LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished) And The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

With Christmas just a week away, there's just one more concert weekend to touch on beforehand, so that's what today's post is focusing on! It is sufficiently busy to warrant two posts though, so Saturday's Generations and Tym Morrison shows will be previewed next. Now, here's what you should know, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS in the E.U.P.!

Local classic/hard rock quartet Tarnished will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the gigs via their Facebook page yesterday, and they are late replacements for this weekend. Sault Ontario classic rock veterans Touch Of Class were originally slated for The Rapids Lounge this weekend, but they had to cancel their scheduled Kewadin dates since last month due to paperwork issues (source here), presumably related to their ability to perform in Michigan. Hopefully they get everything sorted out in time for their scheduled 2026 dates, but kudos to Tarnished for stepping in TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! With no public New Year's dates teased, these will likely be Tarnished's final shows of 2025, and their first at the Sault Kewadin in almost two months.

You can enjoy Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron's hard rocking mix of covers at The Rapids Lounge at 9:00 PM as usual TOMORROW & SATURDAY with 21+ age limits. Visit the above link for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Next up, we'll head south to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will set up shop for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! While not newly promoted on their Facebook page at press time, the shows have Facebook event pages linked here, and will be their first shows in our neck of the woods since rocking the Soo Kewadin three weeks ago. After tomorrow and Saturday, Scarkazm have just two other shows left in 2025 (downstate in Crystal Mountain), but they will be back in the Soo in January and in St. Ignace in April, so if you don't wanna wait, head to The Northern Pines Lounge for Adam, Dave, and Jeff's hard rocking covers and originals before Christmas! Like with Tarnished up north, Scarkazm's Kewadin dates this weekend are 9:00 PM affairs with no cover charges and 21+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Scarkazm live!

Also this weekend, let's head north to Sault Ontario for a stacked multi-genre concert TOMORROW NIGHT at Beck's Bar named Broke & Hungry! This concert will be a Soup Kitchen Community Center benefit as part of touring rapper/host Twitchy T. Tantrum's national food drive, and entry will be via non-perishable food items. Always a wonderful cause, and kudos to Twitchy and all involved at this rare multi-band concert at Beck's! A wide swath of musicians will include two SMS-amenable bands, namely crossover thrash quartet Hails and online page-less metal quintet The Sault Side Squad, while this show will also feature Juno-nominated Toronto rapper Unknown Mizery (a.k.a. King Mizo), local bluegrass quartet The Golden Scoundrels (featuring Shit Liver and Handsome Sandwich alumni), and local rapper Mike "Mic Swiff" Sylvester. This is a 19+ event which starts at 8:00 PM tomorrow.

Note that Twitchy T. Tantrum has a scheduled live-stream for this concert on YouTube, suggesting that it may be played live there for remote and belated viewing, but I haven't seen any firm confirmation of that elsewhere. Keep tabs on that link just in case though!  There's a little something for multiple tastes at Beck's tomorrow, and it will be nice to support the Soup Kitchen just before Christmas in the process, so don't bypass this concert in your weekend plans! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Ha!ls live!

Finally for this preview post, it's our first ever preview of a heavier concert at The Full Throttle Saloon (well, at least since the former Primavera Hall rebranded), as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will set up shop at the Wellington Street West venue TOMORROW NIGHT! This one-nighter will see Greg, Alex, and Warren give Steelton a run for its money, and hopefully things go well there so they can bring their high-octane slate of covers and their originals to a new venue and audience more regularly in 2026! With just their ticketed Moose Lodge show on New Year's Eve ahead, Boneheads will have just this show left for the year in terms of normal nightclub gigs, and it's a normal one for them aside from the locale (9:30 PM start time, 19+ age limit, no cover). Note that the Full Throttle Saloon doesn't host bands on Saturdays at all, and is only open to the public from 12:00-4:00 PM that day (reserved seating after 4:00).

For more details on your local 225's concert tomorrow at the Full Throttle Saloon, the venue's menu options and specials, and more, visit the above links, and for a preview, here's "the dirty three" live! 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Generations and Tym Morrison previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Broke & Hungry, Oktoberfest, And Curtis McKenzie) And More!!

Before we begin this post, I have two apologies to note regarding this past weekend's concert previews. First, it turns out that classic/hard rock trio Dodge This did not play at The Water Tower Pub on Friday night for unannounced reasons, and were replaced on the bill by Elly McWatters & The Drifters, who moved up from the Saturday to Friday in response. Thanks to Drifters drummer Brandan Glew for confirming this (even if I didn't see it until too late), and hopefully all is well with Dodge This, who haven't issued a public update of consequence since July! Meanwhile, in St. Ignace, Michigan, we did cover Sault Ste. Marie hard rock/classic metal quartet Tarnished's two gigs at bar/restaurants to coincide with the Richard Crane Memorial Truck Show weekend, but according to their Facebook page, they also played a matinee concert on Saturday at 2:00 PM, meaning they played three shows in two days!

This particular matinee was an outdoor gig outside of the Little Bear East Community Center & Arena at 275 Marquette Street, before Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron set up shop at Kingston Kitchen that night. Alas, Tarnished only announced the Saturday matinee via their Facebook page that morning, a cherry on top of their other short notice confirmations for the truck show, but hopefully all three shows got a great reception on a busy weekend for big rig and transport fans in Mackinac County!

Now let's dive into some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this year, and we'll start with a busy day on Saturday, October 18th, as Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 and alternative/punk cover supergroup BookcluB will join forces at The Machine Shop for their Oktoberfest celebrations that night! This is one of at least three different Oktoberfest concerts being held in Sault Ste. Marie this fall, joining the Outspoken Brewing-hosted block party on Queen Street on September 27th and Beck's Bar's own Oktoberfest party on October 5th, but the Machine Shop one is the only one with SMS-leaning bands. This one is sponsored by the revived Soo Falls Brewing Company, which is based at the Canal District site on Huron Street near the Machine Shop, and you can expect contests, food, and (of course) beer for the occasion. The third band on the 18th will be local polka band & Oktoberfest staples Nein German Guys.

No word yet on who BookcluB's new second guitarist will be, but kudos to them and Silent 9 for jumping on board what should be a fun night of music, drinks, and German culture! This 19+ event takes place at 5:00 PM on October 18th, and tickets run for $30.18 at this link, which do include one complimentary beer ticket. Visit the above links for more on Soo Falls & The Machine Shop's Oktoberfest celebrations next month!

Also taking place on Saturday, October 18th is former Haggith/Project 421 frontman Curtis McKenzie's next stop at the aforementioned Beck's Bar, as he will rock the Goulais Avenue nightclub that day! Announced with an unusually bountiful amount of advance notice on his Facebook page yesterday, this will be Curt's first gig at Beck's since the end of last month, and though it is possible that he could confirm an interim booking there next weekend, keep next month's show in mind for his next announced round of hard and alternative rock covers at the former Vibe Lounge! This will be a 3:00 PM matinee gig with a 19+ age limit as usual, and no cover charge. It is way too soon for Beck's to confirm who is playing that night at 9:00 PM, but just a reminder that Curt isn't "opening" for who's playing the nightcap, both acts will have full four hour timeslots two hours apart. Visit the above links for more details!

Finally for today, an eclectic lineup of bands will join forces for a Christmas season concert on Friday, December 19th at Beck's Bar! This special concert is entitled "Broke & Hungry", and will be a FREE event benefiting the Soup Kitchen Community Center on James Street, with non-perishable goods being the entry fee. Wonderful cause just before the holidays! This concert will unite three distinct genres under one roof, and SMS readers will be placated by the presence of crossover thrash quartet Hails and online page-less metal supergroup The Sault Side Squad in what I believe will be both bands' Beck's debuts, but your headliners are actually touring rappers, namely Juno-nominated Toronto MC Unknown Mizery and Hamilton rapper Twitchy T. Tantrum. Local bluegrass/folk quartet The Golden Scoundrels will also join this stacked & diverse bill, in guitarist Brandon Ruch's first hometown show after moving to Barrie.

Local rapper Mike "Mic Swiff" Sylvester will round out the bill in three months' time, and note that the official promotional image for the event credits Twitchy T. Tantrum as the host rather than a performer. This 19+ concert has an 8:00 PM start time, and there should be a lot to take in for multiple tastes as we near Christmas, especially given the charitable nature of the show! The Soup Kitchen can never get too many donations for those in need, so hopefully there's a fantastic turnout for the music and the cause on December 19th! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and we'll have more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!