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 ALERTS (Soundcheck & Curtis McKenzie) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we begin this post, just a heads up that while in-person advertising at The Esquire Club had listed Bone Yard 225 as playing there this weekend, those shows are not taking place, as their current break from live concerts continues. No word on a possible replacement band at press time, and our continued thoughts are with the D'Ettore family. This weekend's hard rock concert previews begin now, with the exception of Headrush's show on Saturday, which will be in tomorrow's post due to the amount. Now, let's lead off with some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Former Project 421/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will return to The Dive Gastro Pub for a "Think It Over Thursday" acoustic concert TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, both Curt and the venue only announced this show on their respective Facebook pages this afternoon. Why either couldn't announce the show on even a day's notice, I don't know, but TONIGHT'S concert sees Curtis return to "The Naughty Corner" inside the former Low & Slow, in his first gig there since late February. Should be a solid evening of hard rock covers, so don't miss out if you can swing it on a work/school night! Note that this promotional image from The Dive's Facebook page says "Thursday nights only", which reflects the venue's scheduling and not Curt, as (holidays aside) they haven't booked proper musical acts to perform on other days of the week since last year. Regardless, expect good music and great energy TONIGHT!

No comment on the bad decisions, but try to rock out responsibly! TONIGHT's concert begins at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, here's Curtis live!

Next up, reunited local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for a full weekend TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were first announced via the venue's AI weekly schedule poster on Sunday, though as of this writing, the band has not corroborated these bookings on their own Facebook page. Last seen this past Saturday at Beck's Bar (which Soundcheck also didn't mention on their Facebook page), these will be Terry, Travis, Jim, and Johnny's first bookings at the former Roosevelt Hotel in four weeks. Good to see the guys staying busy, and look for a nice array of old school rocking covers TOMORROW & SATURDAY! Note that TOMORROW'S show coincides with $5 Friday, which references food and drink specials there on Fridays. Both shows are 19+ and at 9:30 PM with no cover charges.

Looks like a solid weekend for Soundcheck to do their thing in the west end, and perhaps with the Triumph/April Wine concert still fresh in mind (fallout forthcoming), might they have a relevant cover or two in their deep setlist? No promises, of course. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live!

Moving to shows that had advance notice before this week, let's head an hour south for concerts in St. Ignace, Michigan, where Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will set up shop at their Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! While not newly promoted on the band's Facebook page, these shows have been advertised on Kewadin's entertainment page right along, and will mark Scarkazm's first E.U.P. weekend since they played at the Soo Kewadin in late March, but we haven't see that band (as opposed to their sister group Peril) at the St. Ignace branch yet this year. If you like hard rocking metal originals and covers with an old school flavour, then you won't want to miss Adam, Dave, and Jeff at the St. Ignace Kewadin this weekend, so keep these shows in mind if you're in the area! These concerts have 21+ age limits, no cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details, and here's Scarkazm live!

We'll close this preview post back in Sault Ontario, where reunited local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly will make their first ever stop at Gateway Casino on SATURDAY NIGHT! This will be Quite Frankly's first show since rocking The Water Tower Pub on April 12th, a show that had a last minute lineup change, as Sidekicks/ex-Double Down bassist Dan Beaupre filled in for an absent Harley Syrette for unannounced reasons. Hopefully all's well with Harley and that he's ready to go on Saturday, but Dan's an experienced pro, so they were in good hands! Quite Frankly are on the younger end for bands who play at the casino, and it will be interesting to see how they go over, so head downtown to find out on Saturday! This 19+ concert has no announced cover charge and an 8:00 PM start time, and if you can't make it, they'll be back at Beck's next week. See above for more details, and here's Quite Frankly live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Headrush preview and more next! 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!

Saturday Night Concert Previews (Including Mammoth) Plus New Videos!!

As promised, here's the second half of our final batch of weekend concert previews for March 2026, all concerning shows with advance notice tomorrow night, but we also have a couple of new videos to look at, so here's what you should know on this frigid Friday morning!

We'll start with this weekend's main event, as Los Angeles hard rock/metal band Mammoth will make their local debut TOMORROW NIGHT at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino! The former MammothWVH have been breaking through on rock radio beyond frontman (and former Van Halen/Tremonti bassist) Wolfgang Van Halen's lineage, netting #1 hit singles like "Distance", "The Spell", and "Don't Back Down" throughout the 2020s so far, and with Wolf's multi-instrumental talent and a strong live band, they should deliver a fun night of original rock tomorrow! Joining Mammoth on their The End Tour is Knoxville, Tennessee alternative metal band 10 Years in their third appearance at the Soo Kewadin, following sets opening for Sevendust in 2010 and Seether in 2018. Prepare for familiar hit songs like "Wasteland", "Novacaine", and "Beautiful" tomorrow night as they continue this unintended 8 year pattern between local gigs! 

Also joining the tour from Wales are alt-punk band James & The Cold Gun, and while a looser and more indie-influenced band than what's ahead, they'll set the tone well tomorrow! An Allstar Promotions event presented by Rock 101, this all ages show kicks off tomorrow at 8:00 PM, and tickets remain on sale at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, or at the in-person box office. All center section seats are sold out, but sixth-tenth row seats in the left & right sections are still available for $54.50 USD, plus seats further back for $44.50. Consider coming out if you can to support major touring bands like this in Sault Michigan! See above for more details, and here's Mammoth live!

Next up, we'll head north to Sault Ontario and go west.... waaaay west, as reunited local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly will make their debut at De Marco's Boots & Saddles Roadhouse at 2667 Second Line West on SATURDAY NIGHT! The first ever hard rock-leaning concert that we've covered at this locale (a 5 minute drive from the airport), this will be Quite Frankly's first gig since rocking The Water Tower Pub two months ago. It'll be interesting to see how this show goes over, both for its remote locale and for a kinda new band hitting the stage at Boots & Saddles, so don't miss out if you're up for a little bit of a drive or will already be that far west! This will be an 8:00 PM event with a presumed 19+ age limit and no cover charge. For a preview, here's a brand new video of Quite Frankly at The Water Tower Pub, courtesy of their Facebook page, so what can you see here?

This compilation video sees Linsaey, Frank, Harley, and Joe covering an assortment of songs from the likes of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Journey, Shania Twain, Semisonic (shouldn't that have been last?), Carrie Underwood, Steppenwolf (with Frank on lead vocals), and Tom Petty, though each cover is only seen for an average of 21 seconds apiece. The first four covers were (sadly) shot vertically, and while the latter three are horizontal, all three were edited together in vertical dimensions with pillarboxing, and I'd have at least made these into two videos with different orientations if they were set on highlights rather than full songs. Quite Frankly sound good though, if with too deep lighting, so give this a watch below!

Lastly for known and advertised hard rock concerts in the Twin Saults this weekend, local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will return to the stage TOMORROW NIGHT at The Full Throttle Saloon! Last seen at the same venue at the end of January, this show will end a nearly two month break for this talented veteran group, partly due to bassist John Amendola going on vacation in Aruba, highlights of which can be seen on their Facebook group. He even got to play some music while there! Now that he's back, the 1980s-leaning rockers should have lots of fun and crowd-friendly covers in store for Steelton fans, so keep this show in mind if you're a classic and hard rock fan, and/or missed Headrush lately! This concert goes down tomorrow night at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Headrush live!

Finally, here's a new 27+ minutes long rehearsal video of local death/thrash metal trio Pillory, courtesy of drummer Bret Shuttleworth's YouTube channel! This video was uploaded after the band opened for Demon King at Soo Blaster on Tuesday, but unlike at many of their shows last year, they admitted on their Facebook page that "we were unable to capture any of the set last night" for unannounced reasons. Possibly to make up for that, this jam video was posted to YouTube, as shot by attendee Lucas McNally. It makes no attempt to contain or label full songs, with fade-outs between clips, but the video captures raw and loose performances from Robert, Devon, and Bret, and you will hear song fragments from "Old Soul". No idea why the Pillory logo had to be faintly overlaid on the video in post-production, and Lucas' view is sometimes obscured by a wall on the far right, but this is a solid glimpse behind the scenes that you can watch below! 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & Tym Morrison) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we begin this weekend concert preview post, just a heads up that in-person advertising at The Esquire Club reportedly had Bone Yard 225 playing there this weekend, but the shows are not taking place, and the band never confirmed them on social media. Your local 225 have only played one show (the acoustic St. Patrick's Day gig at Smitty's) in the past month, so hopefully things are well behind the scenes, and we'll let you know when they announce new gigs! Now, here's what you should know to start this weekend's hard rock concert previews, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, with Saturday's Mammoth, Headrush, and Quite Frankly concerts to be previewed in our next news post!

Prolific local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will make his return to the live concert stage TONIGHT at The Dive Gastro Pub! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via his official Facebook event page on Monday, though note that the venue has not corroborated this "Think It Over Thursday" booking at press time. As you may know, Tym broke his pinky finger last month, which has knocked him out of all announced and scheduled concerts since February 7th, but after what has to be his longest break from concerts since the pandemic, he's back TONIGHT. It will be good to see Tym on stage again after over 6 weeks on the shelf, and hopefully he has lots of entertaining rockin' covers in store for "The Naughty Corner"! While he was advertised to play at Misty's Fifties on Saturday as well, he has quietly removed both that show and his announced April 4th matinee there from their batch Facebook event page.

A reason for both shows being cancelled wasn't publically announced, but things are definitely amicable, and he will return to Misty's after two months away on April 18th, and he has a lot more Saturday matinees planned there in 2026! As for TONIGHT'S return at The Dive, this is a 19+ event with a 9:30 PM start time and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

Next up, in more Thursday acoustic action, Soundcheck bandmates Terry Eaton & Travis Sharpe will join forces for another unplugged two-man concert TONIGHT at The Full Throttle Saloon! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook page this past Thursday. While not a weekly occurrence, the former Primavera Hall has hosted Thursday matinee concerts with unplugged artists in the past, and they're branding this as "Happy Hour" (well, four of them) with specials, so if you want to enjoy some unplugged rock from the singer/guitarists of Soundcheck, keep TONIGHT's show in mind! While we're on the subject, I did want to apologize for missing their St. Patrick's Day-themed Misty's Fifties concert on March 14th, which that venue only plugged once on the Tuesday prior, and if Travis & Terry have a social media or band page to promote their gigs with, I haven't seen it.

Advertising for the March 14th gig, which was originally supposed to go to Tym Morrison, does refer to this two-man-band as TNT, as in Terry N' Trav... or Trav N' Terry (Misty's and The Full Throttle both called him "Trav" rather than Travis when plugging these two shows). Apologies again for missing the concert two weeks ago, I'd have happily covered it had I known, but here's your encore TONIGHT! The action in Steelton goes down from 5:00-9:00 PM with no cover charge, and The Full Throttle Saloon confirmed that they are open to all ages until 9:00 PM. Visit the above links for more on TNT, and we'll let you know when/if pages or media for this side project turn up!

Also, the aforementioned Soundcheck will take over Jay's Piston Broke Pub for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, these shows were first announced via the venue's Facebook page on Sunday, and despite the timing of the show in relation to a special day for half the band, Soundcheck proper have yet to corroborate these bookings publically on social media. Whether coincidental or not, TOMORROW & SATURDAY's concerts take place a few days prior to the birthdays of the aforementioned Terry Eaton and Travis Sharpe, which are a day apart next week, so if you make your way to the Korah Road nightclub this weekend, give one/both an early birthday greeting! One week removed from Terry, Trav(is), Jim, and Johnny's gigs at Reggie's Place, these will be the reunited local classic/hard rock cover quartet's first shows at the former Roosevelt Hotel in over a month.

As usual for bands at Jay's, these are 9:30 PM concerts with 19+ age limits and no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details on Soundcheck's month-ending concerts this weekend, happy early birthday to Travis & Terry, and here's Soundcheck live!

Finally, here's a concert that was publically announced before this week, as we'll head downtown to Soo Blaster, where new local Pearl Jam tribute band Even Flow will play their second concert TOMORROW NIGHT! This new tribute debuted at Beck's Bar in October for that venue's Halloween party, but they weren't a seasonal one-off, and they have the talent to deliver the grunge goods for their local encore! In case you missed that show or our prior coverage, their lineup consists of Barbarians/ex-Elements frontman Rob Speers, Odd Man Out/ex-Sense of Truth guitarist Steve Myers, newer local guitarist Cameron Brock, and Rob's old Side FX bandmates Mike Bird & Derek Turner (both formerly of Papa Fogals Chair) on bass and drums. Very talented collection of artists, but they have yet to post media of them live in any form, so come out TOMORROW to see what Pearl Jam classics they cover, and how their stage show looks!

Coming not long after Soo Blaster upgraded their entertainment offerings with laser tag, bowling, and new arcade games, tomorrow's concert is an all ages event with an advertised 7:00 PM start time, and tickets run for $10 in advance at this link or through band members. See above for more on this grunge/alternative throwback tribute's sophomore outing, and we'll let you know when videos of them surface! That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Mammoth, Headrush, and Quite Frankly previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dr. Feelgood & Quite Frankly), The Trews Concert Preview, And More!!

Hopefully everyone is inside while this snow comes down! For this news post, we have our preview of a big concert tomorrow night, updates from local terrestrial radio, and some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming months, so here's what you should know!

Reunited local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly have announced four upcoming concerts at four differtent venues for the spring! While they are taking this month off, Linsaey, Frank, Harley, and Joe will pick things back up on March 28th at De Marco's Boots & Saddles Roadhouse, marking the first time we've ever covered a show there. Located at 2667 Second Line West (deep in the west end, 5 minutes north of the airport), you may recall Silent 9 playing a private gig there last month, but it historically hasn't been a haven for hard rock-leaning bands, so hopefully Quite Frankly leave a good impression next month! After taking the Easter weekend off, they will return to The Water Tower Pub on Saturday, April 11th, while they will rock Gateway Casino for the first time two weeks later on April 25th! Lastly, they'll return to Beck's Bar on Friday, May 1st, as the former Vibe Lounge continues occasionally booking bands on Fridays rather than DJs.

None of these venues are known to book bands on consecutive nights, just to clarify. All are 19+ events with no announced cover charges, and all are 8:00 PM affairs except the Beck's show (at 9:00 PM). It's great to see Quite Frankly finally start ramping up their live bookings, and hopefully these shows go over well for the band and attendees alike! Visit the band's Facebook page for more details on these concerts!

Next up, Niagara Falls-based Motley Crue tribute band Dr. Feelgood will make their local concert debut on Saturday, June 20th when they rock The Sault Community Theatre Centre! Newly announced yesterday via the White Pines-based theatre's Facebook page, hair metal fans will definitely want to circle this date on their calendars, as Dr. Feelgood do a strong job of bringing Motley Crue's classic singles to life on the big stage, which they have done across Canada for over two decades. Seeing as it'll be 20 years since the real band's local concert took place later this year, this is a fitting way to enjoy the next best thing! An 8:00 PM start time is advertised for this all ages concert, and tickets will run for $61.02 (adults), $49.72 (seniors aged 65+ and students aged 13-21), or $22.60 (kids aged 6-13) , with children under 6 being free. Buy yours online at this link or at the in-person box office at Station Mall, and visit the above links for more details!

Also, here's a special mid-week concert preview, as Juno-nominated Nova Scotia alternative/hard rock quintet The Trews will return to the Soo TOMORROW NIGHT as headliners at The Machine Shop! Last seen in our area at the 2024 Go North Music Festival on St. Joseph Island, this will be their first gig in city limits since opening for Marianas Trench here in 2022 and their first headlining show here since 2009 (and if you don't count that acoustic tour, 2008). Of course, since we last saw The Trews up here, 104.3 The Fox debuted on the FM dial, meaning that their hit singles like "Poor Ol' Broken Hearted Me", "Tired Of Waiting", and cuts from their new album "Bloody Light" get a lot more local airplay than they did, so there should be a solid turnout tomorrow despite the Wednesday scheduling! While not well advertised in the lead-up, this tour does have an opening act, namely southern/roots rock quintet Eddy & The Dirty Boys in their local debut.

While a relatively new band, Eddy & The Dirty Boys are actually a side project from three members of Kingston rock band The Glorious Sons, their genre-blurring sound has been making waves in recent months, and they should set the tone well tomorrow! This all ages concert goes down tomorrow at 8:00 PM, and general admission tickets remain on sale at this link, at the Station Mall box office, or at the Gelato Mill (located nearby at Mill Square) for $40, while $60 VIP passes are also available that will get you access to an acoustic pre-show from both bands, a meet & greet, and more perks. This should be a huge concert, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's The Trews live at GFL Memorial Gardens in 2022!

Finally for today, some potentially major news from local radio came out last week via this Inside Radio article, as later covered by Carol Martin of SooToday's Sault Michigan sister website SooLeader. Apparently, local radio company Sovereign Communications is at risk of losing its seven active broadcast licenses (Rock 101 among them) in the next 60 days, and thusly having the stations go off air on FM and AM, if they don't make overdue fees, interest, and penalty payments to the Federal Communications Commission, currently adding up to over $37,000 USD. SooLeader also reported that Sovereign owes over $10,000 in rent for its city-owned broadcast tower in Sault Ste. Marie. A repayment agreement with city council has been agreed to, but the article doesn't outline the status of the money owed to the FCC, though according to Inside Radio, they could appeal to try to waive or defer the owed fees.

I won't speak on matters that I'm not privy to, but it'd be a massive blow, even if temporary, to lose Sovereign stations on the FM and AM dials. After all, Sovereign has collectively owned Rock 101, 99.5 Yes FM, Oldies 93, Country 105, 1230 WSOO, News Talk 1400, and WNBY 1450 in this market since 2010, and the only other truly local station in Sault Michigan that isn't repeated from elsewhere is classic hits station 95.1 The Bridge. Rock 101's Scott Cook struck an optimistic tone in the SooToday comment section, so hopefully Sovereign sorts everything out soon! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

The Quite Frankly Concert Preview, Night Ranger Videos, And New Studio Recordings!!

Here's a new news post to check out on this Friday night, and along with finishing this weekend's hard rock concert previews, we have an upcoming EP release, a new studio track from a rising local metal band, and videos from a big local concert from last fall, so let's get things rolling!

We'll start by wrapping up this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, as reunited local classic/hard rock cover band Quite Frankly will debut at The Water Tower Pub TOMORROW NIGHT! One day removed from TONIGHT's Dodge This show at the same venue,  this will be their first show since rocking Beck's Bar in November and just their second public gig since their relaunch last summer.  It's worth noting that the Beck's gig last month actually featured new lead vocalist Linsaey L.W., not the departed Haley Alopaeus, so I apologize for the erroneous credit when we covered their Beck's video (embedded below) on here. Video quality on that assemblage of clips really varied, and the band didn't formally announce that Linsaey came on board until after that show had came and went, for what it's worth. Hopefully show #2 for the new Quite Frankly goes well tomorrow night, and that there's a solid turnout for their first gig of the new year!

As usual for The Water Tower Pub, tomorrow's show is an 8:00 PM affair with no announced cover charge and a 19+ age limit. If you haven't seen the revived Quite Frankly yet, get ready for a crowd-pleasing array of hard and classic rock covers tomorrow! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are at Beck's last fall!

Next up, let's head across to Sault Michigan for some recent updates, starting with local metal solo project X's & Y's, who are releasing a new EP/single next month! It and its title track are named "Face The Moon, Forgive The Stars", and it sees project leader Jason Mills dipping into doom metal, drone, and horror territory on its four tracks. You can hear the title track in versions with and without vocals on their Bandcamp page, and while this is technically their first song with lead vocals, they did use spoken word on 2024's "The Obsidian Dream". Along with that song's two variants, tracks named "Hands Of Cydonia" and "Crater" will be included on the final product, which will presumably make its way to streaming services along with CD copies on its scheduled release date of February 13th. Jason even uses a tremoloa (a vintage zither used in part to replicate the Hawaiian steel guitar) here!

No word on what CD copies will cost, especially as this is a shorter EP, but X's & Y's first two albums cost $10 USD. Alas, our backlog of new album releases to review is massive, so I can't promise a review of "Face The Moon, Forgive The Stars" until August, but it's great to see a new EP soon to be on sale, especially from a talented Yooper project like X's & Y's! Stay tuned for more from them when it rolls in! 

Also today, here's some newly discovered videos from the Night Ranger concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the local Kewadin Casino in October! These were filmed by attendee Nick Cepecawer in the first uploads on his YouTube channel, though he also filmed at Foreigner's show in Sault Ontario the following month. We didn't cover the Foreigner show here because I wouldn't say they're a "hard rock" band, but he got solid videos from that night! Nick did not film openers Nelson in November, but he did get eight videos of the headlining San Francisco hair metal quintet, including videos of Night Ranger playing "Sentimental Street", "Goodbye" in two chunks (here & here), part of "When You Close Your Eyes", the drum solo (that the whole band takes part in... literally!), "Sister Christian", and as embedded below, "(You Can Still) Rock In America" (which he accidentally uploaded twice).

While more distant from the stage than we tend to see for Kewadin concert videos of this stature, Nick was relatively central and used his zoom where needed, and the audio generally holds up! His videos help accentuate more how Night Ranger spreads the wealth for members taking lead vocal turns, and the drum solo is a fun diversion while it lasts! If you're a loyal Hair Scare listener, you'll enjoy these videos above and below!

We'll close today with a studio original recording from online page-less Sault Ontario metal band With Gunfire! Along with the previously-covered live videos on drummer Jonas Gasperas' new YouTube channel, the former Sault Side Squad are the stars of this upload, which lets us hear their song "M.F.C." (short for "Motherfucking Consequence") in clear studio quality, complete with gunshot sound effects added in post. It's amazing that this beat anything from Spencer's other band The BAG's upcoming album "Succubus" out! I don't know if this is a sign that With Gunfire are working on a proper album or not (I had seen a personal Facebook posting implying that it was recorded for a compilation of some kind), but the song has promise and takes from a lot of metal subgenres, including chugging groove metal riffs and diverse vocal styles, including gruff straight-forward singing and some harsh growling.

The guitar solo is quite good too! I don't know if Lamb Of God were an influence on the songwriting, but the pacing of some of the verses is reminiscent of "Redneck", especially if you speed the track up in the settings. It will be interesting to see what With Gunfire have cooked up with 2026 in full swing, so give "M.F.C." a listen below! 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Peril, Half Past, Quite Frankly, And The Guilty Party!!)

Today's post takes us to a slate of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for early next year, so here's what you should know as the year slowly winds to a close!

Local hard rock cover quartet Half Past will end 2025 with a headlining New Year's party concert on Wednesday, December 31st at Beck's Bar! Announced via their Facebook page back on December 2nd (apologies for the delay), this will be their first concert since rocking Beck's in early October, and their third at the former Vibe Lounge since debuting there in April. It is reasonable to assume that there will be some level of holiday frills for New Year's Eve, but as Beck's wasn't a thing in 2024, we don't know exactly what Becky and crew have in store to ring in 2026 with. We should know more by Monday, when the venue typically announces the week's entertainment schedule on Facebook, and this includes the potential for a cover charge if things are fancier. At press time, the show has no announced cover, a 19+ age limit, and a 9:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, let's head across the border for Traverse City, Michigan classic metal trio Peril's first E.U.P. gigs of the new year, as they'll headline at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino next weekend, on Friday, January 2nd & Saturday, January 3rd! Last seen there over the Halloween weekend, it will be good to see Jeff & crew deliver their old school hard rocking covers for local fans once again, especially as next week's shows will be their first anywhere of 2026, so don't bypass them if you'll be in the area! Meanwhile, they'll make their first St. Ignace stops of the year over the Valentine's Day weekend for three shows from Thursday, February 12th to Saturday, February 14th! The reason for the added Thursday booking is because Peril are playing at The Northern Pines Lounge to coincide with the annual Labatt Blue UP Pond Hockey Championships, taking place at Chain Lake nearby, with Kewadin hosting some official events on site.

Readers may recall that Peril's sister band Scarkazm rocked the St. Ignace Kewadin on this busy weekend in each of the last two years, so why not let Peril have a turn? All five of Peril's upcoming shows (as announced via the concert calendar above on their Facebook page) have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more on their and Scarkazm's U.P. gigs in the first quarter of 2026!

Back in Sault Ontario, local classic/hard rock cover trio The Guilty Party will kick off 2026 when they rock Reggie's Place on Friday, January 2nd and Saturday, January 3rd! The Facebook event page for these shows originally had them playing a one-nighter at Beck's on January 3rd, but the venue was quietly switched out on Tuesday for unannounced reasons. After a relatively quick start to their run as a band in the fall, these will be Brent, Terry, and Jim's first public concerts since rocking Jay's Piston Broke Pub last month, and will mark the first public hard rock-leaning bookings at Reggie's since Bone Yard 225 played what they said would be their "last weekend playing there" in October. It has since came out that owner/namesake Reggie Daigle has resumed management of the 458 Queen Street East nightclub after Randy Lapossie's five year tenure there ended, so Bone Yard's finality hints about their last shows there must have reflected Randy's control of the day-to-day operations and/or a possible issue with Reggie himself.

I won't speculate, but it is only natural to see Reggie running Reggie's, and The Guilty Party's presence does hint that they're not going back to a 100% country music rotation like in years gone by! Read more on the new/old Reggie's on their Facebook page, though most updates so far relate to the menu. Note that prior hints of a female special guest for The Guilty Party on that Saturday were not kept when they revised the write-up on the Facebook event page (though that doesn't mean that she won't be present, whoever she is). Expect a 9:30 PM start time, no cover, and a 19+ age limit as usual. Visit the above links for more details, and a stay tuned for more concerts & updates from The Guilty Party!

Finally, also newly confirmed for next month is fellow local classic/hard rock quartet Quite Frankly's first date of the new year, as they'll debut at The Water Tower Pub on Saturday, January 17th!  After playing their first show since their lengthy hiatus at Beck's Bar late last month, this will be just your second chance to see Quite Frankly 2.0... or is that 3.0? Just four days after announcing this show on their Facebook page, the band confirmed that Blind River singer/guitarist Linsaey L.W. has replaced Haley Alopaeus on lead vocals, so this will be her debut with the band. It will be interesting to see how Linsaey fits in with Frank, Harley, and Joe, let alone how she compares to Haley (and Jack from their original run), but you can be the first to find out mid-way through January! Remember, The Water Tower Pub never hosts the same band on Fridays and Saturdays, and this will be a 19+ show at 8:00 PM with no cover. Visit the above links for more details!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Generations), A New Local Punk Band, And More!!

Today's post wraps up this busy slate of weekend concert previews (one also being a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT), along with some assorted recent notes, but let's lead off with a new local band and album all at once!

We have a new local ska punk band to add to our band links, namely A.S.D.P.! Short for "Adam Smith Death Parade", they surfaced with a Bandcamp page on Wednesday, and while they're new to our formal coverage, we did allude to them in the summer when they played at the private Go Skate Day replacement concert in July (remember when it was rained out?). They were also scheduled to open for Krang at The Distraction in September before the venue closed indefinitely following the fire code stuff at the Ripcordz concert. Describing their genre as "crackrocksteady", they are fronted by Hails guitarist and Agnosticism frontman Mikhal Muto (credited as "Châ"), alongside Sault Side Squad/ex-Stoned To Deaf bassist William Jordan Wardlaw (a.k.a. "Glistening Williard") and Spaceship Opening drummer Ralph Barber (or "Just Ralph"). If you gleaned from the Bandcamp page's existence that they have music out there, you're right, as A.S.D.P. released their debut EP "Atom Bombs & Lemonade" on Wednesday!

Ralph told me on Facebook that the album has three bonus covers (of Leftover Crack's "One Dead Cop", No Cash's "Kill Yer Parents", and The Suburbanists' "Wait Around"), but they are exclusive to the paid copy of the album, which costs $7. It's a short listen (the seven originals run for just 14 minutes), but it's encouraging to already see studio material from A.S.D.P., even if its review around here won't be until mid-2026 due to our extensive new album backlog! No word on if we'll see A.S.D.P. on social media otherwise (members don't seem to be eager to get Facebook pages going for most of their current bands), but stay tuned for more updates and content from this new ska band when things go public!

Next up, let's resume this weekend's concert previews, starting with local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations' return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, drummer Tony Santoro announced the gig via the band's Facebook group two weeks ago, and while I listed it in our concert calendar, the idea of adding it to a post slipped me by at the time. If there's a planned final show or two for 2025, I don't know, but if you like Generations' old school rock action, you won't want to miss TONIGHT's show in the event that this is it for the year! This will be their Water Tower Pub debut with new guitarist Joe Miller, after having guest guitarist Michael Yurich when they last played there early last month (and still no public word what the "special surprise" that night was). Whether or not they have a carol or two in mind TONIGHT, this one-nighter is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Generations live!

Also, let's wrap up this weekend's hard rock previews at Misty's Fifties, where veteran local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will set up shop once again for a matinee concert TODAY! After skipping last week in his lengthy run of Saturday matinee concerts at the Second Line West nightclub, Tym is back today for his fifth such show there in the past six weeks, and he will be back once more for 2025 next week. Hopefully Tym gets a solid pre-Christmas turnout for his hard rocking covers from his extensive setlist once again later on! While we're on the subject, it looks like Tym's planned New Year's Eve concert at The Fraternal Order of Eagles Club has been quietly cancelled, as per its removal from his Eagles Club shows' batch Facebook event page. A reason for the cancellation wasn't announced, but hopefully we see Tym back in Steelton in the new year!

As for today's Misty's matinee, it takes place at 4:00 PM as always, with a presumed 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on this and next week's Misty's concerts, and for a preview, here he is live a couple years back! 

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

 

• Welsh punk/alternative quartet James & The Cold Gun have been added as the final openers for most of Mammoth's North American tour early next year, the Kewadin Casino date in Sault Michigan on March 28th included. Fun lively sound that adds some genre diversity to the hard rock action in three months, and how often do bands from Wales play here? Get your tickets A.S.A.P. for what should be a solid concert!
• Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly have announced the addition of Blind River folk musician Linsaey Hartford-White (a.k.a. Linsaey L.W.) as their new frontwoman, replacing Haley Alopaeus. A reason for Haley's departure was not announced, but hopefully things were amicable, and that we see her out there again soon, as she is a talented singer! Some readers may recall seeing Linsaey open the Riffs For Rememberance memorial concert for Victoria Childs at Soo Blaster in October, and it will be interesting to see how she fits in with Quite Frankly in 2026!
• Local punk quartet Room 206 will no longer be playing at next week's 1990s punk reunion concert at Soo Blaster, as per co-promoter/P.R.O.D. guitarist Christian Foisy on the Facebook event page yesterday. Their exit was "due to unavoidable circumstances", and while Christian didn't elaborate, note that Brad does live out of town. Hopefully Room 206 resurface down the road when able! Online page-less metal quintet The Sault Side Squad will replace them on the bill as the 8:00 PM opening band, with P.R.O.D., members of The Spigots, Fist Magnet, and Ha!ls following in that order. This will still be a huge night, so visit the above links for more on next week's festivities!

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