Initial Lineup Details For This Year's Northern Vibe Festival!!

The lineup for the band-centric Forest Stage at the eleventh annual Northern Vibe Festival was announced via their Facebook page yesterday, so what should you know there? While not announced in official promotion, this year will mark a change for Forest Stage promotion, as former Jack Spades/Frightlight frontman J.D. Pearce has stepped down as the curator of the lineup, after handling things there since the Ophir-based festival returned from their pandemic hiatus in 2021. As you may recall, last year's Forest Stage lineups were severely impaired by a Friday night rainstorm, which ultimately caused heavy damage to the stage overnight that left it unusable on the Saturday, with six band withdrawals. That alone isn't an ideal foot to leave off on, especially if this ends up being J.D.'s last turn as a local concert promoter, but kudos to him for booking and curating at Northern Vibe for the past five years despite his move to the GTA! Hopefully we hear more from him soon!

For 2026, Golden Scoundrels/ex-Shit Liver frontman Josh Penno has taken over curation duties on the Forest Stage, and this isn't an isolated happening, as he booked the Dopethrone concert at Jay's Piston Broke Pub last month. The Northern Vibe Festival will return to the former Hempfest stomping grounds on Poplardale Road in Ophir from Friday, August 28th-Sunday, August 30th (rebuilt Forest Stage in tow), and 15 acts are currently listed on the above promotional poster. If that holds steady, it will be the biggest Forest Stage lineup since the pandemic, and likely ever given how infrequently lineup details were published in the 2010s. However, it remains to be seen what days everyone is playing on, which lines up with the J.D. era, as a full daily schedule was generally only made public the week of the festival, if at all. I do get that this encourages people to buy full weekend passes, but still.

If scheduled similarly to past years, no bands will be playing on the Sunday. Four of the acts this year are out-of-town touring artists, with the nominal headliners being Flint, Michigan-based ska punk band The Write-Ups (the first American band ever booked for Northern Vibe), who headlined at The Speak Easy early last month. Good to see them back in our area so soon, and they're a fun band for ska fans! Two touring bands will be making their local debuts here in August, and both are relatively new acts, including Sudbury hard rock quartet Pressure Event and Timmins all-female pop punk quartet Saving Bambi, whose own advertising indicates that they'll be playing on Saturday the 29th (though Northern Vibe isn't technically in Leeburn). As well, Sudbury rapper Ronin705 will return to Ophir that weekend, five years after serving as a late replacement performer at Northern Vibe in 2021.

Of the eleven local acts, only three are returnees from Northern Vibes past, and they include the aforementioned folk/bluegrass quartet The Golden Scoundrels (who played the last two years), local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith for a fourth straight year (presumably with The Big Finish Band in tow again), and local rap supergroup Soundsxvad (members of Sound Syndrome + Fvcksxvad) in an encore from their Ophir debut in 2025. This year has more ties with recent Rotaryfest lineups, with debutantes including funk rock cover quartet The Rhythm Junction, blues rockers Sunday & The Broken Hearts, former Way Backs frontman Jeffrey Wright in a solo country set, and blues musician Josh "The Preacher" McNally and his Jackleg Band, fresh off of their Stage 2 set next month. Other acts at Northern Vibe XI include new local alternative hard rock quintet Riverside Stasis ...

...ska punk quartet A.S.D.P., local/Peterborough folk/country musician Michelle Moran, and curator/Scoundrels frontman Josh Penno in a solo set curiously branded as "Pen Pen Happy Fun Time". Is "Quarter Scoundies" too obvious? Meanwhile, the EDM/DJ-centric Roost River Stage lineup has also been revealed, so click here to see who will be spinning tunes there. As usual at Northern Vibe, you can expect vendors and on-site camping all weekend long to cap off the summer with, though detailed specifics are to be announced on what to expect. In 2025, the daily schedules were expected to run from 6:00 PM-11:00 PM on the Friday and 12:00 PM-11:00 PM on the Saturday, the storm and this year's larger lineup acknowledged. This is a 19+ event, and tickets are currently on sale at this link in the "early bird" tier 1 phase, going for $125 for the full weekend.

No word on if the price will go up once "early bird" sales end, but if you're holding out for single day passes or other tiers, stay tuned to Northern Vibe social media accounts for updates. Definitely a more varied lineup for musical styles, leaning more into blues and country while still harbouring alternative and rap from past years, which is a testament to Josh's aims as a curator, and hopefully things go smoothly with much better weather in a couple of months! Visit the above links for more on this year's Northern Vibe Festival, but we'll let you know when daily schedules and timeslots are announced, and look for more news soon! Thanks everyone!

The 2025 Northern Vibe Festival Preview!!

The tenth annual Northern Vibe Festival kicks off TOMORROW NIGHT with another stacked lineup of local and touring musicians descending upon the old Hempfest grounds on Poplardale Road in Ophir, so here's our extended preview! This annual camping & concert festival once again sees vendors, activities, food & drinks, and more along with the live music, so be sure to visit the official website for this weekend's complete non-musical details! Once again, there are two distinct stages for Northern Vibe, with DJs and EDM artists performing on the Roost River Stage (click here for its schedule), while bands and solo musicians will set up shop on the Forest Stage once again, as curated by Spades GT frontman J.D. Pearce for a fifth straight year in his annual return to local concert promotion. 15 acts (up from 10 last year) will grace the Forest Stage between tomorrow and Saturday, so who all can you expect to see an hour east of the Soo this weekend?

Just to preface things: the official schedule (released unusually early on August 11th) was considered "tentative" at that point, but there has been no contradictory announcements to go against what was stated then. Five bands will perform tomorrow during the shorter opening day program, which will be headlined by the local debut of Sudbury-based Tool/A Perfect Circle tribute band Avessel at 10:00 PM. They have the chops, so welcome them to the Algoma District in style tomorrow night! New (and maybe one-off) jazz/standards group The Josh Norling Quartet will co-headline at 9:00 PM, while hard rock quintet HeadF1rst will be the only band from this year's Rotaryfest to pull the summer festival double at 8:00 PM. The Friday bill kicks off with an extended rap block, including the merged Fvcksxvad/Sound Syndrome supergroup SoundSxvad at 7:00 PM & The CSWS Crew at 6:00 PM.

Nice diverse array of music to check out tomorrow, including heavier stretches from Avessel and HeadF1rst to keep things rocking, so keep everything in mind if you'll be in Ophir for night #1 of Northern Vibe X! 9&10 News is calling for cloudy skies with temperature going from 26° down to 18° as the night progresses. Note that they are forecasting rain in the 11:00 PM hour, which may affect Avessel's set, but the forecast isn't projecting more than a 20% chance prior. Visit the above links for more on the Friday Forest Stage lineup, and here's Avessel live! 

The longer program on SATURDAY will feature ten bands, and your headliners this year are local Pink Floyd tribute band Dark Side Of The Soo, as the Bourbon Blue side project will build on their recent Beck's gig by closing Northern Vibe in prog rock style at 10:00 PM! Niagara Falls prog/improv rock band The Road Waves will return to Northern Vibe as the 9:00 PM co-headliners in their fourth Ophir appearance, while local alt-hard rock quartet Handsome Sandwich will become the only band to play all five years of this festival since the post-pandemic relaunch at 8:00 PM. This year's other two touring bands (both from Cornwall) take the stage prior, including hard rock quartet Don't Tell Sarah in their second straight year at Northern Vibe at 7:00 PM, and speed metal band Hellrager (featuring ex-Spades GT guitarist Jay Sarrazin) at 6:00 PM, returning for their own second year after dropping out last year.

Folk/country quartet The Golden Scoundrels (featuring fellow Spades alum and Handsome Sandwich drummer Johnny Belanger) will return for their second Forest Stage set at 5:00 PM, preceded by the first of two shows this weekend from local/Barrie alternative/hard rock musician Mike Haggith and his Big Finish Band at 4:00 PM, one year removed from their set that had professional cameras rolling. Will things get filmed thusly again? As revealed on Wednesday the 13th, the 3:00 PM band named The Barbarians are actually the new band fronted by ex-Elements/Wyld Stallyns singer/guitarist Rob Speers (replacing his originally announced solo set), and he will be joined by Handsome Sandwich bandmates Taylor Emlaw and Rafael Medina as well as Boat Dads drummer Kevin Harrison. They're described as a "party band", but what specifically do they play, especially compared to Rob's old bands?

Note that these three musicians have backed up Rob at some solo dates this year, but is this the start of a formal new band, or are The Barbarians a one-off? The 2:00 PM block is listed as "bingo break" on the schedule, and based on promotion since then, it appears to literally be a break in the schedule with no band. I haven't seen direct reference to bingo being played or scheduled elsewhere, but get your dabbers ready just in case! We'll let you know if something else is afoot then. The 1:00 PM set belongs to debuting local punk/hard rock quartet Spun Out (featuring Caveman Morrison and Half Past alumni), who were themselves late additions to the Forest Stage lineup, so come out to Ophir to hear how they sound! The Saturday bill will be lead off by "Benny's Acoustic Thing", which has yet to be elaborated on in official social media promotion. I believe I know who Benny is, but just in case, I won't make an assumption in case I'm incorrect.

Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for a high of 22° dipping to the mid teens on Saturday night, and there is a chance of showers in the afternoon, though they're not expected for most of the day (skies are projected to be mostly cloudy early and partly cloudy late). Note that 2023 Forest Stage performer and local magician Ryan McFarling will be back this weekend as a general performer on the festival grounds and does not have a formal timeslot, so keep an eye out for him! Even with no A Dire Setback this year, this year's Northern Vibe lineup is stacked, and after it briefly looked like last year's festival would be the final one, it's great to see everything back and in full swing for the tenth installment! This 19+ festival goes on rain or shine, and if you haven't bought your tickets yet, online sales closed yesterday, so you'll need to buy yours at the gate. The in-person rate isn't given online, but it will be higher than the advance fee was.

For reference, advance tickets cost $125 in advance (for the full weekend) and $80 (Saturday only; there were no Friday-only passes), and while Sunday is part of the schedule, that's strictly for campers to pack up and wrap up, there's no bands that day. There's a lot to take in off the grid once again this weekend, so visit the above links for full details on Northern Vibe in 2025, and for a Saturday preview, here's Don't Tell Sarah live! 

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

Early Lineup Information For This Year's Northern Vibe Festival!!

The tentative lineup for this year's Northern Vibe Festival has been announced on the festival's Facebook page! Yes, this annual festival on Poplardale Road in nearby Ophir (on the old Hempfest grounds) will indeed return for its tenth annual installment from Friday, August 22nd to Sunday, August 24th, despite hinting last year that 2024 would be its finale, so hopefully there's a strong turnout for year #10! While specifics on Northern Vibe X are to be confirmed, you can get preliminary details at this link, and there will once again be two music stages, including the Roost River Stage for DJs and electronica artists, and the Forest Stage for live bands and musicians of multiple genres (Crank Sound Distribution will return to make everyone on the Forest Stage sound as good as possible). Organizers have emphasized that the lineups for both stages are tentative, but they historically don't mention the daily band schedules right away.

If announced at all, organizers wait until the week of the festival, but remember that bands previously have not played on the Sunday, which was more of a camping/pack-up day. As best as I can tell, Spades GT frontman J.D. Pearce is putting on his old concert promotion hat once again to curate the Forest Stage for a fifth straight year, but who is currently scheduled for this end-of-summer bash? After last year's 10 band program, the tentative lineup actually has 15 bands, including three touring acts, all returnees from prior Northern Vibe lineups. One is Cornwall speed metal group Hellrager (featuring former Spades GT guitarist Jay Sarrazin), who came north for the festival in 2023 before quietly dropping out of last year's event. Fellow Cornwall hard rock band Don't Tell Sarah will make their way to Ophir for a second straight year, and Niagara Falls prog/improv rock trio The Road Waves will also return.

The Road Waves previously played at the festival in 2017-2018 and again in 2022, so it will be good to see their soul/funk-influenced tunes back in our neck of the woods, while more recent fans will enjoy Hellrager & Don't Tell Sarah's hard rock attacks! Two tribute bands are currently scheduled for Northern Vibe X, who will be playing Pink Floyd and Tool songs. The former are 100% Dark Side Of The Soo (the Bourbon Blue side project that played at last year's ARCH Run), as per personal Facebook posts, but I don't know if the Tool tribute is a reunion of Parabol, a different local group, or a touring act. We'll let you know when/if we get clarification! In terms of known local acts, five are returnees from 2024, including alt-hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich (in their fifth straight Northern Vibe), local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith and his Big Finish Band in their third appearance, and folk/bluegrass band The Golden Scoundrels for their second year.

The other returning band is the rap collective Soundsxvad, who played last year under the name Fvksxvad, and this year, they'll be joined by a separate hip hop outfit named The CSWS Crew. I admit that I don't follow the local rap scene ardently, but I've never heard of The CSWS Crew, so this will be something else that I'll get back to you guys on when public details on them surface! As well, former(?) Wyld Stallyns frontman Rob Speers will return to Northern Vibe after (from my understanding) going solo there last year despite event advertising always crediting The Wyld Stallyns, who have not issued a public update since May of last year. CSWS Crew & tribute bands aside, this year's debuting bands include hard rock quintet HeadFirst (whose new album "Road Trippin'" comes out next month), the possibly one-off Josh Norling Psycho Jazz Infusion (led by the Bookclub/Wyld Stallyns saxophonist), and an acoustic set by a musician named Benny.

At press time, I have no idea which Ben/Benjamin/Benny is being referenced in the advertising, and the most recent ones mentioned on the SMS don't seem like obvious fits, but we'll let you know when/if we hear more! As well, magician Ryan McFarling (a Forest Stage performer in 2023) will be back to perform separately on the main grounds. Conspicuous by their (current?) absences are local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback (who haven't missed a Northern Vibe yet post-pandemic) and any of J.D. Pearce's bands, though he last fronted a band officially there when Spades GT played in 2022. Stay tuned for any potential lineup additions or removals! Northern Vibe X remains a 19+ event taking place rain or shine over the August 23rd weekend, and you can buy tickets at this link for $125 via the Tier 2 weekend pass (there are no single day options). Tier 1 referred to the early bird passes that went on sale before any of the bands were revealed.

Between the hour's drive, off-the-grid nature, and weather/nature-related concerns, the Northern Vibe Festival won't be the most accessible event to attend for many readers, but if this weekend full of live rock music, DJs, and camping piques your interest, do click here for full ground rules and recommendations. If you make it to Ophir in August, you should have a blast, so visit the above links for more details on this year, and we'll let you know (likely on short notice) who's playing on what day! Thanks everyone!

A New Mike Haggith Full-Set Concert Video, Bullet Train's New Song, And More!!

On this rainy Monday night, let's dive into some new videos from recent months, including a new original song/lyric video, a brief clip from a big touring headliner in the spring, and leading off, a high quality concert video from this summer, so here's what you should know!

The full multi-camera video of local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith's set at this year's Northern Vibe Festival was posted to his YouTube channel yesterday! Like last year when he and The Big Finish Band rocked the Forest Stage on Poplardale Road in nearby Ophir, Mike had a single-camera live stream posted after the fact, while enlisting Justine Chalykoff of Chalykoff Studios to professionally film the entire set with multiple high quality cameras. While the final 2023 video wasn't uploaded to YouTube until May, the turnaround to get this year's full multi-cam video was only 2 months, which is great for fans of Mike's! Still no word on if the interview shot with Chalykoff Studios last year will ever be released though. Note that I won't go into a detailed blow-by-blow of the new Northern Vibe video, as I already did that when recapping the single-camera 2024 live stream in this post from September.

Just as a reminder, this was The Big Finish Band's first show with Elly McWatters on guitar for every song (Mike just sang here), and their all-original set only had three songs held over from Northern Vibe 2023. For extra minutia about the set, see the September post linked above, but Mike and crew played the debuting "Brand New Day", "Back Away Slowly", "An Act Of Strength", Mike's newer originals "I Really Hope This Gets To You" and "No Love", "Hot & Cold", "From The 55th Parallel", "Carousel", "The Nature Of The Times", "All The Best", and "Twist Of Fate" this year. Justine used even more cameras to capture Mike, Chris, Elly, Matt, and Brandan rocking out on the outdoor stage than last year, even utilizing a drumcam for the occasion, plus more fade transitions and mirror effects than before, so kudos for the extra work to spruce up the already solid performance footage here!

Your next chance to see Mike & The Big Finish Band will be this Friday when they play a half-time set at this year's The Soo's Got Talent semifinals (preview forthcoming), so whether you want a teaser of what to expect at Soo Blaster on Friday or just want to relive the action at Northern Vibe 2024, give their multi-camera full-set video a watch below!

Next up, local hard rock trio Bullet Train released their fourth original single "Wayside" to their YouTube channel as a lyric video on Wednesday! The song had previously had its exclusive premiere in the rotation of Unity X Radio, a Canadian internet radio station that has been playing Bullet Train's prior singles already. The band's longest song yet, "Wayside" continues with its inspiration on their take of current events, with social justice and recent protests coming under their microscope here. I won't go into specifics on all of that, but fans of Cory's prior local bands won't be thrown off by the hard rock sound here, if more complex and layered throughout, so give Bullet Train's new song a listen below!

Finally for today, here's a video from the Matthew Good concert at The Machine Shop in April that totally slipped us by at the time! This was filmed by Mike Blair for 705Live Sound Co.'s Facebook page, as 705Live were manning the soundboards on that night, and he had quite a neat spot from the balcony at this point of the concert, so you get a nice overhead view of The Machine Shop's interior layout and the sizable crowd (at least until Mike zoomed in!). The video features part of the bridge of the Matthew Good Band staple "Hello Time Bomb", and while there's not much to hear in the 19 seconds-long runtime, it's a neat watch, so check it out below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The 2022 Northern Vibe Festival!!)

Today's post is 100% devoted to previewing this year's Northern Vibe Festival, which returns for its seventh annual installment from Friday-Sunday at the old Hempfest site on Poplardale Road in nearby Ophir! 2020 aside (for obvious reasons), Northern Vibe has proven to be a huge end-of-summer bash for local concert goers and campers alike, and this year's is shaping up to be a fun one once again, especially with the pandemic at a lesser state! Food & art vendors will also be on site once again, and be sure to visit the official festival website for full non-musical details. Like usual, there will be two stages, including the Roost River Stage for DJs, and the Forest Stage for live bands, this year named the Thompson Memorial Forest Stage in honour of the late Chris Thompson, who drummed with three bands at last year's Northern Vibe before he passed away last fall. A little birdie told me that the memorial t-shirts made up in his memory might be on site this weekend, so if you ordered one, keep that in mind!

Like last year, the bands and DJs (regardless of stage) are mixed up on the official poster, but alas, organizers have not publicized the daily performer schedules on either stage this year, which is sadly on par with 2021. Maybe they're trying to encourage full weekend ticket purchases, so you can't cherry pick going to see specific bands and leave, but I don't know that for certain. However, Cover-Up frontman Dustin Jones did post the Forest Stage band schedule in a photo on his personal Facebook page, and while there has been a band withdrawal from his copy since, I want to give massive kudos to Dustin for sharing that, as it makes my job today much easier! Like last year, the Thompson Memorial Forest Stage is curated by Spades GT/ex-Frightlight frontman J.D. Pearce, who moved to Barrie in 2020 but has came back home to work with Northern Vibe and resume his live booking magic both last year and this weekend.

With all that said, let's cover these SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS now that I have a band schedule on hand (apologies again, it's their call to not post a schedule publically), and TOMORROW'S opening night will be headlined by the aforementioned Spades GT, as the local/Barrie crossover thrash quartet will play their first Soo area gig since their final concert as Jack Spades in late 2019. This will also be your first chance to see them since new bassist Daniel "Odie" Rodbard and drummer Tyler "Jeeb" Reiner joined & Tiffany, Rob, and Johnny left, while Spades GT should play their newest originals tomorrow as well. Very good to see J.D., Daniel, and crew back on a local stage, so don't miss them at 10:00 PM! Remember, Chris Thompson was briefly Jack Spades' drummer in 2017. In a late lineup addition not reflected in the poster, Niagara Falls prog/improv rock trio The Road Waves (who played at Northern Vibe in 2017 & 2018) will co-headline at 9:00 PM tomorrow!

Only confirmed for this year two weeks ago, The Road Waves made a good impression with their soul-influenced funk rock stylings, and it'll be neat to have them back this year also! Sporadically seen local Foo Fighters tribute band The Soo Fighters will return to Northern Vibe for a second straight year at 8:00 PM, in their first show since the Halloween weekend last year, and in the debut of their new lineup, with singer/guitarist Jules Cote & guitarist Wes Greco now joined by bassist Mitch Sirie (replacing Arthur Lacasse) and his Bear Hunters/Handsome Sandwich bandmate Johnny Belanger (replacing the late Chris Thompson). Thanks for Johnny for the clarification on their exact current lineup! A reason for Art's departure hasn't been announced, but hopefully we see him back out there at some point, and The Soos should deliver a fun set for Foo Fighters fans tomorrow, especially with Chris in mind!

Online page-less punk cover quartet The Cover-Up will play their second show of 2022 when they rock Northern Vibe tomorrow evening at 7:00 PM, while local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will end their year-long stage hiatus when they open the Friday schedule at 6:00 PM. Nice double whammy of modern punk rock to kick off the festival, so don't be late! I'll detail admission fees and such at post's end, but 9&10 News is calling for sunny-to-clear weather in the 17-22° range tomorrow evening. For a preview of the Friday lineup, here's Spades GT live!

SATURDAY'S longer lineup will be headlined by Toronto pop rock duo Goodnight Sunrise at 10:00 PM, marking their second regional summer festival appearance of 2022, following sets at this year's Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing. Not a heavier band, but still talented with a big sound, so don't leave early! The highest slotted local band is the diverse, genre-hating quartet Handsome Sandwich, who debuted their current lineup in Ophir last year, so look for more alternative and hard hitting jams from them at 9:00 PM! On Dustin's schedule, local punk/alternative quintet These Magnificent Tentacles are advertised in the 8:00 PM slot, but they apparently have withdrew from Northern Vibe, according to performer Johnny Belanger. If accurate, a reason for their exit has not been publically announced, but note that while the Tentacles were on the poster, they have not posted on their Facebook page in over a month.

Hopefully all is well in the T.M.T. camp! How timeslots will look with them apparently out, I can't say, but I'll go off of Dustin's schedule for consistency, though expect adjustments if you'll be in Ophir on Saturday. The 7:00 timeslot is given on his schedule as a Chris Thompson tribute, which I believe will be handled by the one-off Hey, What About Us?!, which is the band name that J.D. Pearce was planning to use for a Me First & The Gimme Gimmes tribute at his annual Halloween party in 2016. Whether Chris' tribute will also focus on Me First cover covers or not, I can't say, let alone the band members, but expect the good times & reminiscences to flow during this timeslot! The remaining Saturday bands include funk/hard rock cover quintet The Wyld Stallyns at 6:00 PM, instrumental surf rock trio The Dynowaves at 5:00 PM, indie punk quintet The Northwest at 4:00 PM (an oddly early timeslot given their recent profile), ...

...and indie rock quartet Man Feelings kicking off the Forest Stage lineup on Saturday at 3:00 PM. Solid group of recently prominent local bands to start the day, including some heavier/punk stylings from The Stallyns & Northwest! If you're wondering what happened to the previously announced set by local punk trio Redundant, it looks like they too have dropped out, which is reflected on Dustin's schedule, though like the Tentacles, they were still on the final poster from two weeks ago. A reason for Redundant's withdrawal has not been publically announced, but note that they have not played a concert since last fall, and have only posted on their Facebook page to note deceased musicians since then. Hopefully we see Redundant back on stage again soon! 9&10 News is calling for similarly sunny-clear weather on Saturday, with warmer weather in the 23-27° range. With all of the bands covered, what else should you know?

Camping gear is welcome to sleep over tomorrow & Saturday night (the festival ends Sunday but there's no bands that day), decorations are also welcome, but glass bottles and weapons are prohibited, as are renegade stages (this is actually something that has happened there before!). Online ticket sales have closed for Northern Vibe, but if you want to attend at the gate, full weekend passes will cost $125 there, and if last year was any indication, Saturday-only passes will run you at least $60 (understandably, organizers aren't hyping that up). Looks like a great time is in store for music fans in the Soo, so definitely consider heading east to Ophir (outside of Bruce Mines) for all of the action this weekend, and we'll have fallout when it arises! For complete details on the location, ground rules, and more, visit the above links, and for a preview of Saturday's lineup, here's Handsome Sandwich live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Our Preview Of The Sixth Annual Northern Vibe Festival!!

The sixth annual Northern Vibe Festival returns to the old Hempfest grounds on Poplardale Road in nearby Ophir TOMORROW, SATURDAY, and SUNDAY, so here's our extended preview! After skipping 2020 due to the pandemic, things have progressed to a point where the festival can return to near normality (helped by it being in a wide open outdoor locale), and you can expect lots of musical entertainment & local vendors for food, art, and more, so be sure to check the official Facebook page, event page, and website for full public details on Northern Vibe VI! I stress, public, as organizers still have not released a schedule for the musical performers on any stage, either forgetting (there's a lot of ground to cover) or opting to go with a "you had to be there" approach. I do know the day some acts are performing, so consider this a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, which I do apologize for, but again, there has been no schedule release yet.

As usual, The Northern Vibe Festival will feature two stages of live music this weekend, including The River Stage for DJs and The Forest Stage for musicians, the latter curated by Jack Spades/Frightlight frontman J.D. Pearce in his first promotional role since the pandemic began. This means that the band lineup in 2021 is much heavier than we ever saw in the 2010s, which is great to see.... but who's playing when? First off, take the poster above with a grain of salt, as it hasn't been updated to reflect two lineup withdrawals (including Forest Stage performer DJ Fuels), let alone new additions. As best as I can tell, there will only be live music tomorrow and Saturday (the Sunday aspect is primarily for campers' benefit), so let's go through the bands like this: I'll start with bands that I know are playing on a given day, then we'll move to bands who haven't publically stated when their set is.

The only band that I have actually heard confirm a Friday set is local funk/hard rock quintet The Wyld Stallyns, as per guitarist/vocalist Rob Speers in a Facebook conversation (thanks Rob!) No word on a timeslot, but he did say that the Friday set was due to the availability of a special guest on that day, so keep that in mind if you'll be in Ophir tomorrow! As far as I know, three bands have confirmed that they're playing on Saturday, including instrumental surf rock band The Dynowaves at some point that evening (source: their Facebook page), and two bands back from extended hiatuses with new lineups, namely no-genre quintet Handsome Sandwich at 4:00 PM (source: drummer Johnny Belanger's personal Facebook page), and Foo Fighters tribute quartet The Soo Fighters at an unstated time (source: their Facebook page). For what it's worth, bands allegedly begin at 3:00 PM.

Nice to see The Stallyns staying busy, and if you've missed the three known Saturday bands during the pandemic, get ready for some surf rock action, and welcome Taylor & Mitch to Handsome Sandwich, plus Arthur & Chris to The Soo Fighters! At press time, the other seven River Stage acts have not publically stated what day or time they're playing, but keep tabs on their social media accounts, plus Northern Vibe pages for further updates, and I'll try and let everyone know if I hear anything. Three of the seven are touring acts from Sudbury, including new "northern soul rock n' roll" supergroup Harvey King & The Grindstone (who are promoted highly in advertising), alternative/world solo musician Matt Foy (replacing pre-pandemic touring favourites Dany Laj & The Looks), and funk rock one-man-band Dr. Bong, so it'll be nice to see some out-of-town attractions again after a long break!

The remaining four local bands playing in Ophir this weekend are horror punk quintet Frightlight in their first show in almost two years (they are likely to be in a nighttime timeslot), alt-punk trio A Dire Setback in their first concert since releasing their debut CD, the second live concert appearance from new (and online page-less) local punk/folk supergroup Jonesy Land, and the debut of new local rock quintet Lockdown, featuring 3/4ths of The Soo Fighters covering many other bands. Nice to see so many familiar faces back for a normal-ish concert, let alone of this scale, and it sounds like there will be something for everyone, even if I don't know when everyone is playing! Sadly, ticket sales for the Northern Vibe Festival closed this morning, but they were $100 for the full weekend experience or $60 for Saturday, and nothing was offered for Friday or Sunday alone. Yes, this is a 19+ event.

Click here for event ground rules, including directions to Poplardale Road in Ophir (an hour east of the Soo), what to bring and what not to bring, and so forth. Remember, this is an outdoor event, and the weather forecasts are calling for rain off and on all weekend, especially tomorrow, so be prepared for the elements. Of course, please use common sense re: the pandemic, and wear a face mask when seeing vendors or when not socially distancing (there will also be sanitization stations set up). Hopefully Northern Vibe VI is a huge success as they get back to bringing live music to the outskirts of Bruce Mines once again, and there's a stacked lineup playing this weekend to boot! I just hope everyone has a safe time, both regarding the pandemic and just in terms of respecting the environment, and that it doesn't rain too much. Visit the above links for current and continuing details on the festival, here's Frightlight live, and stay tuned for more weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Complete Current Details On The Return Of The Northern Vibe Festival!!

After a one year hiatus due to the pandemic, the annual Northern Vibe Festival will return from Friday, August 27th-Sunday, August 29th for it's sixth installment! Debuting in 2015 as a spiritual successor to the former Hempfest (both are held on the same festival grounds on Poplardale Road in nearby Ophir), the Northern Vibe Festival has not been a traditional haven for heavier/punk bands, only featuring a couple at most, sometimes not having any. That changes this year, as local concert promoter and punk/metal singer J.D. Pearce is curating this year's Forest Stage lineup! Remember, Northern Vibe has two separate stages, one for bands, and the River Stage for DJs. This poster lists the original artist lineup, though bands and DJs are mixed together, and there have been a couple of withdrawals since, including DJ Fuels from the River Stage (check the official performer listings on the website for the up to date lineups). Performers have been advertised all month, so why have we not covered the festival on here until now?

Honestly, it's because organizers still have not announced daily schedules for the Forest Stage, and as of this writing, bands are being plugged as just performing during the festival and for us to get our weekend passes. That said, we're less than two weeks out, so I better get the ball rolling and at least mention the scheduled bands (click here to see who's spinning tunes on the River Stage). Three touring acts from Sudbury will make their way to Ophir for The Northern Vibe Festival VI, namely "northern soul rock n' roll" septet Harvey King & The Grindstone, alternative/world music solo artist Matt Foy, and funk rock one-man-band Dr. Bong, none of whom I'm familiar with from local dates in the 2010s. Notably, Matt is a new addition to replace Montreal indie rockers (and pre-pandemic touring favourites) Dany Laj & The Looks on the bill. Shame that Dany and crew had to drop out, it'd have been nice to see them back for a sixth local gig later this month!

The highest listed local band in festival advertising is local horror punk quintet Frightlight in their first live set since opening for Michale Graves here in September 2019, and it will be great to see their spooky brand of punk and metal originals back after such a long wait! Instrumental surf rock trio The Dynowaves also get a high placement in event advertising, so their retro feel-good brand of rock should go over well at month's end too! Reunited no-genre (but alternative/punk-leaning) quartet Handsome Sandwich will play their first show with new singer Taylor Emlaw and bassist Mitch Sirie at Northern Vibe during the festival, while fan-favourite punk trio A Dire Setback will play their first true live concert set since the pandemic began as well! No word on if they'll have CD copies of their debut album on sale, but I doubt they're considering this to be their long-delayed release party, which was to have been in March 2020. 

Two bands who you may have seen at the drive-thru Rotaryfest last month will also play at Northern VIbe (see what I did there?), including local funk/hard rock quintet The Wyld Stallyns and online page-less local punk/country supergroup Jonesy Land (featuring Rising Tide and Lake Effect alumni) in their second concert set of any kind. The last two bands share three members between them, one being local Foo Fighters tribute band The Soo Fighters! This band will be playing their fourth concert here, which is also their first non-benefit concert outside of Halloween parties. It will also see the debut of new bassist Arthur Lacasse, and in a surprise, his old Half Past bandmate Chris Thompson, who quietly replaced Jonas Gasperas on drums at some point earlier this year. A reason for Jonas' exit wasn't announced, but you can still see him in Ophir with The Wyld Stallyns, and Chris' prolific drum skill and chemistry with Art should go a long way!

Finally, if you'd like to hear Arthur, Chris, and frontman Jules Cote cover bands other than The Foo Fighters, look for their set together as debuting local cover rock quintet Lockdown, where they'll be joined by singer Nicole Ambeault and guitarist Randy Russell (Soo Fighters guitarist Wes Greco is not in Lockdown). Despite their promising lineup, I haven't heard any hints as to what Lockdown's set might include, but don't bypass them at The Northern Vibe Festival at month's end, assuming we don't actually get locked down again! The festival is a 19+ event, it officially begins at 12:00 PM on Friday the 27th, and tickets run for $100 for the full weekend or $60 for Saturday the 28th only (there are no single day passes listed for Friday or Sunday). Buy your tickets online at this link.  Vendors will be on site selling local goods, food, and drinks (click here for the current list, though updates are forthcoming).

Camping is encouraged for attendees, and the festival website lists directions to Poplardale Road, plus recommended things to bring to have a safe/clean time for the sake of the grounds and everyone else (i.e. don't bring glass bottles or bad attitudes). Re: the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be extra hand washing/sanitizing stations on-site, organizers request that you bring and use face masks when going to vendors/not social distancing, and while being an outdoor festival at this point in the pandemic (and in a wide-open area) allows for the festival to occur close to normally in 2021, please be respectful of others and stay distanced where possible. Click here for more on that. It's been a long year & a half+ for a concert festival of this nature and magnitude to return to the Algoma District, and hopefully Northern Vibe VI goes off without a hitch in Ophir in a couple of weeks!

Visit the above links for full current details, stay tuned for the daily schedules when announced, and look for more news on the SMS this week, both from the Northern Vibe Festival and elsewhere! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Northern Vibe Festival, The Elements, And Tym Morrison)!!

Before we begin this weekend concert preview post, just a heads-up that Sunday night's Eye of Horus concert has apparently been cancelled, as per the deletion of it's Facebook event page by promoters yesterday morning. A reason for the cancellation wasn't publically announced, but hopefully nothing bad happened, I was eagerly awaiting this one! The show had also quietly been moved from The Canadian to The Rockstar Bar before being called off, but that venue never publically acknowledged the show online. Hopefully we hear more from Live705 soon, but in the interim, let's tackle this weekend's previews, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

One week removed from their joint Canadian Nightclub concert, indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. and funk/ska/hard rock quartet The Elements will join forces once again to rock LopLops Lounge TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show had been announced since last month on K.I.C.K.'s Facebook page, but The Elements' opening slot was only confirmed on Sunday, albeit with more notice than last week's show had. This should be another solid evening of folk and indie rock originals, as contrasted nicely with some ska-infused heavy originals and covers to "kick" things off, so keep TOMORROW'S K.I.C.K/Elements encore in mind for your weekend plans! For what it's worth, LopLops' website lists Saskatoon folk band The Whiskey Jerks as playing tomorrow instead, who confirm the same on their website, with K.I.C.K. instead opening for B.C. country/blues duo The Chicken-Like Birds (featuring Soo native Ari Lantela.) on Saturday.

So, what's the story with those events? For the latter, Sometimes Ange are now advertised to open for The Chicken-Like Birds (source here), and while The Whiskey Jerks' website still lists a LopLops date tomorrow, K.I.C.K. have advertised TOMORROW'S show since last month without any mention of an out of town headliner. Hopefully nothing bad happened! That all said, expect a $5 cover TOMORROW, as well as a 19+ cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time. Check the above links for more details, and here's The Elements live!



Next up, we finally have schedule confirmation for THIS WEEKEND'S third annual Northern Vibe Festival, as Toronto ska punk sextet Adam's Mind and local improv/hard rock instrumental collective Gianni Gagoots will rock the "Forest Stage" at the Hempfest successor festival on SATURDAY! Again, apologies for the short notice, we were waiting for public confirmation of daily schedules before calling anything on here, given that this is a multi-day festival (beginning today with bands starting tomorrow.) After not featuring any punk or hard rock bands in last year's outdoor event on Poplardale Road in nearby Ophir, the SATURDAY lineup will be bookended with bands that fit the SMS well, including the local debut of Adam's Mind, whose lively sound (including three horn players) should appeal to ska fans, two tone and punk alike, at this third-year festival! They're headlining at 11:00 PM, as preceded by Arizona solo guitarist and past Hempfest performer Scott Huckabay at 9:00 PM, and Niagara Falls progressive rock quintet The Road Waves at 7:00 PM, fresh off of their local headliner in June.

Remaining Saturday bands include Toronto reggae/soul trio The Harmonauts at 5:30 PM, the aforementioned K.I.C.K. at 3:30 PM, and Gianni Gagoots (who opened for The Road Waves in June) opening at 1:30 PM, while a Native American Dance Theater troupe from Cedar, Wisconsin will play a special set separately from the musical lineup at 11:30 AM. Tomorrow's abbreviated four band lineup will feature Sudbury bluegrass band Murder Murder alongside local openers Frank Deresti & The Lake Effect, The Steeltown Playboys, and The Shannon Moan Trio, while the separate "River Stage" will feature DJs and turntablists (local or otherwise) all festival long, including such familiar faces as DJ Spruceau & The Dub Selectah, while magician Ryan McFarling will also make the rounds to entertain festival goers. Sounds stacked to me, so visit the official website for more on all of this year's musical entertainment! Art installations, food trucks, and vendors will also be on hand all weekend long, and yes, camping is available on site for all of you fans staying multiple nights!

Tickets for the entire weekend are $90 or $60 for just SATURDAY, and while this may seem expensive, look at all you'll be getting this weekend! You can buy tickets online at this link or in person at Planetary Pride on Queen Street East, The Vape Escape on MacDonald Avenue, The Plant Farm Company on Third Line West, or presumably at the gate in Ophir, though note that there's no listed 2 day price for Friday & Saturday. This sounds like a great way to kick off year #3 of the Northern Vibe Festival, and with a little more of a ska/punk angle on SATURDAY, don't bypass all of this weekend's action if you can help it! Here's Adam's Mind live!



Finally for today's preview post, prolific hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to The Barrelhouse Wine & Whiskey for another solo acoustic concert THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, joining his ongoing Gliss Steak & Seafood matinees TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY! Apologies for the short notice on the Barrelhouse show, it was only announced via it's official Facebook event page yesterday. Staying very busy with his weekly Gliss trifecta as well as recent Monday and Tuesday night appearances at Mark's Breakfast Plus, SATURDAY's return to the Queen Street East tapas restaurant will mark Tym's first traditional Saturday night concert set there in three weeks, so if you're craving some acoustic hard rock cover favourites, be there or at The Quality Inn's house restaurant over the next three evenings! This weekend's Gliss shows are 6:00 PM events with no age limit, while the Barrelhouse show on SATURDAY is at 10:30 PM with a 19+ age limit.

Also, while none of these four shows have a cover charge announced, come prepared just in case, given that these are restaurants first. For more details, visit the above links and/or click here, and here's Tym live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Sault Michigan-area weekend concert previews and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Hempfest 2011 Preview!!

There's so much concert action going on this weekend that I have no choice but to break this weekend's concert previews into three posts: One for Sault Ontario, one for Sault Michigan, and starting things off, one for Hempfest! That is the complete focus of this first post of the day, so without any further adieu, here's all that you need to know about this year's Hempfest entertainment!

Yes, the 13th annual marijuana culture festival is back on Poplardale Road in Ophir, Ontario this year under new management after it's initial cancellation in 2009 and a one year move to Moonbeam last year! Kudos again to organizer Robert Neron for bringing it back home where it belongs! I won't go too in depth as to the non-musical entertainment, but I will mention some key things and changes. This year's Hempfest is different from the last local installments in a few respects, including FREE admission for federal exemptees for medicinal marijuana with proper ID, some carnival/midway-ish entertainment, no charge for festival vendors, and 24/7 entertainment over the weekend! When the bands aren't playing, DJs will rock the second stage from midnight to 10:00 AM on Friday until Sunday (including former Renegades guitarist Jason "Wyza" Wysynski" Friday morning), so click here for the second stage schedule! Of course, if you're reading this, you're probably not at Hempfest yet, though remember that's it's a week long event this year! It started with just camping and good times on Monday, so you're free to head to Ophir right now to get started early! (Just be wary of the R.I.D.E. program.) For all current details on the non-main stage entertainment at this year's Hempfest, visit the Facebook event page and the official Facebook group!

Of course, being that this is The Sault Metal Scene, you know what we'll focus on, and leading to that, another nice development this year is the presence of a full schedule for the bands, which never happened (or at least never found it's way to me) under the festival's old ownership. All of the lineup information below (unless otherwise sourced) comes from the official Hempfest schedule posted here. I will remind you guys that this is obviously a 19+ event, and tickets are $15 a day to attend (so in other words, $30 for two days, $45 for three, or $60 for the remainder of the festival.) Advance tickets are NO LONGER on sale, you will have to pay at the gate at this point. If you're bringing your dog, it will have a $10 fee, with muzzles recommended if they have a tendency to bite. Now, to the lineups, but first, just a reminder that local horror punk quintet Frightlight, London hard rock trio Violet Fuse (featuring Saultite Thom Edwards), Vancouver metal band 4Ward, and Arizona solo artist Scott Huckabay are NOT on this year's lineup, having dropped out following the schedule adjustment from it's original timeframe later this month. As well, Saint Catharines rappers Theatre Crisp dropped out of the Friday schedule, but we'll approach their replacement in a bit. With that out of the way, who is playing this year?

TODAY'S lineup for Hempfest only contains one hard rock band, that being the returning Half Past, in their first local concert appearance in six months! It will also be the band's debut concert with new frontman Jordan Rains, who replaced Luke LeBlanc earlier this year. This should be very interesting to see how the new lineup does, and keep in mind that the band have been hyping on their pages that they'll have merchandise for sale! For the rest of the lineup today, Burlington reggae rockers The Killin' Time Band will headline at 10:30 PM & 12:15 AM for two sets, with local sideshow performer D.J. Williamson of The Dark Karnival Entertainment sandwiched in between. In descending order from there, local punk trio Redundant will take the stage at 9:00 PM tonight, preceded by Hamilton ska-punk band Lo-Fi at 7:30 PM, Half Past at 6:00 PM, and local folk trio The Blackberrys at 4:30 PM. The stage kicks off at 4:00 PM with opening ceremonies, the 4:20 siren, and the first rounds of the spitting & gram sprint contests in this year's Willy High Games. Remember, ticket information and lineup sources are above!

Sounds like a solid lineup of local and out of town entertainment, though if you crave metal, the best is yet to come! As for Half Past, fingers crossed that their first show with Jordan is a success! For a preview, here's an older Half Past lineup playing their song "War Inside My Head" last year!



Now to the Friday lineup, and there is both more bands and metal tomorrow! Three metal bands are on the schedule, including headliners Misery: The Metallica Xperience, a prominent Canadian tribute band who have notably played in Sault Ontario in the past! They have a great version of the Metallica sound, so definitely stay up to see them tomorrow night at 11:30 PM! For tribute band fans, also note that AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who will rock the Hempfest stage at 9:00 PM tomorrow night (and will also have a vendor's table this year!) No strangers to the Soo either, this very talented quintet will deliver a great set of AC/DC classics tomorrow night as well! And finally for metal, local standouts Garden of Bedlam return to Hempfest for a set full of their high energy originals at 4:30 PM as a replacement for Theater Crisp! Awesome to see them back at Hempfest, they'll tear it up once again, as they did in 2008 & 2009! For the rest of the lineup, D.J. Williamson returns for more sideshow feats between Misery & Who Made Who's sets at 10:45 PM, and before the main acts, Lo-Fi are back at 6:45 PM tomorrow, and are preceded by Garden of Bedlam at 4:30 PM, the second rounds of tonight's Willy High Games at 4:00 PM (plus the junkyard bong contest & the 4:20 siren), West Virginia rappers Northern Lights at 3:00 PM, and Blind River folk artists T.J. Kirby at 12:00 PM & Josh Odair at 1:30 PM respectively.

Note that the band Radar (not sure of who they are exactly) were also scheduled for 6:00 PM tomorrow, but also dropped out, thought they're still on for Saturday. As such, Garden of Bedlam will run later & Lo-Fi will start a bit earlier to help fill the gap. Again, check the above links for more lineup details & ticket information for the Friday schedule. Another solid lineup, mostly different from tonight's schedule too, so don't miss the bands on Friday! For a preview, here's Misery playing the Metallica classic "Creeping Death" in New Brunswick in 2005. If you're a fan of Metallica, AC/DC, and Garden of Bedlam, don't miss Hempfest tomorrow!



Now to the Saturday lineup, which mostly features bands seen on the previous nights, but it does have the most metal on this year's schedule! This time, the highest slotted metal band is Garden of Bedlam, who will play at 9:00 PM on Saturday night. The Saturday entertainment opens with a three-for-all of hard rock and metal, with Misery back at 3:00 PM, Who Made Who on at 1:30 PM, and Half Past opening on Saturday at 12:00 PM. As for the rest of the Saturday lineup, The Killin' Time Band again has two sets at the end of the night, at 11:15 PM and 1:00 AM, with D.J. Williamson again sandwiched in between at 12:15 AM. At 8:30 PM before Garden of Bedlam's set, there is apparently a Halloween costume contest, so bring yours to enter! Before that, the lineup features Lo-Fi at 7:30 PM, Radar (the only band not on an earlier night) at 7:00 PM, Northern Lights at 6:30 PM, and Redundant at 5:00 PM, with the finals of the previous night's Willy High Games (and the bucket race) at 4:00 PM, plus the 4:20 siren, with the opening three heavier bands before that. Of course, check the above links for more details.

For my money, this is the best night of the festival for heaviness and maximum bang for your buck, but that's subjective. No matter what, this is a quality lineup and don't miss it on Saturday night! For a preview, here's Garden of Bedlam at the 2008 Hempfest playing their original song "The Truth Shall Set You Free"!



As for the Sunday lineup, there is no metal to speak of, but an abbreviated set featuring Joshua Odair, T.J. Kirby, and The Blackberrys is scheduled from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM before the closing ceremony and one more 4:20 siren happen to end this year's Hempfest. So how's about all of that for this year's Hempfest schedule? Tons of great bands and what should be some awesome times celebrating marijuana culture and local music! If you smoke marijuana and/or believe in it's legalization, this is a great way to show your support and have some fun, and it's a great festival for music lovers as well, especially given the cheap daily price and the closeness to Sault Ontario! If I go, it will be Saturday, but a lot has to line up for me personally to make it down there. All of you guys should head down to Ophir at some point between TODAY and Sunday to enjoy Hempfest, just be wary of the R.I.D.E. program, as I assume they'll be out and about on the route to Ophir. For all current details, rules, schedules, and recommendations for this year's Hempfest, check the above links! Best of luck to Robert and the rest of the Hempfest organizers and staffers this year, and to all of the bands and fans, for what should be a great festival!

That's all for now, but stay tuned later today for another weekend concert preview post, this time detailing Sault Ontario-area concerts from Thursday-Saturday not involving Hempfest, including TONIGHT'S Roosevelt Hotel metal night, the Smeltzer reunion show tomorrow, and Full Circle's weekend set. Stay tuned!