, but it sure is a unique view of the fesitivities, and the band sounds good while it lasts, so check it out for yourselves below!

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