LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Bone Yard 225), A Surprise Band Breakup, And More Recent Updates!!

Before we begin this post, we have a concert cancellation to take note of, as Barrie-based AC/DC tribute band Hells Bells are no longer headlining at the Sault Community Theatre Centre on April 10th "due to unforeseen circumstances", as per the S.C.T.C.'s Facebook page on March 4th. No word on if low ticket sales are those circumstances, but the White Pines theater was a big jump from their 2010s nightclub gigs here. Hopefully Hells Bells try again here down the road! Refunds for tickets already bought are available at point of purchase. Now, here's some updates on a local musician's newest studio material, fallout from a big recent show, a surprise band breakup, and leading off, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will go "uncorked" for a special St. Patrick's Day concert TOMORROW NIGHT at... Smitty's?! Apologies for the short notice, this concert was first announced on the band's Facebook page on Friday, March 6th, but I didn't hear about it until last week. Yes, the new chain restaurant in the former Aurora's/Thali building at 384 McNabb Street will be hosting a live band, which is surprising in & of itself, but this won't be the first concert held there, as Smokehouse frontman Michael Yurich was booked there last month. While that show was electric, Bone Yard's debut there TOMORROW will not be, a'la their Water Tower Pub, Gateway Casino, and Beck's matinee gigs. With St. Patrick's Day being on a Tuesday this year, fewer bars are hosting live bands on the actual day, so if you want to wear your best green attire and drink some green beer with some ("uncorked") hard rock, come to Smitty's TOMORROW! The weather will be better!

Beyond your local 225's presence and the sale of adult beverages (including green beer), there will reportedly be some level of giveaways for the occasion. TOMORROW'S central concert takes place at an early 6:00-10:00 PM timeslot, there's no cover, and as that this is Smitty's Family Restaurant, I don't believe there is an age limit, but use common sense given the seasonality. Visit the above links for more on TOMORROW'S luck of the Irish, and for a preview, here's Greg, Alex, and Warren live!

Next up, here's some very surprising news that broke yesterday, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down have announced that they are disbanding, as per their Facebook page. A reason for the decision was not announced, other than to say that "it was definitely not easy" and that "we cannot carry on as (Double Down) without any one of us", though I will note that they did survive two lineup replacements and Dan's 6 month absence already. They did apologize to local venues for having to cancel scheduled bookings, including March 28th at The Water Tower Pub, which is the only one that had been publically announced at press time. A staple of the bar cover circuit since their live debut in April 2023, Double Down memorably played at Rotaryfest Stage 1 in 2023 & 2024 (closing the latter year), and they were known for their guest-friendly and Cancon-laden live sets.

Double Down had just played shows on Friday and Saturday at Jay's Piston Broke Pub alongside guest singer Jack Alisat, which makes things even more surprising (I even saw personal Facebook posts implying that she could be joining the band), but I hope things are amicable regardless of what exactly was discussed this weekend. They were a talented band regardless of lineup, and a welcome sight over the past three years, and hopefully we hear more from Joel, Beej, Dan, Ric, Adam, and Brad in the future!

Also today, have you been wondering where videos from last month's Trews concert at The Machine Shop have been? Honestly, I haven't found any public videos from the concert yet, but some media surrounding it has surfaced! Longtime SooToday contributor Donna Hopper returned to cover the show for this article, which features 20 colour photos from February 25th, including 13 of the headlining Nova Scotia hard rock band and 7 of openers Eddy & The Dirty Boys. Donna noted that The Trews' tour bus broke down in Dryden between dates, and that they endured highway closures due to inclement weather (readers of this post on March 16th may relate to that!) before finally making it to the Soo on schedule, and she also revealed a selection of the songs played by The Trews three weeks ago. Solid work with some predictably strong pictures, so give everything a look at this link!

While I have yet to find public videos from the show itself, Trews frontman Colin MacDonald was interviewed earlier that day from the Soo for the news piece below that aired on CTV News Northern Ontario! Conducted by anchor/former Sault Ste. Marie city councillor Tony Ryma, the interview sees Colin talking about how the tour is going, the tour bus & weather issues, their long work together, and their Ontario connections (two band members are actually from Northern Ontario originally). Effective promotion with a regional bent from the former MCTV, and longer than I assumed, so if you missed the piece on channel 2/11, give it a watch below!

Let's close today with the latest from local hard rock solo musician Mike McCleary, so how did 2026 start for him? On February 28th, he revealed on his Facebook page that the first single for his next solo album has been recorded and was in the mixing process at that time. Progress was steady, and he hoped to give details "in the near future". The album proper will have 8 songs touching on a variety of topics, and he is still working with Swedish indie label Rexius Records on the final product. We've heard nothing new since, but Mike did post a new teaser video from the recording sessions on Facebook in December, which features 29 seconds of guitar soloing with orchestral dynamics, as filmed from tracking computer monitors. It is obviously way too soon to comment, but if you liked Mike's heavier sounds, you should take to this sample! Give the new video a watch below, and stay tuned for more Mike when it rolls in!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Hells Bells & Tym Morrison), More Concert Previews, And Recent Updates!!

Tonight's post wraps up this weekend's hard rock concert previews, with the major exception of Toystock, which gets an extended look on the SMS tomorrow! For now, we also have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), plus recent updates, so here's what you should know! 

Joining his previously announced Fraternal Order Of Eagles Club concert TOMORROW NIGHT, local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will also rock Misty's Fifties TOMORROW with a matinee gig prior! Apologies for the short notice, I had held off on adding Tym's end-of-year gigs to our listings when there weren't any other concerts of note to add to our listings, but I forgot to add them before tomorow's was short notice. In terms of Tym's lengthy relationship with Misty's, fans will be able to catch the former Caveman Morrison frontman at the Second Line West nightclub TOMORROW and then thrice next month (December 6th, 20th, and 27th), all also Saturday matinees. Busy end of year for Tym, so don't miss out on his final four Misty's gigs this year, not to mention tomorrow night's Eagles Club show, as he plays his final double header of 2025, so he'll be heading to Steelton after things wrap up at Misty's.

Tym ends 2025 back at The Eagles Club on New Year's Eve, for the record. TOMORROW'S and next month's Misty's shows are all 4:00 PM events, tomorrow night's show at Aerie #3991 is at 8:00 PM, the Misty's gigs are likely 19+, and none have an announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here for more on Tym's year-end acoustic hard rock cover shows at both venues, and here he is live!

Next up, Barrie-based AC/DC tribute band Hells Bells will return to Sault Ste. Marie on Friday, April 10th at The Sault Community Theatre Centre! One of a handful of different AC/DC tribute bands to play here over the years, local fans will have last seen them as original AC/DC frontman Dave Evans' backing band in May 2019 at The Rockstar Bar, where they also played an opening set on their own accord, but they last played a full headlining date of their own here in 2015. Definitely moving up in the world to book the former Kiwanis Theater, and it will be interesting to see how big of a crowd packs White Pines for their brand of high voltage rock n' roll in the spring! This show has a 7:30 PM start time, it is definitely all ages, and tickets are now on sale for a flat $45.20 at this link, with all rows having seats available at press time. Visit the above links for more on Hells Bells' return next year!

Also, let's resume this weekend's hard rock concert previews by heading to Soo Blaster, where local party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty will once again be the rock outliers on an otherwise all-hip hop concert TOMORROW, this time headlined by Guelph rapper Robbie G! This is effectively the sequel to Robbie G's shows here in April and in 2023 that The A.A. also opened for, not to mention the Tech N9ne, Madchild, and Afroman shows where Robbie and the band's paths also crossed. Clearly, these rap bookings for The Apocalypse Afterparty are going well, and hopefully they carve out another solid niche and make some more cross-genre fans tomorrow night with the double bass attack! Paul, Amanda, and Mikhal remain unacknowledged on the Facebook event page despite ample social media promotion on personal accounts (clearly they are the "& more"), but former As It Stands/Sault Side Squad frontman Justin "Nadj" Pregent is hosting.

Also performing tomorrow are Southern Ontario rappers M For The Movement with Capital "A" Plus and Lumberjack Pat, local MC Bold Noize, unspecified rappers from No Filter Records, and KG Tha SunGod. This is an all ages concert taking place tomorrow at 8:00 PM, and base tickets are $20 at this link or at the door, with VIP packages also available. If you like rap, there will be a lot of strong MCs here dropping rhymes, with a bit of a rock chaser from The Apocalypse Afterparty, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's the band live!

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 venue name:

 

• Sault Michigan hard rock trio (and Tarnished's all-original side project) Crush's most recent concert was out of town, as they opened for Tribe989 at Benet's Benefit Ride at the Bluegill Festival Pavilion in St. Helen (2 hours south of here) on November 8th. Not a lot was said about it on social media from what I found, but hopefully Crush and crew had a great show for the cause! 
• In a post on their Facebook page on Wednesday, The Algonquin Hotel's upstairs nightclub The Rockstar Bar revealed that they're looking for a DJ to work weekends there, and to send contact information if you're interested. Comments inquiring if the 864 Queen Street East venue was re-opening were not denied, so could we be seeing The Rockstar Bar opening to normal service for the first time since the summer of 2022? They spent the past 3+ years only hosting occasional private and ticketed events, as Silent 9 know well. This is encouraging news for sure, so we'll have to see what The Rockstar Bar has in store for 2026!
• I have replaced the link for 2012-2018 local hard rock quintet Skeyes of Seven from their (sadly) now deleted Facebook page to their still-up Bandmix page. Successors to the late 2000s hard rock band Sense of Truth, Skeyes of Seven had a lot of promise and solid original material, but only played five sporadic concerts. Don't miss Cory in Bullet Train or Alain & Johnny in Half Past nowadays though!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Toystock preview on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Fluid 5ive), Plus New Live Concert Videos!!

Let's close out this weekend's hard rock concert previews while also getting caught up on some new video postings from the last while, so without any further adieu, here's what you should know for this rainy Thursday, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

Local classic/hard rock cover quintet Fluid 5ive will make their Esquire Club debuts with concerts TOMORROW NIGHT and, as missed on the site at the time, SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice on the Saturday gig, it was announced on the Facebook event page at the time in a comment, but the date given on the event page only ever said the Friday nighter, so the addendum passed us by. One week removed from their Water Tower Pub debut, this veteran group will continue their slow spread across local venues as they hit the west end tomorrow and on SATURDAY, so keep Colin, Liam, Pierre, Jeff, and Rob's shows in mind for your weekend plans! As usual for Esquire Club gigs, tomorrow's & SATURDAY's Fluid 5ive shows have 19+ age limits and no announced cover charge, and 9:30 PM start times are advertised. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Fluid 5ive live!

Next up, here's more videos from Christopher Paci's YouTube channel of last week's Dave Evans/Hells Bells concert at The Rockstar Bar! After some initial staggering of his uploads, Chris posted the rest of his videos of Hells Bells (with and without Dave) on YouTube on Monday, so what else did he get? Regarding the standalone set by the Barrie AC/DC tribute band, Chris also shot them covering "If You Want Blood (You Got It)" and "Thunderstruck", which will satiate AC/DC diehard fans nicely, though again, the vocals are a little soft. Of course, Hells Bells also served as the backing band for Dave Evans' headlining set (albeit after their guitarist changed out of his Angus getup), so what all did Chris film of the original AC/DC founder that night? Most of the videos are of Dave tackling songs by his old band, both from his early run with the group and the Bon Scott era, including versions of "Can I Sit Next To You Girl", "TNT", "Highway To Hell", and "Let There Be Rock", plus their Big Joe Williams cover "Baby Please Don't Go", so you can see how Dave handles the classics!

As well, two songs of Dave's from his own solo pursuits were filmed, including "Go Wild" from his 2017 album with the band Barbed Wire, and as embedded below, "Rock 'n Roll or Bust". Now, as you may assume, Bon Scott comparisons are inevitable, and Dave's voice has a deeper and more direct quality to it that will take some adjusting if you're not familiar with him. That said, he's a solid frontman, and it's very neat to hear the original AC/DC frontman interpreting these songs locally! Kudos to Chris again for the uploads, and check out Dave Evans & Hells Bells in the Soo above & below!



Also, here's a new video of classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck covering Styx's "Too Much Time On My Hands" at the aforementioned Esquire Club this past Saturday! This was uploaded to drummer Glen Thomas' YouTube channel on Monday. Fans won't get to see the Mourning Wood successors on a local stage this weekend due to a Wawa road trip, but this rendition (sung by guitarist Travis Sharpe) may help! The audio quality is fine, and the deeper singing works fine on it, but the visual quality is somewhat muddy with inconsistent lighting. Give it a look below, and stay tuned for much more from Soundcheck in the coming weeks!



Finally for today, here's a new video of local acoustic hard rock cover trio The Wyld Stallyns playing at The Whiskey Barrel... this past Friday?! Profuse apologies for missing that show on here, it was announced that Tuesday on their Facebook page but it completely slipped us by. The Whiskey Barrel (the new Scottish themed bar/restaurant at 113 Gore Street) is still very new to our coverage, I will work harder to ensure shows there are covered here! Erroneously posted to their Facebook page twice, this video was filmed by attendee Steven Hewgill (the star of the local Tommy production in 2015), and it features the Stallyns covering The Band's "The Weight" alongside a drum circle of sorts, with five different guests hitting a hand drum on this night, Rob & Jesse's Elements bandmate Jonas Gasperas among them.

Not a whole lot for Christina to do here, but it's a solid campfire-esque jam, and the visual of five drummers playing alongside is definitely unique for a band covered on the SMS! I apologize again for missing this concert on here, but take a load off and give this new Wyld Stallyns video a look below!



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

Anvil's Return To Sault Ste. Marie, Plus New Live Performance Videos!!

Here's a new news post to check out on this Sunday afternoon, so what's in store? Lots of big updates from a prominent local solo artist (including an apology for a missed concert), a new live concert video from just yesterday, and leading off, big updates to a previously announced concert, which now has a brand new and very notable headline act!

Remember how Edmonton metal quintet Striker are playing at Soo Blaster on Sunday, June 9th with locals Re:Born opening? Well, we know a lot more on that show now, as Striker aren't headlining: Toronto metal legends Anvil are! After headlining at The Canadian Nightclub in 2012 & 2014 and at The Rockstar Bar in 2015, the "Metal on Metal" icons and eponymous documentary stars will finally return to Sault Ste. Marie for another night of entertaining originals from across their career, including from last year's new album "Pounding The Pavement." It's great to have Anvil back in town after a 4 year wait, so don't miss them at Soo Blaster next month! As for the teased second local openers, they will be punk/metal quintet Jack Spades (fronted by co-promoter J.D. Pearce), who opened for Anvil at their last two local dates and at a short Northern Ontario tour run in 2014, so they're a great pick to reprise that role! For what it's worth, the new Facebook event page lists Striker between the local bands.

As this is no longer just a Striker concert, the advance ticket price has doubled from $10 to $20 (or $25 at the door), and it now has a 7:30 PM start time, but it remains a 19+ event. A VIP package also exists that includes a private booth for 6 people costing $200, so keep that in mind also, and advance tickets of any stripe are on sale at Soo Blaster. Suddenly, this concert has been injected with a lot more metal, so don't miss Anvil, Striker, and locals for another big Soo Blaster concert in just over a month's time!

Next up, here's a new video from last night's Hells Bells (and Dave Evans) concert at The Rockstar Bar, courtesy of Christopher Paci's excellent YouTube channel once again! At press time, he has only posted two videos from Hells Bells' Dave-less set, but if he posts anything with the original AC/DC frontman, we will let you guys know. Chris' clips features the Barrie-based AC/DC tribute band tackling "Back In Black" and, as embedded below, their eponymous song, and while the vocals seem not as raspy as we know Brian to be with the actual band, the renditions are solid overall. Give it a look below, and keep watch in case videos with Dave Evans surface!



Let's wrap things up in Sault Michigan, starting with the latest from Banned frontman and local solo musician Alex Traynor, who recently got another local television performance under his belt! Like in March, Alex was the featured performer on the "Friday Sessions" segment on 9&10 News' lifestyle newsmagazine series The Four last week, where local viewers got to see him play the title track from his "Crazy World" EP. Similarly filmed as his March performance, this is a nice unplugged rendition of this harder rocking track, and hopefully it gets Alex lots of exposure across the Cadillac-Traverse City TV market! I can't embed 9&10 News website videos here, but you can watch it at this link, even if you're in Sault Ontario, and watch The Four on channel 10 (Spectrum) or 10.1 (antenna) on Fridays for more regional musicians! Now, Alex was back in Sault Ste. Marie this weekend for a Thursday matinee gig at Kewadin Casino, but that was't all for him back home!

I profusely apologize for missing this, but Alex played a special 2:00 PM matinee gig yesterday at Biggby Coffee at 2502 Ashmun Street, which was only announced on the venue's Facebook page on Thursday. Biggby Coffee tends to host solo acoustic performers in early timeslots, sometimes as part of open mic nights, so it's not a venue that often comes across our radar, but I do apologize again, we'd have covered it on the site had we known about it! For what it's worth, Insipid Brutality/Condemned alum Tyler Dettloff played an acoustic matinee show of his own today, though I don't know much about his music work nowadays. As it turns out, Biggby Coffee actually shot two videos of Alex's set for their Facebook page, including this distant clip of him covering Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary", but embedded below is a much closer, face-forward video of Alex covering Matchbox Twenty's "Push". Both are on a vertical camera angle, but that's fine for a solo performer.

Alex seems to be in his element with these unplugged clips, and while the cover choices are softer than his studio originals, remember that this is a coffee shop (part of a big chain, no less) at 2:00 in the afternoon. Solidly done renditions overall, especially if you can get past the distant view on "Prud Mary", so give Alex's videos a look above & below, and we'll try harder to stay on top of Biggby Coffee gigs if they happen to fit the SMS' coverage!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck), More Weekend Concert Previews, And A New Video!!

As promised, let's wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews before we lose track of time! For previews of this weekend's Tym Morrison, Fluid 5ive, and Alex Traynor shows (plus the We Will Rock You production), visit the post below this one! We're tackling shows on both sides of the border tonight, plus apparent lineup shifts in one band, with a new concert video too, so let's begin with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced these shows via their Facebook event page earlier today, and these gigs are not listed on their concert calendar posted on Facebook in February. Just two weeks removed from their last stops at this fan favourite west end venue, Soundcheck are promising to make up for those shows, as members were battling various illnesses that weekend. Assuming everyone is free and clear health-wise now, TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT'S concerts should provide more hard rocking good times from this talented group, so don't miss Soundcheck then! These shows have 10:00 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, we'll head to the E.U.P., where Sault Michigan classic/hard rock veterans Highway 63 are slated to return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! These are Highway 63's first announced shows since rocking the Dondee in February, and will be their first St. Ignace stops since January. However, changes may be afoot in Highway 63, as frontman Henry Switzer was teasing that the band playing this weekend will feature "¾s of The Mamas Boys and half of Highway 63", a lineup that has been rehearsing for the last month & a half, and will be "one of the best darn bands in this town." In case you don't recall, The Mamas Boys were a classic rock quartet in the early-mid 2000s that (as of 2007) featured Henry and Highway 63 keyboardist Brian Drumheller alongside brothers Ray and Russell Mayer on bass & drums. No, they weren't the same band as Jager/Monkey's Uncle.

Given the hints Henry made regarding the lineup this weekend, did Highway 63 enlist one of the Mayers to replace George or Justin in their lineup? That seems like the easiest explanation, but we'll let you know when something is stated publically. You can see this new(?) supergroup incarnation of Highway 63 tomorrow and Saturday at 9:00 PM with no announced cover charges and a 21+ age limit. See above for more details, and here's Highway 63 live!



Lastly for this weekend's hard rock concert previews, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for one more big concert, as original AC/DC frontman Dave Evans will make his local concert debut THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar! Though long overshadowed by his successors, Dave was AC/DC's first lead singer from 1973-1974, and was in the band for their first single release, so he is an important historical member of the Australian hard rock legends. Sonically, Dave does not resemble Bon or Brian, with a deeper yet more melodic singing voice, so how will he sound to a local audience tackling both his and Bon's era of the band, plus select originals and covers? You can find out tomorrow! Originally, Dave was advertised to be playing alongside an AC/DC tribute band named Thunderstruck, but this was changed in mid-April, as this tour run will actually see Dave playing alongside/after Barrie-based AC/DC tribute band Hells Bells, who will be familiar to readers from our past coverage!

Fans will recall seeing Hells Bells locally for shows in 2010 & 2015, though two attempts at a local booking in 2016 failed to take place as scheduled, so hopefully the third time will be the charm during their 25th anniversary celebrations! It's not clear if Hells Bells will be opening with a Dave-less set or not. Tickets for this 19+ concert are $16 in advance at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk, or $20 at the door, and an 8:00 PM start time is advertised. It will be very interesting to hear how Dave Evans goes over with AC/DC fans locally this weekend, but a good time is in the cards, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Dave live!



We'll close today with a new live concert video from local independent label Blood Shed Productions' YouTube channel, featuring label head Tyler Gibson playing a solo set at the West of Hell concert at The New American Pub on April 17th, but as which project? The show was advertised to feature his rarely seen cybergrind project Malignant Neoplasm, but this video is credited to his better known goregrind act Crucify the Whore. Unreported switch, belated retcon, or intentionally blurred lines? In any event, the prior video of this set felt more like C.T.W. aside from maybe some extra backing effects, so judge for yourselves. The 2 minute video features two short clips of whichever of Tyler's bands this is, with the first half featuring him shredding a solid riff, and the second half featuring his requisite pig squeal vocals, but they are quieter in the mix via this recording. The vertical camera angle works fine given that this is a one man band, so I won't nitpick the orientation here.

While I'm still not as used to Tyler without long hair, the performance is solid and it feels like C.T.W. in their heyday (if not necessarily Malignant Neoplasm!) Nice to see him playing a little more often again, so give this video a look below, and stay tuned for more on Tyler's studio work soon!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Mourning Wood & The 3 Day Millionaires), Sault Ontario Concert Previews, And More!!

This is a good time to tackle most of this weekend's concert previews, but first, we have a concert cancellation, as Barrie-based AC/DC tribute band Hells Bells have been forced to postpone THIS SATURDAY'S Rockstar Bar concert due to an undisclosed family emergency. This was confirmed by The Rockstar Bar's Martin Fiser on the Facebook event page, noting that they are working to reschedule for next month, and while previously bought tickets will be accepted for the planned make-up date, you can get refunds at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk. This show had already been postponed from the original May date, and while a 2016 local stop appears to be cursed, hopefully things work out regarding the family emergency, and that we see Hells Bells back here soon! They have been replaced on short notice by classic rock veterans Mid Life Crysis in a rare Rockstar Bar appearance, so if you're up for a night of oldies and classic rock, keep them in mind!

Now, let's move into Sault Ontario concert previews, starting with some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS! First, Local classic/hard rock cover quartet The 3 Day Millionaires will return to The Rockstar Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the show via their Facebook event page yesterday. A one-nighter due to Saturday's Hells Bells-turned-Mid Life Crysis show, this will mark The 3 Day Millionaires third show with new guitarist Bill Brouillard, and first since Halloween night. That weekend was extremely packed for local concerts (as usual), so if you missed the new lineup's debut, you have an extra chance to see The Millionaires at The Rockstar Bar TOMORROW, so keep this union of Boxcar Junction, Lucky 13, Sneaky Pete, and Havadder alumni in mind! As now usual for single-band local shows at The Rockstar Bar, there is no announced cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and a start time of 10:30 PM. See above for more details, and here's The 3 Day Millionaires live!

Next up, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will return to The Rednecks Saloon for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, as these shows actually had a week's notice (an eternity for them), but we couldn't fit them into a post at the time before things got too soon to plug twice in a short span. Notably, these shows follow a surprise concert weekend by Mourning Wood founders Terry Eaton & Steven Flint alongside Terry's ex-Carbon Black bandmate Travis Sharpe as "a band with no name", and while I can't confirm if last weekend's shows at the former Nicolet were originally planned to be Mourning Wood shows or not, at least Paul and Glen will be on hand for the full experience TOMORROW & SATURDAY! As usual, you can take in their classic and hard rock covers and fan requests at 10:00 PM both nights, these also have 19+ age limits, and neither has a cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Mourning Wood live!
 

Finally for today, we'll close at Gliss Steak & Seafood, where prolific hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison is scheduled to continue his long-term weekly concert arrangement TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY! With his thrice-weekly matinees continuing to provide solid entertainment for fans of his unplugged hard rock covers, Tym should be a reliably entertaining presence at Gliss once again this weekend, so keep his shows at The Quality Inn's house restaurant in mind for this weekend, including TONIGHT! As usual for Tym's lengthy run at Gliss, there are no announced cover charges or age limits for these 6:00 PM events, but remember that this is a sit-down restaurant, not a typical bar or concert venue. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our 415E preview in St. Ignace in our next news post, plus this month's Defunct Local Band Profile soon as well! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Hells Bells, Original Song Contest, And Halloween Party), And More Concert Previews!!

Before we begin today's post, one of this weekend's concerts was quietly cancelled, namely tomorrow's Deathsticks-headlined show at The New American Pub. Promoters confirmed on the Facebook event page last week that the Whitby garage punk duo can't make the trip due to work obligations, which is disappointing, but hopefully Deathsticks can come here in the future, and that we see the debuts of local openers Dark Garfunkel and Sleeping Together elsewhere! Now, here's three LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one for TOMORROW) and the rest of the weekend's concert previews!

Tidal Records' previously announced songwriters competition goes down TOMORROW NIGHT at LopLops Lounge, and yes, some hard rock and punk artists are performing! Apologies for the short notice, the lineup was first publically announced last week, though it has since been updated. Though this isn't considered a "battle of the bands", 10 local musicians (largely singer/guitarists) will convene at LopLops TOMORROW to compete to have an original song recorded with Tidal Records head Dustin Jones, Lake Effect frontman Frank Deresti, and Case's Music owner Jay Case at Dustin's own Mission Control Studios, including a digital release package, and the option to have studio musicians back them up if so desired. Performers will include hard rock and punk band alumni Justin Langlois (Redundant), Ed Vowels (Lucky 13), Cory Murchison (Skeyes of Seven), Andrew Pucci (Stereo North), and Jim O'Leary (ex-Griphook), alongside Nathan Albidone (Thin Ice), Jacob Quarrell (Shit Creek Survivor), and solo artists Tyler Moreau, Jenna Bannister, and Amanda Ridley, while Greg Callaghan (Northwest) is no longer listed as competing for unannounced reasons.

Nice roster of performers, including some unfamiliar faces, and it will be interesting to see who all plays what! Maybe some artists will break out new originals for their current bands, or resurrect songs we haven't heard in a long while? Each artist will apparently play two original songs and a cover song TOMORROW, with a $5 cover charge in effect for attendees of this 19+ event, which presumably has a 9:00 PM-ish start time, though I'm not sure about who all is judging or if there are runner-up prizes. Given the competitive nature, we won't feature a preview video here, but best of luck to all performers TOMORROW, and don't miss out for some diverse acoustic original music at LopLops!

Next up, and also in the realm of Tidal Records, promoter J.D. Pearce is hosting his 12th annual Halloween Party concert at The Algonquin Pub on Saturday, October 29th! Returning to The Algonquin Hotel's downstairs bar for the fourth time in five years, this year's Halloween bash will see an all-local lineup for just the second time since the Halloween Party left Coch's Corner in 2012, while the event is taking on a tribute band theme for a second straight year. The announced headliners are Hey, What About Us?!, a one-off tribute to Me First & The Gimme Gimmes, the punk band best known for covers of decidedly un-punk songs. Though their lineup isn't publically listed, promoter J.D. Pearce is their apparent frontman, marking his return as an official performer after not fully fronting a band last year. We'll let you know if their full lineup is announced! Local hard rock quartet Eclipse will join in as well on the 29th as "SSM of a Down", obviously covering System of a Down songs.

The advertised openers are funk/hard rock quartet The Elements, who will trade last year's Sublime tribute set for a general 1990s rock tribute this year under the moniker "The Plaid Martens". Solid lineup once again, and you've got to love the concept of Hey, What About Us?! doing a covers-only set of a covers-only band! A $5 cover charge is in effect for this year's 19+ concert, which will start at around 10:00 PM, and of course, bring your costumes, and expect a costume contest of some description! This should be another fun night of Halloween punk and hard rock action, so keep it in mind for in two weeks time, and visit the official Facebook event page for updates!

Lastly in new concert announcements, The Rockstar Bar will welcome back Barrie-based AC/DC tribute band Hells Bells for a headlining concert on Saturday, November 12th! Last seen at the same venue almost one year ago, this concert is basically a make-up date for Hells Bells' cancelled local date in May (Project 421 replaced them on late notice), and while I'm still not 100% sure what happened in the spring, it's great to see Hells Bells back with their brand of high voltage rock n' roll next month! AC/DC fans are sure to appreciate their faithful sounding and looking tribute to the hard rock legends, so circle this one on your calendars! Possibly because of the cancellation and delay, advance tickets are now $10 rather than $12 in May, though the admission fee will jump to $15 at the door, so get your tickets at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk to save $5! This is a 19+ event, and while an oddly early 7:00 PM start time is listed, expect it to be more like 10:00 PM. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

We'll close today with the weekend's remaining hard rock concert preview, including the local debuts of two Sudbury hard rock bands at The Rockstar Bar TOMORROW NIGHT, including headlining rock quartet The Blackwood Sinners and alternative rock quartet Vintage Slang! Fans of bluesy hard rock should take to The Blackwood Sinners, who have had a steadily rising profile in the Sudbury area since debuting, and their effective originals should draw a solid response in their local debut tomorrow, so be sure to check them out! Vintage Slang (replacing fellow Sudbury rockers The Fortunate Losers) will provide a nice compliment to kick off this concert, having established themselves in the Sudbury rock scene in recent months by winning this year's Q92 Rock Rumble, and their diverse influences should carry them to a quality set as well tomorrow! A local band is announced on the Facebook event page, but they have not been publically confirmed, if even still planned to play. This 19+ concert has a 9:00 PM door opening time and $7 cover charge.

It's great to see more Sudbury bands playing in Sault Ste. Marie (we don't see enough bands from there making the trip west), and both bands should deliver a solid dose of hard rock for fans at The Rockstar Bar, so check the above links for more details, and here's The Blackwood Sinners live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 421 & The 3 Day Millionaires), Concert Cancellations, And A New Video!!

Before our review of last night's Project 421 show goes up on the site, we have a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and related show cancellation to take note of, so we'll round things out with some more new shows and cancellations, and a new video posting! Now, here's what you need to know! (Updated at 1:05 AM)

Local classic metal quintet Project 421 and sister modern hard rock band Eclipse have been enlisted to replace Barrie AC/DC tribute band Hells Bells TONIGHT at The Rockstar Bar for their second show in as many days there! Apologies for the obviously short notice, we only heard about the replacement via guitarist Blair Burch's personal Facebook page this morning, with this Facebook event page following to confirm Eclipse's involvement. Martin Fiser from the venue confirmed on The Rockstar Bar's Facebook group this morning that the Hells Bells show "has been postponed", with a rescheduling to be announced soon, and while advance tickets purchased for tonight will be honoured for the new date, ticket holders can get a refund at The Algonqin Hotel's front desk if desired. A reason for Hells Bells dropping out wasn't given, but I don't believe it's related to the recent renovations at the venue, as Project 421's show last night went off without a hitch. Disappointing news, but hopefully Hells Bells are back A.S.A.P.!

As a result, Project 421 & Eclipse make sense to double up, as they had strong sets last night, and hopefully they can deliver similarly on short notice TONIGHT! In Shit Creek Survivor's place, Curtis McKenzie (who fronts both bands) will open TONIGHT with a rare solo set, where he'll play acoustic originals & 1990s covers, which should be very intriguing for fans of his somewhat mysterious solo project, so come early for all of the action! There's a 10:00 PM-ish start time, a $5 cover charge, and a 19+ age limit in effect, so see above for more details, and here's Project 421 live!



Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet The 3 Day Millionaires are advertised to rock The Rockstar Bar on Friday, May 27th & Saturday, May 28th! Though neither the venue nor band has confirmed the bookings online yet, the dates are included on paper flyers of the May 2016 schedule that are distributed at the venue itself, so there's your source until an online announcement is made. Last seen at The Park Grille last week, this will be the first Rockstar Bar weekend from this union of Havadder, Boxcar Junction, and Lucky 13 alumni since the St. Patrick's Day weekend. The 3 Day Millionaires are fast becoming fan favourites, so don't miss their next announced shows at The Rockstar Bar at month's end! As usual for their shows there, a 10:00 PM-ish start time is in effect, you must be 19 or older to attend, and there's no announced cover charges. See above for more details, and stay tuned for more from The 3 Day Millionaires!

For reference sake, the same flyer at The Rockstar Bar also lists fellow classic/hard rock veterans Havadder as having played there this past Saturday, but from what I can tell, the venue never confirmed the show online, and Havadder haven't posted on their Facebook page since March, so I doubt the show took place. If we're wrong though, my sincere apologies, and hopefully we see Havadder back soon either way!

Also, we have some concert cancellations to take note of, as it looks like The Park Grille's live band experiment has abruptly ended after just six weeks. We noted this briefly in our second post yesterday, but the news came out via members of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood's personal Facebook pages last night, revealing that the Industrial Park Crescent restaurant (depending on your source) has either ceased concert bookings until further notice, or permanently. As such, Mourning Wood's show there last night did not take place (they instead played an ultra-late notice show at The Rednecks Saloon, apologies for missing it on here!), and we have removed The 3 Day Millionaires' & Mourning Wood's Park Grille shows over the next two Fridays from our concert listings. Mourning Wood drummer Glen Thomas cited revenue concerns and retaining dinner crowds as factors in the decision via his personal Facebook page, but note that The Park Grille has not confirmed anything online since.

The Park Grille had hosted live bands since the beginning of April, with blues rockers Mojo also among the three-band roster, and while it's disappointing to see the live band experiment end this soon, I know all three will have lots more concerts in store for the near future! And apologies again for missing Mourning Wood's late Rednecks Saloon show, we'd have plugged it had we heard about it beforehand!

We'll close today with a new Shaw TV feature on local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades! Posted to Shaw's local YouTube channel on Thursday after an earlier run on channel 10's rotation (which I don't recall being plugged online by the band), this combines multi-camera video footage from the band's set at March's second annual Speak Easy Battle of the Bands with interview clips that were shot at last month's Motherfuckers-headlined show at The Oddfellows Hall, with Id Iota frontman Christian Lemay filming (at least) the concert clips. The interview features Jack Spades (sans guitarist Jesse Cook) discussing their formation and early beginnings, their experiences playing out of town and opening for major punk bands, the unpredictability of their concerts, and more, and it's an informative piece that gives Jack Spades some solid press! Give the full video a look below, and don't miss Jack Spades at drummer Johnny Belanger's birthday show next week!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Project 421 concert review from last night next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Mourning Wood) & Most Of This Weekend's Sault Ontario Concert Previews!!

With another busy concert weekend upon us, here's the first of the hard rock concert previews for the coming days! Due to the amount, we'll be reserving Sault Michigan-area previews and Sunday's Lost Love concert at The New A for tomorrow's previews, so look for them then, and yes, we'll touch on any super-late notice shows if announced as well. Now, let's get started with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local classic/hard rock cover favourites Mourning Wood will play at The Rednecks Saloon THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, one day after their previously announced Park Grille return takes place TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice on SATURDAY's show, we only heard about it via drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page earlier this week, and while he admitted that the show was a "last minute" booking, at least there's more warning than their Reggie's Place gigs tend to get. This should be a busy weekend as usual for Mourning Wood, with Glen confirming that they'll be playing as a trio this weekend (I'd assume that bassist Paul Belair will be absent), so if you miss their original power trio days, these shows may be of note! Remember, their show tomorrow was postponed from last week after they switched dates at the Industrial Park Crescent restaurant with The 3 Day Millionaires, who were originally advertised for tomorrow.

Tomorrow's Park Grille show is an 8:00 PM event, while SATURDAY NIGHT'S Rednecks show will likely be at 10:00 PM with a 19+ age limit, and neither show has an announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details, and here's Mourning Wood live!



Next up, let's move to some previously announced concerts, starting with the return of local classic metal quintet Project 421 to the stage TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar! After almost 4 months off due to varying personal matters, this talented quintet will break out their old school metal covers and originals once again for this headlining concert, and they should deliver a fun and heavy set (or two?) tomorrow night, with some new material in tow! Their sister band, modern hard rock quartet Eclipse, will open in their first show since last month's Rednecks Rock Bash, and they'll obviously be great fits, especially if you want to see 3/5ths of Project 421 tackling newer songs! Opening will be Jacob "Shit Creek Survivor" Quarrell in a solo acoustic set, and while his indie/folk material is a definite contrast from tomorrow's bands, his talents and PaperClip Productions ties will help set the mood, so come early to check him out! However, I can't confirm if the recent renovations at The Algonquin Hotel will impact this concert.

Promoted by Project 421 bassist/Eclipse guitarist Daniel Horton, this show has a $5 cover charge (presumably as it's a multi-band event), and doors open at 9:00 PM, while you must be 19 or older to attend. This should be a great concert for metal and hard rock fans, and with the long wait to see Project 421 back on stage, definitely don't take this one for granted! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Project 421 live!



We'll head back to The Rockstar Bar in a second, but let's first touch on local hard rock singer/guitarst Tym Morrison's next solo acoustic concerts, which will see him rock Gliss Steak & Seafood at The Quality Inn once again TOMORROW & SATURDAY! As Tym's ongoing weekly concert arrangement at Gliss marches on, fans at the downtown restaurant should take to his skilled blend of unplugged covers once again, so if you enjoy his music and/or have missed his recent Gliss shows, be there for either of this weekend's matinees! Like usual for Tym's series here, there's no announced cover charges, 6:00 PM start times, and no announced age limits for tomorrow or Saturday, but remember where they are being held. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and for a preview, here's Tym live!



Finally for this preview post, we'll head back to The Rockstar Bar for the return of Barrie-based AC/DC tribute band Hells Bells THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen locally in November at a very well received concert, this entertaining tribute will being their faithful looking and sounding brand of high voltage rock n' roll back to the local stage, and AC/DC fans will definitely be interested to see Hells Bells in action on Saturday! Again, I have no idea if The Algonquin Hotel's recent renovations will impact this concert at all, but remember that Bon Jovi Forever went on as scheduled last week. Advance tickets for this concert are on sale at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk for $12 (it's not clear if the door charge will be higher, but prepare for that scenario), you must be 19 or older to attend, and an early start time of 8:00 PM is advertised, though a later actual start time wouldn't surprise me. For more details, visit the Facebook event page, and here's Hells Bells live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for Sault Michigan and Lost Love previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Hedley, Hells Bells, Detroit Rock City, And Lost Love!!)

Before I head off to TONIGHT'S Gorod-headlined concert at The Oddfellows Hall, here's a stacked post devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS from next month through July! We're half looking at touring tribute bands, and half looking at pop punk concerts, with the last two notable big in scope, so here's what you should know!

Barrie-based AC/DC tribute band Hells Bells will return to Sault Ontario for a headlining concert on Saturday, May 14th at The Rockstar Bar! After a successful local return back in November at the same venue, this talented tribute to the Australian hard rock legends will surely be another entertaining blast of high voltage rock n' roll, so definitely keep this one in mind for next month! For tribute band fans, this show also joins the previously announced Bon Jovi Forever tribute concert on May 6th at The Rockstar Bar, whose Facebook event page also went up earlier this week. $12 tickets are now on sale at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk (it's not clear if they'll increase at the door), you must be 19 or older to attend, and there's an early 8:00 PM start time in effect. This should be a great concert for AC/DC fans, especially given Hells Bells' faithful sound and crowd-pleasing live show, so for more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up, another new concert is now scheduled for that same weekend, just one day after the Hells Bells show, as Montreal alternative/punk quartet Lost Love will make their local concert debut at The New American Pub on Sunday, May 15th! An intriguing mix of pop punk with raspy, attitude-inflected vocals, Lost Love should find a solid audience for this New A show next month, so don't miss out if you want to see some pop/alt-punk in the Soo! Only one local support band is advertised, they being pop punk quintet Northwest, who will end a 9 month concert hiatus next month for their first show of the year. No word on where Northwest have been lately, but it's great to see them back at it! Promoted by Six, Two, Oh. in a slight deviation from their norm, this 19+ concert has a $5 cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time. Check the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for updates when & if they come in!

In a brief detour to Sault Michigan, Detroit-based Kiss tribute band Detroit Rock City will make their own local debut when they rock The Soo Theater at 534 Ashmun Street on Saturday, June 11th! It's been a very long time since we've mentioned a concert at The Soo Theater on here, but the venue (in association with local bar Moloney's Alley) are hosting the Raise The Roof Summer Concert Series from next week through August that will see 5 out of town bands come north for concerts at the theater. All proceeds from the series will go towards reviving The Soo Theater and making it a year-round concerts/events venue, which is a great idea for historical and entertainment reasons alike, so hopefully each show has a huge turnout! Detroit Rock City are the only hard rock-leaning band on the schedule, but their authentic looking and sounding tribute to Kiss should electrify fans in Sault Michigan in two months time, so don't miss them! Admission for this and all other Raise The Roof shows is $15 and you can buy them in advance at this link or at the door. Sadly, all are 21+, but all start at 7:00 PM.

VIP ticket passes for all of the series' shows are also available for $65 (a total $20 savings), while donations are also being accepted online. For reference, the other Raise the Roof shows include Wisconsin blues quartet The Organgrinders next weekend, Ann Arbor bluegrass quintet Dragon Wagon on June 17th & 18th, Traverse City indie rock trio The Accidentals on July 22nd & 23rd, and fellow Traverse City folk musician Billy Strings on August 5th. With The Soo Theater's future as a year-round events venue hanging in the balance, hopefully this summer concert series is a huge success, so see the above links for more details on it and Detroit Rock City!

Finally, we'll return to Sault Ontario for a huge summer concert on Abbotsford, B.C. power pop/punk quartet Hedley will make their long awaited return to our area when they rock The Yard at 75 Huron Street on Friday, July 1st during the downtown outdoor venue's Canada Day Kicker! Last seen here at The Essar Center in November 2010, the Jacob Hoggard-led band has attained a lot of domestic success in recent years with hits like "On My Own", "Crazy For You", and "Everything", and while the Juno Award winners' newer material has drifted from punk, Hedley should get a huge turnout on Canada Day! Support will come via all-female Toronto indie rock quartet The Beaches (a very talented band in their genre) and local/Toronto punk/Celtic quartet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide in their first local concert date of the year! No word yet on who will be drumming for them in July, but it's great to see Dustin & the Jaaskelainens back on a local stage, let alone at a concert this big, so don't miss out on The Tide's return with Hedley and The Beaches!

Notably the first concert of any genre at The Yard since The Tech (the former St. Mary's College) bought it from Mill Square, the Canada Day Kicker will be rounded out by a show from Barrie country musician Kira Isabella on July 2nd, so keep that in mind also! A "Play in the Yard" suite of attractions, food, and family events for the occasion will also be on site that weekend. Tickets go on sale TODAY for $48 for both shows, with $89 passes for both shows, and $132 for VIP admission for both. These are ALL AGES events with gates opening at 6:00 PM. Check the above links for full details, click here to buy your tickets, and stay tuned for more on this huge Hedley concert!

That's all for today, but we'll see you guys at The Oddfellows Hall for Gorod, Bookakee, and local bands TONIGHT! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Stiffler's Mom), More Weekend Concert Previews, And A Band Breakup?!

With an unusually busy concert weekend for early November, here's our second weekend concert preview post, and if there's any extremely late notice hard rock shows to touch on, look for them tomorrow! Now, we have previews on both sides of the border, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, and an apparent band breakup impacting shows this weekend, so here's what you should know, and check out our first of the weekend's concert previews in the post below this one!

Local party hard rock cover trio Stiffler's Mom will return to the stage for one night only THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at The Canadian Nightclub! Apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced on the venue's Facebook group on Wednesday. Filling in for singer/drummer Greg Simpson's country band Bone Yard after guitarist Alex D'Ettore broke his wrist, the bands are still returning to The Canadian this weekend after Maxx Entertainment took last weekend off to focus on the Tommy production. Hopefully Alex heals up fast, but Stiffler's Mom's fun sound and strong reputation should lead to a good turnout on Saturday! No word on why Stiffler's Mom aren't playing tomorrow night though, but for reference, Bone Yard were scheduled to play the Friday too before they dropped out. There is no announced cover charge on Saturday, you must be at least 19 to attend, and there's a 9:00 PM start time. Check the above links for more details, and here's Stiffler's Mom live last summer!



Moving to previously announced concerts, we were planning to look at this weekend's concerts from Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Ten Kings at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino for tomorrow & Saturday night, but I have doubts that they're playing now. Why? Because their Facebook page was quietly deleted for unannounced reasons at some point in the past three weeks, and that has historically been a good indicator that a band has broken up (also, their Instagram page was made private.) I have not seen any official statements about Ten Kings' status on members' personal Facebook pages since their last shows in the Soo over the October 24th weekend, and I'll monitor things in case something comes out, but we won't treat these shows as on unless something is publically said otherwise. Sadly, without an active online page (I wish they'd have left it up), we'll have to delete Ten Kings from our band links as well.

If Ten Kings are indeed defunct, this is very surprising and sudden, especially given how fast they'd risen since launching in January, including their set opening for Theory of a Deadman this summer, and a strong lineup featuring many familiar faces, but you can still see bassist Barney Gravelle in Retro Troop in the meantime. It'd be nice to be wrong, but if they have dissolved, best of luck to Brandon, Joe, Barney, and Will in the future!

However, there is one hard rock show that is definitely going down this weekend in the E.U.P., albeit at an unusual venue, as Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned are scheduled to play a rare concert in their hometown THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at The Kinross Township Hall! More specifically, they'll playing at the Orioles' Club inside the hall at 4916 West Curtis Avenue, and while I don't recall prior hard rock concerts at this venue, I'm sure Banned don't mind playing in their hometown for a change! Saturday's show follows an off weekend for the Traynors & Wayne, and will mark their first show within an hour of the Soo since their St. Ignace stops three weeks ago, so if you've missed Banned's diverse & often heavy covers, head to Kinross on Saturday! If you'd prefer a local bar show however, they'll be live at The Runway Bar in Hessel next weekend, so keep those dates in mind.

For what it's worth, a Fall Fest has been held at The Orioles Club at this time in past years with dancing, music, beer, and so forth, and you can click here for details on 2013's, but I can't definitively say if Banned are playing at a 2015 Fall Fest installment or not. If it is, expect a $5 cover and 21+ age limit, but in any event, they are playing at an early start time of 8:00 PM. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Banned live last year!

Finally for this weekend's known hard rock previews, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for the long awaited return of Barrie-based AC/DC tribute band Hells Bells, as they'll be headlining at The Rockstar Bar THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Though we've never had a shortage of AC/DC tributes coming through the Soo in recent years (notably Who Made Who), this will be Hells Bells' first local stop since headlining at The Canadian Nightclub way back in May 2010, so if you liked and missed this band's dose of high voltage rock 'n roll in particular, the 5 year wait is over on Saturday night! I have seen them live, and they will definitely get AC/DC fans going, so keep this one in mind! Advance tickets for $12 are still available at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk, but The Rockstar Bar's Martin Fiser noted on the venue's Facebook group that tickets are 90% sold out, and there's no guarantees of availability at the door (but if you want to try, note that there has been no announced hike in the price at the door either.)

This concert is definitely a 19+ event, and a 10:30 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and if you love AC/DC, get your tickets A.S.A.P. to check out Hells Bells' faithful tribute set on Saturday night! For a preview, here's Hells Bells live in Orillia!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates in the coming days! Thanks everyone!