LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Nameless), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

Before we begin this weekend's non-Northern Vibe Festival weekend concert previews, we have cancellations to take note of, as Sault Michigan hard rock band Exit 808 are not playing at The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino tonight and tomorrow night. The band revealed on their Facebook page earlier today that they made the decision to drop out due to the Soo Kewadin not allowing bassist Blaze Beairl into the bar due to being underage (he's only entering grade 10). Blaze wasn't a permanent member of Exit 808 when they last played there in January, and the band said that "we're just not feeling comfortable stepping onto the stage" without a full lineup, so this may have been a short notice decision once the casino realized that a teenager was in the band. Exit 808 have played shows without Blaze this year, including at Musicians Unite in March, but if this was a late call, it'd be tough to get a guest fill-in for this weekend anyway.

Based on the photo shared with the announcement, ex-guitarist Nathan Webber is pictured, but I don't know if that's a giveaway that he'd have played this weekend or not. Also, the band did note that the St. Ignace Kewadin and Bay Mills have exempted Blaze for concerts at their lounges despite being casinos, but keep all this in mind, as if The Rapids Lounge don't budge, we might not see Exit 808 back there with Blaze in tow until 2031! I don't know if a late replacement band was signed or not. Stay tuned for more from Exit 808, but let's start our previews with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, with a missed concert apology to follow!

Local hard rock quartet The Nameless will return to The Merchants Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced via the band's Facebook page yesterday, and true to form, The Merch's Facebook page has not acknowledged the gig whatsoever. Fresh off of their tent-protected outdoor show in Goetzville this past Saturday, this will be their first public date in Sault Ste. Marie proper since rocking The Merch at the end of May. According to their Facebook page, TOMORROW'S show will be The Nameless' last before "we take a little break to focus in a bit and spice up the setlist", so if you're a fan of Joshua, Michael, Mike, and Jamie's hard rocking covers, come down to The Merch, as I don't know how little this break will be! The Nameless are up TOMORROW at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are live!

Now to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will hit the stage for another solo acoustic concert at The Fraternal Order of Eagles Club TOMORROW NIGHT, but sadly, we missed a show of his last night. Much to my surprise, I saw this brand new photo on Facebook this morning of him performing at The Dive Gastro Pub yesterday for their latest "Think It Over Thursday" concert (of note, he was playing outdoors on their patio rather than in the "Naughty Corner", presumably a summer bonus when weather cooperates). Alas, Tym only announced the booking via a Facebook event page yesterday morning, with The Dive following suit an hour later (they didn't post an August calendar on Facebook either), so the late notice combined with yesterday's Northern Vibe focus didn't help at all. I profusely apologize for missing yesterday's Dive concert, but hopefully Tym and attendees had a blast, and I'd have covered it had I known!

If you want an encore or make-up date, head to Steelton tomorrow for a show that had lots of notice! Tym's latest Eagles Club show (and last one until November) takes place at 8:00 PM with no cover charge and a presumed 19+ age limit. Visit the Eagles Club concert's Facebook event page for more on tomorrow's acoustic hard rock cover action on Wellington Street West, apologies again for missing his Dive show yesterday, and here's Tym live!

Finally for this preview post, the tenth annual Dragonfly Run goes down on SUNDAY NIGHT with live music in tow! For the third year since the former Ride For ARCH rebranded, this annual charity event will see a motorcycle rally through town to support the Algoma Regional Community Hospice, and the homebase returns to The Grand Gardens North for a second straight year, so attendees can take in local vendors, family friendly entertainment, bike games, prize tables, caricatures, tattoos, food & drinks, and more, so be sure to visit the official Facebook event page for full non-musical details! While the Facebook event page says that there will be "live bands all afternoon", only two are playing on Sunday, including returning southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 (who have spearheaded this event right along), and in a mild surprise that is on physical posters but not well marketed on social media, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith & his Big Finish Band in their second show of the weekend!

Good to see Mike & crew back in the Soo proper (and one day after their Northern Vibe set tomorrow), so don't miss out on their set! According to Mike's Facebook page, they're on at 3:00 PM with your local 225 headlining on Sunday evening. The Dragonfly Run proper begins at 10:00 AM, it is absolutely all ages, and it is a FREE event, though donations to ARCH are definitely encouraged. While The Grand Gardens hosts bands indoors for Toystock, the bands are slated to perform outside in the parking lot, so be advised that 9&10 News is calling for a 70% chance of thunderstorms from Sunday morning onwards. The run will go on rain or shine, but I don't know if they have provisions to move the bands indoors if need be, so keep tabs with event organizers for updates on that front. Whether riding in the rally or enjoying the Grand Gardens festivities, the Dragonfly Run is a great event for a great cause!

Visit the above links for complete details on what to expect at the Dragonfly Run (especially depending on what Mother Nature has planned), but come out to enjoy the fun if you can, and for a preview, here's Bone Yard 225 live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's CD review on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dos Amigos, Tarnished, And One Shot) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

It's almost the Civic Holiday long weekend (well, for most) in Sault Ontario, and there's a lot of hard rock-leaning concerts going down for the occasion, so much so that it will take three posts to get through everything! Alas, most of the shows this weekend were only announced on short notice, including all of the Saturday-only gigs in the post after this one, but today's focuses on bands playing shows tomorrow night in some form or fashion. Here's what you should know to lead off this busy weekend!

Let's bookend things in Sault Michigan and the E.U.P., and we'll start with local classic metal/hard rock quartet Tarnished's return to The Merchants Bar TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed this booking on their Facebook page yesterday (The Merch still only rarely promotes bands playing there on their own social media). Last seen in St. Ignace two weeks ago, TOMORROW'S one-night-only gig will be Tarnished's first in Sault Ste. Marie proper since they rocked The Savoy Bar on Independence Day, though Alex & Josh did indeed compete in (and win) the Superior Whitefish Festival battle of the bands in Brimley this past Saturday in their new side band Crush. We'll have more on that project soon, but hopefully they ride that momentum well with Chris & Ron TOMORROW as they shift back to cover mode with Tarnished at The Merch!

TOMORROW'S concert has a 9:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no cover charge as usual. Hopefully Tarnished deliver some fun hard rocking covers for fans at The Merch despite the late notice, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario for some more late notice gigs, starting with acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos, who will return to The Whiskey Barrel on Gore Street for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook page last week, as part of their weekend music schedule for the rest of the summer, though note that the band has not posted on their Facebook page at all in over three months. TOMORROW'S show will be the BookcluB side project's first publically advertised gig anywhere since rocking the same venue in late June. While we are still lacking public videos of Mikey & Dustin unplugged, fans of their long collective work in the Inner City Surfers and more will enjoy their more reserved take on punk classics TOMORROW! This a one nighter due to The Whisky Barrel's weekly Saturday jazz night.

As usual for local gigs at this acoustic-leaning Irish pub, TOMORROW'S concert has no cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and an 8:00 PM start time. Should be a fun one for punk fans looking for a lighter evening, so visit the above links for more on Dos Amigos' Whisky Barrel return!

Also this weekend, new local rock/metal sextet One Shot will debut at Reggie's Place TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, we first learned about these dates (let alone the band) when Reggie's posted about them on their Facebook page on Monday. I don't have a lot of specifics on One Shot (not to be confused with the defunct Long Shot), but they appear to mostly be high school aged, if not entirely, and this reminds me of when Reggie's booked Sylo not long after their name change. Kudos to them for booking rising young hard rock talent on occasion like this! One Shot's lineup features singer Ashton Sommers (who you may recognize from local stage musicals), guitarists Tucker Lidstone (who has played solo folk sets at The Distraction) and Aiden Snider, ...

...bassist Alex Fournier (who also has stage musical experience), drummer Edan St. Amour, and backing(?) vocalist Kate Bird. I have yet to find a social media or band page for One Shot, let alone media of them or hints towards their sound, but young local talent is always welcomed, and hopefully they have a strong debut weekend TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! These are 9:30 PM shows with 19+ age limits and no cover as usual, See above for what is publically known so far about One Shot!

We'll close preview post #1 with a rarity for this weekend: previously announced shows that were first advertised before this week! These take us back to Michigan, specifically The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where local hard rock band Exit 808 will set up shop TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! After seeing their Merch show in the Soo three weeks ago cancelled due to day job conflicts with multiple band members, this weekend's gigs will be Exit 808's first truly local shows since they rocked The Northern Pines Lounge in early June, with just one E.U.P. weekend left afterwards before the summer season is over. Based on tags on their Facebook page for this weekend's shows, former Exit 808 Double Jack guitarist Nathan Webber will again guest with his old band this weekend, with their ranks otherwise full re: the current lineup. We'll have more from Exit 808's non-local dates since late June in upcoming posts.

Tomorrow & Saturday's St. Ignace shows have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. This talented, dual vocalist-led hard rock band should have two more solid nights of lively covers, so as Exit 88 said, bring your friends & a positive attitude! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are live last month!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for late notice Saturday-only concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Night Ranger) & Recent Videos & Updates From Sault Michigan!

Kicking off our busiest week of the year is an all-Sault Michigan news post, including an inactive band note, new videos, and more, but leading off, here's a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this fall!

San Francisco hair metal/hard rock quintet Night Ranger will return to Sault Michigan for a headlining concert on Friday, October 3rd at The Dreammakers Theater at the local Kewadin Casino! Hair Scare diehards and 1980s rock fans will have last seen Night Ranger way back in September 2013, and in the 12 years since, they have released three new albums and replaced guitarist Joel Hoekstra with Keri Kelli. Of course, their classic hit singles like "Sister Christian", "Don't Tell Me You Love Me", and "Sentimental Street" remain staples of their setlist, and here's hoping they deliver another entertaining night of rock in three months! Your openers are Santa Monica glam rock duo Nelson (best known for their hits "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection"  & "After The Rain") in their apparent local debut, but their set in October will be unplugged, so keep that angle in mind in terms of how their classic material will sound this fall!

And yes, don't forget that the Nelson twins are the sons of Ricky Nelson and the grandsons of Ozzie & Harriet Nelson (quite a lineage!). Presented by Rock 101, this all ages concert has an 8:00 PM start time, and admission will start at $60 (much higher than in 2013, but there's been 12 years of inflation since). Public tickets go on sale on Friday, so click here for details on that end, including on VIP packages and meet & greets. Ticket offers will also be made on air on Rock 101 for early birds tuning in, and you can also get tickets from Friday onward at 1-800-KEWADIN or at the in-person box office. This should be another retro rock blast for you hair metal lovers, so visit the above links for more details on this huge show!

Next up, it's been way too long since I've talked about local hard rock cover band Exit 808 on here, so what have they been up to in the past few weeks? Well, before some of that, the band shared a "Reel" on on their Facebook page on June 9th from their set at Drewpalooza 2 in Republic in June of last year (their debut gig with co-vocalist Dillion Semasky). Shot by attendee Courtney Johnson, the video sees everyone (sans Amy and plus a guest backing vocalist) covering Pantera's "Walk" with strong enthusiasm and intensity! Of course, "Reels" are vertical, unembeddable, and unplayable in background tabs, so click here to give it a watch! Exit 808's next proper concert took place at the Walloon Junction Bar & Grill in Walloon Lake on June 14th, which saw the return of Blaze Beairl on bass after he missed their last few gigs dating back to the spring. However, guitarist Alex Zimmerman was on vacation (hopefully that went well!), so who filled in for him?

None other than Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins, so kudos to him for making the 2 hour drive for this gig! Former guitarist Nathan Webber also made the trip to fill in on second guitar, while members of Elmira hard rock band Driving Dawn (who played with Exit 808 at the Musicians Unite fundraiser in March) joined in as guests on a few songs here. Two videos were uploaded from the Walloon Lake concert, including this vertical clip of the guys covering the end of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird" (look at Joe's guitar solo!), but embedded below is a horizontal video of Exit 808 covering Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name" with Driving Dawn's Danny Grim on guest vocals alongside Dillion (Amy doesn't sing in either clip). While this is by far Rage's most overplayed single, Exit 808 and guests do a good job with this cover, and the rustic cabin motif adds an extra something!

Good stuff from this talented (if well travelled) local band, and if you were wondering why we didn't cover their Merchants Bar show in the Soo yesterday, it's because it was cancelled due to Dillion and Alex having schedule conflicts relating to their day jobs, as per Exit 808's Facebook page on Wednesday. Disappointing for fans (if productive the other way), but unless a new booking is made, their next truly local dates will be at the St. Ignace Kewadin at the start of August, so look for everyone then! Give these new Exit 808 videos a watch above & below, and stay tuned for more!

Finally for today's all-E.U.P. post, we have a band to surprisingly remove from our active band links, namely local hard rock quartet Dirty Musky. A reason for their apparent demise wasn't publically announced, but their Facebook (and only known online) page was quietly deleted at some point in recent months, which is historically a poor sign for a local band's status. Aside from that, drummer Jamie Costner recently joined The Nameless, who have been playing live more regularly as of late anyway. Publically active for just under two years, Dirty Musky united Jamie with Clownsack and 415E alumni into a talented four-piece with lots of entertaining and sometimes unexpected covers dating back to their debut(?) at the Government Bay Barge Bash in 2023. We had last heard of Dirty Musky publically at the Musicians Unite benefit at Bird's Eye Outfitters in March. Hopefully nothing too serious happened, and that we hear more from Dave, Fran, and Brett soon!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Double Down, Project 906, And The Nameless), Concert Previews, And More!!

As promised, we have more concert previews to knock out on this very busy final weekend of May 2025, so today's second post focuses primarily on SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for Saturday night, along with a previously announced weekend, with new videos to talk about from half of them. Here's what you should know as we continue this busy preview stretch!

Local blues/hard rock quintet Project 906 will return to The Strongs Tavern in nearby Eckerman for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the band's Facebook event page on Tuesday. Last seen in Hessel a few weeks ago, this will be 906's first show out in Strongs since early March, and it should be a prime opportunity for fans an hour west to check out Billy, Joe, Dustin, Jason, and Brian's brand of melodic hard rock covers in a familiar locale despite the late notice! SATURDAY's concert has an 8:00 PM start time, there is no announced cover charge, and you must be 21 or older to attend. No word yet on when we'll next see Project 906 on stage, but perhaps another "#summerof906" is to be detailed, so stay tuned to their Facebook page for further updates. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of Project 906!

This comes from their Back Bay Grill & Games concert at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley last month (via their Facebook page), and sees them covering the Black Crowes version of Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle". Pretty good cover, if with somewhat gruffer vocals, but fans should take to this one well enough! Unfortunately, the video was shot vertically, and while everyone's more or less seen on camera, why accentuate the empty floor like this, occasional dancers aside? Give this new live video a watch below!

Next up, fellow local hard rock quartet The Nameless will return to The Merchants Bar for one night only themselves on SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was also only announced via their Facebook event page on Tuesday. This will be the band's first stop at The Merch since April 10th, which was also their first show with Dirty Musky's Jamie Costner behind the drumkit, a role that she has since signed on with permanently. This will be her third concert with The Nameless, including their gig at Huck's in Rudyard earlier this month that the band never publicized on their Facebook page. It's great to see that Jamie is fitting in well with Joshua and the Mikes, and hopefully SATURDAY'S Merch show is another hit as The Nameless continue making their local name! A 9:00 PM start time is in effect for this one-nighter in the Soo, which has a 21+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's The Nameless live!

Also taking place on SATURDAY NIGHT is Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down's debut at Beck's Bar! Apologies again for the short notice, the band first announced the gig on their Facebook page on Sunday, with the venue's Facebook page clarifying the date/time one day later. The guys will be rocking a west end nightclub for a second straight weekend, after hitting up Jay's (sans Beej) last week, but Saturday's one-nighter (due to Friday DJ nights at Beck's) will hopefully give everyone a chance to unleash some solid live rock covers for a new audience! It will be a busy day for most of the band though, as Double Down (minus drummer Ric Datson) will also be playing in Beck's 3:00 PM matinee timeslot on SATURDAY as well, under the band name The T.R.I.P.. What that acronym stands for, I don't know, but Occam's Razor would suggest that this is an acoustic side project from Joel, Beej, and Dan.

I couldn't tell you what The T.R.I.P. play yet, or if they're basically an acoustic/drum-less take on Double Down or not, but we'll let you know when more comes out! If you're curious to come aboard this T.R.I.P., remember that it's technically a separate matinee concert, and they're not "opening" for Double Down, who take the stage 2 hours after their sister band wrap up. Double Down proper are on at 9:00 PM on SATURDAY with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Double Down live!

Finally for weekend concert preview post #2, we'll stay in the west end, as fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Headrush will rock The Esquire Club TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Unlike the above dates, this one was announced with lots of advance notice, and will mark the end of their two month break from the public stage. It's worth noting that guitarist Wes Greco has posted nine live clips of the band on his TikTok page that haven't made their way to Facebook (a platform that I don't believe he uses), so if you want more samples of Headrush's live setlist, check those out! As they're on TikTok though, they're all short and vertical, and I can't get their embed codes working on the SMS, but you can see them there covering AC/DC, Cheap Trick, Sweeney Todd, Rick Springfield, Toto, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Eddie Money, and two Journey songs (linked here & here).

Not the ideal way to post concert videos for SMS purposes, but kudos to Wes for posting these glimpses of "80's music at its finest" along with some earlier cuts! Headrush take the stage tomorrow & Saturday at The Esquire Club at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new Headrush video that I can embed here, and it sees them covering Bon Jovi's "Runaway" at a recent jam session! Posted by bassist John Amendola on their Facebook group on May 12th, this well shot horizontal video captures a solid rendition of this newer song in their live setlists, so give it a watch below!

That's all for today, but our weekend concert previews will conclude next with Saturday's previously announced Generations, Dodge This, and Tym Morrison concerts. Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Unfortunate Sun) & Easter Weekend Concert Previews!!

The Easter long weekend is upon us, so let's dive into another round of hard rock weekend concert previews! Due to the extended write-up on the one show, our preview of Saturday's Tym Morrison matinee will hit the site in tomorrow's post, along with more updates. Here's what you should know, starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE!

After taking March off, Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Unfortunate Sun have announced ten upcoming concert dates through early December, as per this concert calendar from their Facebook page on Monday! I won't list the last three dates on our calendar yet due to the distant timing (especially when no other E.U.P. hard rock acts have went that far ahead yet), but you can first see the Fake Chow successors THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at The Merchants Bar! Apologies for the short notice, the band first announced that gig on their Facebook page this past Friday. Next week, the guys will return to Huck's Pub & Grill in nearby Rudyard on Saturday, April 26th, with a return there planned for Saturday, July 26th, so keep these shows at the former Joe's Pub in mind! The other shows that we'll list today will see Skip, Jody, Tony, and Jason take the stage at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on July 11th-12th & September 19th-20th.

Good to see Unfortunate Sun back at it with a reasonably busy mid-late 2025 calendar, and definitely stay tuned for more show announcements from this talented hard rock cover group! All of these shows (THIS SATURDAY at The Merch included) are 9:00 PM affairs except for the April 26th show at Huck's, which is actually a 4:00 PM matinee for publically unannounced reasons. All dates have no announced cover charges and 21+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details on Unfortunate Sun's next seven currently announced concerts, and for a preview of SATURDAY's Merch gig, here they are live!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario for the rest of this weekend's currently known hard rock/metal previews, and if you want some actual metal, head to Soo Blaster TOMORROW NIGHT for The Pit, a four band package of local metal, including two live debuts! Your headliners are death/thrash metal trio Pillory in their first concert of 2025 and after an eight month hiatus from the stage, so prepare for a ferocious set of original tunes from this long established group on Good Friday! Fast-rising metal trio The BAG will co-headline in their own first gig of the year, and they should keep momentum going well from their high profile dates last year! As well documented in Facebook "Reels" in recent weeks, local progressive/djent metal quartet Convergence will play their first ever concert tomorrow, also giving fans the first chance to hear full songs with singer Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio and drummer David Peredun in their lineup.

How will all of Convergence's hype and preparation lead up to tomorrow's debut concert? Be at Soo Blaster to find out! Opening tomorrow's festivities are the debuting Maynard Hayes, featuring former Infamous guitarist Damon King and the aforementioned David Peredun, but we don't know very much on them otherwise yet (their Instagram page is pretty bare). You can learn more at/in The Pit tomorrow! This Good Friday concert is ALL AGES with doors opening at 7:00 PM, and tickets run for $10 in advance at this link or $15 at the door. If you love honest to goodness metal, be at Soo Blaster tomorrow night for all of the action, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new rehearsal video of Pillory in action! Posted to their Facebook page on Monday, this features Robert, Blair, and Bret playing a newer original named "Specimen of Egostism".

No vocals to speak of in this jam, and the vantage point is far from ideal (unless you don't mind staring at Blair's back), but if you like brutal death metal, you'll take to this performance, which seems perfectly on brand for Blair-era Pillory. Check it out below, and don't miss the metal spree from all four bands at Soo Blaster tomorrow night!

Finally for this preview post, let's head to Reggie's Place, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will return for two more "sermons" TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Reggie's Place! After ending their spring break from local concerts this past weekend (also at Reggie's), "The Dirty 3" will set up shop at the Queen Street staple for a second straight weekend, so if you missed them on April 11th-12th and/or find that the Easter long weekend is optimal to enjoy their southern fried rock covers and originals, then head downtown for all of the action this weekend! If you can't make it, Bone Yard return to Reggie's in two weeks (their shows next weekend are in Sudbury). Tomorrow and Saturday's shows see your local 225 rock the stage at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Bone Yard 225 live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Nameless) & The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

Another busy concert weekend is upon us for hard rock fans in the Twin Saults and area! As such, our previews of this Saturday's HeadFirst, Silent 9, and Tarnished shows will be in tomorrow's post. Also, if you were curious about the publically advertised folk/bluegrass concert being opened by folk punk solo project Agnosticism on Saturday, that's taking place in Golden Scoundrels/ex-Shit Liver frontman Josh Penno's kitchen, and the address is only being given on request (as the event page says, "ask a punk"). We don't fully cover shows without a public address, but keep it in mind for your Saturday plans! Now, here's what you should know to start the weekend off, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Sault Michigan hard rock quintet The Nameless will return to the stage on SATURDAY NIGHT at The Merchants Bar! Apologies for the short notice, this gig was only publically announced via the band's Facebook page earlier today, but the band noted that they had "just over a week for prep". We hadn't heard from The Nameless since they headlined The Merch's New Year's Eve party, so it will be good to see their lively and crowd-pleasing brand of rock covers back at it after a four month break! However, SATURDAY's concert will be sans drummer Justin Lawless for publically unannounced reasons, but The Nameless have recruited Dirty Musky drummer Jamie Costner to fill in for the night. Jamie elaborated on her personal Facebook page (said post was publically shared by the band) that she had to learn 35 songs in 12 days, and that "it’s important to do something terrifying once in a while" (she really isn't wrong there.)

Kudos to Jamie for stepping on just over a week's/12 days' notice, and hopefully she and The Nameless knock it out of the park at The Merch on SATURDAY (and that all is well with Justin!). This one-night-only concert has a 9:00 PM start time, no announced cover charge, and a 21+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and here's The Nameless live!

Next up, let's take a brief detour to Sault Ontario by heading to Reggie's Place, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will take the stage TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! The guys opted to take the past month+ off from the live stage in order to focus on writing/recording original material and for "getting prepared for an extremely busy spring, summer, and fall", so these will be their first "sermons" since playing at Reggie's on March 1st, aside from a Thessalon road trip last week. Good to see Greg, Alex, and Warren back at it, and hopefully this weekend's shows are hits for fans of their old school hard and southern rock covers (and originals!). Your local 225 take the stage at 9:30 PM tomorrow and Saturday with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and here's Bone Yard live!

Back in Sault Michigan, let's next look at the return of Iron Mountain, Michigan classic/hard rock cover quintet Oz, who will rock The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! These are effectively the rescheduling of the planned Valentine's Day weekend shows that Oz were to have played at the Soo Kewadin, only to get called off after a ransomware attack forced all Kewadin Casino locations to close for over two weeks. Oz quickly announced their April return though, so fans of heavier-leaning classic rock will find a lot to like this weekend from this skilled and experienced Western U.P. outfit! Given the February cancellation, these are Oz's first local dates since December of last year. As usual for Kewadin concerts, expect 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits this weekend. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Oz live!

Finally for this preview post, we'll head to Brimley, where local hard/blues rock quartet Project 906 will make their way back to The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! This has been a long time coming for 906, having last rocked The Back Bay Grill in 2023, so if you've missed them at Bay Mills in the past 18 months, come on down to "your perfect up north retreat" in two days' time! Local fans last saw Project 906 (sans a vacationing Billy Bernier) at the Musicians Unite fundraiser for guitarist Joe Jenkins' wife Mary Jo in the Soo on March 22nd, which we will have more fallout from on the SMS in the coming days, but their most recent gig with Billy on vocals was in Strongs on March 1st. Should be a good time for fans of hard rock cover favourites, so don't miss out on all of the action in Brimley on Saturday night!

Note that frequent guest hand drummer Brian Duford hinted that he will be there too in the comments for Project 906's most recent Facebook page plug of this show. Saturday's concert is at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on this concert, and for a preview, here's 906 live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Musicians Unite Benefit & Dirty Musky!!)

We have a fair backlog of news items to clear out on the SMS as we begin March 2025, so let's start with an all-Sault Michigan post solely devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this month. Here's what you should know!

Local hard rock cover quartet Dirty Musky will rock The Merchants Bar on Saturday, March 15th! This one-nighter will be their second show of 2025 (after rocking Hessel during Snowsfest last month), and their first gig in the Soo since playing at The Merch right before Christmas. Like in their last two concerts, the festivities in two weeks have a theme, as March 15th falls a couple of days before St. Patrick's Day, so in lieu of a Monday nighter, expect bands to take advantage of the 15th for their Irish themed festivities and green beer! We await specifics on what The Merch/Dirty Musky have in mind though. You can see Dave, the Blackwoods, and Jamie take the stage that night at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on what should be a fun night of hard rocking tunes, but we're not done with Dirty Musky yet, as they've got one more booking this month in the Soo..

One week later, on Saturday, March 22nd, a huge lineup of rock bands will join forces at Bird's Eye Outfitters for a special cause! As some of you may know, Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins' wife Mary Jo has been diagnosed with breast cancer, which she has been battling for the past year. To help offset the expenses that her treatments and travel downstate have incurred on her family while she's not working, local musicians are hosting the Musicians Unite benefit concert at Bird's Eye to raise funds for the Jenkins family at this difficult time. Having lost my mother (named Mary, incidentally) to ovarian cancer in 2020, I completely sympathize with Mary Jo and her family as this fight continues, and I hope that this concert goes a fair way to helping the Jenkins clan through this! Entry for this benefit concert will be via donation (I don't know if it's 21+ or not), and a silent auction will also take place.

A huge lineup of six bands will be headlined on the 22nd by Marquette hard rock cover quartet Spun in their first local date since 2022, though bassist Bob Libick will be familiar to local fans for his frequent appearances as a guest fill-in bassist with Exit 808 in the past year. Great to see Spun proper back in town later this month! They're on at 10:45 PM, while your co-headliners at 9:00 PM are Elmira hard rock quintet Driving Dawn in their local debut. While we haven't seen them on stage yet here, readers may recognize Driving Dawn from winning the Rock Recovery battle of the bands in Alpena last year, which featured the aforementioned Exit 808 as competitors, so it's nice to see past coverage get further local links! Exit 808 (who are promoting this event) are the highest slotted local band in their first gig since the I-500 weekend, and will take the stage at 7:30 PM. Kudos to Amy & Jackie for putting this on!

The poster heavily implies that rising young Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich will be making "appearances" during Exit 808's set, so keep an eye out for Molly rocking out with a new set of "other guys"! The aforementioned Dirty Musky are blocked for 6:00 PM at Bird's Eye, while Project 906 proper will play their first Sault Ste. Marie gig of 2025 at 4:30 PM. Odd that they're so early in the night given the benefit's inspiration, but it'll surely be an emotional one for Joe in particular, and hopefully they have a strong set! Your openers at 3:00 PM are About:Blank, the new local punk/alternative trio that Yoopers will next be able to see at Three One Three on Ashmun on March 15th. Multi-band events like this are still not all that common in the E.U.P., but that is changing, and given the very important reason for this one, I hope that a huge crowd turns out to support Mary Jo and family and enjoy this lineup! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (HeadFirst & Exit 808) And I-500 Weekend Concert Previews!!

With January coming to a close, let's wrap up the month and begin February at the same time with weekend concert previews! Due to the amount of shows this weekend, I'll hold this weekend's Bone Yard 225 and Curtis McKenzie shows for tomorrow's post. Now, here's what you should know, starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, some on SHORT NOTICE!

Sault Michigan hard rock cover band Exit 808 will return to The Merchants Bar TONIGHT as entertainment during the West Spruce Street nightclub's participation in this year's International 500 snowmobile race's annual pub crawl! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed this special Thursday nighter on their Facebook page last week. Last seen at The Merch around Halloween, this will be Exit 808's third public gig of 2025, and despite the late notice, things should be hopping TONIGHT as pub crawlers make their away to thirteen local bars and nightclubs, so if you want to participate in the action across the Soo TONIGHT, click here for more details on who and where is taking part! Thursdsy scheduling during the I-500 weekend aside, this seems to be a traditional concert, so look for more double vocalist-led hard rock covers at The Merch TONIGHT to kick off a very busy few days!

The only apparent hard rock-leaning concert during the pub crawl proper, TONIGHT'S Exit 808 show has a 21+ age limit, no cover charge, and a 9:00 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details on Exit 808's concert proper and the pub crawl TONIGHT, and for a preview, here they are live!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario briefly, as local hard rock quintet HeadFirst will reportedly return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, with returns also scheduled for Saturday, March 1st and April 12th! Again, apologies for the short notice on THIS SATURDAY's show, all three shows were only announced via the venue's Facebook page this morning, and HeadFirst themselves have not corroborated the bookings on their own social media at press time. Last seen at Shooters early last month, their show on SATURDAY will be their first local date of 2025, and third period following their trip to Sudbury earlier this month. Hopefully this proves to be a fun night of hard rocking covers and originals from this talented young group, and helps set their year off on the right foot! Remember, Shooters has hosted DJ nights on Fridays since the start of last year, so these are all one-nighters.

The Dennis Street nightclub has also teased having drink specials, "food features" (the kitchen will be open late), and promos/surprises of some kind, so keep all of that in mind on SATURDAY! These three shows are all 9:30 PM affairs with no cover charges and 19+ age limits. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's HeadFirst live!

Staying in Sault Ontario for an event that did have advance notice, here's a special charitable event going down TOMORROW NIGHT, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will headline the Alzheimer Society Sault Ste. Marie & Algoma District's 40th annual Making Memories Matter fundraiser at The Grand Gardens! Listed as a "private event" on the concert calendar on Silent 9's website, Making Memories Matter XL will see Silent 9 rocking the night away for a great cause, while attendees will also be able to take in a silent auction, cash bar, dinner, cocktails, and a "silent disco" (dancing to music played through headphones so as to not disrupt other events). This will be Silent 9's first publically attendable concert of 2025, beating their Bon Soo gig by a week, but it is a pricey one, as tickets are $60. Remember the charitable aims and all the included frills for that money though, let alone how bad Alzheimer's disease is.

This event starts no later than 5:30 PM (when cocktails are served), but Silent 9 give their start time at 9:00 PM on their website. Contact the Alzheimer's Society if you want advance ticket before tomorrow's festivities, and hopefully they and Silent 9 have a great night to help raise funds and awareness for Alzheimer's disease! See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Silent 9 live!

Finally for this post, we'll return to the aforementioned Merchants Bar in Sault Michigan, where local hard rock quartet Unfortunate Sun will round out the busy I-500 weekend with concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! While Exit 808 get the short notice honours at The Merch for TONIGHT'S pub crawl, this is obviously a very busy tourism weekend in Sault Ste. Marie, and The Merch definitely leans into it. Beyond the concerts, they're hosting the annual I-500 breakfast on Saturday morning, and I believe they will be showing the snowmobile race on TVs there if you'd rather tune in there as opposed to outdoors in the cold at the oval. The race starts at 10:00 AM and runs about eight hours, so Saturday's concert would effectively be an afterparty if you're so inclined (there are bands at Kewadin Casino too this weekend, where the closing ceremonies and awards and such are given out, but not hard rock ones). With the cancellation of their Cedarville show two weeks ago, these will be Unfortunate Sun's first shows of the year.

Hopefully the Fake Chow successors' hard rock cover attack goes over well with what should be sizeable crowds of locals and tourists alike for the I-500 weekend, so don't miss out on all of the action at The Merch! Like with Exit 808 TONIGHT, tomorrow and Saturday's shows are at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Unfortunate Sun live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Bone Yard 225 & Curtis McKenzie previews and more next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished, Double Down, And Tym Morrison) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

A busier concert weekend is upon us, especially compared to last week, but there are a bunch of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS reflecting hard rock shows either announced in the past week or late last year that slipped me by. This post also includes an apology for a missed show and related updates from some acts, but it doesn't include previews of Saturday's Generations show or Sunday's Hails-headlined concert, which will topline our next post. Now, here's what you should know to start off this weekend!

Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will play his first public concert dates of 2025 TONIGHT at The Dive Gastro Pub and then on SATURDAY at Misty's Fifties! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were quietly announced via Facebook event pages linked here & here on December 30th and Sunday respectively. As it turns out, these will be Tym's first shows since he played at Misty's for a Saturday matinee on December 28th, as per this Facebook event page that only went live earlier that same afternoon. Extremely late notice or not, I do apologize, but hopefully Tym ended his 2024 calendar on a high note in the west end two weeks ago! Meanwhile, TONIGHT'S "Think It Over Thursday" stop at The Dive will be his first there since late October, so if you've missed Tym's rocking acoustic covers on Queen Street East in recent months, he's back at it sooner than you may realize!

TONIGHT'S Dive show is at 9:30 PM, SATURDAY'S Misty's Fifties gig is a 4:00 PM matinee, and both are 19+ affairs with no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more on Tym's busy start to this new year, and for a preview, here he is live a couple of years ago!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will lead off their 2025 slate when they rock The Water Tower Pub for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was also first announced on December 30th, this time via the venue's January concert calendar, which slipped us by at the time to cover the show with some notice. This will be the Syrettes, Brad, and Ric's first public concert in about a month, though they were seen in the interim at Nogdawindamin Family & Community Services' Christmas party (the band promised to post videos from that night, but have not done so at press time). Hopefully a sizeable crowd turns up at The Water Tower Pub TOMORROW for Double Down's classic and hard rock cover array! The Great Northern Road nightclub continues to host different nightly acts, with Saturday's band being rock cover trio The Sidekicks.

TOMORROW's Double Down show has an 8:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge, as is standard at The Water Tower Pub. See above for more details on this concert, and for a preview, here they are live!

Also this weekend, let's head to Sault Michigan, where local hard rock/classic metal band Tarnished will kick off 2025 with a headlining date at The Merchants Bar on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, this show was only announced via its official Facebook event page this past Saturday. Believe it or not, this one-nighter will be Tarnished's first public concert appearance since October, when they rocked the Soo's Kewadin Casino branch before finishing second in that month's Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands. After playing alongside Molly Escherich & Destini Smith at the battle, Alex Traynor & Josh Fair will welcome back Rhythm & Brews bandmates Chris Leask and Ron Suchey as their rhythm section on SATURDAY, which will be familiar to fans who saw Tarnished live in mid-late 2024, though they have yet to officially confirm if Chris & Ron have joined Tarnished full time or not.

It's also worth noting that Alex & Josh have started a small music lesson/recording/repair business out of the back of the former Crooked Music building at 539 Ashmun Street. Not a full service revival of the downtown music store, but it's nice to see the guys keeping some of the same features around, so visit the band's Facebook page for details! SATURDAY'S Tarnished concert at The Merch (and all of the 1980s-centric metal tunes therein) has a 9:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

We'll close this preview post by heading back to Sault Ontario, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will play their first shows of the year TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT when they rock Reggie's Place! Your local 225 have certainly been making Reggie's their home away from home this winter, with tomorrow and Saturday's previously announced shows being #7-8 out of nine booked there in December & January (their last show there this month is on Friday the 31st). Of note, these will be Bone Yard's last shows before releasing their new studio single "Fuck!" on January 20th, and you may get to hear it performed live this weekend beforehand. Regardless, fans of Greg, Alex, and Warren's southern and hard rock covers will find a lot to like tomorrow and/or on Saturday night! Expect 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges. See above for more details, and here's Bone Yard live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Generations and Hails previews (and more) on the site next! Thanks everyone!