For a second straight year, I went to Rotaryfest at Clergue Park to do an extended double run of both Stage 1 and Stage 2 on Saturday, and this is my extended review of what I saw! Last year, I saw eight bands in partial sets by hopping back and forth between stages, but this year, I had ambitions of seeing everyone across both stages, aided by the unusually cool July temperatures. The only spanner in the works there was the rainy weather, which held on longer than forecasts were projecting. I did make it down to Clergue Park during the Stage 1 opening set by classic rock quartet Rusty & The Soft Parade, but the rain was coming down steadier and harder, as you can see in my pictures. My Fujifilm Finepix digital camera has an impressive zoom lens, but one that was acting up during the rainfall, and there was even condensation building up inside the LCD display screen.
It's an old camera, but a really good camera, and I was not comfortable risking it with that rain coming down any further. I did get 10 rainy photos of The Soft Parade (my cap for the bands on Saturday), but my sole video attempt ended after about 3 seconds, and I bailed to let the weather run its course and leave the area. I opted to come back in the 3:00 PM hour, so I do profusely apologize to The Rhythm Junction, Matthew James, Steel Rock, and Cameron Oliver for missing their sets. If public coverage/videos of their sets crop up when we do our Rotaryfest fallout coverage, I'll let you know!
Just to clarify, I tried to see 20-30 minutes of each band at Rotaryfest (Soft Parade aside), allowing for time to walk from stage to stage, so I could see a fair amount of everyone's set to keep things equal, though there were Stage 2 delays in the second half of the day's schedule. When I made it back to the festival grounds, St. Mary's College's new student rock band Crusade was mid-set covering Creed's "Higher" with a female singer, and later tackled Simple Plan's "I'm Just A Kid" when I was present. Like with Steel Rock before them (that day and last year), they have a modular lineup, with students coming and going depending on the needs of the song. The program listed fourteen members of Crusade and I definitely didn't see all of them. Obviously, I can't speak for the whole St. Mary's music program, but the kids did a good job, and hopefully this will set them up for bigger things!
At around 3:30, I headed off on the short walk to Stage 2 for my first band on the originals-leaning program there, namely crossover thrash quartet Hails in their festival debut. One of the heaviest bands to play the Second Stage yet, their set featured original songs like "Peter Pandemic", "Pink Clouds Of Density", and "Ghosts", plus their cover of The Almighty Trigger Happy's "Meathook". Another ferocious and speedy set, Brenton Ellis was in fine form on vocals and bass, and guitarist Carmen Muto's haircut didn't sap his powers at all! A decent crowd was on hand for Ha!ls' fury, and hopefully this drove up hits for their self-titled album on major streaming services! In quite a shift in styles, my trek back to Stage 1 led me to The Northern Jazz Ensemble early in their 4:00 PM set. The most prolific Rotaryfest band on this year's bill, the Martin Virta-led band started with an instrumental number before Judi Holmes joined on vocals.
Songs covered during The N.J.E.'s set included Diana Krall and Nat King Cole songs, plus an instrumental version of Donovan's "Sunshine Superman". I'm far from qualified to talk about jazz, but everyone performed well (including Convergence guitarist Jacob Valois in his second of three sets on Saturday, including with The Rhythm Junction), and the smooth jazz interpretations were a good change of pace! The sonic whiplash continued when I headed back to the Second Stage for local hard rock quintet HeadF1rst's second straight time here, and they broke out originals like "Homewrecker", "Tour Bus Fantasy", and "Story Of Me" in a set heavily based around their new album "Road Trippin'". I also heard their cover of Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak", which went over well also. Similarly to when I last saw HeadF1rst in May, they had a strong set with catchy originals & good enthusiasm, especially with Red Jettson's stage presence!
Everyone performed to standard, with Rainey Rancourt's solos being top notch, and Red's deeper range was captured well on "Steam", but I had to miss their Claire-fronted songs due to the voyage back to Stage 1, where classic rock cover quintet Encore had taken the stage. Dressed in matching white shirts and pink ties (save for frontwoman Janet Brown), I was able to hear them covering songs by the likes of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bryan Adams, Eddie Money, Fleetwood Mac, and The Foo Fighters. Not leaning heavier for the most part, but they had a good sound for classic rock fans! Janet had a friendly manner while still commanding the stage, while Paul Glassford & Dave Repath were a solid compliment on guitar, so they did good to capture fans' attention in their Rotaryfest return! I could have seen more of their set, but unbeknownst to me when I left, there were delays underway.
For one reason or another, progressive/djent metal quartet Convergence weren't able to begin their 5:30 PM Second Stage set until 5:47, which led to a 15 minute-ish delay for the rest of the night. In the time I spent there, the rain from earlier cropped up again, forcing me to retreat under a nearby tree to give my cameras as much protection as possible while still seeing the band, and I'm glad I wasn't forced to flee, as they put on an impressive performance with technically sound dual guitar work from Brendan Christie and (completing the Rotaryfest double) Jacob Valois! The big question mark for me was vocalist Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio, whose singing style reminded me a bit of a heavier, more hardcore-influenced Claudio Sanchez (I hope that's fair), and he delivered good energy and aggression with melody! The coordinated Hawaiian shirts were a nice touch, though I'd have introduced more songs (I only heard "Dig Up Your Ghost" named.)
The delay threw off my schedule timing a tad, but my walk back to Stage 1 let me take in much of an entertaining set from local punk/alternative cover favourites BookcluB, the only band that I saw at Rotaryfest both this year and last. After missing their Stage 1 set last year, bassist Dustin Jones was back with Bookclub on Saturday, though they played shorthanded anyway, as saxophonist Josh Norling was out of town. Their suitably eclectic set included covers of the likes of Timbuk 3, Cake, Marcy Playground, and Lindsey Buckingham, with Dustin taking over lead vocals for a rendition of David Lee Roth's "Just Like Paradise". Good stuff, with Mikey Hawdon leading everyone through some fun covers that you don't hear other local bands play often, and Allan Watson's drumming was on point! Late in their set, I returned to Stage 2 to check out the solo debut of Shane "DJ Seith" Erickson, who was up to his usual tricks on Saturday evening!
Giving more credence to DJs using proper turntables and vinyl record mixes rather than just pressing keys on a laptop, Seith laid down some fun mixes for assembled fans, and while I didn't immediately recognize any of the songs he was mixing, there were lots of catchy vibes to go around, and he seems more animated for arm movements and lip syncing than I recall previously! Nice touch by bringing tambourines for the audience to use too! Over on Stage 1, the next band on Saturday evening was pop rock cover quartet Lime, who I kinda sorta saw last year as "Miss Madii" playing frontwoman (and reigning Soo's Got Talent champion) Madii Schomogyi's original songs on Stage 2. This year, they were only on Stage 1 doing covers, and drummer Braiden Bryant was present after missing last year's Rotaryfest. Madii and the guys covered the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay, Jet, Kenny Loggins, and Def Leppard on Saturday.
Lively array of crowd pleasing covers, and they were a good choice to hook people in, as they were the last Stage 1 band before Who Made Who. A couple songs were well handled duets with guitarist Liam Seymour also singing, and there's definitely lots of talent here, so hopefully Lime keep the momentum up! For the penultimate Stage 2 band, I headed back outside of the Art Gallery for my first time seeing indie rock quartet Jupiter Marvelous, whose lineup entirely features musicians we've previously covered in heavier bands: singer/guitarist Anthony Marcello (ex-Caroline Divine), guitarist Shane Storozuk (ex-Vol.), bassist Jacob Quarrell (ex-Mike Haggith's solo band), drummer Bradley Nixon (The BAG), and apparent guest guitarist Spencer Pine (ex-Electric Church). Their set was heavily made up of songs from their 2024 album "Isn't This Supposed To Be Fun", like "Juice Box" and "Cherry Girl", plus covers of Fall Out Boy and... T-Pain?!
Jupiter Marvelous definitely lean more to an indie/alternative sound that by and large suits what Stage 2 had tended to book, but they have a lot of talent and were definitely having fun and staying loose up there (Jacob was particularly funny and engaging with the audience in particular), and their cover choices point to some eclectic influences! Not the heaviest band going, but don't bypass their studio material on major streaming sites! Once I headed back to Stage 1, there was a sea of people as Toronto-based AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who's featured sets had begun! Due in part to the Convergence delay on Stage 2, I saw the start and end of Who Made Who's set, though not the middle, but I caught them covering songs like "If You Want Blood", "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", and "Sin City" before leaving once more for Stage 2. While I have seen Who Made Who on their prior local stops, it's been many years, and certainly never to this huge of a crowd.
If you're a fan of Brian Johnson-era AC/DC, you'll have been right at home with their up-tempo and very faithful take on the AC/DC live sound, with Dan Hunter sounding just like Brian, and Scooter Von continues looking and sounding the part on guitar, though he didn't do the duck walk as often I recall from prior shows. Everyone had a strong handle on AC/DC's classic hits, but there was one more band on Stage 2, so I ducked out at around 9:00 PM to check out reunited local midwest emo band Fuller as the closing band there! For this set, they did indeed welcome Nebraska Arms alum Dave Prendergast to fill in for an absent Mark Rand on bass (Dave's shirt was a nice touch), but in a complete surprise, they also welcomed former Id Iota/Pixo Control guitarist Dustin Goodall as a second guitarist! I don't know if Dustin is joining permanently, let alone if Fuller have future plans beyond Rotaryfest or not.
Remember that Dustin produced and provided additional instrumentation on their album "II" from March of this year, so he knows the material from the album well! Jamie, David, and crew unleashed originals like "Image In My Sight", "Love Is Always Better When You're Dreaming", and "I Will Crush You" during their Second Stage closing set, while also covering The Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?". I'm not an emo/post-hardcore scholar, but it was neat seeing Jamie Vincent front Fuller again for my first time since their original Oddfellows Hall days, and a strong crowd was present for their up-tempo alternative sound, and hopefully we hear more from Fuller in some form or fashion! After Fuller's set wrapped up (no encore), I returned to Stage 1 for the final time to catch the end of Who Made Who's extended set. They finished with the AC/DC classics "Thunderstruck", "High Voltage", and, of course, the band's namesake song "Who Made Who".
As has been the case in all but one non-pandemic year since 2015, a local band was booked after the touring headliner, and this year, the honours went to Rotaryfest newcomers Headrush, who unleashed a set of hard rock-leaning classics for remaining fans! The numbers were thinner, but a good number of fans witnessed the Johns, Wes, Frank, and Gino covering the likes of Journey, Billy Squier, Boston, Harlequin, and Loverboy during their nightcap set. You'd never have guessed that they were still so relatively new as a band, as they had a tight sound and good chemistry, with John Anderson's uniquely toned but rangy vocals suiting their cover choices, and Wes Greco's lead guitar truly was the engine driving these covers forward. Solid work with crowd-pleasing hits, and hopefully we see more from Headrush soon! Overall, Rotaryfest 2025 (well, most of the Saturday bills) went well for music, and I'm glad to have seen more of the bands this year!
The rain did dampen things early, but it didn't dictate the whole day, thank goodness. Whether the skies will be clear for 2026's Saturday run, who's to say, but I do want to do the full day marathon at some point! There's a lot to see and sample, so click here to check out our photos (all 135 of them) from the fourteen acts that I saw on Saturday at this link or via our Facebook page! Again, no video of Rusty & The Soft Parade due to the rainfall, but I filmed everyone else that I saw, so in order across both stages, here's Crusade covering Green Day's "She", Hails playing "Sole Crusher", The Northern Jazz Ensemble covering Vinicius de Moraes' "Agua De Beber", HeadF1rst playing "Have A Good Time", Encore covering Hot Chocolate's "You Could Have Been A Lady", Convergence playing an unintroduced original song, BookcluB covering The Traveling Wilburys' "Handle With Care", DJ Seith mixing Shocking Blue's "Send Me A Postcard", ...
...Lime covering Van Morrison's "Wild Night", Jupiter Marvelous playing "Pieces", Who Made Who tackling AC/DC's "Sink The Pink", Fuller playing "And I End", and Headrush covering Sweeney Todd's "Roxy Roller"!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!
Firstly for this mid-week batch of previews, local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will bring his acoustic solo act back to The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post on WEDNESDAY, but after that, he will debut at The Up & Down Lounge on THURSDAY NIGHT as well! Apologies for the short notice on THURSDAY'S concert, it was only announced via its Facebook event page
yesterday. The Up & Down Lounge (at 24 Second Line West beside the
Surplus Furniture & Mattress Warehouse) is scarcely known as a
concert venue, last seen on the SMS when Silent 9 played a private event
last fall, but they're experimenting with outdoor patio concerts on
THURSDAYS this summer, with Dodge This' Jason Taillefer first up there
for weeks #1 and #2, though as best as I can tell, musicians perform
indoors. They are looking for more artists too, leaning towards acoustic
acts and DJs.
Next up, we'll head to Beck's Bar, where they will host a special Tuesday concert TOMORROW NIGHT headlined by Cornwall hardcore/metal quartet Hellrager! Last seen locally at 2023's Northern Vibe Festival (after dropping out of the last two), this will be their first show in Sault Ste. Marie proper, and will also mark the local return of former Spades GT/Caym guitarist Jay Sarrazin, who filled in on bass with the former Jack Spades at Northern Vibe in 2022. It's good to see Beard back in town, and hopefully Hellrager melt faces with their bluesy yet in-your-face attack tomorrow night! Local openers tomorrow at Beck's include local death metal quartet Eden Plague, in the former Bear Hunters' first gig since Rotaryfest earlier this month, as well as their debut at the 232 Goulais Avenue nightclub. Also joining them tomorrow is extreme metal quintet With Gunfire in their first concert set of 2026.
Also, let's go downtown for another free concert TOMORROW NIGHT, this time from local Pearl Jam tribute band Even Flow! Last seen at the first Downtown Street Party of 2026 last month (more on the second one soon), tomorrow evening's concert will see them gather under The Roberta Bondar Pavilion tent as the fifth of eleven bands in the City of Sault Ste. Marie's annual Summer Concert Series, which sees live covers-leaning local bands perform free concerts on Tuesday and Thursday evenings in July and August. Even Flow are the second and last SMS-amenable band scheduled in the series for 2026, and hopefully this supergroup delivers a fun evening of grunge and alternative rock hits from the Pearl Jam catalogue for assembled fans tomorrow! Summer Concert series shows are all FREE & ALL AGES, and they run from 7:00-9:00 PM.
Finally today, I have moved local midwest emo/post-hardcore trio Fuller to our inactive band links. The reunited band has not issued a public update since their headlining Stage 2 slot at Rotaryfest last year, though remember that bassist Mark Rand (who missed that concert) and drummer David Peredun both live out of town nowadays. After their successful 2002-2005 local run, Fuller surprised many by reuniting for a December 2023 concert at LopLops Lounge, later confirming plans to record their Mark-era original material in studio, with their full length album "II" released to major digital platforms in March of last year. To date, the album isn't on CD or vinyl, but their Rotaryfest set was a fitting culmination of their reunion era, Mark's absence aside. While my music tastes lie heavier, it was neat seeing a staple of my early local concert-going years back at it, and hopefully frontman Jamie Vincent revisits Fuller in some form when the time is right, as they were a welcomed attraction!
