Early Details On Rock Of Ages & New Headrush Concert Videos!!

Before we begin this post, just a heads up that former Rising Tide/Steeltown Playboys bassist Marshall Jaaskelainen's obituary was posted on SooToday on Friday, shortly before our scheduled auto-post written the previous night went up. Marshall is survived by his father Harry, two brothers and two sisters, a niece and nephew, and other extended family members. His funeral service will take place tomorrow at 5:00 PM at the Northwood Funeral Home, and the family would appreciate donations to The Summit. As for his celebration of life at Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s Tap Room last night, SooToday's Darren Taylor was in attendance for it, posting this article featuring a handful of photos of the event, and it looks like a packed house, which is wonderful to see! The article features remarks from Marshall's siblings Rachel (who organized the event), Heidi, and Byron, as well as his former bandmates Jay Case & Lindsay Pugh, and his friend Kate Mulligan.

Marshall's brother and long-time bandmate Sheldon (who has lived and worked out of town in recent years) was unable to attend, but hopefully we'll see him back home when able. It sounds like the celebration of life was a huge hit to pay homage to Marshall as a musician, friend, family member, and all around good person, and I do hope that tomorrow's services go similarly well for everyone who loved and miss him. R.I.P. Marshall!

Today's post otherwise looks at recent live videos from a local cover band, but first, here's an upcoming show that crosses our radar (if not a traditional "concert"), as The Musical Comedy Guild of Sault Ste. Marie is hosting a local stage production of the musical Rock Of Ages next year! To be held at the Sault Community Theatre Centre from April 28th-May 1st, this is being presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals, and will be directed by Andrew Stuetz, who is best recognized in our coverage as the annual MC for Rotaryfest Stage 1 but has a large background in local theatre. Audition info is still to come, but if you're not familiar, Rock Of Ages is a jukebox musical themed around 1980s hair metal, AOR, and arena rock songs, which ran on Broadway from 2009-2015 and received a film adaptation in 2012. This should be an interesting change of pace, so follow the Guild for continuing updates!

The back half of this post is devoted to local classic/hard rock cover sextet Headrush, who have a bunch of new videos to look at, mostly via their new YouTube channel! While launched in June, they only uploaded videos to it last month, all six coming from their Friday night set at Rotaryfest Stage 1 in July (a rare public concert set from them this summer, as they took the season off from bar gigs). Capturing about half of their set on the familiar pop-up stage at Clergue Park, Headrush were filmed covering Prism's "Spaceship Superstar",  AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie" (featuring a woman apparently named Rosie dancing on stage!), Journey's "Stone In Love", Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Sun", Foreigner's "Double Vision", and as embedded below, Boston's "Foreplay/Long Time". The uncredited filmer was right up in front of the stage and got some really nice quality footage on all fronts, including on the stage at a few points!

The guys were playing at dusk, so thing look that tiny bit more impressive for lighting and ambiance, and everyone sounds good, with John Anderson hitting some strong high notes (mercifully, that weekend's severe wildfire smoke warnings lessened enough to not throw a wrench into the Friday program). Give Headrush's new Rotaryfest videos a watch above & below!

Lastly, the other new video was actually shot by local concert regular and supporter Audrey Marshall for her personal Facebook page before being shared publically, but not by the band. As you may recall, Headrush played their first bar gigs of the fall at The Esquire Club this weekend, and Audrey filmed this video of their encore, where they welcomed former Mustang Heart keyboardist Vito Tassone to guest on a cover of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'"! Frank Mannarino switched to rhythm guitar as a result. The video only runs for 80 seconds, and it is reasonably tight to the stage, but what Audrey shot looks and sounds good, and it is neat to see Vito on stage with a full band again, so give this a watch below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) And The Headrush & Village Sessions Previews!!

Things have been pretty quiet this week (calm before the Halloween storm?), but this weekend's hard rock concert slate is still big enough to warrant two posts, so this weekend's Generations, About:Blank, and T.R.I.P. concerts will be in tomorrow's post. Here's what you should know to start things off, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck (7.3?) will reportedly return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via Jay's Facebook page earlier today, albeit via a re-share of an undated AI-generated  concert poster used for prior events (if they have tacked 7.3 to their name, this poster predates that). Interim matinee gig with TNT aside, these will be Soundcheck's first shows since rocking Reggie's Place two weeks ago, and they last played at Jay's at the end of September. Now, I will note that personal Facebook postings also have new bassist Dan Beaupre playing at The Water Tower Pub on SATURDAY NIGHT too with ex-Double Down members' online page-less acoustic band The T.R.I.P.. a show that was originally advertised as a Beej Syrette solo date.

Is Dan indeed playing with Beej and Joel on Saturday, or will he be with Soundcheck? If the former, will Soundcheck have a guest bassist on SATURDAY? We'll let you know if anything is publically said, but we will address the T.R.I.P. show in our next post. The classic and hard rock action from Soundcheck goes down at Jay's TOMORROW & SATURDAY at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, we'll head downtown for the first installment of Village Sessions, a planned series of outdoor concerts at Village Media's headquarters at 298 Queen Street East TOMORROW NIGHT! Now, the original plan was to host this show on their rooftop concert space The Canopy (which is expected to host the Village Sessions series when it returns in 2027), but weather concerns have led SooToday's parent company to move tomorrow's concert inside Village Media HQ. 9&10 News' forecast for tomorrow has partly cloudy skies (the rain is expected to end overnight), but temperatures will be hovering around 4°, which is pretty cold for an outdoor concert. Our source is this SooToday article by event co-host Andrew Stuetz. As opposed to the corner of Queen & Bruce, the space inside the Village Media building is intimate, and they're only planning to host a maximum of 50 attendees.

I'm not sure why they're calling it a "hybrid format" when it's not still partially outdoors, but organizers are asking people planning to attend tomorrow's concert to RSVP at this link so they can manage the expected turnout and communicate possible changes. None of this is ideal, but even if you love cold weather, there's a reason we don't see very many outdoor concerts of a large scale at this time of year! The lineup is unchanged for the start of this series, intended to spotlight originals-focused local headlining artists, and tomorrow's are alt-hard rock band Riverside Stasis, who are one week removed from playing two shows in one night, and their developing original slate and talented lineup should click well here! Note that Big Finish Band/Drifters drummer Brandan Glew filled in for Anthony Boudreau at their gigs last week, but aside from the above image, I have not heard firm public confirmation on who is drumming with Riverside Stasis tomorrow evening.

Opening are acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos in a somewhat rare concert of theirs that has public advance notice, and they should set the tone well! Co-hosted by Andrew and SooToday Spaces music administrator Pat Mackan with audio from 705Live Sound Co., this is a FREE concert (just RSVP first given the space limitations), and it starts at 7:00 PM. A concert inside of a news website's building is a new one for us, but kudos to them for keeping the show scheduled despite the weather, even if it's not going to rain tomorrow. See above for more details, and here's Riverside Stasis live!

We'll close preview post #1 with local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush, who will play their first public concerts of the fall TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Esquire Club! Last seen on a public stage at last month's Laird Fair and publically in city limits at Rotaryfest, this weekend's shows will be Headrush's first standard weekend nightclub gigs since they ended May at The Esquire Club (they and the venue each take the summer off from the weekend bar band circuit). It doesn't look like the Johns, Wes, Gino, and Frank will be playing next weekend, but if you don't want to pay for their Halloween party with The Killer Hooks at The Bushplane Museum, this might be worth scheduling! You can enjoy their 1980s-leaning covers tomorrow & Saturday at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Headrush live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the second half of this weekend's hard rock concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (TNT) & More Thanksgiving Long Weekend Concert Previews!!

As promised, here's the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what else you should know in the area from tonight onward!

Local acoustic classic/hard rock cover duo TNT will return to the stage on SUNDAY NIGHT at Beck's Bar! Apologies for the short notice, Beck's only announced the matinee show in their weekly concert calendar announcement on their Facebook page on Monday, and TNT still don't have a dedicated social media page to promote their own shows with (granted, their sister band Soundcheck rarely updates theirs much anymore either). This is Travis & Terry's first announced acoustic concert since their set at Maddy's Mighty Mutts' Family Fun Day in August, though I did want to acknowledge here that the guys did play a run of eight Saturday matinee concerts at Misty's Fifties from May-July, which I belatedly discovered on the Second Line West nightclub's Facebook page via a bunch of mostly AI generated promotional images. This notably made them the last hard rock-leaning act to play there before Becky Sawyer of Beck's Bar bought Misty's.

I do profusely apologize for missing those shows for coverage here, but alas, they were mostly on late notice on the venue's end, and TNT don't have their own page to plug upcoming shows with. Hopefully they were all a hit, and could Terry n' Trav(is) play there more once Misty's reopens? At least we know about SUNDAY'S Beck's show, which takes place at 3:00 PM during their weekly euchre tournament, and it is 19+ with no cover once again. Visit the above links for more details, hopefully some public videos turn up soon, and stay tuned for more from TNT and Soundcheck (7.3?)

Next up, let's jump over to Sault Michigan briefly, where Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will play their final gigs at The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino branch TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Peril are alive and well, but frontman Jeff Hudson confirmed on their Facebook page that they won't be back at the Soo Kewadin "for the foreseeable future" due to "the upcoming construction changes". It's well established by now that The Rapids Lounge is closing soon for heavy renovations in advance of a new sports bar opening on site or nearby in 2027, and based on updates to Kewadin's entertainment page for upcoming lounge schedules, it does appear that the NuCorp-headlined concerts over Halloween weekend will be the final ones at The Rapids Lounge as we know it. As such, Peril are the last hard rock-leaning band to play there, and they have played there loads over the years, so come on out for all the action this weekend!

These will also be Peril's last EUP gigs for 2026, but their sister band Scarkazm will be back at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace before the year is out though, and we'll have more on that in an upcoming post. Tonight & tomorrow's concerts are at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover charges, and if you're curious, cover band Detour and Detroit blues rock musician Chris Canas will play the next two weekends before NuCorp send out The Rapids Lounge at months end. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Peril live in St. Ignace!

Also this weekend, Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will return to The Esquire Club TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! This double shot in the west end will mark the long awaited return to the weekend nightclub circuit for Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve, after their annual summer spell of just festivals and private gigs extended through September (their last gig of any kind was opening for Fefe Dobson). As such, it's been a long and silent six months for Silent 9 at The Esquire Club, but hopefully their fan friendly classic and hard rock covers get a solid reception this weekend as they return to the regular bar grind! Tonight and tomorrow's shows are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of Silent 9 live at Wolf Fest II at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion last month! This was uploaded to the band's Facebook page on September 15th, a few days after Wolf Fest took place.

As usual for their own social media video uploads, this is (sadly) short and vertical, with the 39 second clip seeing the guys covering AC/DC's "Shoot To Thrill". Despite the above issues and some recurrent light reflections, Silent 9 do a solid and upbeat job with this song, one of my favourite AC/DC singles, so give it a watch below, and look for much more this weekend!

Finally for our Thanksgiving long weekend previews, we head to The Sault Community Theatre Center at White Pines Collegiate & Vocational School, where Oshawa-based Bon Jovi tribute band Bon Jovi Forever will rock the Soo once again TOMORROW NIGHT! Bon Jovi Forever just played at the former Kiwanis Theatre last fall, while they also headlined at The Rockstar Bar a decade ago, so clearly they've done something right to make returns here in the mid-2020s. Covering both the 1980s and early 1990s hair metal days and their more general rock sound of more recent times, BJF deliver the goods for fans of the New Jersey legends, and if you know how Jon Bon Jovi sounds live nowadays, Baz will take you back to what you're used to! All of the east end action goes down tomorrow night at 8:00 PM, and tickets are still on sale at this link, at the door, or at the community box office at Station Mall. The first six rows in the center section are completely sold out, as are the front rows on the left and right, but there's plenty of seats left!

Adult tickets cost $61.02, seniors 65+ and students 13-21 years old cost $49.72, kids under 9-13 cost $16.95, and kids 8 and under are free, and use the promo code group6+ for a discounted group rate if you are buying for 6 or more people. Visit the above links for more on what should be a fun night for Hair Scare fans, and here's Bon Jovi Forever live at the SCTC last year!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band And Separate Wayz) & More Weekend Concert Previews!!

For today's second post, we're keeping our weekend concert preview train rolling with more hard rock-featured concerts in the Twin Saults and area over the next two days, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS! Due to the amount of shows, our preview of Tym Morrison's Sunday matinee gig will be in our next news post. Now, let's pick things up for preview post #2 with those newly announced shows in Sault Ontario this weekend!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Separate Wayz will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were first announced late last week via the venue's 2026 concert calendar on their Facebook page, in their return to hosting bands after their annual summer break, though I couldn't immediately fit these two into a post. Note that the poster actually credits TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows to their sister band Soundcheck (who are playing there in November and December), but Separate Wayz frontwoman Nicole Thibodeau confirmed in a comment reply that this weekend's shows are actually for that band, and the marquee board there also says "Separate Waze" now. Presumably, this will mark the Esquire Club debut of Dan Beaupre on bass, though of the two bands, only Soundcheck have directly confirmed him by name in their own marketing.

No idea if Soundcheck singer/guitarist Travis Sharpe will be present as a guest, but the concerts are specifically being advertised for Separate Wayz. TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows are 19+ and at 9:30 PM with no cover charge. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of them live! This appears to be from the two bands' "epic crossover" weekend at The Esquire Club in April, and features Soundcheck and Nicole (or Separate Wayz and Travis) covering Alannah Myles' "Black Velvet". I wish this was longer than 66 seconds, as it's a strong performance with a good angle and high video quality, so give it a watch below, and don't miss Separate Wayz back there TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT!

Next up, fresh off of tonight's Downtown Street Party, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith (with The Big Finish Band in tow) will make a rare jaunt to St. Joseph Island on SATURDAY NIGHT when they open for Tottenham pop rock trio Dorene at The Hilton Beach Community Hall! Again, apologies for the short notice, Mike only confirmed his involvement in this show on his Facebook page this past Friday. As Northern Vibe Festival fans know, this would be an hour's drive southeast of the Soo (give or take ongoing Highway 17 construction), but instead of hanging a right to Richards Landing at the turnoff, everyone is going left to Hilton Beach, where this concert takes place on SATURDAY at 3050 Hilton Road. The reason for the rural scheduling is that Dorene are currently on their Village Tour, which sees them exclusively playing shows in small towns and communities.

Dorene aren't a hard rock act, but they have a lively original sound with power pop influences, and it would be interesting to hear how they go over in a more intimate, rural locale, let alone with Mike & crew in tow (Mike sounded very optimistic about returning to St. Joseph Island, but if he has ever played a concert there prior, it's news to me). SATURDAY'S concert is at 7:00 PM, it is all ages, and there is a $10 cover. If you'll already be on St. Joe or are up for the drive east, keep this unique concert in mind on SATURDAY, so see above for more details, and here's Mike & The Big Finish Band live!

Moving to shows that did have advance notice, Iron Mountain, Michigan classic/hard rock cover quintet Oz will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Eight long months after Oz last made the trek east for shows at the Soo Kewadin, this weekend's shows will likely be the last for Ryan, Kevin, Joe, Todd, and Dave at The Rapids Lounge before the long-teased renovations and re-opening next year (bands are scheduled to play there through at least Halloween). Hopefully Oz deliver a solid pair of hard rocking concerts for classic rock fans in the EUP this weekend, so keep these shows in mind if these are up your alley! These are 9:00 PM start times with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Oz live!

Finally, let's head back to Sault Ontario for this weekend's arguable main event, as Toronto pop rock/pop punk musician Fefe Dobson will make her local debut TOMORROW NIGHT at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion! This concert is the main event of the second annual Vivid Art Festival taking place at various downtown locales from today through Sunday, and there's a lot of musical, film, visual, and performance art events going down (My Son The Hurricane were last year's Pavilion headlineds), so click here for full details on the Vivid events itinerary! 2000s MuchMusic fans will be curious to see Fefe Dobson on stage here with hit singles like "Bye Bye Boyfriend", "Ghost", and "Can't Breathe" in her back pocket, and especially her early catalogue crosses the pop punk line, so this should be a fun show for many! Joining her is Toronto pop rock duo Goodnight Sunrise (in their third local appearance).

In one of their first fall bookings for 2026, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will open on Saturday, and they're no stranger to big stages, so don't miss their set either! Tomorrow's concert is FREE (My Son The Hurricane last year was too), this is absolutely all ages, and a 7:00 PM start time is advertised. As the Roberta Bondar Pavilion isn't a fully indoor venue, 9&10 News projects temperatures peaking at 16° and dropping as low as 10° by night's end, and while the tent is acknowledged, skies will be partly cloudy. Sounds like an agreeable night for live music, so visit the above links for more on this free Vivid Festival concert tomorrow, and here's Fefe live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Tym Morrison preview and more on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck, Headrush, And Silent 9), And A New Bone Yard 225 Video!!

Before we begin this post, just a heads up that Silent 9 (who are leading things off today as it is) do not appear to be playing at The Tap Room at Northern Superior Brewing Co. on Saturday anymore, as per the show's deletion from their website's concert calendar. It's possible that the date was a remnant of their Wolf Fest II booking last week, as that event was later in the year last year, but regardless, they're not playing there on Saturday. However, today's post has LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this year and a new video to check out, so here's what you should know!

The Esquire Club at 103 Second Line West has resumed hosting concerts on weekends after their annual summer break! After experimenting with week-by-week show announcements in the spring, they have posted a schedule through Christmas onto their Facebook page, albeit an AI generated one (note that none of the bands use the assigned logos). The fall band schedule started last week with Mid Life Crysis, and we'll address this weekend's band (it's not technically Soundcheck) in this weekend's concert previews, but the first of the non-short notice hard rock bookings is courtesy of classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9! In their only Esquire Club gigs for the rest of the year, they have secured the Thanksgiving long weekend, so you can see them there on Friday, October 9th and Saturday, October 10th. Still riding high on the success of Wolf Fest II (a shareable, non-"Story" video is coming soon), don't miss out on their west end gigs next month!

In one more new Silent 9 show announcement, their website's concert calendar confirms that Silent 9 will return to Beck's Bar on Friday, October 30th! This has yet to be corroborated by the venue (it may not be until the week of), but the timing hints that this could be a Halloween-themed event. Of course, October 31st is a Saturday this year, but we'll let you know when/if confirmation is made about spooky goings regardless of day! Next month's Esquire Club shows are at 9:30 PM, Devil's Night at Beck's will be at 9:00 PM, all are 19+, and none of the three have age limits. See above for more on this fan-favourite cover hard rock band's October gigs!

Next up, we'll jump ahead one week at The Esquire Club, as local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will return there for a weekend in all three months ahead! They'll rock the west end nightclub on October 16th & 17th, November 13th & 14th, and December 11th & 12th, giving fans of the Johns, Wes, Gino, and Frank lots of opportunities to see their 1980s-leaning cover attack in the last quarter of 2026. Given the venue's summer break, Headrush haven't played here since April, so consider welcoming them back in mid-October after six months away, but you have no shortages ahead! As with Silent 9's shows there next month, expect all six upcoming dates to have 19+ age limits, no cover charges, and 9:30 PM start times. See above for more details, and stay tuned for more Headrush updates when they roll in!

After October finishes out with bands that largely don't cross the hard rock line (the aforementioned Mid Life Crysis drew the Halloween weekend this year), local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck (no space) will pick things back up at The Esquire Club with scheduled weekends on November 6th-7th and December 18th-19th! Note that this weekend's shows are technically not Soundcheck, but a "separate" band will be playing then (details forthcoming). The November weekend will be Soundcheck's first at The Esquire with new bassist Dan Beaupre, while December's will be the venue's last concerts for 2026, as Christmas and Boxing Day are on a Friday & Saturday this year (as such, that may be a very quiet weekend locally but time will tell for other venues). Good to see Soundcheck (7.3?) getting some more publically advertised bookings this year!

At press time, neither Esquire Club weekend is branded as an "epic crossover" with their sister band Separate Wayz, but that doesn't mean that we won't see Nicole pop in as a guest singer either. Regardless, all four of Soundcheck's upcoming shows there are 19+ with 9:30 PM start times and no cover charges. See above for much more on all of the hard rock-leaning shows hitting The Esquire Club to end the year, and look for more from Terry, Travis, Dan, and Johnny (and Nicole) in both bands soon! 

Finally for today, here's a new video of local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 live at the Bruce Mines Fall Fair this past Friday! Live-streamed to their Facebook page (alas, so you have until around October 11th to see it before it is deleted), the video sees Greg, Alex, and Warren covering Van Halen's version of John Brim's "Ice Cream Man". Shot vertically (though at least zoomed out enough to show the full band on stage simultaneously), this is a fun cover for what we see, and the stage for this post-demolition derby concert looks huge, so give it a watch below while you can, and we'll have more from last week's Beck's show in an upcoming post!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Generations & Headrush) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

For this final batch of hard rock weekend concert previews of May 2026 (and arguably, the spring), we have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to lead off, along with a pair of other new show for next month, so here's what you should know on this sunny Thursday!

Local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band first announced the gigs via their Facebook event page on Monday, and alas, the venue has opted not to post an early 2026 concert calendar on social media this year, instead plugging bands week by week. Last seen opening for Crazy Babies at The Full Throttle Saloon three weeks ago, fans last saw the Johns, Wes, Gino, and Frank at The Esquire Club early last month. Headrush (no space) will definitely be live and loud TOMORROW & SATURDAY with their 1980s-leaning cover rock slate, so if you want to "come out & dance, party, and get your freak on", you know where to be! In their last shows before their incoming summer slate, TOMORROW & SATURDAY's gigs are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges.

Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new jam session video from Headrush's Facebook group! Uploaded by bassist John Amendola, the video sees them covering Triumph's classic single "Lay It On The Line", and given how well Triumph went over in their concert here last month, it's good timing to cover them, especially when they handle the song this well! John Anderson hits the necessary notes on vocals too, but will you see it TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY? Be at The Esquire Club to find out!

Next up, let's jump ahead a tiny bit, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to the stage for shows at Gateway Casino on Saturday, June 6th and at The Water Tower Pub on Saturday, June 27th! Generations are in the late stages of a two month break, partly due to an unspecified family emergency for Valerie or Joe, having last taken the stage at Searchmont last month for their Snowcross weekend. Fans last saw this talented veteran quartet rocking Gateway Casino in early March, while the June 27th Water Tower Pub show will effectively be a rescheduling of their cancelled April 18th concert there (they last successfully played at this venue in February). Good to see the Jus' Chillin successors back at it, and keep both of their one-night-only shows in mind for your concert planning next month! Both shows are at 9:00 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details!

Back to weekend concert previews now, and we'll head south to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino next, as Munising, Michigan classic/hard rock cover quintet The Sky Pilots will make their way back east TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Fronted by former Electric Motor Fish/Swayze Train singer Melissa Strand, this weekend's shows will be The Sky Pilots' first in the EUP since they rocked The Rapids Lounge at the Soo Kewadin in March, and their first at the St. Ignace branch since November of last year. It's good to see Melissa back in our area with her entertaining current project, and fans can expect "live music, classic rock, and 90s hits" all weekend, so keep these May-ending shows in mind! As usual for Kewadin lounge gigs, tomorrow and Saturday's previously announced concerts are at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's The Sky Pilots live in their hometown!

Finally for this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for veteran local singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's return to Misty's Fifties for a matinee concert on SATURDAY! Fresh off of his Dive Gastro Pub show last week (which was 100% a "Patio Play" gig), this Saturday's concert is the last at the Second Line West nightclub advertised by Tym in his batch Facebook event page covering shows there, and it remains to be seen when/if he will announce summer dates at Misty's. He will definitely have shows elsewhere this summer, but just in case, consider a run to Misty's Fifties on Saturday to enjoy his well produced classic and hard rock covers! As usual for Tym's shows here, this is a 3:00 PM matinee concert with a presumed 19+ age limit and no cover charge. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

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

B.A. Johnston & Silent 9 Concert Previews, Plus Early Details On WestFest II!!

Let's wrap up this weekend's known and public hard rock concert previews with what's going down at a popular west end venue, as well as early details on a returning summer concert festival still looking for bands!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will cap off their spring calendar with shows at The Esquire Club TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! As usual, the band will not play any public nightclub gigs over the summer, instead focusing on special events, festivals, and private bookings, so if you want to rock out with Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve again before their focus shifts for the season, head to the west end this weekend! While there was some confusion as to if Silent 9 would even be playing at The Esquire Club tomorrow given the B.A. Johnston booking (more on that in a second), it has been confirmed in recent promotion that Silent 9 are still playing tomorrow, just with a later start time. Tonight's show starts at 9:00 PM as normal, tomorrow's will kick off at 10:00 PM, and regardless, both gigs are 19+ with no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details on Silent 9's classic and hard rock cover action this weekend, and here they are live!

Next up, Hamilton outsider folk/acoustic punk troubador B.A. Johnston will make his own return to the Soo TOMORROW NIGHT at the aforementioned Esquire Club! A well travelled, eclectic, and proudly Canadian musician, B.A. is known for frequently playing here, always at different venues than the last (including at Venue on Queen Street East last year), so him finally landing on The Esquire Club isn't that surprising, even though that venue isn't historically known for booking touring artists. This time though, B.A. seems like the supplement rather than the headliner, as he is playing a one hour set at 9:00 PM before Silent 9 take the stage, and the venue is treating these as separate concerts back to back. Hopefully B.A. crams his hour full of his freewheeling unplugged punk classics, and do give his videos a watch for a better glimpse of what he brings to the table! Maybe he'll even play on top of a car again?

As with Silent 9 (the de facto headliners, you could say), this is a 19+ concert with no announced cover. See above for more details, but rest assured, you'll wanna be there to see what he sings about and who he plays off of in the audience! For a preview, here's B.A. Johnston live!

Also today, you may have heard that WestFest is coming back this summer, so what should you know there? The West Village Revitalization Project launched this event in July of last year at Anna Marinelli Park at 169 James Street as part of their efforts to renew and better the west end of downtown Sault Ste. Marie (Jamestown & Steelton), and last year's WestFest featured family entertainment, vendors, a beer garden, and yes, live music from local artists. WestFest II returns a little later in the year for 2026 (on Saturday, August 8th), and while a lineup announcement is not out yet, organizers are planning to host a talent show to find at least one additional act! On May 14th, the West Village Renewed Facebook page announced that they were looking for "up-and-coming, undiscovered" local musicians to apply for a chance to compete for an opening slot at Beck's Bar on Saturday, June 6th.

I do apologize for the week+ delay on our end, but there is still time, so if your band is interested in a slot at this returning outdoor summer concert festival, contact organizers at the above links for more details by Wednesday! This definitely smells more like a battle of the bands than a "talent show", but perhaps the verbiage is intentional to leave things open to solo artists without compromising (note that Matthew James was the only solo artist on last year's bill). An online application form for the competition is now online, confirming that organizers want artists "ready to bring energy, originality, and a strong live performance", and "selected finalists" will be picked to compete on the 6th in front of a judges panel and "a community audience" (no word on if a fan vote will play into the selections). Only one winner is mentioned there, and while they will be featured in WestFest promotions, I don't know if any other prizes will be awarded.

Just as a point of reference, last year's WestFest had seven acts (including headliners Handsome Sandwich in their final Sault Ste. Marie concert), and all but one were recent performers on Rotaryfest Stage 2, though I hope that doesn't pigeonhole the artist registrations. No word on if they're waiting for the battle to announce the remaining lineup or not, but it will be interesting to see who all is heading west (well, west in the downtown) for year #2! Visit the above links for more details on WestFest 2026 and the talent show applications, and that's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) & Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews!!

For our last post of April 2026, let's look at most of this weekend's hard rock concert previews! Due to the amount (though we have seen busier weekends), I'll hold our preview of Saturday night's Bimbo-headlined concert in Sault Michigan for tomorrow's news post. Now, here's what you should know in Sault Ontario this weekend in a hard rock/punk context, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover sister bands Soundcheck and Separate Wayz will join forces for another "epic crossover" weekend, this time at The Esquire Club TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via Separate Wayz' Facebook page on Tuesday, though note that the venue has not corroborated the bookings on social media. Marking their first joint appearance together since rocking Beck's Bar a month ago, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows will be Soundcheck's first at this Second Line West staple since they played there in February, albeit with no crossover, as Separate Ways singer Nicole Thibodeau was ill that weekend (the shows were originally planned for solely Separate Wayz, but Travis bailed them out on short notice for Soundcheck gigs instead). Of course, remember that the two bands have a 75% identical lineup, just swap Travis for Nicole.

Good to see Terry, Jim, Johnny, and both singers together again for what should be a stacked pair of classic and hard rock shows, so keep both in mind TOMORROW & SATURDAY! Both are 9:30 PM affairs at 9:30 PM with no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, here's some shows that did have advance notice before Tuesday, starting with a rare punk concert at The Speak Easy at Algoma University, where Flint, Michigan-based ska punk band The Write-Ups will make their local concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT! A spiritual successor to the Quit It! concert at the same venue last fall (if with much better promotion), The Write-Ups have the ska bonafides (including a horn section) and socially charged lyrics to go along with a fun and bouncy brand of punk rock that subgenre fans should easily take to tomorrow, so welcome them north of the border in style! Fittingly, newer local ska punk trio A.S.D.P. will be the local openers in their debut at Algoma University's campus pub, and expect their own original cuts to set the mood right! This is the newest promoted concert from A.S.D.P. frontman Mikhal Muto's agency Underground Events SSM.

This stop on The Write-Ups' "Up North Weekender" is an all ages concert (yes, The Speak Easy is licensed), doors open at 7:00 PM, and admission is $15 for general attendees and $10 for current Algoma University students with valid student ID. If you love ska punk, you don't want to miss out on this one, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here are The Write-Ups live late last year!

Also this weekend, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly will return to Beck's Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of their debut at Gateway Casino last week, this will be Linsaey, Frank, Harley, and Joe's first stop at the Goulais Avenue nightclub of 2026, having played one of their first post-reunion gigs there in November. The band promises "another night of great energy & your favourite hits", and who am I to doubt that kind of claim? Their blend of accessible but often heavy covers can be seen at the former Vibe Lounge tomorrow at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. In the increasingly frequent cases where Beck's hosts a band on Fridays rather than a DJ, they don't double up a band on both nights, so Saturday night's band there are classic rock trio The Sidekicks. Visit the above links for more on tomorrow's concert, and here's Quite Frankly live!

Finally for this preview post, prolific local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Misty's Fifties for his second matinee concert there of the spring on SATURDAY! After ending his 2+ month break from concerts at this Second Line West pub in mid-April, this will be the first of three May matinee concerts at Misty's for Tym, so if you're up for a few hours of unplugged rock covers from this veteran talent, then head west on Saturday! Tym will be back every other week for the rest of the month, and we await a public announcement of his schedule at Misty's (and elsewhere) for the summer and beyond. This Saturday matinee concert goes down at 4:00 PM with a presumed 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. It's great to see Tym back on a more normal schedule after his finger healed up, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here he is live! 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Bimbo concert preview and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Stones & Crows), A New Local Band, And The Headrush Concert Preview!!

As promised, we're wrapping up this weekend's hard rock concert previews tonight on the SMS, along with featuring new videos of the band in question, but leading off, we have a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and the first public info on the new band involved, so here's what you should know!

We have a new local blues/hard rock band to add to our active band links, and they are Stones & Crows! This is the new project from former Electric Church frontman Spencer Pine, and if you liked that project, you may not have to seek them out to like their Facebook page, as Spencer just renamed the Electric Church Facebook page to repurpose it for the new band. This isn't common for local bands to do, but Generations did that with Jus' Chillin's Facebook group. I'll probably leave Electric Church (who broke up in 2018) in our inactive links with the same URL though, because the page has a double purpose now! Spencer is joined here by Floor Between Us bassist Nicholas Gingras and former HeadFirst/Them drummer Anthony Boudreau, with all three being given a stage name on social media (Spencer is "Bukky VanZant", Nicholas is "Nikki Crow", and Anthony is "Tony Stone").

Their lineup may not be complete, as according to this Musicians Wanted Facebook group posting from April 16th, S&C are looking for a keyboardist "who can bring that vintage feel to the... keys that sit right in the pocket to add depth to heavy blues grooves". Applicants must be aged 20-35, consistent and on-time, able to improvise and learn songs quickly, have their own setup, and have "feel, tone, and stage presence". Auditions can be in person at their jam space or online. Keyboards in local rock bands aren't exceedingly common, so hopefully they can find the right person, and contact the guys above if you're interested! In that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, Stones & Crows will make their live debut on Friday, June 26th at Beck's Bar, which was announced in this jokey Facebook video featuring the guys sitting on a couch. No word on why this horizontal video was needlessly letterboxed into vertical "Reel" dimensions though, making it tiny.

The concert will be a 19+ affair at 9:00 PM with no announced cover. Based on early sound descriptions, Stones & Crows do sound like successors to Electric Church, with "a modern hard rock sound rooted in blues & grit" and artists like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan cited as being covered along with planned originals. Then as now, they'll stand out locally, so stay tuned for more from Stones & Crows soon, keep their debut show in two months in mind, and give their first video a look below!

Next up, here's the last of this weekend's hard rock concert previews, as local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will return to The Full Throttle Saloon for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen at this venue in late March, tomorrow's concert coincides with a "rabbit party" at the former Primavera Hall, literally meaning that they're serving roasted rabbit on the dinner menu tomorrow, so keep that in mind if that interests you! This will be Headrush's last Full Throttle gig before they open for Ozzy Osbourne tribute band The Crazy Babies there on May 9th, and if you didn't hear about the admission fees for that show, tickets cost $70 at the venue or at this link, and reportedly, there will be no admission at the door, which alone is unusual for a local concert. I won't pass judgment on how the venue/band landed on that price, but I hope that the concert draws as well as they're hoping!

Tomorrow's headlining concert is at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's some brand new videos of Headrush live at The Esquire Club two weeks ago! Bassist John Amendola shared three clips from attendee and local music supporter Audrey Marshall's personal Facebook page to the band's Facebook group, with Audrey filming the guys covering Triumph's "Lay It On The Line", Tommy Tutone's "867-5309/Jenny", and as embedded below, AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie", which is the only one of the three to exceed one (or two) minutes in length. The Tommy Tutone cover notably features Soundcheck/Half Past drummer Johnny Amendola (John's son and ex-bandmate) sitting in for Gino Pulente behind the kit. That video happens to be vertical, alas, but Audrey did seem to focus on Johnny primarily for it.

He fits in well with his dad and gang on that cover, as you'd expect! The other two covers see Headrush in heavier territory (and timely in the case of Triumph) and doing a solid job on them, with John Anderson's voice suiting early AC/DC well in particular, so give everything a watch above and below, and don't miss Headrush tomorrow in Steelton!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Crush & Headrush) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

(Updated at 10:45 PM) Another quiet weekend for hard rock concerts in the Twin Saults is upon us, so we can fit almost everything in this post with the exception of Sunday's Pop Evil concert, which will absolutely be in our next news post. As always, we'll start with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know on this Thursday night, along with new videos from two of the bands in question!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to The Kiln at Searchmont Resort for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced by drummer Tony Santoro on the band's Facebook group this past Friday. While the band connection isn't reflected in Searchmont's recent postings, TOMORROW'S show is well timed, as Generations are playing at the resort during the final weekend (the "season ender bender", if you will) of the C.S.R.A. Snowcross Championships, and Searchmont is getting a festival to go along with the snowmobile racing ahead, including DJs, pig roasts, and vendors from TOMORROW through Sunday, so click here to see what all is taking place! There will be different musical acts at The Kiln on Saturday night and in an 11:00 AM-5:00 PM Sunday matinee timeslot, but I don't know who is playing on those days.

If you want to see Valerie, Joe, Pierre, and Tony's old school rock covers at Searchmont, they'll take the stage tomorrow at The Kiln from 8:00-11:00 PM with no announced age limits, and while there are ticketing fees to see Snowcross races, I don't believe you have to pay to just see Generations live. I admittedly don't get too engrossed into the winter sports scene, but Snowcross weekend looks pretty packed, so see above for more on everything going down while it still looks like winter outside! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Generations live!

Next up, fellow local classic/ hard rock cover quintet Headrush will set up shop at The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were first announced via their official Facebook event page on Monday. Marking their first concerts outside of the Full Throttle Saloon since they last rocked The Esquire Club in late November, it will be good for west end fans to see this skilled 1980s-leaning cover rock group back at it this weekend, and expect a nostalgia rush along with the Headrush TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! The Johns, Wes, Gino, and Frank hit the stage both nights at 9:30 PM, these are 19+ events, and there are no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more on TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S concerts, and for a preview, here's some brand new videos of Headrush live at The Full Throttle Saloon two weeks ago!

Publically shared by bassist John Amendola to their Facebook group, these were filmed by frequent local concert attendee and supporter Audrey Marshall for her personal Facebook page. She filmed the guys covering Journey's "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" and, as embedded below, Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me". While both are incomplete (90 seconds or so apiece), Audrey was filming horizontally, and had a close tight angle of the band, though I will note that they do seem really cramped on the stage at the former Primavera Hall. Sound performances of these late 1970s classic rock staples, so give them a watch above & below!

Also, we'll head to Sault Michigan briefly, where local hard rock trio Crush will play their second show of the year on SATURDAY at The Merchants Bar! Apologies again for the short notice, this show was only announced via this comedy video on their Facebook page on Tuesday (I won't dare try to describe it). While the show was only announced on five days' notice, at least it got that much, unlike their Savoy Bar show in February, which neither they nor About:Blank publically acknowledged on social media at all! Unless they had another unadvertised concert in the past six months, this will be Crush's debut gig at The Merch, though members have played there in the past with their sister band Tarnished (remember, Crush basically took over as Alex & Josh's outlet for both original music and comedic viral content after Tarnished shifted to a covers-only focus in 2024). 

It's good to see Crush back at it, and hopefully the guys rock The Merch well with their nicely developing original slate on SATURDAY NIGHT! Note that I saw reference on their Facebook page last month to a pair of shows downstate next month but I can't find the post that mentioned the dates and locations. The video above notes that SATURDAY's show has a relatively short run-time of 10:00 PM-12:00 AM, it is a 21+ affair at The Merch, and there is no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Crush live in their local concert debut last year!

Finally for today, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for a show that did get advance notice before this week, specifically at The Water Tower Pub, where reunited local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly will take the stage for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Two weeks removed from their most recent gig at the Boots & Saddles Roadhouse, this will be Quite Frankly's first show at this central venue in three months. If you haven't see the new look Quite Frankly in recent months, why not make a trip to The Water Tower Pub for their rocking cover slate on Saturday? As always, this venue hosts different nightly acts, and tomorrow's band is veteran country cover quintet Out & Out Country (featuring former That's Chester/Double Down drummer Ric Datson). There's no cover charge on Saturday, a 19+ age limit, and an 8:00 PM start time as usual here. Visit the above links for more details!

For a preview, here's a brand new video of the band at Boots & Saddles two weeks ago, courtesy of their Facebook page, and it features their cover of Alannah Myles' "Black Velvet". Like with the Headrush videos above, this is horizontal but incomplete (a minute long this time), and while this isn't exactly a surprise pick or a deep cut, it's well performed with Linsaey L.W. delivering strong vocals, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for the Pop Evil preview and more next! Thanks everyone!