LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (PetFest & Bimbo), Plus The Sale Of Misty's Fifties!!

Let's try to quell a new backlog of stories that's growing around here, via two big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming weeks, plus news on a familiar local nightclub changing hands, so here's what you should know!

The next multi-band concert at the Pizza Hut in Sault Michigan will go down on Friday, October 23rd! Just one day removed from this year's LSSU Battle of the Bands (auditions close on Sunday), this Serious Business-promoted concert will actually feature three touring bands, two of which have been in the EUP in the past. Your headliners here are Detroit experimental/prog rock duo MRKT, while also making the trip to the Soo in two & a half weeks are Marquette art punk duo Bimbo (who headlined at Pizza Hut in May), and Muskegon "weirdo punk" trio Violet Scum, who you may remember headlining at Pickles Bar & Grill in Brimley in May of last year. There's a lot of eclectic sounds from these three bands, so do check them all out for a sampler of what to expect! Local punk duo About:Blank (who opened for both Bimbo and Violet Scum's prior shows in the EUP) will kick off the evening.

Parker & Kade will be less than a week removed from their headlining show at The Merch, and hopefully they keep their recent momentum up well here! This 18+ concert has a 7:00 PM start time, and admission will be $15, identical to the Bimbo show in May. Looks like another intriguing concert on Ashmun Street ahead, so if you're in the EUP or are able & willing to cross the border, don't bypass this action! Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, a huge fundraiser concert will take place at Blaster Powerhouse in Sault Ontario on Saturday, November 21st named PetFest! As the name may suggest, this event will be in support of The Sault Ste. Marie Humane Society, with 100% of proceeds going there, so if you wanna help animals in need and the work that goes into their care and adoption, consider coming out! Based on band stature, I'm assuming that the lineup listed on the poster and Facebook event page is the planned running order top-to-bottom and left-to-right, so if that is true, death metal veterans Eden Plague (the former Bear Hunters) are headlining in a rare appearance at the former Soo Blaster. Expect some "life metal" from these brutal local mainstays next month! Sporadically seen alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will co-headline in their second show of the year, and if you know anything about frontman Chris Nielsen's day job, you'll know that they'll be on board with a pet charity concert like this!

Also scheduled next month are hard/blues rock trio Stones & Crows, alt-hard rock quartet The Reeves, blues rock musician (and mayoral candidate!) Josh "The Preacher" McNally & his Jackleg Band, new local pop punk/emo band Homeroom Hero in just their second concert (interesting seeing Larry sharing a bill with A Dire Setback for the first time since he left that band), and talented young hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe. The show will be opened by former Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci, who is actually promoting this concert, so kudos to him for supporting a great organization and cause like this! Andrew has been slowly re-acclimating into the live scene in mid-late 2026, as fans who recall his wildfire smoke-cancelled open mic appearance at Rotaryfest will be aware, but how does his modern acoustic solo set sound? Find out next month! PetFest takes place eight days before this year's Toystock, in case you were wondering.

Tickets for this all ages event will be $20, and are on sale at this link and presumably at Blaster Powerhouse (no idea if Andrew or the bands can hook you up, or if at-the-door admission will stay at $20). The concert begins at 4:00 PM and will run until midnight, but I don't know if every act gets an hour's timeslot to perform, set up, and tear down, or if there will be variable set times. This looks like a great time and great value for fans of active local bands, especially original ones, so visit the above links for more details!

Finally, here's some big news for fans of a local venue or two, as Beck's Bar owner Becky Sawyer has bought a second local nightclub, namely Misty's Fifties! The news was announced in this SooToday article by Brandon Walker last week. A reason for Lori selling the 658 Second Line West nightclub after 33 years was not announced, but Becky used to work there, and spoke positively of the memories behind the bar there. Of course, she has done a very strong job with the former Vibe Lounge in the past year+, and Beck's is just a 3 minute drive from Misty's straight down Goulais Avenue, so oversight of the two bars should be simple enough. Misty's Facebook page was last updated on September 1st, and Becky has signalled "that there are some amazing changes coming". One appears to be new signage at the building proper, as that was recently taken down (not the proper street sign yet.)

Misty's will be closed "for a few weeks" for the revamp, renovations, and some training, but Becky vows to honour the history of the bar since it opened in the 1990s. SMS readers will best know Misty's from frequent matinee concerts from Tym Morrison and, most recently, TNT, but its size has left it more amenable to acoustic acts (nothing that I was aware of was scheduled there during the renovations). Will that continue? What all is and isn't changing beyond the signage? We'll let you know when the bar reopens, but visit the above links for more details, best of luck to Lori in what's coming next, and stay tuned for more news and notes shortly! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Reeves) & Fort Creek Updates!!

For a second straight day, we have an SMS post of two topics, one being an extended look at a band's new music video/single release, but leading off is a Halloween weekend LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with a lot to say itself, so here's what you should know on this Sunday morning!

Local hard/blues rock quartet The Reeves will headline an early Halloween party at The Art Hub At Spring on Friday, October 30th! This Devil's Night show will mark the Haze/Long Shot successors' return to the Queen Street arts venue following their set opening for Autopilot there two weeks ago, and will be their first show since beginning their recent recording sessions, so they should be in fine form to show off their already impressive array of original material, let alone the spooky themes! Opening here is the debut of new local pop punk/emo quintet Homeroom Hero, whose only social media presence so far is on Instagram, but their descriptions so far point to a sound that fans of MySpace-era pop punk and emo will enjoy. Their lineup includes former A Dire Setback/A Fall From Innoncence singer Larry Babic, guitarists Brian Lester (ex-No Shadows Cast) and Dennys Andrade, bassist Paul Fowler (ex-Keep It Lit), and former As It Stands/For July guitarist Ryan McLaughlin on drums.

Intriguing lineup given the names involved (though Dennys is a total unknown to me), so keep their debut in mind for late next month! Former Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci will open with an acoustic set (featuring some originals), and if you were hoping to see him as part of the cancelled open mic block at Rotaryfest Stage 2, keep this indoor event in mind, especially as it will be FREE! However, the Facebook event page still specifies that it is "by invite only", so they ask to contact performers to get on the list, though "last minute admission may be available". I assume this is more to do with the smaller size of the Art Hub, as the event is absolutely publically advertised and marketed. Regardless of that implied hoop to jump through, there will be complimentary snacks and drinks, a post-show dance party (no idea if there will be a DJ as such), and while costumes are welcome, they aren't necessary. They did not specify if there would be a costume contest of some kind either.

This is absolutely an all ages event with music starting at 8:00 PM, and it is shaping up to be a welcome addition to the Halloween weekend festivities, and not just thanks to the debut of Homeroom Hero. We'll let you know if they get a more substantial social media presence or post any media of them prior, but thanks to Brian for telling me what he did about the group! Visit the above links for more details on what to expect, and remember to contact members in advance to get on the list just in case!

Next up, let's talk about another local band who just released a new single and music video directed by Josh Penno from Spacebag Productions, but in this case, it's southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek! Just eight days after announcing their new lineup (now featuring bassist Arthur Lacasse and drummer Sam DeDominicis), the band announced that they completed shooting the music video for their new single "Sweet Rosie" on September 1st, later confirming that it would be released on "your favouite streaming platforms" this past Friday. What if your favourite is Bandcamp, where the song isn't available? Regardless, the song was mixed and mastered by Dustin Goodall at Unsalted Audio, though the credits on major streaming platforms don't give details on the song's producer (they were working at former drummer Phil Greco's Jettison Studios before he left the band earlier this year).

Interestingly, Lime/ex-Rising Tide guitarist Liam Seymour is credited on bass for the studio recording rather than Art, but I don't know if this was strictly as a session musician or if he was briefly their bassist before Art (who does play in the video) signed on. The video features performance footage of the whole band on a darkened set intercut with scenes of a drag race featuring actress Jennifer Valotaire as the flag girl. This is the first original song release featuring the full plugged-in band, though note that the shelved "Hammer Down" did have preview clips posted online once. I'll hold full comment on the entire track in lieu of their debut album in progress, but fans of melodic hard rock will enjoy what's on offer here, and there is a southern rock edge to the instrumentation! It's great to finally see Fort Creek making some big progress as they re-emerge as a full band with material to show for it, but are concerts next? Give the "Sweet Rosie" video a watch below!

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