LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Generations & Headrush) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

For this final batch of hard rock weekend concert previews of May 2026 (and arguably, the spring), we have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to lead off, along with a pair of other new show for next month, so here's what you should know on this sunny Thursday!

Local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band first announced the gigs via their Facebook event page on Monday, and alas, the venue has opted not to post an early 2026 concert calendar on social media this year, instead plugging bands week by week. Last seen opening for Crazy Babies at The Full Throttle Saloon three weeks ago, fans last saw the Johns, Wes, Gino, and Frank at The Esquire Club early last month. Headrush (no space) will definitely be live and loud TOMORROW & SATURDAY with their 1980s-leaning cover rock slate, so if you want to "come out & dance, party, and get your freak on", you know where to be! In their last shows before their incoming summer slate, TOMORROW & SATURDAY's gigs are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges.

Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new jam session video from Headrush's Facebook group! Uploaded by bassist John Amendola, the video sees them covering Triumph's classic single "Lay It On The Line", and given how well Triumph went over in their concert here last month, it's good timing to cover them, especially when they handle the song this well! John Anderson hits the necessary notes on vocals too, but will you see it TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY? Be at The Esquire Club to find out!

Next up, let's jump ahead a tiny bit, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to the stage for shows at Gateway Casino on Saturday, June 6th and at The Water Tower Pub on Saturday, June 27th! Generations are in the late stages of a two month break, partly due to an unspecified family emergency for Valerie or Joe, having last taken the stage at Searchmont last month for their Snowcross weekend. Fans last saw this talented veteran quartet rocking Gateway Casino in early March, while the June 27th Water Tower Pub show will effectively be a rescheduling of their cancelled April 18th concert there (they last successfully played at this venue in February). Good to see the Jus' Chillin successors back at it, and keep both of their one-night-only shows in mind for your concert planning next month! Both shows are at 9:00 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details!

Back to weekend concert previews now, and we'll head south to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino next, as Munising, Michigan classic/hard rock cover quintet The Sky Pilots will make their way back east TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Fronted by former Electric Motor Fish/Swayze Train singer Melissa Strand, this weekend's shows will be The Sky Pilots' first in the EUP since they rocked The Rapids Lounge at the Soo Kewadin in March, and their first at the St. Ignace branch since November of last year. It's good to see Melissa back in our area with her entertaining current project, and fans can expect "live music, classic rock, and 90s hits" all weekend, so keep these May-ending shows in mind! As usual for Kewadin lounge gigs, tomorrow and Saturday's previously announced concerts are at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's The Sky Pilots live in their hometown!

Finally for this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for veteran local singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's return to Misty's Fifties for a matinee concert on SATURDAY! Fresh off of his Dive Gastro Pub show last week (which was 100% a "Patio Play" gig), this Saturday's concert is the last at the Second Line West nightclub advertised by Tym in his batch Facebook event page covering shows there, and it remains to be seen when/if he will announce summer dates at Misty's. He will definitely have shows elsewhere this summer, but just in case, consider a run to Misty's Fifties on Saturday to enjoy his well produced classic and hard rock covers! As usual for Tym's shows here, this is a 3:00 PM matinee concert with a presumed 19+ age limit and no cover charge. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Sky Pilots), A New Local Band, And More Recent Updates!!

I hope everyone is having a good Easter Sunday! Whether you could call a new SMS post an Easter treat is debatable, but I do have a new news post to check out, including new videos and updates from two bands featuring Fitswitch alumni, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the E.U.P. next month, and leading off, a new addition to our Sault Ontario band links, so here's what you should know, whether you'd found your Easter eggs or not!

Fresh off of their live concert debut yesterday at Beck's Bar, we can now add new local hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe to our active band links, as they have launched a Facebook page! They were already on Instagram and TikTok, but neither platform is as feature-rich and intentionally designed for usage as a formal band page. There's not much on their Facebook page yet, but a video of them covering 3 Doors Down's "Loser" at Beck's is floating around on personal Facebook accounts. While they have more unexpected band choices in their repertoire, how often to you see 3 Doors Down covers locally? It is a well done cover if you can find it, and R.I.P. Brad Arnold, of course. In terms of new public content, 5.D.B. did post some new "meet the band" images on Instagram where you can learn more about the members' favourite bands (Tyler pulls some real deep cuts!) and other roles.

Their only new video since we first spotlighted Five Dollar Bribe on the SMS is embedded below, where half of the band do a comedy sketch to promote the matinee gig at Beck's and a contest to win an official band t-shirt (had you liked and tagged the post on Instagram or TikTok, you'd have been entered for a chance). Fun for what it is, so give it a watch below, and we'll have more from 5 Dollar Bribe when it goes live!

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Next up, here are those LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, as Munising, Michigan classic/hard rock cover quintet The Sky Pilots will return to our area for concerts on Friday, May 29th and Saturday, May 30th at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! The only brand new hard rock-leaning shows announced in either regional Kewadin branch's entertainment pages through the next two months, these will be The Sky Pilots' first St. Ignace shows since early November, though I must profusely apologize, as they also returned to The Rapids Lounge in Sault Ste. Marie for concerts on March 13th and 14th, as per their Facebook page. I've gotta keep better tabs on The Sky Pilots, especially as they played in the E.U.P. five times last year, and they are fronted by former Electric Motor Fish/Swayze Train singer Melissa Strand, so I am sorry for missing last month's gigs, but I hope they were a huge hit!

Of note, last month's shows were actually the Pilots' first concerts of 2026, regardless of locale. Next month's shows do not fall on the Memorial Day long weekend, which is the week prior this year. As usual for Kewadin lounge gigs, these are at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details on what should be a fun weekend of old school rocking covers from this talented U.P. band!

Also today, here's an update from a band that we haven't talked about on the SMS in months, namely Sault Ontario/Barrie crossover thrash band Spades GT! There is a reason why updates dried up from their camp, and while I have not seen an official public statement about what happened, what I would characterize as "sudden personal differences" arose in mid-December, and I'll leave it there pending 100% public word from the band about their future or lack thereof. Their last show (to date?) was at C.W. Coop's in Barrie on December 13th where they opened for Pale Horse Ritual, and what happened internally arose before they could post a recap video from that show or their November 14th gig with Anvil in Delhi. However, I did find something brand new that I'm surprised that the former Jack Spades never promoted, as they featured on a live album last year! Fans will know that Spades frequently travelled to Meyersburg in Southern Ontario for the annual Spiderfest, which is the basis of this Bandcamp-exclusive album.

The "name your price" album "Spiderfest 2024 RP001" was released on June 11th, and it features one live cut each (in performance order) from the 2024 festival lineup, with past local headliners Random Killing, The Ripcordz, and The Bunchofuckingoofs among the 23 included bands. This rendition of "Succubus" from 2023's "Sewer City Radio" features the band's summer 2024 lineup, including then-new guitarist Matthew Voros and the soon-to-depart James Roy Daley on bass. Strong (if quick) performance with really nice recording quality across the board, so give this punk compilation a listen above, and we'll let you know if Spades GT clarify their status publically!

We'll close today with new videos from local doom/sludge duo The Spaceship Opening's Facebook page! One of the videos features an off-camera Andrew MacDonald testing his new bass cab, and while the musicality of it is debatable, he is getting deep powerful bass out of it (ask what appears to be a burned out match midway through!) The other video is another live recording from the same concert seen in their first two official public videos (which is apparently "all we have" as of Friday). I did want to clarify as to what event their three performance videos actually came from, as the event took place before I could verify The Spaceship Opening's sound/genre. This was a fundraiser for the Sault Theatre Workshop on November 29th, where they and DJ Seith opened for comedy rock band The Floor Between Us, who also headlined a show there the previous day with a different opener lineup.

No word on who November 28th openers A.D.H.D. are, but that name alone will make it hard to look them up! Kudos to all involved for supporting the Sault Theatre Workshop and their programming, and you can see videos of The Floor Between Us that weekend on their new Facebook page! As for The Spaceship Opening, this video actually features Andrew on vocals, so they're not an instrumental-only band. It is a little faster and punkier than their prior two songs, but it's hard to get a sense for Andrew's vocal capabilities, as he sings in a relative monotone that, while well suited to alt-rock, may not show his full range. Not a bad drum-and-bass number, so give it a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Andrew & Ralph!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Sky Pilots), Bone Yard 225 Concert Previews, And New Videos!!

Today's post takes us to a quiet batch of hard rock concert previews (at least as far as publically announced shows), so rounding things out are some full set videos from bands on both sides of the border. Let's lead off with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Munising classic/hard rock cover quintet The Sky Pilots will return to the E.U.P. for concerts at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we just learned of these gigs via Kewadin's entertainment page when gathering together yesterday's all-Sault Michigan post, but the band quietly first announced these shows via the concert calendar on their Facebook page back in April. This weekend's shows follow The Sky Pilots' late notice turn as headliners at The Shamrock Show at Three One Three On Ashmun in March,  but regrettably, I completely missed their debuts at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Kewadin on July 25th & 26th for coverage on here. I profusely apologize, the slowdown in heavier Kewadin bookings is no excuse on my end, but I hope The Sky Pilots had a great turnout here in July!

While The Sky Pilots themselves hadn't played in our area before March, some readers may recognize singer Melissa Strand, who sang for local hard rock bands like Swayze Train, Electric Motor Fish, and Toast in the early 2010s before moving west. It's cool to see Mel back in a live band, let alone a talented one that is starting to come our way more often! TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S St. Ignace Kewadin gigs are at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and here's The Sky Pilots live!

Next up, here's this weekend's only other currently verified heavier concerts (alas, there is usually a post-Halloween lull), as Sault Ontario southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will set up shop at The Esquire Club TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Barring a schedule change or a hypothetical booking on the Boxing Day weekend, this will be your local 225's final concert weekend at the Second Line West nightclub for 2025, as per the venue's fall concert calendar, "The dirty three" don't play here all that often compared to other venues, but if you want the full plugged-in Bone Yard experience, don't miss out on this weekend's action, and expect merchandise and original music as well! Their "high-energy classic rock party" begins at 9:30 PM tomorrow and Saturday night with 19+ age limits and no cover charges as usual. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video!

Filmed at Bone Yard 225's Roberta Bondar Pavilion matinee set at the Queen Street Cruise in June, this (sadly) vertical video features 22 seconds of the guys during an instrumental solo section of a song that I wasn't immediately able to identify. While a fun performance from what we hear, it wasn't uploaded to highlight the song, but rather to honour last month's passing of Queen Street Cruise founder Gary Trembinski Sr., who was standing on stage while Bone Yard were performing. Gary was also a former city councillor, the owner of Metallo's Mini-Mart, and was involved in many other community events, and our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends at this time. Gary sounds like he was a great guy. Check out the video below!

Let's close today with some new full concert videos, starting with local death/thrash metal trio's most recent video on drummer Bret Shuttleworth's YouTube channel! This comes from their set opening for Kaonashi at Jay's Piston Broke Pub on October 29th of last week (Halloween costumes were encouraged but the band did not partake), where they played a half hour set that old Rosie metal night fans definitely enjoyed! In performance order, Robert, Devon, and Bret tackled their usual intro cover of "End of Small Sanctuary" from Silent Hill 3, before playing "Specimen of Egotism", "Abhorred Apprehension", "The Curse of Eternal Sickness", "The Angst of Existence", "Wasting", "The Passing", and as recently usual, their set-ending cover of Sepultura's "Territory". Of the originals from their new album "Old Soul", six of the nine songs were played here, omitting "Sculptor of Cadavers" and the final two songs. 

Bret did note in the description that there are flashing strobe lights on stage (mind that if you have epileptic seizures), and he apologized for being stuck behind the infamous support beam on stage, reasoning the camera location as the best spot without getting in the way of fans. Nice and brutal performance across the board that existing Pillory fans and new ones alike should take to, so give it a watch below, and if you want CD copies of "Old Soul", they are now at The Rad Zone!

We'll wrap this post up by coming full circle to the E.U.P. for a look at Sault Michigan punk trio The Sole Aggressors' final(?) concert set, as filmed in full for their YouTube channel! On August 18th, the guys gathered at singer/guitarist Brett Siesel's place for their final gig before members moved out of the area for college, though initial finality teasers were dialed back to an "indefinite hiatus", along with plans to record an album of their original songs at some point. This garage concert saw Brett, Calvin, and Isaac play (in order) "Kill A Celebrity", "Ventilation", "The Same Individualist" "Tale Of An American Hero", "State Of The World", "Teenage Guide", "False Hope", "Hypocrite", "Heil Artificiality", "Humans Aren't Ordinary Monkeys", "Kill Thy Neighbour", and "Fool", before a brief jam of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man". Originals resume with "Time To Commercialize!", "Reject", "Burning Down", "Fast Punk For Fast Food", "Melted Plastic", and "Down By The Bay".

This set includes all of The Sole Aggressors' publically performed originals from their other full set videos, though aside from the "Iron Man" snippet, there are no covers here. Definitely a warm day here (you can tell based on how shirts vanished early), but it's a blistering punk set that genre fans will easily take to, and it's good too see the guys in more natural lighting! Many of their concert videos were impaired by heavy colour tints from the lighting setups at the venue. Hopefully we will hear more from The Sole Aggressors when able, but give their last(?) concert a watch below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (BookcluB) & More St. Patrick's Day Weekend Concert Previews!!

Let's continue this busy stretch of weekend concert previews on this Friday night! Due to a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT hitting the news desk earlier today, we will have to extend things into a third post, so our preview of tomorrow's HeadFirst concert will be in tomorrow's post, hopefully making it on the site sooner rather than later. Now, here's what you should know for more of tomorrow's live hard rock/punk concert action!

Local alternative punk cover sextet BookcluB will play their first announced public concert of 2025 TOMORROW NIGHT at The Kiln at Searchmont Resort! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show via their Facebook page earlier today, but it was quietly announced on Searchmont's website's events calendar earlier this month. TOMORROW'S show will be BookcluB's first announced gig since the Illuminate The Season fundraiser in November, so if you've missed this horn section-infused supergroup's unexpected array of covers over the winter, keep TOMORROW'S concert in mind if you're up for a drive to Searchmont! No word on if there will be St. Patrick's Day themes or frills TOMORROW, but Bookclub are effectively the night cap for Searchmont's end-of-March-Break party, which features various family entertainment, prizes if you wear plaid or denim, and a barbecue. 

To that end, The Kiln will actually be hosting two distinct concerts TOMORROW, with cover rock band The Boat Dads playing a matinee gig from 3:00-5:00 PM, but they're not "opening" for BookcluB, whose set doesn't begin until 8:00 PM. There isn't a stated age limit at Searchmont's on-site restaurant and concert venue, and there is no cover charge beyond what you might be paying to hit the slopes. With spring coming faster and faster, hopefully BookcluB have a strong set TOMORROW at Searchmont, so visit the above links for more details, and here they are live!

Next up, let's head across to Sault Michigan and the E.U.P. for more concerts in an unusually busy weekend for hard rock bands, and we'll start at Three One Three On Ashmun, where three hard rock/punk will join forces TOMORROW NIGHT for The Shamrock Show! However, this event has seen a late lineup change from initial advertising on the bands' social media, as local hard rock/classic metal band Tarnished are not playing tomorrow due to being booked at the Manistique Kewadin Casino this weekend instead. We'll see Tarnished locally again soon, but they have since been replaced by Munising classic/hard rock cover quintet The Sky Pilots, who I don't recall ever playing in the Soo previously. How that came together over finding another local band, I have no clue, but The Sky Pilots are a talented band with a good handle on some heavier hits, and it'll be interesting to see how they go over at the former Back Door!

2023 LSSU battle of the bands-winning punk trio The Sole Aggressors (here's their teased setlist) and new local punk trio About:Blank (featuring two former Tarnished members) will round out tomorrow's stacked lineup, and you should get a nice selection of rock subgenres from the touring band and the locals! Beyond the posters, no word on what level of St. Patrick's Day theming will be on hand at Three One Three, but this is a 21+ event with a $10 cover charge, and doors open at 7:00 PM. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's The Sky Pilots live!

From one show featuring a band at next week's Musicians Unite benefit concert (About:Blank) to another, let's take a brief detour a half hour south west to Brimley, where local hard rock cover band Exit 808 will return to The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino TOMORROW NIGHT! After a month's break from public concerts, this will be Exit 808's first stop at "your perfect up north retreat" since debuting there four months ago, and it will notably mark the first time that Heavy Lies The Crown drummer Blaze Beairl has played a full four-set concert with the band as opposed to playing partial sets or guest spots. However, the band has clarified that Blaze will actually be playing rhythm guitar tomorrow, not bass. To fill that open position, Exit 808 have recruited Project 906 bassist Dustin Paras to handle the low end at The Back Bay Grill, as per their Facebook page, which should work well for their sound tomorrow night!

Of course, Exit 808's singers Amy Beach and Dillion Semasky will be filling in for 906's set at Musicians Unite, so it's nice of Dustin to return to the favour! The double vocalist-led hard rock cover attack commences at Bay Mills tomorrow at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. St. Patrick's Day wise, the Brimley casino will have a seasonal dinner special on Monday but I have seen no direct Irish links for the Exit 808 concert from the band nor grill. See above for more on Exit 808's concert tomorrow, and for a preview, here they are live last year!

Finally for weekend concert preview post #2, we'll head back to the Soo, where local hard rock cover quintet Dirty Musky will return to The Merchants Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Another band taking part in next week's Musicians United benefit, this will be Dave, the Blackwoods, and Jamie's first concert since rocking the Les Cheneaux Islands Snowsfest pub crawl last month, and their first concert in Sault Ste. Marie of the year, last playing at The Merch in December. Fans should take to Dirty Musky's hard rocking tunes and fun energy when they rock The Merch on Saturday, so keep this show in mind when planning your weekend! The West Spruce Street nightclub will be throwing a St. Patrick's Day party on Monday, but aside from branding in the band's poster for tomorrow, I have not found finite seasonal frills or activities taking place at The Merch tomorrow (that doesn't mean there won't be any, of course).

Everything goes down tomorrow at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Always good to see Dirty Musky rocking out on a local stage, so consider swinging by The Merch for all of the action! Visit the above links for more details, and here's everyone live earlier this year!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site tomorrow, including the HeadFirst preview! Thanks everyone!