More New Videos & Related Updates From The EUP, Plus A New Live Video Of The Gambit!!

Here's another news post as we continue staying busy on the SMS this weekend, and it just so happens with our backlog clearout that we have a heavy focus on Sault Michigan and/or the Eastern Upper Peninsula again today. This includes a follow-up to recent coverage from a local battle of the bands and local musicians' involvement in an indie film premiering later this month, but we are capping things off on the Canadian side for a new live performance video. However, we'll start south of the border, so here's what you should know on this Sunday morning!

While featuring the video yesterday of Molly Escherich's Music In The Park set at last month's Superior Whitefish Festival, I realized that a video from last year's battle of the bands at this Brimley-based festival was also uploaded to her YouTube channel! While the Dafter-based teenage singer/guitarist led The 8th Fire to second place in year #2 of this battle, and she led Molly & The Other Guys to victory at 2024's Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands (more on this year's soon), the two battle runs bookended an off day for Molly as a local battle competitor. Molly & The Other Guys were revived with a mostly new lineup for 2025's inaugural Superior Whitefish Festival battle, but with five competing acts (four guaranteed prizes), Molly & crew surprisingly finished in last place. Possibly because of this, the video is now unlisted on YouTube, but it was publically shared to her Facebook page at the time. 

For this set, Molly was joined by returning Other Guy Nathan Webber (ex-Tarnished/Exit 808) on guitar, alongside bassist Destini Smith (who guested with Tarnished at the previous year's LSSU Battle) and Molly's brother Cayd on drums. Cayd was a very late replacement for About:Blank drummer Kade DesArmo (what are the odds on the similar first names?), stepping in that same day for his first ever appearance as a drummer in a live concert. Things started with a full band version of Molly's original song "Cheap Cologne", before Molly put down her guitar for a cover of Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Old Time Rock & Roll". and then picked up a tambourine to cover Paramore's "Hard Times". This was actually the entire set, and as Molly explained on her Facebook page at the time, they wanted "to give the band some stage time" despite the lack of rehearsal and the drummer change, so the set was heavily pared down from the expected 45 minute runtime.

The 10 minute length will likely explain the lack of a podium finish last year, but I did notice timing issues during the set, and to me, they picked two covers that would have suited having a second guitarist present (Molly or otherwise). Still, they did perform well and likely would have won cash had they played a full set! This would end up being the swan song for any version of The Other Guys, with The 8th Fire becoming Molly's new full-band concern last month, let alone her heading to Interlochen last fall, but she has a bright future ahead, and Nathan, Destini, and Cayd are talented musicians too, so give Molly & The Other Guys' 2025 battle set a watch below!

Next up, let's stay in the EUP by heading north to Sault Ste. Marie for... the premiere screening of an indie horror movie? On Saturday, August 22nd, Lake Superior State's Arts Center will host the premiere of Yooper Frankenstein, a locally-filmed and produced horror movie by local filmmaker Dave Cairns that was shot here from mid-2024. The movie will be screened twice that evening at 7:00 & 9:00 PM, and the movie will definitely be R rated for violence, adult content, coarse language, and disturbing scenes (it is a horror movie, after all!). Teasers from the shoot have been shared to the movie's Facebook group and across multiple YouTube videos, one embedded below, but why is this relevant to SMS coverage? Well, look at who is soundtracking the movie, namely Viscera frontman "Blind" Bob Quinn, X's & Y's/ex-Life's Eclipse guitarist Jason Mills, and ex-Half Stupid/Plastic frontman (and former Crooked Music owner) Zac Crook!

Blind Bob also has a small acting role in the film proper, and Zac is the film's music director. Zac and Jason have shared songs from the film to YouTube, and while what they have shared so far is atmospheric and feels inspired by 1980s horror classics, there will be some level of metal music, as heard in the teaser below from YouTube user gothicsoldier (listen to those drums!). A locally made horror movie in Sault Michigan is sure intriguing, and they've certainly put the work in over the past two years, but will this be horror's answer to Escanaba In Da Moonlight? See above and below for more on Yooper Frankenstein and the premiere in two weeks! 

We'll close this post with a rare live video from veteran Sault Ontario punk supergroup The Gambit's Facebook page! As you may recall, they played their first public concert set since Rotaryfest Stage 2 in 2024 on August 1st when they opened for 5 Dollar Bribe on an all-local bill at Blaster Powerhouse. This was just their fourth show period since changing their name from The Sick Sons in 2022, and given their stacked lineup and original material, it's a shame that they don't play more often. This video captures the last 2 minutes of what I believe to be a new original song named "Searching For A Signal" (if it's a cover, I don't know the original at all), and while the audio levels are too loud and staticy as filmed, it's an upbeat punk rocker that fits in line with members' past bands! Good stuff, and hopefully we're not waiting until 2028 for The Gambit's next gig, so give their new video a watch below!

That's all for now, but there should be at least one more post on the SMS later today! Thanks everyone!

Information On Saturday's Superior Whitefish Festival Concerts, Plus A New Battle Of The Bands!!

For this SMS post, we're heading over to Sault Michigan and the E.U.P. for some belated coverage of an event that I should have talked about on here last week, and one that I definitely didn't miss along the same lines, so here's what you should know on this Tuesday evening!

I wanted to start this post by profusely apologizing for missed concerts for coverage on the site, as there was a Music In The Park event and a battle of the bands during the returning Superior Whitefish Festival in Brimley on Saturday! To an extent, I think this falling off our radar so hard is due to two variables: I didn't expect it at all given that this festival hasn't been held in over a decade, but also, the known heavier bands to have played it didn't advertise it in advance on social media, alas. Two distinct concerts were at Riverview Park at 12099 West Lakeshore Drive on Saturday, and local punk/hard rock trio About:Blank (who haven't posted on their Facebook page since early June) played at 2:00 PM there, while fast-rising young Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich (who recently participated in the Interlochen Center for the Arts' Popular Music Performance Camp) bookended that program at 1:00 PM & 5:00 PM.

Two acts named Acoustic Beaches and Whistle & Fish performed at 4:00 & 3:00 PM respectively, and while I don't know a thing about the latter (bands of that name on Facebook are from out of state), Acoustic Beaches is a new unplugged cover duo from Exit 808 bandmates (and mother & son) Amy Beach and Blaze Beairl, with guest spots by Amy's nieces. Exit 808 fans may recall Amy playing acoustic gigs with varying performers on occasion, and hopefully they had a good set in Brimley! After Molly's last solo set, the battle of the bands commenced, with cash prizes of $1,000, $750, $500, and $250 awaiting the top four acts! Your performers in the battle were veteran local folk singer/guitarist Kevin Blakeney at 7:00 PM, pop rock solo artist Kaleb Shannon at 7:30 PM, hard rock quartet The Nameless (who didn't publicize their involvement in the battle on their Facebook page until after it was done) at 8:00 PM, ...

...a mystery band named Crush at 8:30 PM, and the revival of Molly Escherich's live band Molly & The Other Guys at 9:00 PM. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find complete results of who won beyond that Kevin finished in fourth place, and that The Nameless weren't in last place, but they had surprisingly strong cash prizes, so hopefully everyone performed well! It's worth noting that Molly & The Other Guys' lineup featured Molly alongside About:Blank guitarist Nathan Webber once again (much like we saw at the LSSU Battle of the Bands that they won last fall), but the rhythm section this time was young local bassist Destini Smith (who guested with Tarnished during the same battle last year) and Molly's brother Cayd on drums (replacing About:Blank's Kade DesArmo, ironically given the first names). Once again, I profusely apologize for missing the Superior Whitefish Festival's concerts for coverage on here! It's been a busy month.

It can be so easy for E.U.P. content to slip us by, but I hope a great time was had by all! If all goes well, I'm not done with it anyway, as I do want to find out more about Crush and Whistle & Fish (especially if the former placed in the top three in the battle), let alone who won what in the top three. I did find a video from the Whitefish Festival on a personal account of six young girls covering a Chappell Roan song on Saturday, but if they were Crush, they'd have to have been moved to first in the battle order given when it was uploaded. Stay tuned for more details when/if they roll in!

To close this post, why not discuss a battle of the bands that I haven't missed for coverage on the SMS, namely the third annual Lake Superior State University community battle of the bands, which takes place on Thursday, October 23rd at the Sault Ste. Marie university's on-campus Arts Center once again! First announced via the Arts Center's Facebook page on June 4th (notably with Molly performing in the graphic after winning last year) when publicizing their event schedule for the fall season, this post on Molly's Facebook page features hype for the battle from LSSU's own events calendar, including claims that it will be "bigger, louder, and more thrilling than ever". Admission will be $10 for general attendees, $5 for kids 10 and under, and free for current university students and faculty. We don't yet know how the format will be the same/different from last year, but in 2024, it was judged by professors and a student representative, and bands had 15 minute sets to play three or four songs apiece, with a $150 gift card awaiting the winners.

The runners up won a $50 gift card, and while eight acts (including solo musicians) were advertised, one dropped out prior to showtime. Trade war/tariffs pending, I'd love to come back for this battle again, as I had fun checking out the array of E.U.P. talent last fall, but I wonder why they're still holding this on a Thursday? No word yet on who we might see (audition info is forthcoming), let alone if Molly & crew will attempt to defend their title, but we'll let you know when more comes out on this battle! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site shortly! Thanks everyone!

The 2024 Lake Superior State University Battle Of The Bands Review!!

Here's a rarity for the SMS that I hope won't be so rare in the future: A review of a concert in Sault Michigan! On Thursday, Lake Superior State University hosted their second annual community battle of the bands at the on-campus Arts Center, and after missing last year's (I was seriously planning on hopping the border for it before getting a cold), I saw a golden opportunity to bear witness to my first local battle since the pandemic began! Just nice to see one take place in the E.U.P., there haven't been many compared to Sault Ontario. For readers unfamiliar, the Arts Center is LSSU's theater/auditorium at the far left of campus, roughly opposite their bookstore, and it remains as nicely laid out and professional as it was when I was a student there over a decade ago! Tickets were at a proper booth with concessions, and while the start was delayed a bit, there was a decent turnout in the auditorium for the battle on Thursday night!

By no means was it sold out, but I'd estimate 100-200 people were in attendance, and they were very vocal and loud for all acts! The MC of the battle was Arts Center director and LSSU assistant theater professor Noah Luce, while the four judges included two deans at the university (Mindy McCready and Steven Johnson), Arts Center business manager Melissa St. John, and Jillian Roush, who I believe was a current student representative. In terms of the judging criteria, this battle was handled very differently than others I've seen, as each judge individually handled one metric rather than judging each band on all points. One judge scored solely on originality, stage presence, and preparation each, while Jillian handled the audience vote. To that end, Noah encouraged attendees to cheer as loud as they could for each act after their sets for judging purposes. Acts competing on Thursday had a 15 minute set like last year, meaning that they got to play three or four songs each

Unfortunately, there was a late band withdrawal, as Traverse City hard rock band Sonic Dayze did not perform on Thursday for unannounced reasons. Hopefully nothing too serious happened, it would have been neat to see them in action! The stage setup for the bands was quite cavernous with lots of room to roam if need be, while the three solo musicians performed with a curtain behind them, and regardless, a projection screen displayed the band's name or logo above or behind them. The first act on Thursday was new local rock band Small Town Society, who united vocalist Holly Sibbald, ex-Double Jack guitarist Melvin Willis, (stand-up!) bassist Chris Bennett, drummer Daniel Jackson, and in a surprise not indicated in advance, veteran local guitarist "Blind" Bob Quinn Musically, the Small Town Society covered three songs, including Radiohead's "Creep" and Hozier's "Too Sweet".

Nothing too heavy, but they were a talented band with some solid professionalism for night #1 together, and Holly sure traveled the stage on most of their set! It was neat seeing Chris break out a big stand-up bass too (shades of The Rising Tide there), and they seemed to get a solid response, but it'll be interesting to see where things go for a longer show! Second was the night's first solo act, namely Kaleb Shannon, a local pop rock singer/guitarist who played four songs, including "Acceptance" and three that he mostly described the origins of, but didn't directly name. Kaleb had a natural ease about him and a good rapport with the audience that masked some of the hiccups between his songs! He has a good voice and writes some direct and honest, but upbeat, lyrics, and he has a bright future! Third up on Thursday was solo performer #2, namely veteran local folk singer/guitarist Kevin Blakeney, who returned from last year's battle for a four song set of his own.

Kevin played songs named "Thank God For The TV", an instrumental that I think he called "Angry Man", and a short song he wrote for his granddaughter named "Butterfly". Kevin's matter-of-fact folk rock was well performed and had a strong grit to it, with his vocals reminding me of a cross between Tom Waits and Mark Knopfler (which is certainly not a bad thing). It's tough to assess solo musicians against bands at a judged battle setting, but he left a distinct impression! Local metal/hard rock band Tarnished were next, though not as fans have seen them live this fall. Rather than have Chris Leask & Ron Suchey back as the rhythm section, Alex & Josh called in Destini Smith & Molly Escherich (more on her in a bit) to fill in for the night. Kudos for supporting young local talent! Tarnished and crew played a three song set, including covers of Cameo's "Word Up" (yes) and Judas Priest's "Living After Midnight"

Notably, frontman Alex Traynor did not play guitar at all, instead singing in his finest fuzzy white coat. Gotta be honest, I wanted to see him shredding along with Josh Fair (exclusively called Josh Tyler here) on Thursday, but his vocals suited the songs well with good energy! Destini's bass wasn't working on their opening song, but she and Molly acquitted themselves well, and Tarnished got fans going well with good audience involvement and some solid rock throughout! After a brief intermission, the battle resumed with the band advertised as Unsure, but it seems that they were unsure about that moniker, and instead performed as "The Undecideds". So, who are they? Well, if you were wondering why 2023 battle winners The Sole Aggressors didn't come back, this band may explain why! As far as I'm aware, Sole Aggressors frontman Calvin Swedene and drummer Isaac Brindley were in The Undecideds.

They were joined by a keyboardist named Frank, as well as Calvin's dad (I think) Jason Swedene on bass. Jason happens to be an arts, letters, and social sciences professor at LSSU, for the record. Unlike the Sole Aggressors, The Undecideds played a reserved indie/alternative sound, but were the only band on Thursday to play an all-original set, with their four songs including ones named "In Heaven" and (I think) "Strawberry Pond", with Frank singing lead on their closer. I do prefer what I've heard of the Sole Aggressors, but the songs here had merit for indie rock fans! I would heavily encourage the guys to work on their stage presences though, as they were very stiff, and their set ended very abruptly without a thank you to the fans. Promising musicians in this group though, and the crowd response was good! The penultimate performer on Thursday was former Tarnished bassist Parker Talentino.

He played three originals (including "Already Been Said" & "Barter") as well as a cover of Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)". Despite a brief technical glitch at the start when there was no microphone for him to use (Noah lent his for the set), Parker performed well with his own brand of alternative rock originals, showing off a good melodic singing voice and a relatability with his lyrics! Definitely a far cry from what he played with Tarnished at this event last year (the 2023 battle was his debut with them), but a strong effort and it came off naturally! Last but not least were Molly & The Other Guys, a one-off(?) live band to support last year's runner-up artist, Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich. She was joined here by former Tarnished guitarist Nathan Webber, founding/current Tarnished frontman Alex Traynor on bass, and Exit 808 drummer Jackie Moon.

I'm not one to make a big deal about musician ages, but Molly is twelve years old, and even if you put aside the ample cheering section that came out to support her and The Other Guys (they even brought signs and t-shirts!), her talents were on full display both here and when she drummed with Tarnished! The crew covered Hole's "Celebrity Skin" and Evanescence's "Bring Me To Life" during their three song set, and while the intro to the latter song felt kind of off, everyone performed well, and it was nice to see Nathan shredding with good enthusiasm on stage again! Molly got a strong backing band here, and while her voice did get a bit strained late, she has a very bright future, and again, she's twelve! While judges deliberated and tallied the scores, Noah promoted upcoming Arts Center events, and the prizes were unchanged from last year ($150 for first place, $50 for second, both as gift cards).

The winners of the 2024 Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands are... Molly & The Other Guys, and given the rock attack and fan response, I'm not too shocked by that! It's a solid jump for Molly after finishing second as a mostly solo act last year (fan-only voting acknowledged), and hopefully she rides this momentum well as she develops as a musician! Tarnished claimed second place after missing the podium outright last year, so kudos to Alex and Molly for sweeping both prizes! Like last year, third place was not announced. Everything ended around 10:00 PM, so it was a nice early evening for this all-ages event, and things seemed to go well for all involved! As a relative outsider to Sault Michigan concerts (I really must continue fixing that), there was a lot of strong talent on display from the bands, Kaleb, Kevin, and Parker, and I do hope that the university brings this back next fall!

You can check out our photos from the battle at this link or via our Facebook page, and yes, I did get a video of each band, namely everyone's first song! Given the short sets, that was the easiest way to ensure everyone was filmed, so apologies to Tarnished for filming the one song where Destini's bass wasn't working! If it helps, it wasn't obvious in the moment. In order, here's The Small Town Society covering The Black Keys' "Wild Child", Kaleb Shannon playing an un-introduced original song, Kevin Blakeney playing "Gone Are The Days", Tarnished covering AC/DC's "Highway To Hell", The Undecideds playing an original song that may be named "Sad People Are Beautiful Things", Parker Talentino playing "When I Fall", and Molly & The Other Guys covering Flyleaf's "Fully Alive"!

I hope you guys liked this extended battle of the bands review, and for Sault Ontario readers, don't bypass the bands and musicians in the Eastern Upper Peninsula. Its a smaller area, but there's a lot of talented artists who would benefit from getting hits and fans in Canada, let alone attendance at their shows if you've able to cross the border! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Sole Aggressors) & The Second Annual LSSU Battle Of The Bands Preview!!

Today's post is devoted to Sault Michigan and the Eastern Upper Peninsula, mostly because of a battle of the bands tomorrow warranting an extended preview, but let's lead off with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for another multi-band event next month that Yooper readers won't wanna miss!

Here's a big new E.U.P. concert next month, as Brighton LeBlanc of regional promoters Serious Business (who are now on Instagram) is hosting another multi-band concert at Pickles Bar & Grill in nearby Brimley on Saturday, November 2nd! Three familiar local bands will take the stage on this night, including punk trio and reigning (for one more day) LSSU Battle of the Bands champions The Sole Aggressors and hard rock quintet The Nameless, who both played at the Pickles concert in August. The third local band is a reunion of hard rock band The Karstens, who played at Serious Business' debut event at The Satisfied Frog in the Soo in November of last year but have not been publically heard from since on social media (lack of known online pages acknowledged). The three groups will be opening for Grand Rapids experimental/synth solo project Dick Texas, who were among the bands who played at last November's local date.

This show takes place in the basement of Pickles, it has an 8:00 PM start time, an 18+ age limit (not 21+), and admission is $10 at the door. It's great to see Serious Business booking another multi-band show like this, which is not common in the E.U.P., so definitely keep it in mind for your post-Halloween plans! Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, here's our preview of the second annual Lake Superior State University battle of the bands, which goes down TOMORROW NIGHT at the on-campus Arts Center, so what should you know therein? After four local bands and two solo artists rocked LSSU last November in their first community battle, an expanded lineup of five bands and three solo musicians will be competing, and this year's battle will reportedly have judges rather than a fan vote, so hopefully everyone is on their A-game to impress! With hardcore punk trio The Sole Aggressors not defending their title, and a whole new voting setup, the field is wide open, so who all is playing tomorrow? Returning from last year are local classic metal/hard rock band Tarnished (now with Chris Leask and Ron Suchey on bass and drums) and folk singer/guitarist Kevin Blakeney (who promises to "go heavy" tomorrow).

One year after losing first place by three fan votes, Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich will return as frontwoman of Molly & The Other Guys, who she confirmed on her Facebook page will feature Exit 808 drummer Jackie Moon, Tarnished frontman Alex Traynor on guitar (so he's pulling double duty tomorrow), and guitarist Nathan Webber, who previously played with Jackie and Alex in both groups, the former under their original name Double Jack. Of course, Nathan and Jackie came in third at the battle last year with Double Jack, so will that bode well for Molly & The Other Guys' chances? A new "Reel" of everyone jamming is also on Molly's Facebook page, but it has no live audio. Also returning apart from their band last year is former Tarnished bassist Parker Talentino, who will instead bring his own acoustic folk/alternative material to the forefront, but how will this do with judges?

One more returnee from last year is former Double Jack guitarist Melvin Willis in his new band Small Town Society. who have revealed their lineup on social media but little else, so come down tomorrow to see how they do! In a mild surprise, Traverse City hard rock quartet Sonic Dayze (featuring Sault Ste. Marie native Jeremy Gates on guitar) will make their local concert debut at this battle, in a very rare occurrence of a non-local band coming here for such an event. How will they do in new surroundings against Yooper acts? Local country/rock singer/songwriter Kaleb Shannon will also compete tomorrow with presumed originals from his repertoire, and the lineup is rounded out by the debuting Unsure, and their name is apropos, as I am unsure of anything regarding them or their sound/lineup. We'll let you know when/if we hear anything, before or after the battle takes place!

I'm also unsure about this year' prizes, but last year, The Sole Aggressors won $150 for first place and Molly took home $50 for second. The battle of the bands takes place at 7:30 PM, and admission is $10 for general attendees, $5 for kids 10 and under, and free for current LSSU students/staff with valid ID. Things definitely sound bigger and better across the board for year #2 of the LSSU Battle, but what all will go down? Be at the Arts Center tomorrow to find out! No preview video from me here, as I don't want to show a bias given the competitive/no-headliner nature, but visit the above links for more on tomorrow's artists, and stay tuned for regular weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Lake Superior State University Battle Of The Bands II)!!

Apologies for this being so delayed to first make the SMS, but the second annual Lake Superior State University battle of the bands will take place on Thursday, October 17th! Around eleven months after the Sault Michigan university's Arts Centre hosted six acts at their inaugural community battle of the bands, things are even bigger for next week's encore edition, with eight acts hitting the stage for unspecified prizes, so who all is playing this year? Only two of last year's performers are returning under the same names, including classic metal/hard rock band Tarnished and local folk musician Kevin Blakeney, neither of which made the podium last year. Obviously, Tarnished will look different this year (with Chris Leask and Ron Suchey currently playing bass and drums), while Kevin hinted on his personal Facebook page when promoting the 2024 battle that "this year, I'm going to go heavy". We will have to see how that goes!

As you may recall, Tarnished's battle set last year was their first public gig with now-ex bassist Parker Talentino, but he will be back this year with a solo set. Parker's own music leans more to acoustic folk/alternative, so a definite leap from what Tarnished play, but it'll be interesting to see how he goes over, especially as a solo musician in a battle of the bands! Of course, that's not disqualifying for an event like this, as seen last year when young Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich was edged out for first place by three fan votes, and she will be back to make another run at the top prize, but not solo! Molly had teased plans to get a band together a few months back, and she confirmed last month that she will be fronting Molly & The Other Guys at the battle, so who are "the other guys"?  Molly was seen jamming with former Tarnished/Double Jack guitarist Nathan Webber and her brother Cayd (on drums) in this "Reel" on her Facebook page.

It seems likely that they'll be her bandmates next week, though no word on a possible bassist. The "Reel" sees them solidly covering Disturbed's "Down With The Sickness", and Molly shows some brutal versatility on that part of the song! I can't embed "Reels" here, but you can watch it above. The other four acts scheduled for the battle of the bands are new to me, one being Kaleb Shannon, a local country/rock singer/songwriter who hasn't posted on his Facebook page since last summer. but has an album ("Light My Darkness") on major streaming services. Kaleb is a talented musician with a very distinct voice, but can he outperform the bands, Parker, and Kevin next week? Of the other three bands, one is named Unsure (possibly The Unsure?), and I can't find anything concrete about them on social media. We'll let you know when we hear something! Also playing is Small Town Society, so who are they?

I can tell you that they're the new rock band from former Stoned Ape Evoluton/Double Jack guitarist Melvin Willis, but tags referencing participation in the battle on Facebook that include him may reflect multiple groups, so I'm not going to jump the gun beyond that. Again, I don't know much on Small Town Society, but we'll keep you posted! The last band is Sonic Dayze, and unlike the other two new bands, they have a Facebook page with lots of content, so I will be talking about them very soon with a proper write-up, as they have a lot more to say that I don't want overshadowed by the battle details. Conspicuous by their absence are defending champions The Sole Aggressors, but I don't know if they declined the chance to compete again or if LSSU has it so winning bands can't come back. Last year's third place band (Double Jack, now known as Exit 808) aren't back either, but only one band remember remains from last year.

I'm unsure on some of the finer details of this year's battle, but last year, the winners were decided by a fan vote, bands had 15 minute sets, and the prizes were $150 for first place and $50 for second. Admission is the same as last year, at $10 for general attendees, $5 for kids 10 and under, and free for current LSSU staff or students with valid ID. It's great to see Lake State trying the battle of the bands again (still waiting on a new Sault Ontario one...), and hopefully any kinks from last year have been ironed out in time for Thursday's encore at their Arts Center! Visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more details on Sonic Dayze shortly! Thanks everyone!