LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison & HeadF1rst) And Easter Weekend Concert Previews!!

The Easter long weekend is shaping up to be quiet for hard rock-leaning concerts, but we do have a packed post, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and a surprise band breakup announcement, all at the same venue, no less! I also want to mention that Maynard Hayes bassist Gabrielle Abulencia's graduation recital from the Algoma Conservatory of Music (which is a public concert) takes place tonight at The Loft, so click here for details on what to expect, and congratulations in advance! Now, here's what you should know for full rock concerts this weekend!

Local hard rock quintet HeadF1rst will play their "final bar concert" on SATURDAY NIGHT at Beck's Bar! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show via their Facebook page on Monday. The band revealed that they want "to announce this band's retirement", and while they did not elaborate on a reason for the decision, "they say (that) all good things must come to an end, but the music lives on forever". The wording (in combination with what members said on personal Facebook postings) does leave the door open for a further farewell concert not at a bar, but the finality implications are there regardless. It is worth noting that guitarist Raine Rancourt posted on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group last week looking for a bassist for a new project that he is working on with (former?) Handsome Sandwich singer Taylor Emlaw and an unspecified second guitarist & drummer, but I don't know how related that new band is to HeadF1rst's fate.

This news is extra surprising because members of HeadF1rst had just served as the opening night judges for the returning Shooters Downstairs Lounge Talent Quest karaoke competition on Sunday, but their activity had slowed down over the winter, playing just three (mostly short notice) nightclub gigs since the beginning of December, not counting THIS SATURDAY. Originally spelled as HeadFirst, this group became a highlight of the local rock scene since their mid-2023 launch, which saw them release two albums, play at Rotaryfest Stage 2 and Toystock twice each, hit the road as far away as Sudbury, and open for touring bands like Avessel, Blood Opera, and Woodhawk, so they packed a lot into a sub-3 year run. HeadF1rst are a talented group of guys (and girl) who had a nice classic influence on their originals and cover choices, and it will be sad to see them disband, but you have at least one more chance on SATURDAY!

Despite the bittersweet nature, this is a standard SATURDAY NIGHT concert at the former Vibe Lounge, with a 19+ age limit, 9:00 PM start time, and no cover charge. Between Raine's new band, Red's also-new project Bards With Beards, and the talent that Liam, Claire, and Anthony have, I'm sure we'll hear a lot more from all involved soon, but visit the above links for more details on HeadF1rst's swan song (at least for nightclubs) on SATURDAY! For a preview, here they are live at Rotaryfest last year!

Next up, that's not all for late notice Beck's Bar gigs of a heavier persuasion this weekend, as prolific local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will bring his acoustic solo act back to the Goulais Avenue nightclub for a matinee show on Easter SUNDAY! Again, apologies for the short notice, this gig was only announced via the venue's Facebook page on Monday (as was the HeadF1rst show, albeit without referencing their breakup). Making his second live appearance since he finished healing up his broken pinky finger, SUNDAY's matinee show will be Tym's first at Beck's since ending his 2025 slate there on December 28th. Not Tym's most frequent venue in the mid-2020s, but it's good to see him back here after three+ months, so keep this one in mind if you want some early Easter SUNDAY entertainment! Given his increased focus on his faith in the 2020s, Easter is good timing for a concert too!

As usual for SUNDAY shows at Beck's, this is a 3:00 PM matinee gig (running until 7:00 PM) with a 19+ age limit and no cover.If you missed Tym's return show at The Dive, then welcome him back at Beck's on SUNDAY to cap off the long weekend! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on this show, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

We'll circle back to SATURDAY to wrap up this post, albeit with a show that did get advance notice before Monday, as new local hard rock quartet Five Dollar Bribe will make their live concert debut in Beck's Bar's 3:00 PM matinee timeslot before HeadF1rst's concert that night! A change in protocol from acoustic matinee acts there, this reminds me of when Reggie's Place hosted another high school-aged hard rock band (One Shot) in August, but I haven't heard a peep from One Shot since that weekend. In Five Dollar Bribe's case, their lineup includes singer/bassist Randy Lundigran, singer/guitarist Jayce Albury, guitarist Tyler Greely, and drummer Chase Chapman, and you can check out current media via their Instagram and TikTok pages. From what I have seen of this band so far, they have a nicely developing sound, a sense of humour, and an eclectic cover range, with bands from Alice In Chains and System Of A Down to Hum and Dinosaur Jr. cited, among others

It will definitely be interesting to see how they go over, and the next generation will be the mainstays of the scene's future, so don't bypass them! Remember, Five Dollar Bribe aren't "opening" for HeadF1rst on Saturday, the two bands have separate four hour timeslots spaced two hours apart, but you can hang out to see both if you like. As with Tym Morrison the following day, Five Dollar Bribe are up from 3:00-7:00 PM on Saturday with no cover, and I'm not sure if this will technically be 19+ given their ages & the timeframe. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's 5.D.B. live!

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That's all for now, but stay tuned for more on the SMS soon, perhaps including more previews? Thanks everyone!

Double Down & Oz Concert Previews, New Videos, And More Recent Updates!!

As promised, we're wrapping up this weekend's known hard rock concert previews today, along with clearing up some loose ends re: preview videos that I couldn't use yesterday, and some more recent updates, so here's what you should know on this mild Friday night!

We'll start in Sault Michigan, where Iron Mountain classic/hard rock cover quintet Oz will play their first local dates of 2026 TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino! Last seen in the Soo over two months ago, this veteran outfit have proved to be a reliable favourite sight in their mid-2020s trips east, and hopefully tonight and tomorrow's shows provide more hard rocking classic hits from Ryan, Kevin, Joe, Todd, and Dave once again! And you know they put on a good live show, as Oz noted on their Facebook page that they brought two trailers with their gear and equipment! Tonight and tomorrow's concerts, as usual at The Rapids Lounge, are 9:00 PM affairs with no announced cover charges and 21+ age limits. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Oz live!

Next up, we'll wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews at The Water Tower Pub, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will take the stage TOMORROW NIGHT! This show will feature the long awaited return of bassist Dan Beaupre for the first time since last summer, after taking a six month break for health matters and foreign travel, so if you've missed this local rock mainstay, don't be absent tomorrow! Double Down were last seen with fill-in bassist Lori Reinholtz at Beck's Bar last month, and they kicked off 2026 at The Water Tower Pub on January 3rd. Remember, this venue does not host bands on consecutive nights, and Generations are playing there tonight (more on them in a second). Tomorrow's show is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of Double Down (and Lori) live at Beck's last month!

This clip sees the band covering Our Lady Peace's "Starseed" with guitarist Beej Syrette on lead vocals, and it was uploaded three days after their initial batch of videos from that night. Alas, like with the prior three, this is both incomplete (75 seconds) and vertical, but it's a soundly handled cover that O.L.P. fans should like! I think that there are songs that suit Beej's vocal range better though. Give it a watch for yourselves below!

Also today, this extends from our weekend concert previews, as two of the bands playing this weekend have posted new live videos to their Facebook pages that I am unable to embed here, so I held discussion about them from yesterday's post so it didn't get overlong. Two are from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations' Facebook group, where new guitarist Joe Miller posted videos from their Full Throttle Saloon gig this past Saturday! One is a cover of Sheryl Crow's "If It Makes You Happy", and the other appears to be the guitar solo from ZZ Top's "Tush". I'd have embedded the former here if able, but I can't embed either video externally, and I don't know whether that's a changed setting in the group or if that was Joe's call. Regardless, both are vertical and incomplete, seemingly filmed from a cell phone set down on the side of the stage. What we hear sounds good, but they aren't optimal in a few regards.

The other unembeddable video is from hard rock quintet HeadF1rst's Facebook page, and it's a highlight video compiled with InShot featuring three tiled windows of them playing at Beck's Bar last month, overlaid with post-production lighting effects and the Beck's logo. I can't embed the video here because Facebook content matched the backing music (the band's studio track "Stay For The Show"). I'd really prefer seeing the raw unedited live video with the music as performed that night, but at least it's an attempt to do something artistic with vertical cell phone videos! Give all three videos a watch above, and don't miss Generations tonight at The Water Tower Pub or HeadF1rst TOMORROW NIGHT at Beck's!

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

 

• A tribute concert in memory of late Rebel Priest/Glass Statues guitarist Ben Kemp-Reynolds (named Blitz Fest) will be held at The Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver on Saturday, April 4th! Friends and former bandmates of Benny's, including Rebel Priest and reunions of The Lust Boys and Roadrash, will be on hand to perform songs from his B.C. bands & his own favourite artists. West Of Hell singer Chris "The Heathen" Valagao (who fronted that band at the former Roosevelt Hotel in 2012) will be the host of Blitz Fest. Not a local event, but it's great to see friends and colleagues putting on a proper memorial concert for Ben, so see above for more details!
• In clarification for the performers on local death/thrash metal trio Pillory's new full length album "Old Soul", their Bandcamp page confirms that 2015-2017 bassist Jordan Leach did indeed perform the low end on the final product, not his replacement Blair St. John or current bassist Devon Lucier. What's unsaid there is whether these are archival recordings from his stint in the band a decade ago or if he tracked his parts remotely in the past year (he lives and works out of country now). Regardless, it is neat to see Jordan in a new context again in local music! The album was recorded at Mission Control Studios with producer Dustin Jones.
• The Soo's Got Talent is looking for a band to perform at this fall's seventh annual installment, where they would perform a guest set during the semifinals and be the house band during the finals, backing up the last performers on their chosen covers. Handsome Sandwich (in 2022) and Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band (2023-2024) did the honours previously, before T.S.G.T. went without a live band last fall during its "Soo Voxx" format change. This is a paid role and will garner wide exposure for the chosen group. If you're interested in more details, message The Soo's Got Talent at this link!

 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck, Generations, And HeadF1rst) & Weekend Concert Previews!!.

We have another busy weekend for local  hard rock/punk-leaning concerts, so this weekend's previews are being broken up into two posts. As such, look for our Oz and Double Down previews tomorrow! Also, we have concert cancellations to take note of, as Tym Morrison's solo matinee dates at Misty's Fifties on Saturday, next Saturday, and on March 14th have all been cancelled due to suffering a broken pinky finger, which would understandably impair guitar playing. His concert at Reggie's on February 7th was also cancelled the day prior, with Sam Spadafora replacing him. Hopefully Tym mends up on schedule, and I apologize for missing the Reggie's cancellation! Tym's regular run of Misty's gigs is slated to resume on Saturday, March 28th.

Now, here's what you should know to start the weekend, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, but we'll start with local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck, who have a busy weekend ahead. Including their previously announced Jay's Piston Broke Pub concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, those shows will sandwich a rare matinee gig from them on SATURDAY at The Tap Room at Northern Superior Brewing Co.! Apologies for the short notice on the Tap Room matinee, it was only announced yesterday via their sister band Separate Wayz' Facebook page. The reason why that band announced it is because this is the first teased "epic crossover" between the two groups, meaning that both Soundcheck singer/guitarist Travis Sharpe and Separate Wayz frontwoman Nicole Thibodeau will join Terry, Jim, and Johnny for a concert featuring songs from both bands. If that's not a hook to come out, I don't know what is!

No word on if Travis and Nicole will be trading off, splitting sets, and/or sharing dual vocals in this setting. Of course, tomorrow's Jay's concert will be the reunited Soundcheck's first since Travis officially returned to replace the Nashville-bound Cameron Oliver in the band he co-founded in 2016. Whether you want nighttime classic and hard rock covers in the west end, or daytime ones downtown (and with Nicole), you have options! The Jay's shows are both at 9:30 PM, the Tap Room gig on SATURDAY runs from 3:00-6:00 PM, and all have 19+ age limits and no announced cover charge. See above for more details, and here's Separate Wayz (a.k.a. 3/4ths of Soundcheck) live!

Next up, here's another late notice show announcement, as local hard rock quintet HeadF1rst will return to Beck's Bar on SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced via the venue's Facebook page on Monday, with the band only corroborating that yesterday. Last seen six weeks ago (also at Beck's), their second show of the year will be the nightcap of a long day for frontman Red Jettison, who will be pulling double duty as the acoustic matinee performer on SATURDAY under his real name Carson Hiltz. This is the one time where you could argue that the 3:00 PM matinee act at Beck's is kinda sorta "opening" for the nighttime band, two hour gap acknowledged! I don't know if this will basically be HeadF1rst unplugged, if it will be closer to his side project Bards With Beards, or if he's going really off script. Find out for yourself if you come by early!

For the record, Beck's are hosting rare live music tomorrow night also, but they don't typically double up weekends when they do, and tomorrow's band is classic rock cover trio The Sidekicks. The show is on SATURDAY at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's HeadF1rst live!

 

Also, here's some shows that did have advance notice before Monday, starting with local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations' return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT, but before we get too far, their originally announced Saturday nighter at The Kiln at Searchmont Resort is no longer taking place. Drummer Tony Santoro said on the band's Facebook group that "a booking error" was to blame, but he didn't elaborate if that was on the band's end or the venue's (I have not heard about a possible musical act there on Saturday otherwise). However, Tony did confirm that Generations will return to The Kiln on Saturday, March 21st, so keep that new booking in mind in four weeks! In the meantime, tomorrow's Water Tower Pub show breaks up their alternating pattern of Kiln and Full Throttle Saloon gigs to start 2026, and marks their first Great Northern Road concert in two months.

Tomorrow's Water Tower Pub show and next month's Kiln gig will both be 8:00 PM affairs with 19+ age limits and no announced cover charges. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Generations live!

Lastly for this post, local acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will return to The Whisky Barrel for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen at Bon Soo for a special outdoor concert this past weekend, this will be their first publically advertised indoor concert since rocking the Tap Room last month, and if you enjoy the long-running musical collaborations from BookcluB/ex-Inner City Surfers bandmates Dustin Jones and Mikey Hawdon, seeing them in action tomorrow on Gore Street may be just the idea for your Friday night plans! This one-nighter has an 8:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new-to-me video of Mikey & Dustin! This comes from Dos Amigos' Instagram page, but it was actually uploaded there in June to promote a Whisky Barrel show last year (remember, they rarely update Dos Amigos' social media, hence why we often hear of their shows late).

This video sees Mikey & Dustin covering Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros' "Coma Girl", which you may recall seeing the two tackle back in 2020 for a "quarantune" vocals/ukelele cover for what became Mikey & His Uke. Uploaded in black and white for one reason or another, this outdoor performance is sound and melodic in the right ways, especially for Joe Strummer/Clash fans, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

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That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Oz and Double Down previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Project 906), The Headf1rst Concert Preview, And More Recent Updates!!

Tonight's post wraps up this weekend's hard rock concert previews (including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT), but new videos from a newly renamed band and some assorted recent updates round things out. Here's what you should know on this Friday night!

Sault Michigan hard/blues rock quintet Project 906 will begin their year with a one-night-only concert TOMORROW NIGHT at The Merchant's Bar! Apologies for the short notice, the band quietly announced this show on their Facebook page on New Year's Day, which slipped us by late last week. After taking the last couple months of 2025 off, this will be 906's first concert since their Halloween gig in Rudyard, and while they played often prior, the guys haven't played a public gig in the Soo since the Musicians Unite fundraiser in March, and they last rocked The Merch in July of 2024. It's been a while regardless, so it's good to see Billy, Joe, Dustin, Jason, and Brian back at it at a familiar local venue, and hopefully they deliver for assembled fans as expected TOMORROW NIGHT! This show has an 8:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no cover charge. See above for more details, and here's Project 906 live!

Next up, we'll wrap up this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, as Sault Ontario hard rock quintet HeadF1rst will play their... first concert of 2026 TOMORROW NIGHT at Beck's Bar! Last seen just over a month ago at Shooters, west fans won't have seen this talented quintet at the former Vibe Lounge since June of last year, and hopefully they have a good turnout for their hard rocking covers and originals to kick off another new year! This show has a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no announced cover charge as usual for Beck's. Tomorrow's matinee performer at 3:00 PM is newer local acoustic duo Whiskey Hippy, who have their own separate 4 hour timeslot and are not "opening" for HeadF1rst, but you can hang around to see bothif you want. Visit the above links for more details, and here's HeadF1rst live!

Also, let's finally look at videos of the band formerly known as The Sault Side Squad when they opened the Fist Magnet/Spigots reunion concert at Soo Blaster last month! On the night of December 27th, the online page-less metal band revealed that they had officially changed their name to With Gunfire. No idea if they gave a reason for the name change at that show, but their original name (a play on "Suicide Squad") did seem to get a mixed reception. While Kevin Campbell didn't arrive in time to film With Gunfire's set for his YouTube channel, drummer Jonas Gasperas did upload four videos shot by attendees to his new YouTube channel! All are of original songs named "Beatdown", "Nuisance", "Well Of The Dead", and embedded below, "M.F.C.". Alas, all four were shot vertically, but these are our first proper videos of this band that aren't technically unlisted.

These also give us our first look at the former Sault Side Squad with The BAG's Spencer MacGillivray on lead vocals in lieu of Justin Pregent, and if you're familiar with heavier BAG originals, you'll approve of what Spencer brings to the table here, with some harsher vocals and yelling mixed in. A newer local metal band with this stacked lineup of familiar faces should be getting more attention (they debuted in 2024, they really should get social media pages going), but they have a very heavy sound that straddles a few genre influences, and Anthony and Chris have strong guitar work throughout, so With Gunfire's first truly public videos a watch above and below! We'll have more from them soon!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual for these short form stories, these are in alphabetical order by band or company name:

 

• I have moved local hard rock trio Bullet Train to our inactive band links. The band last posted a public update regarding their activity on their Facebook page on Christmas Eve 2024, where they promised that they would "be seeing you in the new year", but their only post in 2025 was in memoriam to the late Ozzy Osbourne. This union of Sense of Truth and Fort Creek alumni released three current events-driven original songs in 2024, but plans to release two EPs never went publically far. Hopefully we hear more from Cory, Bones, and Tony when the time is right!
• While not announced publically on social media prior, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down's show at The Water Tower Pub on Saturday was without bassist Dan Beaupre, but he was out of town in this case, rather than the ailment that knocked him out of most of their late 2025 concerts. Mid Life Crysis bassist Lori Reinholtz (their primary fill-in when Dan was out of action) returned on the low end for this one-nighter. I hope the concert was a hit on all fronts, and that Dan's trip went well!
• Rogers Radio closed their physical office at 642 Great Northern Road in October, with a "for lease" sign currently in the window of the building. This is part of a consolidation into remote operations from radio employee's homes or alternate locations for certain smaller markets, including the Soo and Timmins, as per this article from Broadcast Dialogue. No local jobs at either 104.3 The Fox or Kiss 100.5 were affected, though note that local mid-day DJ Dan Koo previously left the former Q104 in August, with North Bay's Mitch Belanger replacing him on our dial. Not ideal, but at least the stations are alive and well, and today is actually 104.3 The Fox's first anniversary as a rock station!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (HeadF1rst & The Nameless) And New Year's Eve Concert Previews!!

In what will likely be our last normal post of 2025 (our annual "year-in-review" post is likely coming tomorrow), here's previews of tomorrow's known hard rock New Year's Eve concerts, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE! Just a reminder first though that Tym Morrison's planned Eagles Club show tomorrow was cancelled. Also, you may have seen reference on social media to a New Year's bash featuring The Apocalypse Afterparty, A.D.S.P., The Spaceship Opening, and Gimiiwan Ikwe, but that is a private event without a publically given address. Inquire with performers if that piques your interest though! Now, let's lead off with our New Year's Eve previews in Michigan!

Local hard rock cover quartet The Nameless will end 2025 in style by making their debut at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley TOMORROW NIGHT for their New Year's Eve party! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this gig via their Facebook page yesterday, and Bay Mills never acknowledged a New Year's concert on their website's calendar, though head there to see what other seasonal activities are happening there. Last seen on stage at The Merch on December 12th, TOMORROW's concert will be quite a way for Josh, the Mikes, and Jamie to make their first ever Brimley stop, and while no festive frills are hyped on the band's end, hopefully this will be the heaviest way for E.U.P. rock fans to ring in 2026 with! Owing to the New Year's timing, this show has an unusually late start time of 10:00 PM, a 21+ age limit, and no cover charge. See above for more details, and here's The Nameless live!

Next up, let's take a brief detour from New Year's concerts for a new show announcement for 2026, as Sault Ontario hard rock quintet HeadF1rst will play their... first show of the year at Beck's Bar on Saturday, January 10th! If this show is a surprise to you, I'm not surprised, as it was quietly tucked in their most recent Facebook page posting from this past Saturday, which was primarily to show off photos of them at the same venue back in June. You have to click "See more" to see the show announcement, and while they never did come back for "round 2" in this calendar year, the guys (and Claire) will return next weekend! This will be their first concert anywhere since rocking Shooters on December 6th. HeadF1rst's hard rocking brand of originals and covers will be on display next Saturday at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and Beck's should confirm things on their end on Monday!

Now let's head back to New Year's Eve concert previews, and while the mid-week timing of December 31st this year has stunted some concert booking potential, Thursday is a day off, and there are a couple more hard rock concerts in Sault Ontario to take in TOMORROW. Arguably the bigger of the two goes down in the east end, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will end the year in style by headlining the New Year's party at The Moose Lodge tomorrow night! A very rare SMS-amenable booking at the Trunk Road hall, this will be Bone Yard's first show in almost two weeks, and they should be in fine form to send 2025 out on a high note! Along with music from "the dirty three", there will be a pasta dinner and cash bar included, along with other seasonal frills, so mind all that given that tickets cost $50 at The Moose Lodge or via e-mail at lodge535@shaw.ca.

The band's own cache of tickets is sold out, and of course, you can chance paying at the door if this all interests you. If you'd rather see your local 225 with no cover, they'll be back next month with multiple bar gigs that we will be elaborating on here shortly. Doors open at 6:00 PM with the pasta dinner beginning at 7:00 PM, and Bone Yard take the stage at 9:00 PM. If you want the full shebang for your New Year's festivities, then head down to The Moose Lodge tomorrow night to ring in 2026 in hard rocking style! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are live!

Finally for TOMORROW NIGHT (and 2025), local hard rock cover quartet Half Past will end the year when they headline the New Year's Eve party at the aforementioned Beck's Bar! Playing their first concert since rocking the same venue in early October, this will cap off what was an eventful first full year back for Half Past after their decade+ breakup, and hopefully their brand of modern-leaning "hard rock (that) you'll actually feel" proves to be the right soundtrack for many to ring in 2026 with! In terms of seasonal frills, Beck's is promising drink specials tomorrow, and while I'm not one to go into massive details on the food offerings and menus at bars here, this is the first Beck's concert that we have covered since they struck a deal for the Matt’s Grill BBQ & Catering food truck to park on the premises daily from 5:00 PM-1:00 AM. Keep that in mind if getting a meal or some unofficial hors d'oeuvres for the New Year is of note! Here is the menu if you are curious. 

Unlike at The Moose Lodge, the New Year's Eve party at Beck's has no cover charge or tickets, but this remains a 19+ event with the band beginning at 9:00 PM, and note that the former Vibe Lounge will remain open until 3:00 AM, one hour later than normal. Hopefully there's a strong turnout at Beck's for their first New Year's bash, let alone Half Past's modern hard rock proficiency, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Half Past live at Beck's! 

That's all for now, but if all goes according to plan, stay tuned for our 2025 "year-in-review" post on the SMS next, with normal weekend concert previews to follow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (HeadF1rst & Bone Yard 225) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

December is now in full swing, so why not beat the winter blues and the heavy snow this week by occupying a venue? There's enough hard rock concerts in the Soo area to warrant extending our previews to a second post, so this weekend's Tym Morrison shows will be previewed next. Here's what you should know to start this weekend off right, including a pair of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will return to The Water Tower Pub for another "uncorked" concert on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the band's Facebook page yesterday, and it is newly listed on their website's concert calendar too, along a handful of extra shows to end 2025 with! Also newly confirmed there are returns to Beck's Bar on Saturday, December 13th (a regular nighttime concert) and once more on Sunday, December 14th (an acoustic matinee, and thusly their last "uncorked" gig of the year), before they debut at... The Full Throttle Saloon on Friday, December 19th? If you're unfamiliar, the Full Throttle Saloon is the rebranded Primavera Hall at 256 Wellington Street West (not far from the Eagles Club), and just had their grand opening last week.

The Primavera Hall came up as a concert host very sporadically in the 2010s, but the saloon has been ramping up concert and events bookings in recent weeks, and they do still have the buffet! It will be interesting to see how Bone Yard go over in Steelton in a couple weeks, but before then, their first unplugged gig at The Water Tower Pub since October goes down on SATURDAY! That show is at 8:00 PM, the Beck's shows are at 9:00 & 3:00 PM respectively, the Full Throttle show is at 9:30 PM, all have 19+ age limits, and none have an announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on your local 225's last bar gigs of 2025, and here they are live!

Next up, local hard rock quintet HeadF1rst will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT themselves! Again, apologies for the short notice, this concert was first announced via the venue's December events calendar on Facebook on Tuesday, in which HeadF1rst's show is the only concert booked all month. As you may have noticed, Shooters have severely dialed back on hosting bands in 2025, with HeadF1rst really being the only band of note to play there since the spring, last rocking out there after game 7 of the World Series last month. No word on why HeadF1rst seem to be the only band that Shooters has anymore, but it'll be good to see their mix of hard rocking originals and old school-leaning covers on stage again on SATURDAY! Like Bone Yard 225, they were last seen at Toystock this past weekend. Note that Shooters' calendar posting hint at various holiday surprises given that we're in the Christmas season.

If any will arise to coincide with SATURDAY's concert, I don't know, but they do go all out for promotions when it comes to karaoke and dance party nights and what have you! Red, Rainey, Liam, Claire, and Anthony take the stage on SATURDAY at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's HeadF1rst live!

Also this weekend, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 have a previously announced concert TOMORROW NIGHT, which will see them headline  the Searchmont Ski Runners' holiday mixer at The Rockstar Bar! While the band considers this a "private event" on their website's calendar, the Ski Runners are publically advertising the mixer on social media. This isn't the first time that the Ski Runners have booked Silent 9 for a fundraiser at The Rockstar Bar that technically wasn't private, as they headlined their fall social in October 2023. Hopefully there's a great turnout to help their youth skiing program, and with the weather we've gotten this week, the skiing conditions shouldn't suffer this year! Note that The Rockstar Bar hinted at re-opening to regular nightclub service soon on Facebook in the past week, meaning that we could see bands playing there again there in 2026 beyond one-off corporate bookings like this.

Given the fundraising aims, this is a ticketed concert that will run you $35 (on sale at this link and presumably at the door), but advance ticket sales get you entries for a draw for Searchmont passes. This is a 19+ event, and a 7:30 PM start time is advertised. Visit the above links for more on the S.S.R.'s holiday mixer, and here's Silent 9 live!

We'll close today's preview post by heading south to Sault Michigan, where local hard rock quartet Unfortunate Sun will take over The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen for their second annual "Drinksgiving bash" in Hessel (and in the Soo on Halloween night at The Merch), this will be the Fake Chow successors' first concert weekend at The Rapids Lounge since back in May. If you like a wide array of heavier-leaning rock covers, you won't want to miss out on Skip, Jody, Tony, and Jason's cover slates tomorrow and on Saturday, so don't miss out on all of the action this weekend! Whether you're placing bets on them kicking ass or not (I don't endorse gambling on the SMS), this weekend's concerts go down at 9:00 PM each night with no announced cover charges, and you must be 21 or older to attend. Note that the poster implies that "The Tony Rogers Band" is opening for Unfortunate Sun this weekend, a rarity for their gigs alone.

That would imply that their bassist (formerly of Clownsack, Shift, et al.) has launched an eponymous side project. I have not seen this corroborated anywhere else, let alone what Tony's band would be playing, but keep that in mind! Visit the above links for more on Unforunate Sun's Rapids Lounge stops this weekend, and here they are live!

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

Our Extended Preview Of Toystock XII!!

Today's post is solely devoted to our extended preview of the twelfth annual Toystock, which goes down TOMORROW at The Grand Gardens North! Held annually since 2012 (the 2020-2021 pandemic hiatus aside), this special holiday concert event sees ten bands in ten hours donating their time to support Christmas Cheer, and as usual, donating for the cause is how you enter! Admission is via donating new toys, gently used puzzles, games, and/or books, new gift cards, mitts, scarves, hats, grooming items, or cash (nothing was said this year about non-perishable food). While The Grand Gardens is licensed and the bar will be open, Toystock is absolutely an all ages & family friendly event, and activites like face painting, arts & crafts, temporary tattoos, a play zone, and Christmas ornament decoration will be available along with the live music, and Santa Claus himself will stop by at 3:00 & 6:00 PM tomorrow, so I hope everyone has been good!

Yes, the Stuff-A-Bus will be on site once again. Visit the official website for complete non-musical details! Now, which ten bands will fill Toystock XII's ten hours? As usual, southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 (fronted by promoter Greg Simpson) will headline at 9:00 PM in their record eleventh appearance at the event, and all kudos to them and their colleagues for putting on this wonderful event once again! After playing the past two years in indie rock quartet Skinbox/The Haze, Steve Edwards & Brad Irwin have snagged the 8:00 PM co-headlining slot tomorrow for their new successor band The Reeves, where they are now joined by Long Shot alumni Adam Dawe & Jeremy Ganuelas. Time will tell how The Reeves sound compared to members' prior bands, but you can be the first to find out tomorrow at The Grand Gardens! At 7:00 PM, attendees can check out Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band on what wil be a big day for them!

Playing their second Toystock together and their first local gig since they rocked the Downtown Plaza in September, tomorrow will also be the release date of the alt-hard rock band's brand new live album "Under A Moonlit Sky", which was recorded that night. Mike and crew are donating proceeds from purchases and streams of the album to Christmas Cheer, which is a fantastic idea and well timed, so consider helping out whether you're at Toystock or not! Some of Mike's bandmates will play the prior set, as guitarist/backing vocalist Elly McWatters will front her country cover band The Drifters at 6:00 PM. Local country cover veterans Out & Out Country (featuring former Bone Yard drummer Ric Datson) will take the stage at 5:00 PM, and it is neat seeing Ric back at Toystock after three years away! Also debuting at Toystock tomorrow are indie rock quartet Jupiter Marvelous at 4:00 PM.

Notably, this will be Jupiter Marvelous' first show after the departure of guitarist Jacob Quarrell (formerly of Mike Haggith's band and Bad Chug), whose farewell gig with them is actually tonight at Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s Taproom. Best of luck to Jake in his next endeavours! Hard rock quintet and 2023 Toystock performers HeadF1rst will rock the Great Northern Road events hall at 3:00 PM, as preceded by cover rock quartet Separate Wayz (featuring singer Nicole Thibodeau alongside Soundcheck and Obsession alumni) in their Toystock debut at 2:00 PM. Debuting local blues/classic rock band Sunday & The Broken Hearts (replacing Redundant) will rock Toystock at 1:00 PM, and while not a lot is known about them yet, hopefully Jason Gasparetto & crew deliver a solid cover set for fans in the afternoon! Your openers tomorrow are online page-less blues rock quartet The Associates at 12:00 PM.

The Associates are back from 2024 and are this year's annual music school/store representatives, with Bone Yard bassist Warren Reville bookending tomorrow's band schedule as such. Musically, there's a lot to like this year, including six Toystock newcomer acts and a nice array of sounds for all tastes, so hopefully there's a great turnout with lots of quality Christmas Cheer donations! There's many needy families that will be extremely appreciative. Visit the above links for complete details on Toystock XII, here's Bone Yard 225 live, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Silent 9), The Selias Concert Preview, And More!!

Before we begin this otherwise all-Sault Ontario post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert in last week's previews, as Sault Michigan hard rock quartet The Nameless headlined the Brimley Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 9023's annual Veteran's Day ATV ride this past Saturday. While the event was publically attendable, the band did not publicize it in advance, though maybe I should keep better tabs on it, as Project 906 did the honours in 2023 & 2024. I'd have happily covered it had I known or someone had said something, but hopefully The Nameless, veterans, and riders had a great time! Now, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one more weekend preview, and more recent Sault Ontario notes!

While their public concert calendar for 2025 (the Searchmont Ski Runners holiday mixer aside) ends this weekend at The Esquire Club, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 have announced their first few 2026 shows via their website's concert calendar, so when can you see them in the new year? Unless something is announced in the interim, their first gig of 2026 will see them headline at the Bon Soo Winter Carnival's opening ceremonies for a second straight year on Friday, February 13th! As far as I am aware, this will take place inside The Machine Shop at Mill Square once again, which is the site of their live concert debut as well, so hopefully this fan-friendly foursome delivers a strong night of covers to kick off Bon Soo 2026 in style! They'll be on at 8:00 PM with admission via a Bon Soo button, and with no announced age limit. For normal nightclub gigs, when can you see Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve afterwards?

As of this writing, their next solo headlining nightclub concert will be on Saturday, March 14th, when they make their debut at Beck's Bar! Kinda surprising that they haven't played there yet, but hopefully the luck of the Irish is on their side for this pre-St. Patrick's Day concert in the west end! Expect a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover. We'll hold their September show for a future post given the 10 month gap, but stay tuned for more from Silent 9 when announced, and don't miss them this weekend at The Esquire Club!

Next up, here's one more SMS-amenable weekend concert preview, as Toronto melodic death metal quintet Selias will rock Soo Blaster for a third time in a fourteen month span TOMORROW NIGHT! Previously seen here in September of last year and then again in March (with Spades GT drummer Tyler Reiner in tow for the former), Selias have quickly proven to be a reliable favouite touring attraction for extreme metal fans, and their technically sound but crushing brand of original music should get a solid reception tomorrow, especially given the Saturday timing! Your local openers tomorrow include hard rock quintet HeadF1rst, online page-less metal quintet The Sault Side Squad (now featuring The BAG's Spencer MacGillivray on vocals), and party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty in their first of two Soo Blaster shows this month, preceding the Robbie G hip-hop concert in two weeks.

Of course, The S.S.S. and HeadF1rst respectively opened one of Selias' prior local stops each, so it is neat to see them get an encore! Promoted once again by Heavy North Entertainment, this stop on Selias' Ontario Onslaught tour (in support of their new album "Killkarma") has a 7:00 PM start time, no age limit, and ticket prices of $15 at the venue or at this link.  Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Selias live!

Also today, we have an act to move to our inactive band links, namely local acoustic punk solo project Slumshine. We have not heard of a public update from them since opening for Rory Taillon at Soo Blaster in September of last year, and despite playing shows off and since returning from their last public hiatus in August 2022, they haven't updated their Facebook page in any fashion in over four years. Led by Hails frontman Brenton Ellis with his requisite pink knit ski mask and ultra personal song lyrics, Slumshine initially returned from a year+ break at the 2022 Fringe North Festival, and became regulars of the Sault Ste. Marie Museum-hosted arts & culture event for its most recent three installments, but them and the Rory Taillon show are it for public activity since. Brent has definitely been keeping busy with Ha!ls in the past year, and he has even carried over some Slumshine songs to the full band, so follow them to see what he's up to nowadays!

To close today, here's a very rare video that was posted to social media this week, and it is the only known video filmed at Woods of Ypres' recording sessions for their final album "Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light"! As you may recall, frontman David Gold and guitarist Joel Violette recorded the album at Beach Road Studios in Goderich, Ontario back in August 2011 with producer Siegfried Meier, who filmed this brief 30 second clip of David tracking drums for "Keeper Of The Ledger" and sent it to Shiver James as part of the work being done on his upcoming biography Deepest Roots: The Woods Of Ypres Story. The video had a fuzzy retro filter put on it that really hampers the video quality (it's hard to even see David behind the kit), but unless there's something in the vault from fall rehearsals, this may be the only video featuring David playing anything from "Woods V" on camera.

Kudos to Siegfried for sending this video after fourteen long years (let alone producing that classic album), and to James for posting it to the book's Facebook page! I'm glad that someone is telling David and the band's story after all these years, so follow the book's progress and the teaser postings above, and here's the video of David playing "Keeper Of The Ledger"!

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