The Return Of Mikey & His Uke, Realignment Project Updates, And A New Live Video!!

Before we begin this Thanksgiving post, I wanted to apologize for missing Bone Yard 225 frontman Greg "The Ranting Rockstar" Simpson's solo acoustic concert at The Dive Gastro Pub on "Think It Over Thursday". I profusely apologize for missing this show in last week's previews, but alas, The Dive only announced that Greg was even playing on 3:26 PM that day, and Greg still doesn't have a solo social media page dedicated to his Ranting Rockstar persona/gigs (even on his personal page, this didn't get an early plug). Hopefully the show was a hit, and I'd have happily covered it had it had even a day's notice! Now, here's some recent updates and videos from a few local acts, including a surprise return!

After a nearly two year long hiatus, Mikey & His Uke are back! We last heard from the local/Toronto punk supergroup project when Mikey Hawdon concluded his "Dookie" 30th anniversary series of Green Day covers in November 2024, but the BookcluB/Dos Amigos frontman surprised us by posting a brand new remotely-filmed cover of The Dandy Warhols' "Bohemian Like You" onto their YouTube channel last week. For their big return, Mikey sure got a stacked lineup of musicians from afar for this cover, including Bangles guitarist Vicki Peterson on vocals, Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen, Redd Kross bassist Steven McDonald, Poison drummer Rikki Rockett, and former Runaways bassist Jackie Fox (a 4 day champion on Jeopardy!) on backing vocals. As usual, Mikey starts off strumming his ukelele before dropping the pretense and playing rhythm guitar. The cover is very sound, and everyone performs well with some unique levels of staging!

The biggest variance here compared to past Mikey & His Uke covers is that three performers actually appear on camera together. Vicki starts off singing alone outside, then Jackie joins her, and when they go inside, Steve has moved from performing in a dark theatre to playing on the couch, where the ladies join him for the back half of the cover. Good stuff with some suitably huge star power, so check out the "Bohemian Like You" cover below, and Mikey & His Uke are back in our active band links! Here's hoping we're not waiting until 2028 for the next video!

Next up, here's the latest from local industrial metal solo act The Realignment Project's Facebook page, so what has Matt Hicks has been up to in the past couple of months? Much of that time was spent working on their second full length album, and in the most substantial teaser video from the sessions in that span, Matt posted this video on August 14th of a new song in progress via his tracking computer. He gave what appear to be lyrics for the song in the description, but what we hear is just the bass and drum tracks for the then-unfinished song. Sounds good to me for what it is! As of August 19th, the album was 75% done, and six days later, Matt posted this amusing video that shows an insight into his alleged "creative process". Vertical or not, I have a feeling that there is some real basis to the scenarios presented! Songwriting for the album was still ongoing on September 2nd, and by the 14th, he was tracking vocals for songs then in progress.

Never one to rest on his laurels, Matt announced on the 18th that he was already working on demos for T.R.P.'s third full-length album, and you can't knock the hustle! Back to album #2, post-production had begun by the 23rd, and five days later, he showed off some expansions to his home studio in this video soundtracked by a Motley Crue song. Last week, Matt confirmed their second album was done, and he confirmed on Friday that the album will be named "Signal Decay", with a release lined up for December. This is on par with the release timeframe for The Realignment Project's first full-length album "Long Cold Winter", which also came out two months after its sessions ended. In the interim, Matt posted this teaser video on Facebook featuring a groove metal-inspired instrumental section of one of the new songs. As usual, I'll hold comment pending our review of the full song and album next year.

Even with the focus on full albums as opposed to EPs in the past year, Matt works at such a busy and prolific pace, and it's good to see him getting "Signal Decay" done and prepped for release already! One assumes this is still through East London Recordings and will turn up on major streaming services, Bandcamp, and via ElasticStage print-on-demand physical copies like before. Give the teaser a watch below, and stay tuned for more soon!

Finally for today, here's a new video discovery from St. Ignace, Michigan metalcore band Heavy Lies The Crown! The band proper has been publically dormant for over three months, but I came across this during our profile on guitarist Jaxon Massaway's YouTube channel, and it presumably slipped my notice because it is a "Short" video (re: vertical, brief, and classed separately than regular videos, though it is embeddable here and isn't temporary like a Facebook "Story"). This comes from their set opening for Born Of Osiris at The Vernors Room at The Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac in May 2024. It's a borderline drum-cam video (Jaxon was still HLTC's drummer here), but it's not super well positioned for that purpose, and you can only see Nathan, Christian, and Blaze (debuting with the band as a one-off DJ here) from behind, and Brandon isn't in frame at all. It's a promisingly heavy performance, just a poor angle, vertical, and way too short. Still, give it a look below!

That's all for today, but enjoy your Thanksgiving, turkey, and football on the Canadian side of the border, and we'll be back with more news and notes on the SMS later this week! Thanks everyone!

Where Are The New Albums? (October 2026 Update)

 

After a slight delay, here's this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, as we again look at the current release whereabouts of announced upcoming albums from local metal, hard rock, and punk acts! Just to clarify a few things first, while The Reeves and Riverside Stasis have signalled ongoing recording sessions on social media, neither has 100% unequivocally confirmed in their own posts that the end goal is an album, CD, or EP as of this writing. As for local progressive metal band Convergence, I removed them due to the release of their "Gemini" EP last month, but more teased original songs could follow on future releases. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out, including one new addition!

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Bone Yard 225's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "F.A.F.O.", "Gypsy Spell", "Fuck!", "Welcome To The ShitShow", "I Took A Pill In Ibiza" (Mike Posner cover)

Background: After months of teasers, local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard 225 began releasing their own songs on major streaming services in July 2024, fifteen years after the pre-225 band debuted as a country cover quartet. Their first three singles (all recorded at their home studio) were posted online by January 2025, though it took until last May for the band to confirm on their Facebook page that they were indeed working on a proper album. As of August 11th, it was reportedly "album tracking time", while this video from three days later shows bandmates Alex D'Ettore & Warren Reville recording backing vocals for their cover of Mike Posner's "I Took A Pill In Ibiza". That will be one of "a couple of covers" for the album, as confirmed by frontman Greg Simpson during recent concerts. "Fuck!" was renamed "The F Word" on streaming services in December, but it's not clear if the less explicit name will stick on the album. The band was still "in the studio finishing shit" as of December 4th, source here, and a new single "Welcome To The ShitShow" was released on streaming services in August.

Current Release Status: In that Facebook post from May 2025, your local 225 said that "the album is coming along nicely", but announced release timeframes of "by the end of 2025" and "early 2026" have came and went. While singer/drummer Greg Simpson did release an EP with his old band Stiffler's Mom, it's hard to compare the release methods and schedule given that "The Demo" came out in 2004. It is neat to see that Greg, Alex, and Warren are going all in on a studio album, and stay tuned for updates!

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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

Rumoured Songs: "The Cities Alive & It's Angry"

Background: Ever the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work), originally named "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy elaboration of the rock opera in 2022, now titled "The Chaotic Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release timeline. Clips of songs have surfaced on his Facebook page, as have full songs not explicitly tied to the album, as well as the final artwork. In more recent promotion, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final solo album as part of aims to focus on his personal life more than his prolific original material. Regardless, the final product has been pared down to 25-30 minutes.

Current Release Status: Chase elaborated on Facebook in mid-2024 that the album was 95% done earlier that year when the files "got trapped on my desktop's hard drive", and he had been unable to procure a backup of the material or recover the files as of that post. In any event, three of the full songs uploaded to Facebook in 2023 were clarified as not being planned for "The Chaotic Rite", but they could surface on a separate EP. Fingers crossed that Chase is able to save this album and put it out when able, especially given the years that he's put into the making of it!

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Eden Plague's third album (and first under that name)

Rumoured Songs: "Primogenesis", "Colony Of Parasites"

Background: Local death metal quartet The Bear Hunters had teased plans to record a "final album" on their Facebook page in July 2024, during the band's long slowdown in activity dating back to late 2017 (which included the unceremonious release of their second album "The Dead Testament" during the pandemic), but they surprised many by relaunching under the new name Eden Plague in May of this year. Nik, Mitch, Justin, and Johnny immediately signalled that they were working on new original music, debuting at least two songs during their mid-2026 concerts. They were recording two singles in studio in July (with Nik seen tracking vocals at Mission Control Studios in a Facebook "Story"), and the guys are currently on break from the stage, as they're "shifting all gears to our debut LP" (as Eden Plague). The band allegedly "discreetly revealed" the album name on social media earlier this year, with a free copy of the album promised to whoever figures it out first.

Current Release Status: The band has vaguely given a "sometime in 2027" timeframe for the release ON fACEBOOK, but things sound early for the final product, as as of September 3rd, five songs were still in demo stages. The former Bear Hunters are no strangers to album recording sessions, and with no pandemic and band activity uncertainty clouding things in 2026, here's hoping that this gets a deservingly widescale release when things are done!

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Fort Creek's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "One For The Road", "Sweet Rosie"

Background: Local southern/hard rock band Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, but they wouldn't release any samples until almost two years later when they shared (now-deleted) clips of their original song "Hammer Down" on their Facebook page. The guys would play it regularly at concerts from 2022-2023, with studio sessions taking place in early-mid 2023 as well. After the departure of bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer Anthony Fabiano in the fall of 2023, Fort Creek opted to start the album over, and have been working on new material and rebuilding their studio over the past three years. Their first single (the acoustic "One For The Road") was posted online in January 2025, with the band confirming plans to now record a 10 song album at then-drummer Phil Greco's own Jettison Studios prior to returning to live concerts. Their new single "Sweet Rosie" was released to major streaming services last month, which featured the studio debut of drummer Sam DeDominicis. New bassist Arthur Lacasse appears in the music video, but Liam Seymour played bass on a session basis.

Current Release Status: Prior release timelines for their debut EP reflected their early 2020s lineup's material, and Justin, Shane, Bill, and crew have largely kept things somewhat close to the vest prior to putting out "One For The Road". There are a lot of unknowns, especially given the 6+ years of production time and their decision to basically start over in 2023, and that this is a band that was primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit before their rhythm section left. It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned for updates!

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Mike McCleary's new album

Rumoured Songs: "Carousel"

Background: Background: A talented studio hard rock musician who has released multiple solo albums in the past (albeit almost entirely delisted from streaming services as his musical approach and personal life changed), Mike announced plans to record an instrumental album in 2023, but after a year+ public hiatus, he opted to shelve that unfinished album in 2025 in favour of a new album with vocals. He signed with Swedish indie label Rexius Records, with plans to put out an 8 song album covering "a variety of topics" and featuring "some fun, catchy, and energetic rock music for everyone to enjoy". A teaser video from the sessions was posted onto his Facebook page on December 6th, and the planned first single ("Carousel") was released online in June.

Current Release Status: Your guess is as good as mine, but as this is is a one-man project likely aimed at streaming services, this album could pop up at any time, and may be close given that an advance single is was unveiled this summer. The Rexius Records connection is a variable, but Mike is a strong musician with morals and a lot to say about himself, and hopefully this album comes out successfully in the near future!

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The Realignment Project's second full length album

Rumoured Songs: Unknown

Background: The current industrial metal solo project from Dirty Virgin/Riverin alum Matt Hicks, The Realignment Project are known for their quick recording schedule, with four EPs and a full length album being released since the beginning of last year alone. In April, Matt confirmed on the project's Facebook page that he had already begun work on their second full length album, days removed from the release of their full length debut "Long Cold Winter". By June, it had developed "some nice bones", and it was 75% complete as of August 19th. Among other teasers for recording sessions and songwriting, Matt was tracking vocals on September 14th (and even tracking demos for the third full length album last month), before entering post-production for album #2 late last month. Sessions were complete as of yesterday for the album, which will be released through the British indie label East London Recordings once again.

Current Release Status: Matt is no stranger to releasing Realignment Project albums with very little turnaround, and while things obviously take longer for full length albums, this could show up at any point on streaming services. Note that "Long Cold Winter" was released two months after the reveal that sessions had ended, so could that point to December for this album? Stay tuned in any event, and we'll have more on The Realignment Project from recent months in an upcoming post!

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! As usual in this series, albums with updates have their title in italics. This series will return on or around November 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will likely be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile this weekend. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906 & Peril), Crush Updates, And More News & Notes!!

Here's a new news post to check out on this Friday evening, and it's mostly focused on Michigan and the Eastern Upper Peninsula, so here's what you should know, starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino for the presumed final times on Friday and Saturday, October 9th & 10th! The shows were quietly announced via Kewadin's entertainment page this month, and these could be the last heavier-leaning concerts before the casino begins their massive renovations to The Rapids Lounge, with a new sports bar scheduled to open on/near that location next year. It's not a long weekend for Yoopers then, but if you want to rock out with a Jeff Hudson band one more time at The Rapids Lounge as we know it, keep things in mind for in two weeks! Next month's shows are 21+ affairs with no announced cover charges and 9:00 PM start times. If you're curious, Kewadin lists Rapids Lounge bookings through at least Halloween (soul/R&B cover band NuCorp), but is that it? We'll let you know when more details are announced!

Next up, let's head over to Rudyard, where local blues/hard rock cover quintet Project 906 will return to Huck's Pub & Grill as the headliners of their Halloween party on Saturday, October 31st! The #summerof906 ended quietly with no publically announced shows (or updates in general) since their set at the Barge Bash in Cedarville early last month, but this will be their first show at Huck's since the Summerfest weekend in July. Halloween is always a key date for bands to get, and Project 906 also got the honours last year (when October 31st was a Friday), so why not get another expertly timed return booking? Along with the usual spooky frills for Halloween night, and Project 906's established and fan favourite hard rock covers, there will be a costume contest, with yet-to-be-announced prizes going to the best overall, funniest, and best couples' costumes, similarly to last year's party.

Billy, Joe, Dustin, Jason, and Brian will take the stage at 8:00 PM on Halloween, this will have a 21+ age limit, and there is no announced cover charge. Where Project 906 have been lately, I don't know, but we at least have a date ahead, and on a fitting weekend in many respects, so visit the above links for more details on the spooktacular night ahead! 

Also today, here's a few updates from local hard rock trio Crush's Facebook page! As you may recall, Crush (who play out of town gigs more frequently than their sister band Tarnished) hit the road for Gould City yesterday to open for Tribe989 at Bates Corner Bar & Grill. The guys were hyping this up like it was a local gig, and for some readers, it will have been, as Gould City is a 90 minute drive west of the Soo, which is a half hour past our coverage range. Towns like Paradise, Newberry, and Gould City are beyond the one hour mark from Sault Ste. Marie, hence why we don't cover anything in those towns full bore, but they do put on some big events at Bates Corner, and yesterday's show was outdoors, even! You may recall seeing this outdoor stage with the eight poles on each side in past Tarnished and Crush media. Hopefully the concert (also featuring Hannahville metal band Ghidora) was a hit all around!

To plug the impending concert, bassist Isaac Royer (a.k.a. "Igman" here) filmed this vertical video of him, Alex, and Josh en route to Gould City, but they were running "way late" as of 5:50 PM due to construction en route. I can't tell where they exactly were when Iggy was filming, but hopefully they made it in time for the regular soundcheck, and they still plugged the show as best they could! Give the video a watch below, and hopefully we see Crush within an hour of the Soo before too long!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items (including some from Sault Ontario!) from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or venue name:

 

• Sault Ontario hard rock/metal trio The BAG will headline a private concert on Friday, October 30th! The Devil's Night show will be held "at Dirtbag's" (message performers if you want to know where that is, let alone who Dirtbag is), and will feature The BAG's first announced concert set in over four months, alongside Hails, ASDP, and With Gunfire. While the show will have "pay what you can" admission, we historically don't cover private or house party concerts with no public address unless it's a repeat named location like Unnecessary Noise. It does sound like fun though, so visit the above links if you want to inquire further!
• A devastating fire caused severe damage at Snow's Bar & Grill in Cedarville, Michigan on September 9th, as covered in this St. Ignace News article by Erich Doerr, featuring photos of the bar during the blaze and after it was put out. Needless to say, Snow's as we know it was destroyed, and it's way too soon to know what the next steps are there, but owner Amy Salter confirmed on their Facebook page that they have insurance, and that process is ongoing. Snow's was sporadically featured here from hosting hard rock cover band concerts, most recently the aforementioned Project 906 in February. Our best wishes go out to Amy and her family and staff at this time!
• New Sault Ontario hard rock/blues trio Stones & Crows had special guests for their concert at Beck's Bar on August 27th, as per photos from the show on their Facebook page. Big Finish Band/Drifters drummer Brandan Glew took Tony's spot behind the drumkit for at least one song, while someone only credited as "Bongo Boy" joined in for at least that same song with Brandan, and you can guess what he was playing. Fun to see some guests like this, and we'll let you know when Stones & Crows announce their first fall date!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for concert previews and more in our next news post! Thanks everyone! 

News & Updates From The Realignment Project & Viscera!!

Now that our weekend concert previews are done and dusted (for now), let's spend some time digging out of our still-massive backlog of stories from the past month, and tonight's post looks at new updates and media from a band on each side of the border, so here's what you should know!

Let's start today with the latest from local industrial metal solo act The Realignment Project, so what have they been up to in the past two months? When we left off with the Matt Hicks-led project, he had just released their first full-length album (as opposed to EPs) "Long Cold Winter", and was in the process of uploading individual YouTube lyric videos of its songs. On June 13th, Matt revealed on their Facebook page that "album 2 is starting to develop some decent bones", so his rapid recording schedule hasn't slowed down just because he's working on longer studio albums! Said post was accompanied by a black-and-white photo of his tracking computer, even. Two days later, two T.R.P. songs were featured on The Tuesday Pump Session show with Jeff Tucker on the Georgia-based internet station Front Row Radio, and it's great to see that Matt's solo music is spreading far beyond the Soo area!

The Realignment Project got some more far-flung internet radio coverage on July 22nd when they and other labelmates at East London Recordings were featured as part of a "takeover" of British internet station Coastal Breeze Radio, so add some more international exposure, and it's good to see Matt's label promoting his music well! Lastly for the recent T.R.P. updates is that they released their second proper music video (not a lyric video) to their YouTube channel. There's less to this in terms of filming, as it's a one-take video of Matt singing the song from the shoulders up, but there was a heavy filter put on it in post-production that looks like the Stylize "Glowing Edges" filter from Adobe Photoshop. I'll hold comment on the song pending our review of "Long Cold Winter" (allegedly available on "all streaming platforms"), but it's a distinct looking video for sure, so give it a watch for yourselves below, and stay tuned for more from Matt soon!

Next up, here's some new updates from Sault Michigan hardcore punk trio Viscera, starting with the reveal on their Facebook page on July 22nd that they have had a print run of their debut EP "From Feast To Famine" made on CD, and they are now on sale via their Bandcamp page for $12 USD (as of this writing, $16.73 CAD). That is certainly good news, even if there isn't an obvious brick-and-mortar location to sell them at in the Soo post-Crooked Music, so buy it above if you want a physical copy! Bands have been added to both of Viscera's announced Soo Tang Records concerts here in the coming weeks, as per updated concert posters on their Instagram page. For their August 22nd headlining concert at Three One Three On Ashmun, they have added Marquette indie rock/power pop quartet Addicus in their local debut, so this show will definitely lean punk, if not have a genre variance.

A female fronted band with a strong upbeat sound and fun lyrics, hopefully Addicus provide a good counterbalance to Viscera's attack in two weeks! A second opening band, local or otherwise, is being sought, so message Viscera above if you wanna join this bill at the former Back Door. As for their show in the basement of Pizza Hut on September 26th, that show has had its lineup capped off with a third touring band, namely Marquette progressive/deathcore quartet SilentLife, also in their Sault Ste. Marie debut. Brutal yet atmospheric sound from them, and definitely not a style of original metal seen often in the EUP, so keep this show in mind for them and much more next month! Finally for tonight's news post, new live videos were filmed at Viscera's most recent gig, a headlining date at Superior Culture in Marquette last week, as shot by a members of other Marquette bands, one being Particle Thrower, who were the first announced openers for next month's Pizza Hut show.

I can't embed these videos here because they are tiled in a batch post, and videos uploaded thusly aren't embeddable on external websites, but the first three feature Viscera live, including their first public footage with new bassist Chris Lovins that I am aware of. Looks like an animated crowd for their hard hitting attack, and the guys look in good spirits (was Blind Bob wearing camouflage face paint?). The third video notably has an overhead view of Mitchell drumming, and if you have the means of a second floor or balcony to make that a reality, you take it! Sadly, these videos are all vertical and reasonably short, but give them a watch above, and stay tuned for more news & notes on the SMS tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

The Rest Of This Weekend's Hard Rock/Punk Concert Previews!!

As promised, here's the rest of this weekend's known hard rock concert previews as we plunge deeper into the Civic Holiday long weekend for many (but not all) readers on the Ontario side of the border. Mercifully, all of today's shows had prior advance notice, but one was postponed a day, so here's what else you should know to end July!

We'll start at Gateway Casino TOMORROW NIGHT, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will end their recent break! After members spent last month working on other projects and bands (including a one-off Jus' Chillin reunion), tomorrow's show will be Generations' first at Sault Ontario's downtown casino in almost two months. Hopefully this one-nighter delivers more of the classic and hard rock goodness for fans of Valerie, Joe, Pierre, and Tony's tried-and-tested brand of rock covers, so keep this show in mind for your (long?) weekend plans! If you can't make it tomorrow, Generations will return to The Water Tower Pub next week. Tomorrow's concert takes place at the casino at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Generations live in concert a few months ago!

Next up, if you crave some original music and/or multiple bands, you might want to head to Blaster Powerhouse TOMORROW NIGHT, where four local bands will join forces, including rising young hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe as the headliners! Proving that their rapid ascent this year isn't a fluke, this skilled high school-aged group should have an intriguing array of covers (expected and unexpected alike) tomorrow, so keep this show in mind! Crossover thrash trio Hails will play their first show at the former Soo Blaster with their current lineup tomorrow, while veteran local punk supergroup The Gambit will play just their fourth show with this name and first since Rotaryfest two years ago tomorrow as well. Space/hard rock duo The Spaceship Opening will... open this concert in their first public gig of 2026, and this is definitely an interestingly varied lineup of newer and established names!

Promoted by former Ha!ls guitarist Mikhal Muto's own agency Underground Events SSM, this all ages concert begins tomorrow at 8:30 PM with no age limit, and admission is $20 at the door ("no tickets will be made for this one", so apologies to ticket stub collectors, alas). Despite a somewhat out-there poster (at least it's not AI!), this is shaping up to be a fun concert for punk fans, so visit the above links for more details, and here's a new video of 5 Dollar Bribe at the ARCH Run earlier this month! Uploaded to their Facebook page last week, this is their frequent live cover of The Atlanta Rhythm Section's "So Into You", albeit for just 34 seconds. Well played and relaxed, if not that heavy, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

Also this weekend, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will have the rare double header weekend TOMORROW NIGHT & SUNDAY at Beck's Bar! On the weekend that they release their new studio single "Welcome To The Shit Show" (more on that next week), tomorrow's concert is a regular plugged-in, full band concert for fans of "the dirty three" in their full splendour, so you'll be ending July on a loud and high note if you come to the former Vibe Lounge tomorrow! If you're curious, tomorrow's matinee performer (who isn't "opening" for Bone Yard) is new local singer/guitarist Stephen Biason, who plays from 3:00-7:00 PM. On Sunday, your local 225 will go "uncorked" for an acoustic matinee concert, which coincides with Beck's weekly euchre tournament on Sundays, so whether you play cards or not, you'll have a fitting soundtrack from Greg, Alex, and Warren! 

Tomorrow's nightcap is at 9:00 PM, the Sunday unpl... uncorked concert is also at 3:00 PM, both shows are 19+ affairs, and none have an age limit. Visit the above links for more details on Bone Yard's busy west end weekend, and for a preview, here they are live in concert last year!

Finally for these previews, we'll head south to Cedarville, Michigan for the annual Government Bay Barge Bash, but later than you may think, as it has been postponed from tomorrow to SUNDAY. As revealed via this AI-generated poster, organizers have decided to push the Barge Bash back a day due to the rainy weather forecast tomorrow. 9&10 News currently has rain forecasted for Cedarville in the 12:00 PM hour, but an even likelier chance for precipitation is spotted from the 4:00 PM hour onward, which would not be ideal for bands, let alone everyone else. Sunday's forecast is much better (sunny skies all day with 73-76° temperatures, 23-25° Celsius), and all bands are able to play the rain date, so adjust your schedules accordingly! The Les Cheneaux Islands Barge Bash will again feature bands playing on a literal barge floating in Government Bay off of East Hodeck Street, so if you want to boat or swim over for the music, you can! Click here for non-musical details.

Sunday's headliners are hard rock cover quintet Project 906 (likely around 4:00-5:00 PM) alongside Cedarville rock veterans Shipheads On Shore (likely around 2:00-3:00 PM), and The Haske Brothers (now featuring prolific local singer/guitarist Mark Bowen!) kicking things off at noon, giving us a near identical lineup to last year. The Barge Bash is FREE & ALL AGES, though please drink responsibly, and be careful out on the water regardless. This is always a fun and very unique concert event on the EUP calendar, so visit the above links for more on Sunday's action, and here's Project 906 live!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Blitz, Nolium, Rock N' Roll Ave, And Project 906!!)

Before we dive into weekend concert previews on both sides of the border, let's take a trip to Sault Michigan and the E.U.P. for this all-American SMS post, which solely features LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming weeks! Here's what you should know on this Wednesday night!

Local hard/blues rock cover quintet Project 906 will apparently return to Huck's Pub & Grill in Rudyard for one night only on Friday, July 24th! The show was announced via this concert calendar image on Huck's Facebook page, which calls them "906 Band", but who else could they be referring to? Fans last saw Project 906 at Huck's on Halloween last year, and their show in two weeks will actually coincide with another special occasion, as that will be during Summerfest weekend in Rudyard (click here for this year's program), but events at the former Joe's Bar are not official Summerfest events, just well timed. As such, things should be busier that night, so hopefully Project 906 have a strong night of live hard rock action! Note that singer Billy Bernier will actually be playing a solo gig at Huck's tomorrow (source here) as this week's Bike Night entertainment, but I don't know if his solo shows are basically 906 unplugged or take new paths.

This concert is a one-nighter due to or resulting in a show on Saturday the 25th from a mystery band named Private Drive, and we'll let you know if we hear anything about them. "906 Band" take the stage for this 21+ concert at 8:00 PM with no cover charge, and there will be an outdoor cash bar on site. Before we get too far, Project 906 played their second show of this year's #summerof906 in Curtis (90 minutes west of here) on Wednesday, July 1st at the Erickson Center For The Arts as part of their own Music In The Park series. Curtis is outside of our hour's drive coverage area, but I hope the outdoor show went well! Visit the above links for more from Project 906!

Next up, Kewadin Casino has updated their entertainment page for bands playing at the Soo and St. Ignace branches through the end of August, and there's some newer touring faces to look out for, starting with the local debuts of Petoskey-area classic/hard rock cover quartet The Blitz at The Rapids Lounge in Sault Ste. Marie on Friday, July 31st and Saturday, August 1st! The Blitz have been rocking Northern Michigan and the tip of the mitt since at least the late 2010s, and they reunited in 2022, but as far as I am aware, their shows in three weeks will be their first in the E.U.P.. Videos on their Facebook page show The Blitz covering the likes of Def Leppard, Better Than Ezra, and Royal Republic, and were recently tapped to open for a cancelled Firehouse concert in Wolverine, so they definitely have a good array of hard rock-leaning covers, and it will be interesting to see how they go over in the Soo!

As usual for concerts at Kewadin Casino's on-site lounges, their shows on the 31st and August 1st are 9:00 PM affairs with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Hopefully The Blitz deliver a solid weekend of rocking covers for fans in a few weeks, so visit the above links for more details!

Also new at The Rapids Lounge next month is the local debut of Mount Pleasant classic/hard rock cover quintet Rock N' Roll Ave (as in "avenue"), who will rock the Soo Kewadin on Friday, August 7th and Saturday, August 8th! A recently reunited cover band featuring Brock Williams from the defunct Central Michigan metalcore band Black Out, the Sault Ste. Marie dates will actually be Rock N' Roll Ave's first anywhere after their return, which is unusual when you consider that Mount Pleasant is 3 hours south of here, but they are a talented band with a good ear for hard rock! In their three jam session videos from this summer on their Facebook page (all shot vertically, alas), you can see them covering Poison, Stone Temple Pilots, and John Mellencamp songs, though tread lightly when backtracking there, as Black Out videos are also posted on their page, and R.N.R.A. aren't that heavy by comparison!

They should get a good reception from Yooper fans at the Soo Kewadin next month, so welcome Rock N' Roll Ave here in style then! Like with The Blitz the previous week, these are 21+ shows with no cover charges and 21+ age limits. See above for more details on their local debut weekend!

Finally for today, The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino isn't lacking for new touring rock bands either, as Ontonogan hard rock quartet Nolium will make their own EUP debut at that branch on Friday, August 7th and Saturday, August 8th! Their Facebook calendar says that the shows are in the Soo, but Kewadin's entertainment page confirms that Nolium are in St. Ignace with Rock N' Roll Ave playing an hour north that same weekend. Nolium may actually be the heaviest of the three touring bands in this post (the likes of Tool, System Of A Down, and Silverchair are covered in their set), and they actually have their own original music that fans of modern hard rock and grunge will take to, and it will be neat to see them make the 4½ hour drive east next month! If you really want a big sampling of Nolium live, here's an 80 minutes long concert of theirs from 2021.

As above, these are free concerts with 9:00 PM start times and 21+ age limits, just at the St. Ignace Kewadin. It's not every day when we get bands from that far west in the Upper Peninsula coming here (Nolium play a lot of Wisconsin dates as such), so give them a warm welcome in Mackinac County next month if this interests you! Visit the above links for more details on all of these newly confirmed hard rock shows in the E.U.P., and stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Lazys & WestFest II!)

Happy Canada Day to our Canadian readers! Just a quick note that the full music schedule for TODAY'S opening day of Poutine Feast was finally revealed on the You Belong SSM Facebook page yesterday, confirming that Vito Tassone (credited as "VT Music") and Josh "The Preacher" McNally will also be performing, as will unspecified indigenous performers. The official timeslots weren't given, but they're in descending performance order with Eli Russell & The River Fools up first at 12:00 PM, and BookcluB & Dos Amigos both confirmed on Instagram that they'd be at 8:15 and 4:15 PM respectively. If you're going to the plaza, have fun and stay hyrdrated! Now, here's two big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to look for in the coming months!

The full lineup for the second annual WestFest at Anna Marinelli Park on Saturday, August 8th was gradually revealed on the West Village Renewed Facebook page last month, and with this video 100% confirming the five final acts (down from seven last year), who all is heading to Jamestown next month? Surprisingly, only one band from 2025 is returning this year, and unlike last year's focus on Rotaryfest alumni (all but one act being from recent Stage 2 lineups), the four newcomers here have never played Rotaryfest in the forms you'll be seeing at WestFest II. Headlining this year are local/Collingwood folk rock quartet The Ontarians (featuring the Soo's own Frank Deresti and Chris Johns), while folk/country quartet The Golden Scoundrels will co-headline as the only return act from last year. Two familiar faces will play solo sets prior, including the solo debut of BookcluB/ex-Hails guitarist Carmen Muto!

I have no idea what Carmen's solo set will entail in terms of genres, possible bandmates, if he'll be singing too, etc., but he's an exceedingly talented guitarist for his age, so hopefully he makes a big impression! Also performing at WestFest next month is Ava Nori, the daughter of Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori, who you may recall guesting with her dad's band at their last local concert at The Machine Shop in March 2024. Ava's arguably better known for her poetry (she was interviewed about it on The Borderline, even), but come out to Anna Marinelli Park to see how she does as a solo musician! Opening on August 8th are new local alt-hard rock quintet Riverside Stasis, one year after singer Tea Emlaw headlined WestFest 1 with Handsome Sandwich in that band's final Sault Ste. Marie concert set. I have no clue if Riverside Stasis were always planned to play next month, or if they had signed up for the cancelled battle of the bands to find the opening act.

Given their pedigree (including 3/5ths of HeadFirst), hopefully they were picked on their own merits, but regardless, Sault Ontario has been snakebit for battles of the bands since the pandemic! Like last year, WestFest is a centerpiece event for The West Village Revitalization Project in their efforts to revive and bring attention to the Jamestown and Steelton areas in the west end of the downtown core, and community initiatives and causes therein. Termed as a "block party meets music festival", this outdoor event at 169 James Street will also feature local vendors and family activities, and if the same as 2025, a beer garden, so click here for full non-musical details and any to come. This year's WestFest is blocked to start and end later than last year's, with an advertised runtime of 4:00-11:00 PM, with Riverside Stasis kicking off the live music at 5:00 PM. While last year's was free, WestFest II will have admission by donation, so pay what you can to support the cause.

While Riverside Stasis are the only assuredly hard rock-leaning act next month (again, I don't know what to expect from Carmen solo), there should be a little for everyone to enjoy musically at WestFest II, and I do hope that the weather cooperates, both in terms of possible rain and the temperature/humidity next month. Kudos to West Village Renewed for keeping their revitalization going, and visit the above links for more details!

Finally, Australian hard rock quintet The Lazys will make their local concert debut on Friday, October 9th at Blaster Powerhouse! Announced late last month via this poster that bafflingly doesn't give the date (The Lazys' website and the Facebook comment replies confirmed it), this is a band that will be familiar to listeners of 104.3 The Fox, as The Lazys have far more Canadian rock radio success than American thanks to hit singles like "Too Tough To Die" & "Hot Under The Collar". While not as AC/DC-coded as their fellow Aussies in Airbourne, there's still a retro flair to their catchy brand of hard rock, and no less than Ian D'Sa from Billy Talent has co-wrote music with them, so it'll be neat finally see The Lazys in the Soo! Opening on October 9th (also in their local debut) are Winnipeg "nu grunge punk n' roll" quartet The Bloodshots, an all-Indigenous group whose described genre is pretty accurate, as they cover a lot of ground in their original music, so there's a lot to like within, and do check them out in advance!

A local opening band is to be announced for this all ages concert, which is expected to start at 8:15 PM. Advance tickets are on sale for $40 at this link and presumably at the former Soo Blaster, and the price will jump to $50 at the door. This should be a fun concert for modern hard rock fans with an old school flair, and there's three months to prepare for it, so visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews and this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!