Prince Fest, Tarnished, And The Nameless Weekend Concert Previews!!

Let's mow through most of the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews today, by looking at Saturday-only Sault Ontario gigs as well as hard rock shows in Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula, which is where we're leading off, so here's what you should know on this Friday morning! Previews of tomorrow's Bone Yard show and frontman Greg Simpson's Sunday matinee gig will be in our next news post.

Local classic/hard rock cover band Tarnished will return to Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT at their new(?) Lakeside Lounge! The last scheduled concerts of any kind for their summer slate there (as per this calendar), Tarnished confirmed on their Facebook page that these will be acoustic concerts featuring just singer/guitarist Alex Traynor and guitarist Josh Fair. This goes in line with the Lakeside Lounge's live music schedule, which has only scheduled solo artists and duos. We'll let you know when they return to the stage fully plugged in with Chris and Ron in tow, let alone with Isaac in Crush! You can enjoy their hard rocking acoustic covers this weekend in Brimley at 8:00 PM both nights with 21+ age limits and no cover, but for unclear reasons, Saturday's show is a half length affair ending at 10:00 PM rather than midnight. See above for more details, and here's Alex & Josh live!

Next up, local hard rock quartet The Nameless are advertised to rock The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen locally at the finale of the Hell To Paradise motorcycle rally elsewhere at the Soo Kewadin last month (with a road trip to Republic in the interim), The Nameless are getting their maiden bookings at The Rapids Lounge just in time, as it is closing this fall in advance of heavy renovations and the construction of a new sports bar opening at the Sault Ste. Marie branch next year. Bands are scheduled through at least the end of September, but of course, we'll let you know if The Rapids Lounge survives past then or closes early (for what it's worth, the band has not posted on their Facebook page in over two weeks). Assuming everything is a go, the hard rock cover action is at 9:00 PM tonight and tomorrow with 21+ age limits and no cover. See above for more details, and here's The Nameless live!

Now north to Sault Ontario, but 20 minutes down Second Line West, as the first annual Prince Fest takes place TOMORROW! To be held at the corner of Second Line and Airport Road in the baseball field adjacent to co-promoters DeMarco's Boots & Saddles Roadhouse, this festival is being well hyped across multiple AI-generated posters on social media, with vendors, family activities, food & drinks, kids entertainment, and on-site baseball and basketball tournaments, so be sure to visit the DeMarco's Facebook page for full non-musical details! The musical portion will be headlined at 9:00 PM by Toronto-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer, who have played here multiple times since the SMS launched (including at the former Soo Blaster three years ago), so it will be good to see their faithful and entertaining take on Kiss' classic catalogue again tomorrow night! Local acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will play the middle set at 7:00 PM.

Capping off their busy weekend of three shows in three days, hopefully Dustin & Mikey have a solid audience west of the Soo tomorrow evening! Frequently seen Boots & Saddles performer Mike Robitaille will kick off the music with an acoustic country set at 5:00 PM, and both local openers are blocked for two hours apiece. While Prince Fest is an all ages event beginning at 12:00 PM, organizers have clarified that only the first five hours have free admission. The three musical acts will have a separate ticketed admission of $35, which is up $15 from Destroyer's show here in 2023, but remember that that wasn't part of a festival. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for 19-23° temperatures during the band portion of Prince Fest and mostly cloudy skies, plus a slight chance of rain early in Destroyer's set. Keep tabs with your preferred weather forecasts for potential updates. It will be mostly cloudy in the afternoon too with a high of 24°.

Should be a fun time if you're out east or are up for a drive (if not quite as nice for sky conditions as The Northern Vibe Festival will get 90 minutes east), and between Destroyer's well known take on Kiss' hit singles, Dos Amigos' unplugged punk covers, and Mike's own talents, music fans will have a little something to like regardless of genre preference! Visit the above links for much more on what to expect outside of the Boots & Saddles on Sunday, and here's Destroyer live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Bone Yard/Greg Simpson previews and more next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Stones & Crows), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

Before we begin our second weekend concert preview post, just a heads up that Beck's Bar briefly advertised Bone Yard 225 frontman Greg "The Ranting Rockstar" Simpson as playing their Sunday matinee timeslot this weekend, but he has quietly dropped out for unannounced reasons, and was replaced by Whiskey Hippy. Greg will be back, with and without your local 225, but hopefully nothing too serious happened with him and/or the venue! Now, here's what you should know for the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

New local hard/blues rock quartet Stones & Crows will return to Beck's Bar for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band first announced the show on their Facebook page on July 24th, then said it was cancelled due to "scheduling reasons" a day later, only to re-confirm it on the same day this past Friday. As such, disregard their newest black & white promotional video claiming this show as a "last minute announcement", as we have known about if for almost four weeks in fits and starts! This will be the first concert from the Electric Church successors since they rocked Rotaryfest Stage 2 last month, and their first at Beck's since July 3rd, and hopefully the guys deliver a fun evening of originals and covers, as fans have came to expect so far this year! Bukky, Nikki, and Tony take the stage at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge as usual.

Fresh off of playing with The Big Finish Band at tonight's Downtown Street Party, Drifters frontwoman and karaoke host Elly McWatters will play a solo country rock set as the 3:00 PM matinee performer on SATURDAY, but as usual, she isn't "opening" for Stones & Crows. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of Stones & Crows from their Facebook page last month! This video features the guys playing four 10 second snippets of live covers, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Rolling Stones songs among them, and while I'd far prefer full songs (let alone in colour, and not heavily letterboxed), it does give a reasonable preview of songs you might hear on SATURDAY NIGHT, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

Next up, let's head south to Michigan for some E.U.P. shows (all of which had advance notice), starting with Traverse City classic metal trio Peril's second and final headlining gig for 2026 at American Legion Park in St. Ignace TOMORROW NIGHT! Just over two weeks removed from their rare Thursday gig in our neck of the woods for St. Ignace's Music By The Bay concert series, Jeff, Howard, and Brooks will rock the park one more time before things wrap up next month, though the series runs daily until Labour Day. With future shows at the Soo Kewadin in flux (more on that in a second), time will tell when we next see Peril north of the Mackinac Bridge after tomorrow, so don't bypass this concert if you like old school metal and hard rock covers, and will be in the region! Music By The Bay shows are all at 7:00 PM with 90 minute run times, they're definitely all ages, and have no cover charge. 

9&10 News is calling for cloudy skies tomorrow with a 30% chance of rain in the 8:00 PM hour, so while the rain and lightning is expected to peak overnight, consider some rain provisions if you're coming to American Legion Park (the stage has a roof for the bands' sake, at least). Temperatures are expected to be in the 69-71° (21-22° Celsius) range. Visit the above links for more on Peril's outdoor St. Ignace show, and here they are live!

Also this weekend, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished will play The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino for the final times TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Don't worry, Tarnished are alive and well, but they said on their Facebook page on Tuesday that The Rapids Lounge "is being remodeled this fall". You may recall that Kewadin had announced a series of renovations at their five casinos in this press release, which did confirm a planned new sports bar for the Soo branch, The press release says that construction of the sports bar (with virtual game bays!) will begin in "summer 2027", with the demolition of the casino's original East Wing structure beginning this fall also, so that may explain an extended closure from live concerts before the replacement lounge actually gets built. Kewadin's entertainment page lists bands at The Rapids Lounge through the end of September, but time will tell if they happen as scheduled.

That doesn't necessarily portend the real timeline for the end of The Rapids Lounge, as St. Ignace's Northern Pines Lounge also only goes that far for their own scheduled bands at press time. We'll keep you posted when more is known about Kewadin's new sports bar, but when you compare The Rapids Lounge to The Northern Pines Lounge, it never looked as detailed and modern, so this should be good in the long term. Don't miss Tarnished two last times there tomorrow & Saturday! Their hard rocking and old school covers are up at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Tarnished live!

Finally for this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, we'll head to Three One Three On Ashmun, as local hardcore punk trio Viscera will be headliining there on SATURDAY NIGHT! Interesting timing in the sense that the Yooper Frankenstein premiere at LSSU is also on Saturday (frontman "Blind" Bob Quinn worked on the soundtrack for the film), but hopefully both events have a good crowd, and that Viscera devastate local fans with their hard rocking and socially charged sound once again! Continuing their recent positive relationships with musicians from the Western U.P., Marquette indie rock/power pop band Addicus will make their local debut on Saturday, and while not as heavy as Viscera can get, this female fronted group should make some fans out east with their well written and upbeat original material! The other opener is a project named Needhealer, so who are they?

As best as I can tell, Needhealer is a new DIY lo-fi project led by former Pick-Me-Ups bassist Trevor Yake, who primarily sings and plays keyboard here. You can hear his debut synthwave "EP" on Soundcloud, and it'll be interesting to hear how this translates at the former Back Door! Regardless, this is shaping up to be an intriguing genre mix. Presented by Viscera's own Soo Tang Records, this show goes down on Saturday at 7:00 PM, it is an 18+ event, and admission is $10 in advance through Viscera members or $15 at the door. Visit the above links for more on this explosive night of original music, and for a preview, here's the headliners live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Nelson) & The Three Days Grace/Finger Eleven Concert Video Showcase (Part 2!!)

Before we tackle this weekend's hard rock concert previews, here's an extra news post as our backlog continues getting slowly cleared out (and more and more stuff is being added as it is!) This post covers some late but welcomed videos from a major springtime concert in Sault Ontario, but let's start with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with a festive flair for Sault Michigan later this year!

California-based hair metal/hard rock duo Nelson will return to The Dreammakers Theater at the local Kewadin Casino on Friday, December 11th, but this won't be a run of the mill concert. Last seen unplugged opening for Night Ranger here this past October, Matthew & Gunnar's headlining return will be a part of their "Christmas With The Nelsons" tour, which will be a multimedia concert featuring their  nostalgic reflections and media from Christmases past with their families (including their celebrity grandparents Ozzie & Harriet Nelson and father Ricky Nelson), while playing Christmas carols and songs from their own back catalogue. You can read more on the concert proper at this link, and this sure will be an interesting way to marry hair metal (presumably acoustic again) with a warm and fuzzy Christmas experience, so keep this in mind for your holiday event plans! Click here for more information on the Christmas With The Nelsons tour.

Presented by Oldies 93 rather than Rock 101 (perhaps a hint that this won't be wall to wall Nelson songs from their early 1990s heyday), tickets for this all ages are now on sale at this link, at the in-person box office, or at 1-800-KEWADIN running from $26 to $46 apiece depending on row and section, which is a really good price if you like Nelson and Christmas, let alone the idea of them together. This will be a unique event for sure over the holiday season, so visit the above links for more details!

The rest of this post is comprised of belated new videos from the Three Days Grace/Finger Eleven concert at GFL Memorial Gardens in Sault Ontario in April! These come from prolific local concert filmer Christopher Paci's YouTube channel, but for one reason or another, Chris didn't upload his videos from this show until last month. Better late than never, but if you were wondering why our coverage of videos from this sold out concert stalled out after one post, this may help explain that! Chris filmed twenty videos at the Gardens on this night, with 13 coming from the headlining Norwood, Ontario hard rock quintet's set, so what did he film? Three Days Grace videos here included "Never Too Late", "Painkiller", "Mayday", "Just Like You", two songs from the acoustic campfire section ("Lifetime" & "Lost In You"),  "I Hate Everything About You", "Pain", "I Am Machine", "Break", "Animal I Have Become", "Dominate", ...

...and as embedded below, their closing song "Riot". Chris was on the floor here, and while not in the closest rows, he had a good clear view of the stage while still allowing for lots of attendee heads to validate the turnout and audience response (look at all the cell phones!). As I noted in our prior post on videos from this concert, Three Days Grace sounded good here, and while I do prefer Adam to Matt vocally, they pair off each other well, and it is interesting to hear how each other does songs from the other singer's era as the band's sole frontman. Give Chris' 3DG videos a watch above & below!

Shockingly, Chris is the only YouTube user that I know of to upload public videos of either opening band (in our first 3DG/F11 concert video post, the lone Finger Eleven video was from Facebook). In terms of Finger Eleven, he filmed the Burlington alternative/hard rock quintet playing six songs, including "Good Times", "The Mountain", "One Thing", "Slow Chemical" (Kane's theme!), "Above", and as embedded below, their closing song "Paralyzer" (complete with partial intro cover of Genesis' "That's All"). Some vocal wear from Scott aside, Finger Eleven sound good here, and the fans were definitely into their familiar hit singles, even if I like them heavier and darker than on "Paralyzer". Give these a watch above & below as well! 

Finally, Chris filmed a single video of Edmonton hard rock band Royal Tusk's opening set, but based on what I gathered from show reviews, there were delays getting fans from the lineup into the Gardens, so Royal Tusk were playing while a lot of fans were still making their way inside. This performance of their newer original song "Vindicate" has a solid edge to it with clear melodic vocals, and it sounds ready for radio airplay! No word on what the QR codes on the screen link to, my phone couldn't latch on to them clearly enough. Give the sole public local Royal Tusk video a watch below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for most of this weekend's concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

A New Addition To Our Band Links, A Mid-Week Concert Preview, And Much More!!

In terms of our backlog clearout, yesterday's posts somewhat set us back, as one was a scheduled feature post and the other only knocked one topic off of the list. However, today's post will clear six items from our list, so here's what you should know via some recent shorter updates, a concert preview for tomorrow evening, and leading off, a belated addition to our band links and full coverage, so here's what you should know!

After their well received closing set on Rotaryfest Saturday last month, it's high time that we finally roll classic/hard rock cover trio The Sidekicks into our full coverage! The band has generally been cagey when it comes to sharing media and setlist hints from their shows, which is what has kept them out of our links for this long, but what they played at Clergue Park last month definitely points to The Sidekicks fitting based on bands that we already actively cover. Active since at least February 2020 when they played at the United We Jam! fundraiser right before the pandemic began, their Facebook page was only launched in August 2021, and they have had a steady lineup since then, featuring singer/drummer Tracey Hilderley (formerly of bands like Tripod The Dog, Boogie Fever, and Domina) alongside guitarist Steve Cardiff and bassist Dan Beaupre (of 100 Gran, Griphook, and Double Down fame).

Pandemic restrictions are partly to blame for their relative lack of shows from before 2023, and while they're not the most regularly seen cover band going, they're probably best recognized from their appearances at The Water Tower Pub in the past three years, along with scattered gigs at venues like Jay's Piston Broke Pub, The Dive Gastro Pub, and Beck's Pub (sorry, Beck's Bar). Tracey, Steve, and Dan have also been seen at Rotaryfest Stage 1 in 2023, that year's Bushplane Days, and a 2024 Summer Concert Series gig at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion. As noted above, The Sidekicks don't post videos of themselves on social media, perhaps with the thought process of "if you want to see/hear us, come to our gigs!", but from what I caught of them on Stage 1 at Rotaryfest last month, they covered the likes of Heart, The Cult, Pat Benatar, Sloan, The Scorpions, The Tragically Hip, and Judas Priest, among others.

The Sidekicks will be a unique band alone from having a frontwoman who sings and drums simultaneously, and while I did find that Tracey's vocals could be overly theatrical on more upbeat rockers, she adjusts well when songs call for it, and they do have some interesting cover selections that other bands don't tackle. Steve and Dan are solid musicians to match, and Steve is (to me) an underrated lead guitarist that I'm surprised isn't talked about as much. There is a new Sidekicks video to share from Rotaryfest shot by an external page that we'll address when we cover the remaining Rotaryfest videos, but click here to see our video of them covering "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" from last month! 

Next up, here's our latest mid-week concert preview concerning the prolific local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison, whose weekly arrangement at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post continues TOMORROW! With five more shows to go for the former Caveman Morrison frontman for this seasonal run, tomorrow's date should provide fans with more unplugged rock favourites, so keep things in mind if you're in the area or are up for a drive north! If you'd rather see Tym on a better day for concerts or somewhere else, we will preview his next Desbarats show on Friday in this weekend's previews, plus his new late notice matinee confirmation for Sunday. These shows are 6:30-8:00 PM affairs with no cover charge or age limit, and as this is an outdoor event, 9&10 News is calling for sunny skies with temperatures in the 20-22° range. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym 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:

 

• On June 2nd, Kewadin Casinos' Facebook page announced a new series of upgrades at their five locations to begin that summer, including "bar and restaurant/deli renovations". However, in the linked press release, the only way that this may affect SMS coverage is that the Sault Michigan branch is getting a new sports bar that begins construction next summer. Is this replacing The Rapids Lounge or is this something that will exist alongside it? Time will tell, but see above for more on all levels of upgrades at Kewadin Casinos in the coming months!
• The local openers have been announced for Australian hard rock band The Lazys' headlining concert at Blaster Powerhouse in Sault Ontario on October 9th, and surprisingly, it will be folk/country quartet The Golden Scoundrels! They revealed their involvement last week via the poster for their Full Chisel Tour this fall, though note that the former Soo Blaster has yet to visibly corroborate this in the full concert promotion. While 3/4ths of The Scoundrels have experience in hard rock/metal bands, they are still an interesting genre contrast, so hopefully they help pull a sizeable crowd in two months' time! Tickets are on sale at this link!
• In two more examples of local classic/hard rock cover bands using Facebook "Stories" to share self-destructing vertical videos that I can't link to or feature here, Quite Frankly did so from their April concert at The Water Tower Pub (where they covered Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son"), and Silent 9 just did so over the weekend for a very blurry video of them covering Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" at a recent private event, with Jess singing on stage alongside an attendee. I will never understand why some bands and venues choose to share videos as "Stories" that can only be seen once or twice before vanishing into the ether, but alas, you may have missed those ones as of late!

 

 That's all for now, but stay tuned for another new SMS post later today! Thanks everyone!

Bush/Candlebox Concert Video Showcase!!

It took only three posts for us to head back to the EUP in terms of the focus of tonight's post, but this time, it's to look at videos from the Bush-headlined outdoor concert at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on July 18th! Despite concerns over the air quality index from the Northwestern Ontario forest fires (this took place concurrently with Rotaryfest Saturday), the show went on, and attendance was quite good despite the competition an hour north! It is worth noting that the Barenaked Ladies show last year also took place on Rotaryfest Saturday, so this is nothing new for Kewadin. Social media buzz from the show seemed positive, and the air quality was manageable in St. Ignace, but if you want to see for yourself, at least three YouTube filmers were on hand, though two only filmed Bush's set. We'll start with Dr. Death Defying, in his first ever concert videos.

Dr. Death Defying filmed the British post-grunge/hard rock quartet playing their songs "Glycerine", "Everything Zen", "Machinehead", and as embedded below, "Ghosts In The Machine". The framerate isn't too high, but Dr. Death Defying had a good view of the former BushX (ask a Canadian), if with a head or two in the road. I'm not a huge fan of Bush, but I will say that Gavin Rossdale sounds really good compared to their 1990s hit singles, and the stage lighing gives the show a big time feel, so check these out!

Next up, the YouTube channel named Echoes From The Stage was also on hand for this concert, and while they have extensive video uploads from major rock concerts in Michigan and Ontario, this video of Bush playing "Glycerine" in St. Ignace is their only local upload to date, so they likely aren't from this part of the state/province. This video has a much better framerate than Dr. Death Defying's take, and while the audio quality doesn't seem too hot, "Glycerine" was always a low-toned ballad and I think that's just how it came off live. Gavin's singing here seemed a little forced compared to their harder rocking songs too, but see what you think below!

We'll close with prolific Sault Ontario filmer Christopher Paci's YouTube channel, as he headed to St. Ignace for this concert after seeing Mid Life Crysis at Rotaryfest that afternoon. Chris' videos are last in this post because he's the only one of the three filmers that got Candlebox videos, but he by far has the most Bush videos here, filming 9 videos last month, including "Little Things", "Swallowed", "Glycerine", "Everything Zen", "The Land Of Milk & Honey", "The Chemicals Between Us", "Bullet Holes", "Machinehead", and as embedded below, the extended closing version of "Comedown". Filmed from one of the first few rows of seats, you do get the sense that Gavin's voice was getting run down by the end of the night, but the crowd was very receptive and happy to sing along, and the whole band have good energy and play these songs very well! As this was outdoors, it is neat to see the skies get darker.

You can tell during "Everything Zen" that the sun was setting, and while none of the the three filmers got "Human Sand" afterwards, it was black out from "Glycerine" onward, and I always liked that contrast! Check out all of the Bush concert videos (so far?) above and below!

Finally, Chris got four videos of Seattle grunge/alternative rock quintet Candlebox's opening set, and while they were in a support slot an hour south, it was nice to finally see them in our region 6+ years after their April 2020 concert at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin was cancelled due to the first pandemic lockdown! I wonder if anyone tried to see if their 2020 tickets could be transferred to this show? Chris filmed Candlebox playing their songs "You", "Far Behind", "Arrow", and as embedded below, "Change". Partially thanks to the steady daylight, the Candlebox videos give the best steady look at the crowd density up front, and the guys come off good in the videos here! Kevin Martin's voice has aged really well, and while only he and Peter Klett are still around from their heyday, the new band nails these grunge-era favourites, so don't miss Chris' videos of Candlebox's set above and below! 

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

The WestFest II & Rock N' Roll Ave Concert Previews!!

As promised, here's part #2 of this weekend's hard rock concert previews! Due to how long the WestFest preview ran, I'm bumping our Generations and Bone Yard 225 previews to our next post alongside Curtis McKenzie, so this post only has two write-ups for weekend shows, though one eats up 3/4ths of the post. We'll start in Sault Michigan today, as this involves a show tomorrow where the other Canadian ones don't, so here's what else you should know on this Thursday evening!

While fans in St. Ignace can check out the EUP debuts of Nolium this weekend at their Kewadin Casino branch, fans an hour north will instead bear witness to the first regional appearances of Mount Pleasant classic/hard rock cover band Rock N' Roll Ave TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino! A spin-off/side project from the metalcore band Black Out, this weekend's shows aren't just Rock N' Roll Ave(nue)'s first in the Soo, but their first anywhere since relaunching earlier this year. Rehearsal videos and pre-comeback live videos point to a good hard rocking cover range, though be careful, as their Facebook page also hosts Black Out videos, and they're just a tad more extreme! This weekend's shows are 9:00 PM affairs tomorrow and Saturday night with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and here's a recent Rock N' Roll Ave jam video!

Now let's head to Sault Ontario with the second annual WestFest, which returns to Anna Marinelli Park in Jamestown on SATURDAY! This "block party meets music festival" is part of the West Village Revitilization Project's ongoing efforts to improve and rehabilitate the Jamestown and Steelton areas of downtown Sault Ste. Marie, and there will be food and craft vendors, family activities, and more at this outdoor event, so be sure to visit the West Village Renewed Facebook page for full non-musical details! Musically speaking, we are down from seven acts last year and five in initial marketing to just four tomorrow, with the only hard rock-leaning band being new local alternative hard rock band Riverside Stasis in their fifth public concert and first since the departure of guitarist Liam Dinsmore. Frontwoman Tea Emlaw headlined last year's WestFest in her prior band Handsome Sandwich's final Sault Ste. Marie concert set, but this band is opening WestFest II at 5:00 PM.

Riverside Stasis were strongly hinted as being signed up for the talent show/battle of the bands to find the opening act, only for that to be cancelled due to "unforeseen circumstances", so they were acclaimed as the openers on Saturday. Hopefully things go well for Tea and the guys tomorrow! The rest of Saturday's lineup includes local/Collingwood folk supergroup The Ontarians (featuring the Soo's own Frank Deresti and Chris Johns) as headliners, alongside folk/country quartet The Golden Scoundrels (the only returning band from last year's WestFest) and Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori's daughter Ava Nori in the first public concert appearance by her as a lead performer that I can recall. Marketing up to last month also had BookcluB/ex-Hails guitarist Carmen Muto playing a rare solo set (a video of him shredding an electric guitar was even shared to the West Village Renewed Facebook page).

Unfortunately, it appears that Carmen has dropped out of WestFest and has not been replaced, and any promotion directly referencing him/his set was taken down. I have not heard a reason why Carmen isn't playing on Saturday, but hopefully nothing too serious happened, and don't miss him with BookcluB at the next Downtown Street Party in two weeks! Other set times haven't been announced, but WestFest II takes place from 4:00-11:00 PM on Saturday, it is absolutely all ages, and admission at 169 James Street will be via donation (last year was free). Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for a high of 20° on Saturday and a low of 13° with sunny skies and no likely rain, but this is two days out, so keep tabs on your preferred forecast just in case. Despite the smaller lineup, WestFest sounds like a good time and with agreeable weather, so visit the above links for full details, and here's Riverside Stasis live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Wax Mannequin & Tym Morrison) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

It's time to dive into another round of weekend concert previews, and while things aren't as hectic as the last two weeks, there are still enough shows to get to where we'll have to break things in twain, so shows that are only on Saturday and/or Sunday (Generations, 5 Dollar Bribe, Bone Yard 225, and the Barge Bash) will be in tomorrow's post. Now, here's what you should know on both sides of the border for bands playing shows tonight and tomorrow in some fashion, including a pair of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will play his third solo acoustic concert in as many days TOMORROW NIGHT at Ije's Place in nearby Desbarats! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced via his Facebook event page on Monday. You may recall seeing late notice word that Tym would be making the 45 minute drive southeast to Desbarats (hometown of Central Algoma Secondary School) four weeks ago for his debut gig there, which I unfortunately missed at the time, so thankfully I heard about this one! Fresh off of shows at The Trading Post and the Up & Down Lounge, Tym should have lots of entertaining hard and classic rock covers in store for fans TOMORROW, and clearly his July 3rd show went well for him to get called back again before July is up! Ije's Place is located off of Highway 17 at 4 Lake Huron Drive, and is roughly between St. Joseph Island and Bruce Mines near the edge of our coverage area.

This indoor concert goes down TOMORROW from 6:00-8:00 PM, this is likely all ages given that Ije's is a cafe & bakery, and there is no announced cover charge. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a live-streamed video of Tym there earlier this month! The 2 minute clip sees Tym covering much of The Black Crowes' "She Talks To Angels" and doing a solid job of it, but alas, the filmer didn't zoom in at all, so full screen is your friend here. As this was live-streamed on Ije's Facebook page, it will vanish early next week unless re-uploaded or converted, so watch it below (while you can?) 

Next up, Hamilton "weird folk art punk" solo project Wax Mannequin will return to the Soo TOMORROW NIGHT for a concert at... Unnecessary Noise? Again, apologies for the short notice, the show was first announced via its Facebook event page this past Friday. As to my understanding, Unnecessary Noise is the private location that has been used for recent Underground Events SSM concerts like the Danger Box one and Soopfest, but the space now has an official name, and it's being used for public event promotion going forward, even if the address isn't at a public locale ("ask a punk"). This isn't entirely new for Wax Mannequin, as Chris Adeney's last show here in August 2024 was also not at a standard venue, instead a residence's backyard. Hopefully Unnecessary Noise proves a fitting spot for Wax Mannequin's return, and their noise definitely isn't unnecessary, with punk and metal tinges across their wide ranging setlist and discography!

Fellow Hamilton alt-folk/punk solo project The Kettle Black will make their apparent local debut tomorrow while on tour with Wax Mannequin, while comedy rock band The Floor Between Us (featuring Stones & Crows bassist Nicholas Gingras) will return as openers after doing the honours two years ago. Like in 2024, this is an all ages concert at 8:00 PM, but unlike that Piecing It Together Shows-promoted event, admission is "pay-what-you-can" with $15 recommended (down from $20 in advance/$25 at the door last time). This should be a fun concert for fans of eclectic original music with punk and hard rock influences across the board, so see above for more details, and here's Wax Mannequin live!

We'll head to the Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan to round out this post, starting with local classic/hard rock cover quarter Tarnished, who will make their way an hour south to St. Ignace TOMORROW NIGHT when they rock American Legion Park as part of St. Ignace's Music By The Bay summer concert series! Once again, St. Ignace is impressively hosting a different live music act daily until Labour Day, with tomorrow's show being the first of two that Tarnished are playing under the canopied stage at 200 North State Street this year, the other being the penultimate show for 2026 on September 5th. Hopefully tomorrow's concert is a smash hit for Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron, though note that the band has not corroborated the booking on their Facebook page at press time. Tomorrow's concert takes place at 7:00 PM with no cover charge or age limit, and lawn chairs are suggested given the park setting.

Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for a 40% chance of rain during showtime tomorrow, with temperatures of 72-73° (22-23° Celsius). Yes, artists get to play under a roof, but attendees aren't so lucky, so if you are at all concerned about the forecast and/or the potential for the show being cancelled or abbreviated by the rain, keep tabs with Tarnished for updates. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Finally, let's head north to Sault Ste. Marie, where Petoskey classic/hard rock cover quartet The Blitz are scheduled to make their local debuts at The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! While not mentioned in new social media posts in the past month & a half, The Blitz are the first of three non-local hard rock cover bands debuting at Kewadin lounges over the next month. Videos from after their 2022 reunion point to a well varied but often heavy range of covers played with talent and professinalism, and I do hope that things go well so they can blitz a local stage again in the coming months! As usual for Kewadin lounges, this weekend's shows both have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's The Blitz in a recent jam session!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's previews or this month's CD review next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906, Tarnished, And The Nameless) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

An extremely eventful and busy weekend of hard rock concerts is in store for the Twin Saults and area this weekend, so much so that I might have to break our previews into three posts! For now, this post is 100% devoted to Sault Michigan and the E.U.P., including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, two on SHORT NOTICE, so here's what you should know to start the weekend!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, I was aware of these shows for a few weeks now after being announced on Kewadin's entertainment page, but they got lost in the shuffle in a very busy month (not helped by the glut of new-to-the-EUP touring bands playing there this summer that I covered initially). Last seen at the Soo Kewadin in May when they were late replacements for The Louie Longoria Band, these will be another good chance to see Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron's 1980s-leaning hard rock covers all weekend long, so don't miss out if this is up your alley! No word on if SATURDAY'S booking is why their sister band Crush aren't defending their title at the second annual Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands in Brimley or not though.

As usual for Kewadin lounges, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows are 21+ affairs at 9:00 PM with no announced cover charges.  If you can't make their next two shows in St. Ignace, then don't miss out on Tarnished here TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are live!

Next up, let's head to Rudyard, Michigan, where Sault Ste. Marie blues/hard rock cover quintet Project 906 will return to Huck's Pub & Grill TOMORROW NIGHT, but in a new confirmation, they will also return to the annual Government Bay Barge Bash in nearby Cedarville on Saturday, August 1st! The #summerof906 marches on first tomorrow with a show timed with the annual Summerfest in Rudyard, and while this isn't an official Summerfest event, there should be a good crowd at the former Joe's Bar for Project 906 (or "906 Band", as it were) rocking out tomorrow! This is a one-nighter due to or resulting in Saturday's Private Drive concert, and it goes down at 8:00 PM on Friday with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. While we're on the subject, let's discuss the aforementioned Government Bay Barge Bash one week from Saturday, which will again see Project 906 in Cedarville for quite a unique outdoor concert on the local summer calendar!

Billy, Joe, Dustin, Jason, and Brian have played this event many times, which is quite literally named, as the bash takes place on a barge in the water off the coast of Government Island near Bumpas on East Hodeck Street in Cedarville, and attendees are more than welcome to swim or boat over to the stage! 906 and Cedarville classic rock veterans Shipheads On Shore are both returning from last year's Barge Bash, while The Haske Brothers (formerly of Oddfellow fame) will replace The Mark Bowen Band as the third band this year, though of course, Jason Haske was in Mark's band last year. Project 906 are this year's headliners, with their set likely beginning on August 1st at around 5:00 PM, with the Shipheads playing a mid-afternoon set likely around 2:30 PM or so, and The Haske Brothers kicking things off at 12:00 PM  This is a fun event for those in and around the Les Cheneaux Islands, so keep it in mind, especially if you love being out on/in the water!

The Barge Bash is a FREE & ALL AGES event, and remember to please drink responsibly if you are so inclined here, especially given the nature of the concert being literally held on the bay. Visit the above links for more details on the Barge Bash and tomorrow's Huck's show in Rudyard, with lots of hard rocking covers in store from this talented local band at both events, and for a preview, here's Project 906 live! 

Finally for this preview post, we'll head back to Kewadin Casino in Sault Ste. Marie, where local hard rock cover quartet The Nameless will serve as the musical entertainment at the third annual American Legion Riders' Hell To Paradise motorcycle rally on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for erroneously noting when this was first announced that they'd be at The Rapids Lounge (Tarnished are there, obviously), the band has since confirmed that they'll actually be playing in The Dreammakers Theatre, so the ending banquet will be well staged! The two-day Hell To Paradise rally will see bikers drive north from Stockbridge to the Soo (15 minutes west of Hell & an hour+ east of Paradise respectively) to support awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health, as those battling depression can feel lost between Hell and Paradise. Click here for full details and how you can support the cause!

The Nameless will be rocking out after a buffet dinner and awards ceremony, and as best as I can tell, you do not have to pay a dedicated admission fee or buy dinner to see the concert, which will be 21+ at 8:00 PM. If you'd rather see them in normal concert confines, Kewadin's entertainment page confirms that their previously teased Kewadin dates (lounge then unclear) will indeed be at The Rapids Lounge on Friday, August 28th & Saturday, August 29th, so consider those LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS too! Same ground rules as Tarnished this weekend. Visit the above links for more on Josh, the Mikes, and Jamie's Kewadin gigs of any scale ahead, and for a preview of the Hell To Paradise afterparty, here are The Nameless live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for previews of Sault Ontario concerts and the Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) & Other Indoor Weekend Concert Previews!!

With Rotaryfest's remaining music schedule still very much up in the air (no pun intended), it may be worth noting that there are other concerts locally over the next two days, and indoor ones at that, so if you want to see some live music on what's supposed to be a busy weekend, you have alternatives! The focus around here is always on metal, hard rock, and punk concerts, but I thought that it's appropriate to mention other known concerts in Sault Ontario tomorrow and Saturday before we dive in to regular previews. Country cover veterans Tex Riviera & The Ride are playing at Jay's Piston Broke Pub tonight & tomorrow night, DJ Dark Mark will be spinning tunes at Beck's Bar tonight only, Juliana Regan & Convergence guitarist Jacob Valois will play a joint acoustic gig on Saturday at The Whisky Barrel, and a reunion of classic rock veterans Pegasus is slated for tonight at The Water Tower Pub. Consider these as possible alternatives if you're in the market!

Now to heavier concerts, and we'll start those previews with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, as local classic/hard rock cover band Soundcheck will reportedly rock Reggie's Place TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we only learned of the gigs via confirmation by Separate Wayz singer Nicole Thibodeau in a comment on this post from the Sault Live Music Gig Announcements Facebook page. At press time, neither Soundcheck (nor their sister band Separate Wayz) have publically corroborated these bookings on social media, with Soundcheck not updating their Facebook page since May, and Reggie's hasn't confirmed them publically online either. Based on shares of this photo, these appear to strictly be Soundcheck gigs and not "epic crossovers", as Nicole reportedly isn't singing on a local stage again until the fall, but kudos to her for at least mentioning these bookings!

Note that recent live photos and videos of Separate Wayz appear to show a synth player in the back of the stage, but I have not seen a firm public confirmation of his identity on social media, let alone if he has joined one/both bands full time. Regardless, singer/guitarist Travis Sharpe should be back TONIGHT and TOMORROW after missing the Separate Wayz-branded concerts at Jay's last week (which weren't promoted as "epic crossovers" anyway). TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S Reggie's concerts are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover. While Soundcheck haven't played Rotaryfest in two years, you can still rock out with them this weekend, so see above for more details, and here they are live!

Next up, here's quite the nightcap TOMORROW NIGHT regardless of if Rotaryfest proceeds with music or not, as Montreal hardcore punk legends The Ripcordz will return to the Soo that night as headliners at Beck's Bar! While technically their first local stop since they rocked The Distraction in August 2024, it's not for a lack of trying, as their planned return there last year was cancelled during the openers' sets due to police stopping the show after reported fire code violations (The Distraction has been closed ever since). Paul Gott and crew love touring here, and local fans give them great receptions time and time again, so kudos to Beck's for bringing The Ripcordz back for what should be a ferocious night of punk, especially indoors and within the fire code! Nanaimo, British Columbia pop punk quartet Danger Box (as seen at The Distraction in May 2025 and at a private event here last month) will help set the tone as openers tomorrow night, while the local openers are crossover thrash trio Hails in their first local gig of the year.

Unless you saw them in Toronto last week, this will be your first chance to see Ha!ls with With Gunfire guitarist Anthony Orazietti in place of the Muto cousins, and what a way for him to debut in city limits! This concert has a $10 cover charge (first come first serve, this is expected to draw well, Rotaryfest or not), a 19+ age limit, and a 9:00 PM start time. If Stage 1 takes place as scheduled, Hails (who played Stage 2 last year) will take the stage during Zed's featured set at Clergue Park, with The Sidekicks still to come there. Hardcore punk fans won't want to miss out on all of the action in the west end tomorrow night, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Ripcordz live!

Finally for known hard rock concerts this weekend, we'll head to Michigan, where London, England post-grunge/hard rock quartet Bush (a.k.a. BushX for Canadians of a certain vintage) will make their local debut TOMORROW NIGHT with an outdoor concert at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! Long-time rock radio staples thanks to hit songs like "Everything Zen", "The Chemicals Between Us", and "Mouth", Bush were among the most prominent rock bands of the 1990s, and while I was admittedly never their biggest fan, this show should be a good time for fans, especially if air conditions improve! As of this writing, Kewadin Casino have not said anything about possible air quality provisions on social media, but the air quality index is high an hour south of here too, so follow Kewadin's website and so forth if you are at all concerned. Planned openers Candlebox (of "Far Behind" fame) can relate, as this has hit them here before when they last planned to play in the E.U.P..

The Seattle grunge/alternative veterans were supposed to headline at the Soo Kewadin in April 2020 before the first pandemic lockdown scuttled that gig, so hopefully something similar doesn't recur! Presented by Northern Michigan's Rock 105 & 95.5 and Classic Rock: The Bear, this show is nearly sold out, with limited tickets still available in the right section for $106 USD and the general admission lawn area for $96 at this link, in person, or at 1-800-KEWADIN. The show starts at 7:00 PM, it is definitely all ages, and 9&10 News is calling for clear skies with temperatures around 67-72° (low 20s Celsius), smoke risk aside. If all goes well, this should be a huge concert for 1990s rock fans, so see above for more details, and here's Bush live!

That's all for now, but between air quality reports, the possibility of further adjustments to Rotaryfest (let alone Bush), and other news and notes, we're not sitting idle despite this weekend's concert previews seemingly being done, so stay tuned for more on the SMS shortly! Thanks everyone!