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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished) & More Related Updates!!

Local hard rock/classic metal band Tarnished have announced a number of concerts into September via their Facebook page on Thursday, and while not all truly "local", fans in the E.U.P. will have multiple chances to see them ahead! Not counting their then-upcoming & late notice show at The Merchant's Bar on Saturday (more on that in a bit), Tarnished's next show will be at Byce's Michihistrigan Bar & Grill in Gould City (90 minutes southwest of the Soo) on June 15th, with a return booked for there on July 12th. Not in our coverage range, but if you're in western Mackinac County or are up for a road trip, keep these dates in mind! Yes, the venue's name is misspelled in the band's poster (forgetting a "hi" both times). The Michihistrigan shows bookend a return to Shelly's Rainbow Bar in Ishpeming (3 hours west of here) on Saturday, July 6th, which will notably fall near Independence Day, so fans in the western/central U.P. may want to note that extra just in case!

Unless something truly local is announced in the interim, Tarnished's next gigs within an hour of Sault Ste. Marie will be on Friday, July 19th and Saturday, July 20th when they return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino for their first shows at that Kewadin branch since 2022. Hopefully things go well for Tarnished in two months' time in their St. Ignace return! Expect these to have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. One week later, Alex, Josh, and Parker (and crew?) will play at "Hamilton Pub" on Saturday, July 27th, but where is that? I am not 100% certain, but the likeliest match is the Hamilton St. Pub in Saginaw (3½ hours south of the Soo). This is the sort of thing where specifics would be a good idea, especially as I don't recall Tarnished playing somewhere with a similar name, so hopefully they or the venue clarify the locale!

Back in town, Tarnished will play their first advertised dates in the Soo since this past Saturday when they rock The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino on Friday, August 2nd & Saturday, August 3rd before returning there for dates on September 27th & 28th! Always good to see Tarnished's hard hitting originals and covers on their home turf, so keep these two weekends in mind! Like at St. Ignace in July, these are free & 21+ shows starting at 9:00 PM. The guys will also return to the Grand Marais Music & Crafts Festival in Grand Marais (2 hours west of here) on August 8th as their free Thursday headliners, which should be a fun time if you're in the neighbourhood or wanna hit the road, so see above for more on the festival! Lastly for the show announcements, Tarnished will play at "Barn Fest" on August 30th & 31st. Like the "Hamilton Pub" show, Tarnished didn't give details here, so what is Barn Fest?

The likeliest candidate is a returning concert festival in Rose City (3 hours south of the Soo), and you can get details on last year's Barn Fest at this link. Stay tuned for clarifications when they are made by Tarnished, venues, and/or promoters! Closing with more Tarnished news, the guys announced on Wednesday (after a day of teasers and fan guesses) that they'll be releasing a new studio single named "Lightswitch" on May 31st on "all music streaming services". I highly doubt that it will be on all of them, but I encourage Tarnished to prove me wrong. Regardless, I am curious to hear it! As for their show at The Merch on Saturday, the band posted a bunch of pictures from it on their Facebook page yesterday, confirming that Josh Fair (a.k.a. "Josh Tyler") was indeed on lead guitar again. Bassist Parker Talentino played rhythm guitar, while frontman Alex Traynor just sang without playing guitar for at least part of the evening.

Rhythm & Brews' Chris Leask and Ron Suchey guested on bass and drums as advertised, while their bandmate Chris Hubbard guested on drums for a few songs as well, much like he did in Tarnished's recent Ratt jam session cover. Josh's personal Facebook page now credits him as the band's lead guitarist, so that seems pretty official in at least his case, though it's not 100% clear if Alex and Parker's roles have permanently changed, let alone who will be their new full-time drummer. Despite the fact that the rest of their promised full set videos from the battle of the bands in Alpena are still not posted on Facebook, Tarnished have announced that "some videos of us playing our 80s style covers LIVE" are coming soon, so look for those in the near future if all stays on track! Seems like exciting times for Tarnished in 2024, so see above for more details on their Merch show and upcoming plans, and look for more on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished & HeadFirst) & Our Victoria Day Long Weekend Concert Previews (Part 1!!)

A stacked slate of concerts is upon us, largely thanks to this being the Victoria Day long weekend in Sault Ontario (or the May 2-4 long weekend, if you prefer), so I will have to break up this weekend's hard rock/punk concert previews into two posts. This one will look at bands playing tomorrow night in some description and/or SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, while the Saturday or Sunday-only concerts from Blood Opera, Bone Yard 225, Hails, and Double Down will be covered tomorrow, so everything is on tap (barring anything on even lesser notice). Now, here's what you should know to start the long weekend!

Local hard rock quintet HeadFirst will return to Reggie's Place for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were announced on their Facebook page on Monday during their latest concert schedule drop, and rather than wait to cover all of it at once, I opted to break up the late notice gigs from the rest so as to not lengthen this weekend's concert previews more than they already are. Two weeks before they return to Reggie's for a one-nighter on the 31st, they will have Reggie's locked up for the next two nights, and yes, they will be releasing their debut studio original song and music video for "Don't Care, Don't Mind" on SATURDAY as well! In fact, their concert calendar image calls SATURDAY's concert the "release party", which may be overhype for a song/video posting, but in case they have other frills, don't miss out on HeadFirst on night #2 this weekend, let alone TOMORROW NIGHT!

You can take in HeadFirst's classic-leaning slate of hard rock covers and select originals TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at 9:30 PM, these are 19+ events, and neither has an announced cover charge. This will be a big weekend for Red, Raine, Liam, Claire, and Anthony, so don't miss HeadFirst at Reggie's this weekend, and here they are live!

Next up, let's take a brief detour to Sault Michigan for another SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (albeit not on a long weekend for them), as local hard rock/classic metal band Tarnished will return to The Merchant's Bar for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show via their Facebook page last week, and true to The Merch's usual form, they have not plugged it on social media. Last seen at The Merch via an even-later-notice show in December, SATURDAY's concert will be Tarnished's first plugged in local gig since February, and will be their first non-acoustic show with Josh Fair not on drums since 2021. For this concert, the rhythm section of fellow local hard rock cover band Rhythm & Brews (bassist Chris Leask and drummer Ron Suchey) will guest with Tarnished, so that'll be an interesting mash-up!

While Josh has been playing electric guitar in recent Tarnished media, note that he was Tarnished's bassist when they had a separate drummer in the past, and current bassist Parker Talentino can play guitar too (plus, bands playing with two bassists is not unheard of. One's playing in Sault Ontario on SATURDAY also!) Is this a one-off for Josh to return to a stringed electric instrument, or is he leaving the kit for good? Time will tell, but come see Tarnished Rhythm (how's that for a hybrid name?) at The Merch on SATURDAY NIGHT! Expect a 1980s-leaning set and "some surprises" from everyone at 9:00 PM, with no cover charge and a 21+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Now let's head back to Sault Ontario for two bands making the most of the Victoria Day long weekend with two shows, starting with local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations, who will double up with concerts at The Water Tower Pub TOMORROW NIGHT and at Gateway Casino on SATURDAY NIGHT! With the former venue booking different nightly bands (we'll preview Double Down's Saturday nighter there tomorrow) and the latter only hosting bands on Saturdays, it's good to see Generations fill in the gap by playing at two different locales this weekend, with the Gateway Casino show on Saturday notably being their debut there. Whether you're up for some hard rocking classic rock favourites centrally or downtown, you have options this weekend, so don't miss out at either venue if you can help it! Both shows have 19+ age limits and no announced cover charge, and they start at 8:00 & 9:00 PM respectively. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Generations live!

Finally for this preview post, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck are advertised to return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! As you may recall, Soundcheck were the late notice replacements for classic rock veterans Mustang Heart at this venue last weekend, so at the time, I floated the possibility that the two bands traded bookings given that Soundcheck had been scheduled for the May 2-4 weekend since The Esquire Club posted this schedule back in January, let alone that they don't typically host the same band on consecutive weekends. As of this writing, I have not seen anything to confirm that Soundcheck aren't playing at the Second Line West nightclub again this weekend, but I will let you know if they aren't playing here again so soon! Soundcheck will be hosting jam night at Jay's tonight as usual though.

Assuming that Soundcheck are back here this weekend, expect 9:00 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges, and hopefully Terry, Cameron, Jim, and Glen have a solid weekend of classic and hard rock favourites for west end fans tomorrow and Saturday if still true! See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Blood Opera, Bone Yard 225, Hails, and Double Down previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Stephen Pearcy & Exit 808!!)

Before we dive into a stacked slate of weekend concert previews on the Canadian side of the border with the long weekend ahead, let's head south to Sault Michigan for a bunch of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this year, including a local band's summer calendar and a big Kewadin headline show for this fall. Here's what you should know!

Newer local hard rock quintet Exit 808 have announced a slate of summer concerts via their Facebook page last week, marking their first shows since adding Infathom's Dillion Semasky as their co-lead singer, so when can you see them live next? The former Double Jack will actually debut him at a non-local event on June 8th, namely Drewpalooza 2, a public birthday concert/mental health fundraiser in Republic (3½ hours west of the Soo), where they will share the stage with frequently seen Marquette hard rock cover band Spun, among other western/central U.P. acts. Looks like a fun event, so keep it in mind if you're out west or are up for a road trip! Exit 808 will finally play their first local concert (ie. within an hour's drive of Sault Ste Marie) since changing their name and lineup on Saturday, June 15th when they debut at The Well Diggers Watering Hole & Feed Lot in nearby Kinross, presumably on their outdoor stage.

Well Diggers is still relatively new for us to cover shows at, so hopefully things go well next month, indoors or out! Expect that show to be an 8:00 PM affair with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. After that, Exit 808 will hit the road again, albeit further into the Upper Peninsula for a set at Rally For The Valley, an annual outdoor concert festival in Ewen (outside of Ontonogan, 4½ hours west of Sault Ste. Marie) that will share multiple acts in common with Drewpalooza, including Spun. More details are forthcoming, so if you're in the Western U.P. or are up for the drive, click here for details! The rest of the shows are in our coverage range, starting with Exit 808's second Soo date of the year, when they rock The Merchant's Bar for the first time in five months on Saturday, June 29th. The Merch likely won't promote this show online, but it's good to see Exit 808 playing there again!

Exit 808's remaining shows in this wave of announcements will see them make their debuts at the two regional Kewadin Casino branches with on-site lounges. They'll rock The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin branch for full weekends on July 19th & 20th and on August 16th & 17th, sandwiching their first ever St. Ignace shows when they debut at The Northern Pines Lounge at their Kewadin Casino on August 9th and 10th. It's great to see Exit 808 entering the Kewadin rotation, and hopefully all three weekends go well for them! The latter seven local dates all likely have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover. Between Dillion's addition, the name change, and Isaac Royer's departure (the band has not confirmed if they've found a new permanent bassist yet or not), there's been a lot of change in Exit 808's camp lately, but they've got a big summer ahead, so see above for more details!

We'll close today's post with the big announcement from Allstar Promotions, who had been teasing a show at The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on Saturday, September 21st in recent weeks, and they finally made the reveal on Tuesday, as original Ratt frontman Stephen Pearcy will play here for the first time! Best known for hit songs like "Round & Round", "Back For More", and "Lay It Down", hair metal fans may recall seeing Ratt open for Skid Row here in June 2006 (apologies for missing that when covering Skid Row's local date earlier this year), but they were fronted by Jizzy Pearl then. Stephen's voice has held up over the years, and it will be interesting to see how he goes down as a solo headliner this fall on his 1984 Back In The Cellar Tour! Connecticut hair metal veterans Steelheart (not Streetheart) will open with hits like "I'll Never Let You Go" and "We All Die Young" in their back pocket, so don't be late for their apparent local debut this fall!

Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10:00 AM at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, and at the in-person box office, while Rock 101 has been announcing a pre-sale code on air if you want to be an early bird. Tickets will run for $39.50 USD, and this all ages show begins at 8:00 PM. Hair metal is a proven draw in Sault Michigan, and Ratt still have a lot of fans, so hopefully Stephen's local debut is a huge hit this fall! Visit the above links for more on this concert, and stay tuned for Victoria Day long weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!