LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Nameless & Dodge This) And More Weekend Concert Previews!!

In today's second weekend concert preview post, we have some more SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to help cap off a busy weekend in the Sault Ste. Marie area, so here's what you should know!

Local acoustic classic/hard rock cover trio Dodge This will reportedly return to The Water Tower Pub TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard about this show via personal Facebook postings about live music schedules this weekend, as neither Dodge This (who haven't posted online since July) and The Water Tower Pub (who haven't posted a monthly concert calendar since June) have publicized this booking on social media. If accurate, it's good to see Dodge This back after an apparent summer break, having last played a publically announced gig at The Dive in early July (they did drop out of a planned Beck's Bar gig last month though). Hopefully TONIGHT's show has a strong night of classic and hard rock cover favourites (and even some country tunes) from the July brothers and Jason, so keep it in mind! Remember, The Water Tower Pub hosts different nightly musicians, so Dodge This will not be playing there tomorrow.

If you're curious, the Saturday performers at the Great Northern Road nightclub will be new local country rock supergroup Elly McWatters & The Drifters. TONIGHT'S Dodge This concert has a 19+ age limit, no cover charge, and an 8:00 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Dodge This live!

Next up, Sault Michigan hard rock quartet The Nameless will visit The Well Diggers Watering Hole & Feed Lot in Kinross for the first time for an outdoor concert on SUNDAY! Again, apologies for the short notice, this gig was first announced via the venue's Facebook page on Wednesday. When the band corroborated the booking later that night on their Facebook page, they indicated that the opportunity to play here arose despite previously planning a break to work on new material for their sets. As such, this will be The Nameless' first gig since rocking The Merch three weeks ago. Well Diggers will be familiar to Yooper readers from hosting Project 906 on occasion in 2023 & 2024, and it will be neat to see a different local hard rock cover band on their outdoor stage on SUNDAY, so keep this matinee booking in mind! Unlike the prior 906 gigs here, this will be a 3:00 PM matinee concert on SUNDAY, and there will be no cover charge.

It's too soon for an hourly forecast, but 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy skies, no chance of rain, and a high temperature of 71° (21° Celsius). Weather is looking good and calm for the next while, including 70+/20+° weather over the next week, so enjoy these outdoor concerts while we still can realistically have them! Visit the above links for more on The Nameless' Kinross debut on SUNDAY, and here they are live a few months back!

Now let's head back to Sault Ontario, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will return to Reggie's Place for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Two weeks removed from their last gigs at Reggie's, this will be another prime opportunity for fans to check out Greg, Alex, and Warren's down and dirty brand of classic, hard, and southern rock covers, plus their three originals, and merchandise will be on sale as usual! "The Dirty Three" should be in fine form at their favourite venue, so don't miss out on all of the action on Queen Street East tonight & tomorrow! Your local 225 take the stage both nights at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges, and if you can't make it, they'll be back at Reggie's in two weeks. Visit the above links for more on Bone Yard's shows tonight & tomorrow night, and for a preview, here they are live!

Finally for this second weekend concert preview post, here's one more big show taking place on SUNDAY NIGHT, as Oshawa-based Bon Jovi tribute band Bon Jovi Forever will return to town when they headline at the Sault Community Theatre Centre! One of four Bon Jovi tribute bands to rock the Soo in the past 15 years, Bon Jovi Forever are the tribute that headlined at The Rockstar Bar in 2016, so it will be good to see their hair metal classics and later general rock favourites back on a local stage on Sunday, let alone on the huge theatre stage at White Pines! Of course, I won't judge which Bon Jovi tribute is better or more faithful than the rest, but B.J.F. deliver a faithful sounding and looking stage show, as led by frontman Baz Littlerock, so don't miss out on their local return in a couple of nights! This all ages concert at 8:00 PM has tickets running for $58.24 (adults), $46.94 (seniors or students with valid ID), or $26.60 (children).

You can buy tickets at this link or at the in-person box office at Station Mall. As of this writing, there are still seats in the third row and back in the left and right sections, while the center section has seats from the seventh row and back (the upper gallery seating is not open for this show). If you're a Bon Jovi fan, you won't want to miss Bon Jovi Forever at the S.C.T.C. on Sunday, so visit the above links for more details, and here they are live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished, Double Down, And Curtis McKenzie!!)

A busy weekend is upon us in the Sault Ontario the E.U.P., so much so that we'll need a second post to cover all of the hard rock action ahead! As such, our previews of this weekend's Bon Jovi Forever, Bone Yard 225, and Nameless shows will be in tomorrow's post. Here's what you should know to start via an all-SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT post!

Former Project 421/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will rock The Dive Gastro Pub for another "Think It Over Thursday" acoustic concert TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Curt only announced the booking last night via his Facebook page, and The Dive have not corroborated the announcement on theirs whatsoever (they haven't posted a monthly calendar in a few months either). Surprisingly, this will be Curtis' first stop at the former Low & Slow in almost three months, having exclusively played at Beck's Bar in the interim, so if you've missed him at this cozy downtown bar & restaurant, keep his alternative, hard rock, and grunge cover action in mind TONIGHT! Curt will be back in "The Naughty Corner" at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge, as usual for The Dive. Visit the above links for more details on TONIGHT's latest unplugged concert of his, and here's Curtis live!

Next up, we'll head to the Eastern Upper Peninsula, as Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished will continue spreading their St. Ignace wings by rocking The Driftwood Sports Bar again TOMORROW NIGHT before debuting at Kingston Kitchen on SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band first announced these shows on their Facebook page yesterday, but the Kingston Kitchen show was first announced on their Facebook page last month. The raison d'etre for Tarnished to rock two St. Ignace venues in one weekend is the annual Richard Crane Memorial Truck Show, which takes place all weekend at the Mackinac County Airport, so see above for full details on the events relating to the show, parade, and everything else. The airport is just a four minute drive from The Driftwood (which Tarnished first played at back in March), and it is neat to see Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron back there on a busy weekend in St. Ignace TOMORROW!

Technically all on the same street, The Driftwood Sports Bar (590 North State Street) is just three minutes away from Kingston Kitchen (250 South State Street), which happens to be the brand new sister location of a popular Jamaican/American fusion eatery on Mackinac Island, and they have been hosting live music on occasion since the summer, though this is the first weekend that they've hosted advertised rock bands. Kudos to Tarnished for helping diversify where rock bands can play in St. Ignace, as they've now had shows at four different spots there this year. It's not just Kewadin Casino there, after all! Whether due to or the result of these extra bookings, the off nights at both venues will have music to check out too for truck show weekend. Friday at Kingston Kitchen, fans can check out Cheboygan classic rock cover quartet The Lonely Pines, while a DJ party takes place at The Driftwood on Saturday, so keep these in mind as well if you'll be in the area.

TOMORROW'S Driftwood show is at 9:30 PM with a 21+ age limit, the Kingston Kitchen show on SATURDAY is at 7:00 PM with no stated age limit, and neither has an announced cover charge. Hopefully Tarnished make the most of the extra people in St. Ignace for the truck show with lots of hard rocking classic tunes, so visit the above links for more on their busy short notice weekend, and here they are live!

Finally for this all-late notice weekend concert preview post, we'll head back to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will formally end their summer break TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Jay's Piston Broke Pub! Apologies again for the short notice, these shows were first announced via their Facebook event page last month, but by the time we could get to them for coverage here, we were only a week away. After eleven weeks away from live concerts (not even for a festival), the guys will set up shop at the former Roosevelt Hotel all weekend long in their first of four monthly bookings there to end 2025, and they have teased having lots of new songs in their setlist TOMORROW & SATURDAY, so come down to Jay's to see what Double Down have in store for their return! However, note that the band will be not feature bassist Dan Beaupre for either of these gigs.

A public reason for his absence wasn't given, and while I did hear what happened, I'll refrain from giving details other than to say that there's no issues in the band. Hopefully Dan comes back soon! Former Soldiers of Misfortune/Cowboys & Indians bassist Alex White will step in this weekend, which will definitely be interesting to see! Double Down and Alex take the stage TOMORROW & SATURDAY at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and here they are live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Wolf Fest & Double Down!!)

In today's post, we're focusing solely on LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, all involving prominent local cover bands, so here's what you should know for later this month and beyond!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down's summer break is almost over, and after eleven weeks away from the public stage (even festivals), they have announced a busy slate of nightclub gigs through mid-December! Now, two caveats here: I'll hold their return gigs next weekend for that round of weekend concert previews given the now-short notice, while with the exception of next weekend's dates, all shows are listed as being on a single night (and all but one of those is given as being on a Friday only). Given normal booking trends, I will treat the Jay's and Reggie's bookings as being for the Friday and Saturday of the given weekends, but we'll let you know if that isn't the case. All new dates were announced via Facebook event pages this summer, mostly last month. Beyond next weekend, their first show back at The Water Tower Pub since June will take place on Friday, September 19th, with a return there also taking place on Friday, November 21st.

Both of these are one-nighters, as The Water Tower Pub historically doesn't book the same band on consecutive days. After playing a private stag & doe on September 26th, fans can see Joel, Beej, Dan, and Ric back at Beck's Bar for one night only on Saturday, September 27th, and it will be good to see them back at this newer west end favourite for the first time this fall! On October 3rd and 4th, Double Down will return to Reggie's Place for the first time since last year, and while I don't know why the Syrettes and crew haven't played there in so long, hopefully they rock the house well for downtown fans next month! Lastly, as part of their run of monthly weekends at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, you can see the guys back at the Korah Road nightclub over the Thanksgiving long weekend (October 10th-11th) before returning to the former Roosevelt Hotel on November 21st-22nd and December 12th-13th.

Sounds like a lot of good chances ahead to hear their hard rocking cover array, complete with teased new setlist additions, so keep all of these dates in mind, and we'll address their first shows back from their break on Thursday! All of these shows are 19+ with no announced cover charge, while start times are 8:00 PM at The Water Tower Pub, 9:00 PM at Beck's, and 9:30 PM at Reggie's and Jay's. Visit the above links for more details on Double Down's fall/winter return schedule!

Finally, and after three weeks of teasers from Northern Superior Brewing Co., we can finally answer this question: What is Wolf Fest? Well, it is a community festival taking place on Saturday, September 27th where the downtown microbrewery plans to give back to the Sault area and supporters, and there will be beer on tap (as you'd expect) plus food and a wide array of local vendors and artisans. This even extends to barbers, tattoo artists, and an arcade, believe it or not! Visit the brewery's Facebook page for complete non-musical details so far. Rather than cram everything into the Tap Room on site, Northern Superior will hold Wolf Fest at the Roberta Bondar Pavilion, and four bands will rock the big stage under the tent there, including classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9, confirming their prior teasers about playing here. Good to see Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve back at it after their recent Tap Room gig!

The headliners in three weeks are veteran local/Toronto pop rock cover quartet The Killer Hooks (who do cover hard rock songs on occasion), while frontman Tony Marcello's son Anthony will play a rare concert with his dad that night when his indie rock band Jupiter Marvelous also rock Wolf Fest. The advertised lineup is rounded out by online page-less Tragically Hip tribute band The Luxury (featuring Redefined, Late Shift, Headrush, Billy Bastards, and Tripod The Dog alumni), while the poster references "special guests T.B.D.", so we'll have to see what that entails. Wolf Fest is presumably an all ages event, it runs from 3:00-11:00 PM on the 27th, and admission is by donation to the Alzheimer Society of Sault Ste. Marie. I think Northern Superior could have gave Wolf Fest more direct promotion and less of a teaser campaign, especially as it's three weeks away, but this sounds like a fun event with a lot going on, so visit the above links for more on Wolf Fest! 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison & Bone Yard 225) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

For this first concert weekend of the autumn of 2025, things are surprisingly quiet as hard rock goes, but we do await the returns of some bands and venues from summer breaks still, so things should pick up soon. As luck would have it, this post is also full of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly on SHORT NOTICE, plus new videos from one of the acts in question, so here's what you should know on this Thursday night!

Let's dive into this weekend's quiet slate of hard rock concert previews, and we'll start with a busy triple header weekend for local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, who will kick things off with a one-nighter TOMORROW NIGHT at The Water Tower Pub, before rocking Beck's Bar for concerts on SATURDAY NIGHT and then for their SUNDAY matinee! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were first announced late last week, but given the timing for this weekend's shows, I held them for this round of previews due to them being a week away at that time. Bone Yard's shows this weekend are sandwiching a traditional plugged-in concert at Beck's on SATURDAY with two "uncorked" shows, as they only play acoustic at The Water Tower Pub (who traditionally don't book the same band on consecutive nights), while they are the matinee performers at Beck's on SUNDAY, capping off their weekend in style.

Nice and busy (and varied) weekend is in store for fans of "the dirty three", so don't miss their southern fried hard rock across all three nights, and remember, if you want the full electric show, be at Beck's on SATURDAY NIGHT! If you're curious, the Saturday matinee timeslot belongs to new local acoustic duo Lawrence & McKey, who have their own full block that day and aren't "opening" for your local 225. All three shows this weekend are 19+ events with no cover charge, and the start times TOMORROW at The Water Tower Pub at 8:00 PM, SATURDAY at Beck's at 9:00 PM, and SUNDAY at Beck's at 3:00 PM. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's some new live-streamed videos of Bone Yard 225 live! These come from their concert at Reggie's Place on August 30th, and as they were live-streamed, they will vanish from Facebook at around the end of the month as per their new rules on live-streams, unless explicitly converted or reuploaded.

One is an "uncorked" cover of The Tragically Hip's "Wheat Kings", but embedded below is 17 minutes of their third set that night, which starts with singer/drummer Greg Simpson acknowledging their upcoming album before they play their three public originals (so far) "F.A.F.O.", "Fuck!", and "Gypsy Spell". After citing a targeted "early 2026" release timeframe for the album, Greg noted that the album will have "a couple of covers", and yes, one will indeed be Mike Posner's "I Took A Pill In Ibiza" (the chorus of which was covered by Alex and Warren in this studio clip). The guys play it to end the live-stream, and while I'll hold comment pending our eventual review of the album, it is rocked up to fit Bone Yard 225's sound. While both of these videos were unfortunately shot vertically, and are time-limited unless the band converts them, they do The Hip justice, and the album preview suite seemed to go over well!

Check everything out above & below (while you can), and don't miss Bone Yard live TOMORROW NIGHT at The Water Tower Pub or at Beck's on SATURDAY NIGHT and SUNDAY!

Finally, we'll head to Misty's Fifties, where local classic/hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison will continue his lengthy run of acoustic matinee concerts there on SATURDAY! This comes just one week removed from his most recent show at the Second Line West nightclub, which got somewhat mixed up last week when country musician Allan Mooney briefly advertised that he was playing there instead before things were clarified in Tym's favour (I even believed Allan at first). Tym will actually play every Saturday at Misty's this month except next week, so if you like his unplugged classic and hard rock covers and the huge setlist that they come from, then you won't want to miss out on his latest solo gig! While we're on the subject, here's some extra LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS now that we're later in the timeline, as Tym will be back at Misty's on Saturday, October 18th!

One week later, he will play a traditional nighttime concert at The Fraternal Order Of Eagles Club on Wellington Street West on Saturday, October 25th, so keep these shows in mind as we enter the fall! No word on a potential Halloween theme for the latter gig. The Misty's shows are both 4:00 PM affairs, the Eagles Club show is at 8:00 PM, and these are all likely 19+ events with no cover. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here for more details on Saturday's and next month's shows, and here's Tym live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225 & CO2!!)

This post is a bit of a southern fried one given the bands in question, as there's some notable LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE) to take in, so here's what you should know!

The thought-to-be one off hard rock/country cover band C02 will play their second and presumably final concert TONIGHT at Jay's Piston Broke Pub! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook page yesterday. As has been long teased for months, former Soundcheck singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver is moving to Nashville, Tennessee this fall to further pursue his solo country music career, and before he heads across the border, he is rocking Jay's all weekend long, starting with a show there last night from his similar but more country-focused short term band Mile 38 (who you may have seen at Rotaryfest Stage 1 last month). TONIGHT'S show will see Cameron back with his more rock-focused band CO2 (who debuted at Jay's in June), and assuming no lineup changes, he should be joined by Handsome Sandwich guitarist Jesse Cook, who also performed with Cameron in Mike 38.

Veteran local cover band bassist Rob Gilmar (who was a frequent fill-in performer with Soundcheck) should be back too, but I don't know who is replacing Elly McWatters and Brandan Glew, who are performing at Beck's with The Drifters instead tonight. Cameron will cap off the weekend at Jay's with an acoustic country matinee gig there tomorrow as well. Hopefully this weekend's shows prove to be a fitting send-off for Cameron, a good and talented guy who is destined for big things, and best of luck to him in Nashville for sure! TONIGHT's C02 show has a 9:30 PM start time, no cover, and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and alas, no public preview videos of CO2.

Next up, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 have announced their fall concert schedule through late October via their website's calendar, and after a summer full of charity events, tour dates, and private bookings taking priority, fans of "the dirty three" will have more chances to see them live in bars ahead! We'll save their run of shows next weekend for our next round of weekend concert previews due to the now-short notice, but their next shows afterward will be back at Reggie's Place for a full weekend on September 12th & 13th before returning two weeks later on the 26th & 27th! The guys are rocking Reggie's tonight as well, but keep their impending dates in mind for more southern fried hard rock covers and originals next month! One more Cruisin' The Dub car show for the Algoma Regional Community Hospice will follow on Sunday, September 21st outside of the newer A&W at 659 Great Northern Road.

Your local 225 are no strangers to supporting ARCH across multiple charitable events involving cars and bikes, so keep this one in mind in three weeks! Expect vendors, family activities, and lots of classic cars, though weather will be worth keeping an eye on closer to. While we await a fall concert calendar posting from The Esquire Club as they prepare to resume hosting live bands, Bone Yard will return to the Second Line West bar for the Thanksgiving long weekend on October 10th & 11th, so if you've missed Greg, Alex, and Warren there since the spring, there's your next chances! One week later, the guys will set up shop for another split weekend at Beck's Bar, where they'll play a traditional plugged-in concert on Saturday the 18th before going "uncorked" for the acoustic matinee there on Sunday the 19th. They will also be doing thusly next week, but more on those next week.

Lastly for this wave of concert announcements, Bone Yard 225 will return to The Water Tower Pub for a one-nighter on Saturday, October 25th, and as usual for their gigs at the Great Northern Road staple, this will be an "uncorked" event, so fans of their acoustic covers (or The Bearded Lounge) will want to keep that one in mind! We'll address next week's show there next week. For reference, Halloween this year is on a Friday, but if Bone Yard have big plans for October 31st, they haven't gotten that far in the calendar yet. With the exception of the A&W car show, all of these are 19+ nightclub dates, and none have an announced cover charge. Start times are 2:00 PM at the car show, 3:00 PM for the Beck's Sunday matinee, 8:00 PM at The Water Tower Pub, 9:00 PM for the Saturday nighter at Beck's, and 9:30 PM for Reggie's and The Esquire Club. Visit the above links for more on Bone Yard 225's busy fall calendar so far, and look for more soon!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (BookcluB, Curtis McKenzie, And Tym Morrison) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

For this final concert weekend of August (also the Labour Day long weekend), we have an eventful but not overly busy weekend in store for hard rock fans in Sault Ontario, mostly including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, plus a quiet cancellation. Here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison's acoustic solo act will set up shop once again at The Dive Gastro Pub TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced via Tym's Facebook event page on Sunday, with the venue following suit on their Facebook page not too long ago today. The Dive hosting live music on Fridays is not common based on prior months with a calendar, but Friday nighters have happened once in a while, and TOMORROW'S show is likely so booked given that it's the long weekend and the arguable final weekend of the summer season. After we missed Tym's Think It Over Thursday show there last week, good thing we didn't miss TOMORROW's return! Note that, while his Facebook event page still says that he is playing a matinee show there on Saturday, we can confirm that Tym is not performing at Misty's Fifties that day.

Country veteran Allan Mooney has confirmed that he is playing there instead, as per this new plug for the booking, and note that Tym was also once scheduled to play at Misty's last week but that show wasn't even covered on the SMS (he was playing at The Eagles Club that night and there was never fresh promotion for Misty's). A reason for the cancellation of tomorrow's (and last week's) Misty's gigs was never announced, but hopefully his show there next Saturday is still on!  TOMORROW'S 19+ and free show at The Dive is on the patio once again rather than "the naughty corner", with 9&10 News calling for clear skies and cool temperatures hovering around 13°. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

Next up, local alternative/punk cover sextet BookcluB and their unplugged sister duo Dos Amigos will take part in BookcluB guitarist Brandon Ruch's local farewell concert at The Whisky Barrel TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced via its Facebook event page on Monday. Dubbed "Branstock: A Ruch & Roll Event And Moving Away Party", TOMORROW'S concert is the final one for Brandon before his impending move to Barrie, following a prolific three year run in active live bands after graduating from Algoma University's music program. The former Generations & Handsome Sandwich guitarist will pull double duty TOMORROW, as he will be headlining with his folk/country band The Golden Scoundrels, while the lineup will be rounded out by indie rock quartet Lucy's Diner (formerly The Hollow Heads), so there's a little something for many tastes at Branstock!

While this will presumably be Brandon's farewell with Bookclub after over a year & half with them, he is not leaving The Golden Scoundrels, who have been ramping up their touring schedule as of late anyway. This 19+ concert has no cover charge and an 8:00 PM start time. Brandon will be missed locally for his prolific multi-genre talents, so help send him off the right way TOMORROW, especially given how this package of bands will be rocking an unusually small and acoustic-leaning venue for the occasion! Visit the above links for details on Branstock, best of luck to Brandon in Barrie, and for a preview, here's BookcluB live!

Next up, former Haggith/Project 421 frontman Curtis McKenzie will bring his solo acoustic show back to Beck's Bar for one night only on SATURDAY! Apologies again for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook page on Wednesday when they announced this weekend's live music schedule. In his last post on Facebook before this week, he thanked fans for going to see him at Beck's on August 2nd before noting that he wouldn't be able to perform live for 4-6 weeks due to recovery from dental surgery. SATURDAY is exactly four weeks since, to the timeline lines up, and hopefully he is fully healed to sing his hard and alternative rock covers in the west end once again! On SATURDAY, Curtis is in the 3:00 PM matinee timeslot, and the band playing the 9:00 PM nightcap there are new local country cover band Elly McWatters & The Drifters.

Remember, Curt isn't "opening" for Elly, he and her band both have four hour timeslots spaced two hours apart, but there's no cover charge if you want to hang out to see both on SATURDAY! Regardless, there's a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Curt live!

Finally for this weekend's known heavier shows, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will end their summer slate with regular concerts at Reggie's Place TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen at the Dragonfly Run this past weekend, these will be their first traditional nightclub concerts in three weeks, and cap off a busy month of shows on the road and at charitable motorcycle events. With Greg, Alex, and Warren also working on their long gestating debut album this month, they should be in fine spirits to rock Reggie's for fans looking for live rock and roll over the long weekend! Note that a live-streamed video from the Dragonfly Run was shared to the band's Facebook page, but new 30 day time limit or not, the video just features attendees and riders before the bike rally proper began, and does not feature any live music performances. Tomorrow & Saturday's concerts have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges.

Also, your local 225 will have fresh stock of official band merchandise on sale this weekend, and they are now taking pre-orders for official band hoodies, so if all of that interests you, have cash on hand at Reggie's! Visit the above links for more details, and here's "the dirty three" live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dodge This, Project 906, Curtis McKenzie, And Generations!!)

The weekend concert preview train rolls along on this Civic Holiday long weekend, but in a stroke of luck(?), ALL of the concerts in preview post #2 were publically announced on short notice by the featured bands. Not ideal, but it does add to a busy calendar, especially as all take place TOMORROW! Tym Morrison's previously announced matinee gig tomorrow at Misty's Fifties will follow in a separate post. Here's what you should know!

Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quintet Project 906 will return to the annual Government Bay Barge Bash in nearby Cedarville TOMORROW! Apologies for the short notice, the guys first announced their involvement in this year's festivities via their Facebook page on Tuesday, but the lineup has been public since late June via the official Facebook event page. A very unique component to the local concert calendar every August, the Barge Bash literally sees bands performing on a floating barge off the coast of Government Island (near Bumpas at 74 East Hodeck Street) in Cedarville, which leads to some great optics as attendees can literally swim or boat to the concert proper! The band lineup TOMORROW is identical to 2024 save for the now-inactive Dirty Musky, with 906 joined by Cedarville classic rock veterans Shipheads On Shore and pop rock mainstays The Mark Bowen Band.

Oddfellow alum Jason Haske and Project 906 hand drummer Brian Duford will join Mark's band for the occasion, which will be cool! Mark and crew open the FREE & ALL AGES festivities at 12:00 PM, with S.O.S. playing at 2:00 PM, and Project 906 get the headlining honours TOMORROW at 4:00 PM. 9&10 News is calling for clear skies TOMORROW with temperatures of 71-75° Fahrenheit (22-24° Celsius), so cooler than last year, but the forest fire-induced air quality advisories are still very much in effect. Hopefully everyone has a great time off Government Island for the twelfth annual Barge Bash TOMORROW, so see above for more details, and here's Project 906 live!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario, where Beck's Bar has another SMS-friendly double header TOMORROW, starting with a matinee concert from former Haggith/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via Beck's Facebook page on Tuesday, where they announced their complete live entertainment schedule for this weekend. Just two weeks removed from his last unplugged gig at the former Vibe Lounge, hopefully Curt's latest west end concert is a hit TOMORROW, so be at Beck's early for all of his entertaining alternative and hard rock covers! Like normal, this is a 3:00 PM matinee with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on Curtis' Beck's matinee TOMORROW, and for a preview, here he is live!

As for the Saturday night band at Beck's Bar TOMORROW NIGHT, it's an acoustic double-header there, as unplugged classic/hard rock cover trio Dodge This will kick off the month there for the nightcap! Apologies again for the short notice, this show was also only announced in Beck's weekend schedule post on Facebook on Tuesday (though note that the band hasn't publically advertised a show on their own Facebook page in almost two months). Unless we missed something, this will be Jason & the July brothers' first publically advertised concert since rocking The Dive early last month. This should be a fun night of rocking covers from this veteran group, so don't miss out on the unplugged action at Beck's TOMORROW at 9:00 PM! Remember, Curtis McKenzie isn't "opening" for Dodge This, they are two separate & full shows on the same day, with Dodge This also having no cover and a 19+ age limit.

It's worth noting too that former Re:Born frontwoman Elly McWatters is playing the Sunday matinee at Beck's, as part of her recent push into more concerts as a solo headliner, including some with a full band (The Drifters) featuring Soundcheck alumni and bandmates of hers from Mike Haggith's Big Finish Band. To my understanding, Elly's modern solo sets lean towards country, but she is a very talented singer, so keep her in mind as well! Visit the above links for more on Dodge This' Beck's show TOMORROW NIGHT, and for a preview, here they are live there!

Finally for this short notice spree, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Once again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show via their Facebook group by drummer Tony Santoro on Sunday (the venue has not publicized a monthly concert calendar on social media since June). In that same post, they confirmed that they will return to Reggie's Place (where they played this past weekend) once again on Friday, August 15th & Saturday, August 16th, so fans of their classic cover array will want to keep those dates in mind. Hopefully things go well TOMORROW at The Water Tower Pub, let alone the Reggie's shows in two weeks! Remember, the Great Northern Road nightclub hosts different nightly acts, with tonight's band there being veteran classic rock band Flashback.

TOMORROW'S Water Tower concert is at 8:00 PM, the Reggie's ones ahead are at 9:30 PM, and these are all 19+ engagements with no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Generations live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (WestFest & The Nameless), Plus The Virvum Concert Preview!!

We're not quite done with this weekend's concert previews, as a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT came to my attention earlier today, and there was a long-since-known-about Sunday nighter yet to be addressed! To fill things out, we have extended details on a debuting local concert festival later this month, so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock quartet The Nameless will rock The Islander Bar in Hessel for the first time TONIGHT! I profusely apologize for the short notice, the band first announced this show via their Facebook page this past Saturday, and it slipped me by until this morning when there was time to slot it into our regular previews. Regardless, The Islander Bar has not publically confirmed TONIGHT's show on their own Facebook page, instead focusing on food & drink specials in recent weeks. It is somewhat hard to believe that The Nameless haven't played in Hessel before, but hopefully their hard rocking cover slate draws a good crowd TONIGHT despite the late notice! This concert takes place at 8:00 PM, has no announced cover charge, and a 21+ age limit as usual for E.U.P. bar gigs. Visit the above links for more on The Nameless' Hessel debut TONIGHT, and for a preview, here they are live earlier this year!

Next up, let's talk about WestFest, a newly announced Sault Ontario community festival on Saturday, July 26th, so what should you know about this? The name does imply the location of the event, as it will take place at Anna Marinelli Park at 169 James Street, off of Albert Street West near the Soup Kitchen. In terms of downtown Sault Ste. Marie, you can't get much further west without hitting Algoma Steel! WestFest is being described as "block party meets music festival", with aims of being a safe, inclusive, and family friendly event, according to the hosts, the West Village Revitalization Project, and you can read more about their plans to give new life to the Steelton and Jamestown areas of the city at this link. The implication is that WestFest will be an outdoor event, but I'm unsure how it will be staged (Anna Marinelli Park is literally a park, after all), so stay tuned for updates on that end.

Six acts will hit the WestFest stage, and the headliners are SMS-amenable, namely local alternative hard rock band Handsome Sandwich in just their second public concert of 2025! Good to see them back playing live a little more regularly, and they'll cap things well at 8:00 PM on the 26th! The band bios on the WestFest website do not mention rhythm guitarist Brandon Ruch, seemingly confirming that he has left the band for unannounced reasons (he wasn't present when they opened for HeadF1rst in May, though nothing was said publically about his status at the time). However, things are amicable, as he is co-headlining at 6:00 PM alongside drummer Johnny Belanger in their bluegrass/country quartet The Golden Scoundrels! Pop rock quartet Jupiter Marvelous performs at 4:45 PM, preceded by folk singer/guitarist Matthew James at 3:45 PM & indie rock quartet Lucy's Diner (who recently changed their name from The Hollow Heads) at 2:45 PM.

Former Soundcheck singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver will continue his summer farewell run before his teased move out of town when he kicks off WestFest at 1:45 PM. Various local vendors and businesses will be on hand in three weeks as well, so click here to see who will be at the park for this debuting festival. As best as I can gather, WestFest has no admission fee, and it is absolutely all ages, but it is a licensed event with an on-site beer garden. This all sounds like a good time for local music fans and families alike, almost like a Rotaryfest encore (all six acts will have played Stage 2 at least once since 2023), so visit the above links for more details on the first annual WestFest!

We'll close this post with one more weekend concert preview, as two death metal bands from Switzerland (yes, really) will make their local debuts TOMORROW NIGHT at Jay's Piston Broke Pub! This one-off return to the glory days of Rosie metal nights will be headlined by Zurich progressive death metal band Virvum and Geneva blackened death metal quintet Stortregn, who will bring their own crushing brutality to local audiences! Virvum's more technical and punishing originals will compliment Stortregn's more black metal-influenced sound well, so definitely don't miss either band if you can swing coming out on a work night! Local support will be provided by thrash metal trio The BAG in their first public date since opening for Sentiment Dissolve in May, and they should set the tone off well with their heavy originals and covers! I am unsure if this show is being put on by The BAG, Jay's, or a separate promoter.

This stop on Virvum & Stortregn's Canada Takeover tour begins at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit, and tickets run for $15.99 at this link and presumably at the door, though I don't know if the price will jump there. Kudos to Jay's for occasionally booking true metal concerts after they largely vanished in the Reggie's West era, and despite being on a Sunday night, hopefully there's lots of headbanging and moshing tomorrow! After all, Virvum and Stortregn are from Switzerland, show them some love! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Virvum live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bookclub, Tym Morrison, And Dodge This) & More Weekend Concert Previews!!

For this second post on our 18th anniversary, we're continuing this weekend's concert previews by looking at Saturday nighters, along with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly of the SHORT NOTICE variety! Sunday's death metal concert featuring Swiss bands Virvum & Stortregn will be in tomorrow's post to give it proper emphasis given its scheduling. Here's what else you should know for this weekend & beyond!

Local classic/hard rock cover trio Dodge This will return to The Dive Gastro Pub for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced yesterday via the venue's Facebook page's concert calendar for this month. This is Dodge This' only advertised gig at the former Low & Slow this month (two open Saturdays on their schedule acknowledged), and fans of their hard rock-infused batch of covers should find a lot to like from Jason, Jamie, and Jeff TOMORROW, so don't miss their latest Queen Street East stop then! As usual for Dodge This shows in "The Naughty Corner", TOMORROW'S Dive concert takes place at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Dodge This live!

Next up, prolific local classic/hard rock singer/musician Tym Morrison will continue his busy summer of acoustic solo dates when he rocks Misty's Fifties TOMORROW for another matinee concert! Most of Tym's 2025 dates ahead are at this Second Line West staple, and while we're on the subject, let's add two more shows of his to the calendar now that things aren't as clogged for announcements late in the year from just one artist. Among other still-too-distant dates, Tym will set up shop at Misty's for Saturday matinees on September 27th & October 11th, so while we'll be seeing him six times there prior (tomorrow included), keep those two fall gigs in mind! Meanwhile, Tym will also return to Beck's Bar on Sunday, September 28th for another matinee there, via those shows' Facebook event page. Regardless, Tym's ample setlist of classic and hard rock favourites should pull a solid reception tomorrow, so don't miss out! 

Tomorrow's gig and this fall's at Misty's are 4:00 PM matinees with 19+ age limits and no cover, and while the Beck's show in September is similar, it starts earlier at 3:00 PM. Visit the Misty's shows' batch Facebook event page and the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!

Also, here's a brief detour from this weekend, as local alternative/punk cover supergroup Bookclub will rock The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on Tuesday, July 29th as part of the City of Sault Ste. Marie's annual Summer Concert Series! The lineup for 2025 was announced via this concert calendar post from the city's Facebook page on Wednesday, with Bookclub being the only SMS-amenable band scheduled for this year. This year's Summer Concert Series kicked off with Angry Joe & The Growlers yesterday (Generations' Canada Day show on Tuesday was separate), with the big downtown tent playing host to live musicians every Tuesday and Thursday ahead until August 21st. Good to see Bookclub back at it with another fan-friendly night of unique rock covers, so don't miss Mikey, Brandon, Dustin, Al, Erin, and Josh there later this month! The Facebook post plugging the series notes that the shows are "weather permitting", so the tent may not be enough rain cover for comfort. Keep tabs on the forecast if you can!

All concerts in this series are FREE & ALL AGES, and run from 7:00-9:00 PM (the Growlers show last night was an hour later though). While largely more for general audiences than SMS loyalists, it's always good to see lots of live music at the Pavilion, and hopefully all of the shows ahead have a solid turnout, Bookclub included! Visit the above links for more details!

Finally for this post, let's head back to Beck's Bar for this weekend's entertainment, as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will take the stage there TOMORROW NIGHT & SUNDAY for a unique double header! Fifteen years after the then-country cover quartet debuted at what was then The Vibe Lounge, Bone Yard will return to this Goulais Avenue nightclub with a full plugged-in concert there tomorrow, and it will be fun to see how things go as they conduct their next sermon at a new-ish locale, especially given how Greg and crew have changed since the last time! However, in a rarity for Beck's since opening, the same band is playing consecutive nights there, as Sunday's matinee slot goes to your local 225 "uncorked", a'la their acoustic Water Tower Pub and Gateway Casino gigs. Interesting to see Greg, Alex, and Warren playing both formats at the same venue, let alone the same weekend, so keep both in mind depending on what you like!

As hyped by Greg in this Facebook "Reel", tomorrow's Beck's concert is at 9:00 PM, the Sunday matinee is at 3:00 PM, and things are 19+ with no cover charge regardless. Dodge This singer/guitarist Jason Taillefer is the Saturday matinee performer at Beck's tomorrow, but remember that this is a fully blocked matinee concert of its own, and he isn't "opening" for Bone Yard (and yes, Separate Wayz/ex-Soundcheck frontman Terry Eaton is this week's DJ tonight). Visit the above links for more details on this weekend's concerts, and for a preview, here's "The Dirty Three" live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Virvum/Stortregn preview and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!