LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Ozzy REbourne & Soundcheck), A Band Reunion, And More News & Notes!!

I hope everyone had a good Super Bowl Sunday! Here's a new news post to kick off the week, and it includes LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, confirmation of a band reunion, and some more recent updates, so let's get things rolling!

Just over a week after their surprise reunion gigs at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck have announced their return as a full time band, and they'll be back at the same venue on Friday, February 20th and Saturday, February 21st! In their first Facebook page post in over a year, they confirmed that founding singer/guitarist Terry Eaton and late-era bassist Jim Michaud are continuing in 2026, and will be joined again by Half Past drummer Johnny Amendola, who took over for Glen Thomas behind the kit last week, and of course, is also new to Terry & Jim's other current cover band Separate Wayz. The big reveal here is that singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver is finally making his long-delayed move to Nashville to further his solo career, so he isn't joining Soundcheck's full return (no word on if last week's shows were intended as a send-off for him.)

Replacing Cameron is original Soundcheck singer/guitarist Travis Sharpe, who was part of the former Nameus upon their debut in 2016 until he left the band in 2019, with Cameron replacing him at the time. Travis actually guested with Soundcheck in some capacity last week, which would be neat for late 2010s fans of theirs, let alone those familiar with Terry & Travis' long-standing work in bands like Carbon Black! It is good to see Soundcheck proper back after a year away, and with Terry, Jim, and Johnny also playing in Separate Wayz with singer Nicole Thibodeau, you're bound to see both bands a good amount in 2026! If you're wondering what became of The Guilty Party (the band featuring Terry, Jim, and ex-singer/drummer Brent Royer that formed last fall), it appears that Soundcheck's full reunion has replaced The Guilty Party, as that band's Facebook page has quietly been deleted.

Johnny had replaced Brent in both that band and Separate Wayz when Brent stepped down last month, but he never played a gig with either before Soundcheck reunited with him behind the kit. The Guilty Party only played a handful of gigs last fall, and you'll see Terry get his lead vocal turns with both Soundcheck and Separate Wayz, but I will miss the videos that were on The Guilty Party's page! Like last week at Jay's, expect Soundcheck's shows on the 20th and 21st to be 9:30 PM affairs with no cover charges and 19+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details on Soundcheck's official return! 

Next up, here's a mild surprise, as Detroit-based Ozzy Osbourne tribute band Crazy Babies (a.k.a. Ozzy REbourne) will make their local concert debut on Saturday, May 9th when they rock The Full Throttle Saloon! The first booking from a touring band at the former Primavera Hall, this was announced yesterday on the venue's Facebook page, but I have not seen confirmation of this booking on Crazy Babies' end. While we have seen an Ozzy-era Black Sabbath tribute band here before, one paying homage primarily to Ozzy's solo career will be really neat, and Ozzy REbourne definitely deliver the goods for fans of the pioneering British metal legend, so keep this spring-time show in mind! Local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush (no strangers to The Full Throttle Saloon) will open the proceedings in three months. Their 1980s-leaning batch of covers should ease fans into the metal!

This will be a 19+ event, and we await confirmation of a start time and ticket/admission fees, but call/contact the venue if you have any early questions. This should be a fun one, and I hope it does well to encourage more touring acts at this new-ish Steelton venue, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

 

• Sault Michigan hard rock/punk trio About:Blank have parted ways with guitarist Nathan Webber, as per their Facebook page on January 31st. A reason for his departure was not announced, but things are amicable, and they wish him well in his future endeavours. Nathan had previously missed About:Blank's set at the LSSU Battle of the Bands in October, but it's not clear how related that is to his permanent exit. Parker & Kade are looking for a new guitarist (and maybe a bassist, assuming that Parker could focus on guitar full time thusly), so message them above for details, and stay tuned for updates from both About:Blank when they roll in!
• In their first Facebook post in two years (they never even mentioned Toystock 2024 or dropping out of last year's Toystock there), Sault Ontario punk trio Redundant teased on New Years Eve that "we will definitely see you in 2026", with this cover photo hinting that "something big is coming", featuring artwork of some kind partially obscured behind torn paper. No word on what Justin, Rick, and their new bassist are specifically teasing, but we'll let you know when Redundant truly resurfaces this year!
• Waterloo hard rock quartet Sierra Pilot will be the openers for Pop Evil when they headline at The Machine Shop on April 12th, as per Pop Evil's own advertising! If the name is familiar, it's likely because former Spades GT guitarist Jay Sarrazin is an alum of theirs, but he left that band by early 2025. It will still be neat to see Sierra Pilot in town, and they have a solid and energetic sound that will help set the tone well before Pop Evil make their Sault Ontario debut! For unclear reasons, this tour's other opening band (Tampa hard rock group Kamenar) are not playing the Soo date, though note that this is the only scheduled gig in Canada.

 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Toystock XII!!)

The full lineup for the twelfth annual Toystock has been announced, so what should you know for this year? This annual Christmas Cheer benefit concert will return to The Grand Gardens at 1324 Great Northern Road on Sunday, November 30th for a ninth straight installment, and like in every year since 2012 (the two year pandemic hiatus aside), ten bands will again donate their time for a ten hour marathon of live music for the cause, with Christmas Cheer donations (toys, gift cards, gently used games/books, non-perishable food, new winter clothing, and/or cash) being the entry fee to come on out. Like in past years, there will be a mix of family entertainment and kids activities on site, as well as the Stuff-A-Bus, an appearance from Santa Claus, and more, while the bar will be open if you are so inclined. Visit the official Toystock website for further details on the non-musical side of this special event! Now, who all is playing at Toystock XII?

Five bands are returnees from past Toystocks, while there are five newcomers to the festivities, as listed on their website's music page. As usual, southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 are your headliners at 9:00 PM, having played every year besides 2013 (when frontman/organizer Greg Simpson instead played with other bands of his). It goes without saying, but kudos to Greg & Kerry for the work they do annually for Christmas Cheer by putting this huge show on! Co-headlining at 8:00 PM are a mystery band named The Reeves, who I have precisely zero information on. Does the name reference small township mayors, or the last name, or something else entirely? We'll let you know when we learn more! Though only listed as "MH", the 7:00 PM band is clearly Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band in their second straight Toystock, and Mike & Brandan's third if you count The Din's 2016 set, so don't bypass their original rock tunes then!

New local country cover band Elly McWatters & The Drifters (featuring multiple members of The Big Finish Band) will make their Toystock debut at 6:00 PM, as preceded by veteran cover quintet Out & Out Country at 5:00 PM. Notably, this will mark the return of drummer Ric Datson to Toystock for the first time since he left Bone Yard at the beginning of 2022, so while in different projects, it is cool to see him share a bill with Greg & Alex again! Indie rock quartet Jupiter Marvelous will also rock Toystock for the first time at 4:00 PM, preceded by hard rock quintet HeadF1rst (who played this event in 2023 before putting the 1 in their name) at 3:00 PM. Newer local cover rock quartet Separate Wayz (featuring Soundcheck alumni Terry Eaton, Jim Michaud, and Steven Flint plus singer Nicole Thibodeau) will make their Toystock debut at 2:00 PM, though we still don't know what they play and how similar they are.

Local punk trio Redundant (who have only played at Toystock since they returned from hiatus in 2023) will make their fourth appearance at this event at 1:00 PM, which will presumably also be their second show with their current bassist. No word on why we don't see them out there for other events anymore, but it's always good to have them back! Filling the annual slot for a band representing a local music store, online page-less blues rock quartet The Associates (comprised of Long & McQuade staffers) will return from last year to kick off Toystock XII at 12:00 PM. Bone Yard bassist Warren Reville will thusly bookend the festivities by playing in the first and last bands, so keep that in mind as well! Note also that two bands who played in both 2023 & 2024 are not back this year, namely pop rock cover quintet Bourbon Blue and the now-inactive indie rock band The Haze (née Skinbox).

Another stacked lineup of talented local musicians stepping up to the plate to help support Christmas Cheer and families in need over the holidays, so absolutely visit the above links for much more on everything that's going down at The Grand Gardens next month, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!

New Studio Recordings From The E.U.P. & New Toystock Videos!!

Merry Christmas, everyone! In today's largely seasonal post, we have new concert videos and a new batch of Christmas carol covers to check out, but let's lead off with something not seasonal that I have delayed for way too long. As you may know, Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist/ex-drummer Jason Massaway has been dabbling in his own solo material in the past couple of years, including his own solo YouTube channel featuring covers on vocals and/or acoustic guitar (some H.L.T.C. videos with him drumming made it there too). However, Jaxon (under the handle "Jaxon James") has recorded and released three original songs to major streaming services this year, entitled "Nameless" (no relation), "Evergreen", and "Nostalgia". The latter two songs are country influenced and fairly melancholy ("Nostalgia" is really short too), but if you wanna see what Jaxon as a solo metal artist, "Nameless" is where you'd want to go. 

This is also short (1:46 in length) but it's a promising extreme metal song with a djenty riff and solid harsh vocals, and it does show what Jaxon is capable of as an original multi-instrumentalist! Jaxon doesn't have a proper social media/band page for his solo music that I'm aware of, and he hasn't played live with Heavy Lies The Crown for most of the year due to travelling commitments with his day job, but this is all promising for him as a rising young musician, and here's hoping we hear more from Jaxon in or out of the band in 2025! Check out "Nameless" below!

Next up, here's some new Christmas content from local classical metal band Theatre of Night! As you may recall, before they began doing Christmas tour runs with a full live band (well, not this year), Theatre of Night operated as a studio band, bringing on German soprano singer Gaby Koss in the early-mid 2010s as an official band member to sing lead on new Christmas carol covers at the time. Five old and new songs featuring Gaby were collected as a "Celtic Christmas metal EP" on their YouTube channel this month, where you can hear her singing with Craig & Steve via covers of "What Child Is This?", "Carol Of The Bells", "Silent Night", "The Little Drummer Boy", and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". The former two songs are older recordings featuring Steve's brother Greg Giles on drums during his stint with the band, while the rest feature his replacement Erik Sales. It is neat hearing Gaby on new material with Theatre of Night, and her classically trained vocals suit their material well!

The language used with the description does not suggest that she has rejoined Theatre of Night (remember, they had been touring with live vocalists up to last year), but the collaboration has always produced quality material, and if the description of this "Reel" on Gaby's Facebook page is anything to go by, they may be collaborating on a full new album next year! Check out Theatre of Night & Gaby's free "EP" below!

We'll wrap things up in Sault Ontario via videos from two bands from last month's eleventh annual Toystock at The Grand Gardens! Prolific local concert filmer Christopher Paci's YouTube channel is the source, and he was in attendance that afternoon to see the two full bands from the first half of the program (in between DJ Dark Mark and the acoustic solo artists). The 3:00 band this year was local punk trio Redundant in their first show since last year's Toystock and since the departure of bassist Andrew MacDonald, with Chris filming them covering The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop" and, as embedded below, playing their original "That December". I still haven't found a public reference to the identity of the new bassist who debuted at Toystock, but he and/or drummer Rick White should really add backing vocals, as that is definitely missing from their live sound

The new bassist fits in well from what I can see, no backing vocals aside, and the band sounds good here, so hopefully we're not waiting another year for Redundant to play live again! Check these Christmas Cheer concert performances out above & below!

Finally, the 2:00 PM act at Toystock XI was Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band in their last gig of 2024, with Chris filming them playing Mike's original songs "If Ever Comes The Day" and, as embedded below, "The Nature Of The Times". Compared to Mike's live-stream of his set that day, this was filmed a little further out from the opposite side of the stage, but Chris got a good angle of Mike & crew rocking out while capturing some of the attendee action during this all-original set, and it looks like a good time was had by all! Check out these new videos of Mike and his band above & below!

That's all for today, but again, have a Merry Christmas and enjoy time with your families and friends! We'll be back tomorrow for weekend concert previews. Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Hails), New Videos, And More Updates!!

Before we begin tonight's news post, I wanted to apologize for missing Silent 9's concert at Soo City United's fundraiser at The Rockstar Bar this past Saturday in our last weekend's concert previews. While I did cover it when announced, I had it listed on an incorrect later day in our calendar and completely bypassed it when rounding up that batch of shows. My apologies, and I hope Silent 9 and the soccer program & families had a blast! They shared Facebook "stories" with media from the event after the fact, but of course, "stories" vanish after one or two viewings, and the band did not permanently upload them separately.

Today's post otherwise has new videos, some assorted recent updates, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the holiday season, as local crossover thrash quartet Hails and party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty will join forces to rock The Distraction on Saturday, December 21st! Specifically, this is taking place downstairs in The Stellar Door, their basement venue space that was memorably used to host The Ripcordz and Total Chaos this summer, with sparing use since for all-local events. This will be Ha!ls' first show since the Halloween season, while The Apocalypse Afterparty (who also feature Mikhal Muto in their ranks) will be playing their first public date in almost five months. Note that The A.A. have replaced The BAG on the bill for unannounced reasons, but hopefully all is well in The BAG's camp! Former(?) Sylo frontman Elijah Russell will open in two weeks with his own acoustic material, in his first local gig since Sylo headlined at Soo Blaster in August.

Eli moved out of town for university that month, so it is good to see him home for the holidays! Doors open at 7:00 PM for this all ages concert, and while admission is $10, you can shave up to $5 off of the entry fee by bringing in up to five non-perishable food items (one assumes for Christmas Cheer donations but they did not specify that). Visit the official Facebook event page for more on this multi-band concert later this month!

Next up, here's some new videos and updates from both sides of the border, starting with local southern hard rock band Fort Creek, who resurfaced after almost a month of silence on their Facebook page on November 10th to share teaser photos from their upcoming music video for their debut studio single "One For The Road"! The pictures all feature the band playing the song unplugged at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, and confirm that new drummer Phil Greco is on the track despite this being acoustic. The video (shot by Spacebag Productions) was further teased on Sunday with the teaser clip embedded below, which has a few seconds of the song's apparent chorus, and some extra footage from the video, including singer Justin Grayson driving a pick-up truck from Douglas Street onto Korah Road, as well as walking into Jay's while talking on a cell phone. There's way too little to assess the video and song with yet, but the teasers are effective to get buzz for the final product!

The song has not been released in full yet, with Fort Creek saying that they have to "tie up a few loose ends" and "work out the final details" first, but it looks like things are progressing naturally, if not as fast as some fans would prefer! Check out the "One For The Road" teaser below, and stay tuned for more from Fort Creek in the near future!

Also today, here's some new videos from Sault Michigan hard rock band Exit 808's concert in Wolverine (90 minutes south of here) this past Saturday! That show seemed to creep up on me on short notice, hence why I never mentioned it prior, but late notice or not, Lower Peninsula gigs are outside of our coverage range. Warren Woeste (who has worked sound at multiple Exit 808 shows this year) live-streamed two videos from the show at the 2 Wheel Tavern to his personal Facebook page, which the band publically shared afterwards, with the first seeing them cover The Goo Goo Dolls' "Long Way Down" with Amy and Dillion sharing lead vocals. Lively cover that definitely sounds rocked up! The other video is embedded below, as it runs for 38+ minutes! In order, Exit 808 covered The Cranberries' "Zombie", Miranda Lambert's "Gunpowder & Lead", the Daughtry/Lzzy Hale version of Journey's "Separate Ways (World's Apart)", Black Sabbath's "Paranoid", and Eminem & Rihanna's "The Monster".

A cover of Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" had begun when the audio cut out on Warren's live-stream at the 23:18 mark, though he kept filming for another 15 minutes. Amy sang lead on the first two songs (no Dillion on "Gunpowder & Lead" at all), Dillion handled Sabbath, and they split the other two. Note that frequent guest bassist Blaze Beairl filled in for Alex Zimmerman at first due to him being late to the very snowy gig, and he can be seen on "Long Way Down", but no guitarist is visible at all on the longer video (it also looks like Bob Libick returned as a guest fill-in bassist). The audio and video quality are patchy, but Exit 808 sound good on these diverse covers, so give everything a watch above & below!

Finally for today, here's three shorter assorted news items from the last while, and as usual for these short-form stories, these are in alphabetical order by artist or venue name:

 

• I should have caught this at the time, but Saturday night's Generations-headlined concert at Shooters Downstairs Lounge will see them replace HeadFirst as this weekend's entertainment. A reason for HeadFirst pulling out of the date was not publically announced, but something happened between October 15th (when they listed the date in their upcoming concert calendar) and November 13th (when Generations confirmed that they'd be playing there on the 7th). HeadFirst have been busy behind the scenes in recent months, but they are still scheduled to rock The Esquire Club next week, and stay tuned for our Generations preview in our weekend concert previews!
• Above Shooters, The Queen of Hearts Club announced in October that they have been re-purchased by The Grand Gardens and have re-branded and re-opened as The Grand Gardens Downtown. Deja vu for fans of The Grand Gardens, but Toystock aside, the original venue isn't known for regularly hosting concerts, so this could end the occasional ones that were booked upstairs in recent months. Best of luck with The Grand Gardens' return to Dennis Street!
• Local punk trio Redundant have parted ways with bassist Andrew MacDonald, as per his personal Facebook page last month. A reason for his departure was not publically announced, but hopefully nothing too serious happened! Andrew had played with Redundant since replacing James White in the band back in 2018, and he left prior to their Toystock set last month. Yes, they did find a replacement bassist, as seen in a personal Facebook video from Toystock, but I couldn't identify him, nor do I know if he's joined permanently. We'll let you know if we hear anything, but best of luck to Andrew and The Spaceship Opening!
  

 

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

Toystock XI Concert Preview!!

Here's our extended preview of TOMORROW's eleventh annual Toystock, as ten bands will again rock The Grand Gardens on Great Northern Road in a ten hour span in support of Christmas Cheer! As has been the case annually since 2012 (a two year pandemic hiatus aside), Bone Yard 225 singer/drummer Greg Simpson is hosting this huge charity concert tomorrow via GS (née Maxx) Entertainment, with admission via donation of new toys, games, books, winter clothing, gift cards, or cash. With the Christmas season well and truly almost upon us, any aid that you can give needy families for the season is more than appreciated. Kudos to Greg for keeping Toystock going into its second decade, and here's hoping for a great turnout tomorrow! Bands aside, expect children's activities & crafts, visits from Santa Claus, an open bar, and more, so be sure to visit the official website for full non-musical details on Toystock XI tomorrow!

The lineup for this year's Toystock features ten bands in ten hours once again, all donating their time for the cause, including five returning bands from prior years. Headlining once again at 9:00 PM tomorrow are the aforementioned Bone Yard 225, in their ninth consecutive Toystock set and tenth total, both records. Greg, Alex, and Warren should end things strongly with their southern hard rock cover attack! Alt-rock quartet The Haze (née Skinbox) will co-headline tomorrow at 8:00 PM in their second straight year at Toystock, while Bone Yard bassist Warren Reville will pull double duty by playing with blues rock quartet The Associates, who you may remember seeing at Rotaryfest Stage 2 in July. This band is also filling the "music school/store representative" quota this year, as The Associates are entirely made up of staff & instructors from Long & McQuade, so if you go there for gear or lessons, they'll be extra familiar tomorrow night!

Veteran classic rock band Mid Life Crysis will surprisingly make their Toystock debut tomorrow in the 6:00 PM timeslot, while pop rock cover quartet Bourbon Blue will ride the momentum of this weekend's shows at Jay's when they play Toystock for a third straight year at 5:00 PM. Mark "DJ Dark Mark" Millington will make his Toystock debut as a scheduled performer at 4:00 PM, after working with Greg on on many different events for the past decade. I believe this is the first time that a DJ has been one of the "ten bands in ten hours", so it'll be interesting to see how Mark's set goes over to end the first half of the night! ! Local punk trio Redundant will play just their third show since the pandemic began when they play Toystock for a third time at 3:00 PM, last being seen at this event last year. Things have definitely slowed down in Redundant's camp, but hopefully this is a good sign for more from them to come in the year ahead!

Fresh off of rocking The Soo's Got Talent finals last night (results/recap forthcoming), Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band will play Toystock for the first time at 2:00 PM, Mike & Brandan's 2016 set with The Din acknowledged. It's always good to see Mike rocking a local stage, and hopefully this set is a big hit before he returns to Barrie! Toystock XI will open with two acoustic solo performers, including Soundcheck singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver in his second solo appearance at this event, playing a country set here in 2019 on the day that he debuted with the band (remember, Soundcheck proper are not playing this year). The day's program begins at 12:00 PM with local blues veteran Doug Cousineau, who has donated a guitar to be given away, but the "who" and "how" of this giveaway will be revealed tomorrow! Remember, Toystock is an ALL AGES event, so feel free to bring the kids for the music and entertainment!

It is wonderful to see Greg and crew hold Toystock once again, and while it is a long day, it's all for a great cause, as there are a lot of needy people and families in the Soo who could use help, both day-to-day and towards providing their loved ones with a great Christmas. If you can make it down with donations, you'll get a solid day of entertainment, so consider heading to The Grand Gardens for all of the action! Visit the above links for more details, here's Bone Yard 225 live, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Toystock XI!!)

The eleventh annual Toystock goes down on Sunday, November 24th, and the official lineup was just revealed yesterday on the event's Facebook page! Held annually since 2012 (with a pandemic hiatus in 2020 & 2021), Toystock is the annual Christmas Cheer benefit concert event spearheaded by veteran local musician Greg Simpson, where attendees donate new/gently used toys, cash, unused gift cards, and cold weather clothing items to see ten bands in ten hours, and it's become something of an unofficial winter Rotaryfest given its similar performers in many years! Of course, lots of family activities, visits from Santa & Mrs. Claus, open bar/restaurant, and more will be in effect as usual, so visit the official website for full and ongoing non-musical details. As has been the case since 2015, Toystock XI will be held at The Grand Gardens at The Grand Gardens at 1324 Great Northern Road, though this year, Toystock will take place before the American Thanksgiving.

Each year, ten local music acts donate their time to perform at Toystock, and the "ten bands in ten hours" conceit is back in full force, including five new acts and five returning ones, so who all is playing next month? As expected, the headliners at 9:00 PM are local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 in their record tenth appearance at Toystock (only missing 2013 when Greg played with other bands of his instead) and their first year since tacking "225" onto their name. Yes, we'll have more on their three shows this weekend on the site soon! Local alternative rock quartet The Haze (who played last year's Toystock under their original name Skinbox) will surprisingly get the co-headlining slot at 8:00 PM. Playing before them at 7:00 PM are The Associates, the online page-less blues quartet who you may have seen at Rotaryfest Stage 2 back in July, and who also feature Bone Yard bassist Warren Reville in their ranks, so Friday Night Blues-goers will approve!

It's worth noting that, while not named for Long & McQuade, the members of The Associates are all staff or instructors at the MacDonald Avenue music store, continuing an annual trend of Toystock booking a band comprised of students or staff of a local music store/school since 2013. Classic rock cover veterans Mid Life Crysis will (believe it or not) be making their Toystock debuts on the 24th at 6:00 PM, while pop rock cover standouts Bourbon Blue will make their third straight Toystock appearance at 5:00 PM. In a change of pace, Mark "DJ Dark Mark" Millington (who has worked with Greg/Maxx Entertainment in various events for the past decade) will mix some tunes in the 4:00 PM timeslot, and it'll be interesting to hear how he goes over next month! Local punk trio Redundant will play their first show since last year's Toystock (and third set at Toystock overall) at 3:00 PM.

No word on why Redundant have been so quiet in recent years, with this being just their third show of any kind since the pandemic began, but hopefully Justin, Andrew, and Rick have a great return (again) next month! Local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith and his Big Finish Band will make their Toystock debut at 2:00 PM, though Mike & Brandan played at this event back in 2016 with The Din. Good to see Mike booking another local date this year, and yes, we'll have more on The Soo's Got Talent soon! Acoustic acts will open the day at Toystock XI, including Soundcheck singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver (who also played solo country covers at Toystock in 2019) at 1:00 PM, and veteran local blues rock musician Doug Cousineau at 12:00 PM in his solo Toystock debut. Conspicuous by their absence this year are Soundcheck proper, ending a streak of five consecutive appearances at this event.

Toystock is, as always, an ALL AGES event with plenty of kid-friendly activities in store, so consider bringing the family to kick off the Christmas season right next month! It's great to see Greg and crew bringing Toystock back into its second decade, and hopefully they have another great turnout for attenance and for donations to Christmas Cheer to help those in need at a difficult time. Definitely visit the above links for more details on all of the action at The Grand Gardens next month, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Toystock X Concert Preview, Plus A New Video!!

Here is our extended preview of a major charity concert event returning TOMORROW, as Toystock returns for its tenth installment! Returning to The Grand Gardens on Great Northern Road for a seventh year and for its second year period since a 2020-2021 pandemic hiatus, this is an annual fundraiser concert for Christmas Cheer, with the conceit of 10 bands playing across 10 hours, all donating their time for the cause. Entry is via donation of new/gently used toys, non-perishable food items, or (if you prefer) cash, but there is no ticket/cover fee if you donate food or toys. At this time of year, helping families in need with donations to ensure that they have a happy and less stressful Christmas is a wonderful idea, so definitely give generously where possible if you're coming to Toystock X tomorrow! As usual, numerous family activities and non-musical entertainment can also be enjoyed during the day.

A children' play area, face painting, and more are to be expected to entertain the kids during this all ages event, and Santa Claus will be stopping by as well! Get full non-musical details at this link. Now to the music, and this year's headliners at 9:00 PM tomorrow are local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard in their third show in as many days and their record ninth Toystock set (only missing 2013). Frontman Greg Simpson promotes Toystock through his GS Entertainment (formerly [Choose] Maxx Entertainment) banner, and kudos to him for putting in so much work for Christmas Cheer and helping those in need since 2012! Bone Yard's southern fried classic and hard rock covers should end the evening with a bang, so stick around until the end to see them in action! Newer local pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue will co-headline Toystock X at 8:00 PM in their second year taking part in the festivities.

Bourbon Blue feature alumni of the inactive Soo Fighters, and while not as hard rock-focused as that tribute band, don't bypass them! One of two mystery debuting local rock bands will take the stage at 7:00 PM, named Headrush. Based on personal Facebook posts, I do know the bassist of this group, but I don't believe they've said anything publically about their lineup or sound, so I won't jump the gun in case they are intentionally waiting for showtime. Newer local rock quartet Skinbox (subgenres/set samples still not given online) will take to the stage at 6:00 PM, preceded by local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck at 5:00 PM in their fifth straight Toystock set, a record for a band not featuring event organizers in their lineup. Alas, drummer Glen Thomas will reportedly not be doing his annual drumkit giveaway this year, but don't miss their old school rock and country covers!

New local classic/hard rock quintet HeadFirst (not to be confused with the aforementioned Headrush) will take the stage at 4:00 PM in their third public concert set and first outside of Reggie's. With Raincourt and Them alumni in their talented young lineup, hopefully they make a good impression on attendees tomorrow! Reunited local punk trio Redundant will play their first concert set in two years tomorrow at 3:00 PM, which will also be their second Toystock set after first playing there in 2016. It's great to see Justin, Andrew, and Rick back on stage after way too long, and let's hope that this isn't a one-off return for them! The 2:00 PM band is tomorrow's other mystery debuting group, named Kickstart. In this case, I was told who'd be in the band via a Facebook e-mail, but again, their identities and sound are not publically posted at press time. Their lineup will be familiar to local rock music fans though!

We'll let you know more about Headrush and Kickstart after their sets and/or as things go public. A student band from Long & McQuade will continue the long string of music school student bands playing at Toystock, with their 1:00 PM set being the second straight here for Long & McQuade since they replaced Case's Music post-pandemic. Opening the festivities tomorrow afternoon is Wailing Aztecs alumna Kelly McGillivray in her solo debut at Toystock, but her old band The Algo Rhythms played here thrice from 2015-2018. All of this all ages action begins at noon tomorrow at The Grand Gardens, and attendance is FREE with a toy/food donation (unless you want to make a cash donation). This is a wonderful event for a great cause, so all credit goes to all of the organizers and bands donating their time to help those in need! See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of Bone Yard live!

Filmed at their one-nighter at Shooters Downstairs Lounge last night, this features Bone Yard pulling a two-for-one for Pink Floyd fans, namely covers of "Wish You Were Here" & "Young Lust". Greg does start the former playing acoustic guitar rather than drums, which did give a brief preview of their acoustic show at Gateway Casino tonight in that way. Vertical camera angle aside (which I can't be too shocked by anymore), this live-streamed video from their Facebook page is well shot with good angles of Greg, Alex, and Warren in action, and they do know their way around classic Floyd, so give these a watch below, and don't miss them at Toystock tomorrow night!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Toystock & HeadFirst), Plus A New Local Hard Rock Band!!

Things fell behind a bit due to out Halloween coverage and feature posts, so let's swing for the fences with a big post on this Wednesday evening, featuring LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this month concerning a major returning charity concert and the prior live debut of one of the bands playing that, but who are they? Read on to find out!

We have a new local hard rock band to add to our links, and they are HeadFirst! Launched via their Facebook page in July, they are a younger group featuring a mix of new and familiar faces, including singer/guitarist Red Jettison, former Raincourt guitarist Raine Rancourt, guitarist Liam Dinsmore, bassist Claire Jeffrey, and former Them/Kaepora Gaebora drummer Anthony Boudreau. According to Facebook, they are "inspired by the golden age of '60s, '70s, and '80s rock and roll", and they do seem to be leaning into that based on their attire at the private event in August that they played their first concert set at, However, in those LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, their true public debuts will come at Reggie's Place on Friday, November 10th & Saturday, November 11th, so head downtown to see what HeadFirst have to offer next week! These shows have 9:00 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges.

They have one more show announced for later this month, which we will touch on in a second. Our first video look at HeadFirst sees them covering Green Day's "When I Come Around" (not what I expected given their stated inspirations), which was bizarrely uploaded in a vertical aspect ratio despite being filmed horizontally, hence the huge pillarboxing. That aside, the multi-camera footage captures an enthusiastic performance, with Red showing early promise as a showman, and while I do want to see more challenging stuff with solos, this is a good teaser of what's to come from them! Check out more from HeadFirst above and below, and at the Facebook event page for next week's concerts!

Next up, HeadFirst's third announced public gig will be as part of the tenth annual Toystock charity concert on Sunday, November 26th! Returning to The Grand Gardens at 1324 Great Northern Road for a seventh straight installment (and second since their two year pandemic hiatus), this is the annual benefit event promoted by Bone Yard frontman Greg Simpson featuring ten bands donating their time to play across ten hours, family activities and kids entertainment, visits from Santa Claus, and admission via donations of toys, non-perishable food, or cash to Christmas Cheer. Always a wonderful cause to help kickstart the holiday season, and it's great to see Toystock hit the 10 year milestone! This year's ten bands in ten hours will be toplined once again at 9:00 PM by the aforementioned Bone Yard in their record ninth Toystock set (the only year they missed was 2013, in which Greg performed with Stiffler's Mom instead).

Pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue will return to Toystock for a second straight year as the co-headliners at 8:00 PM, immediately preceded at 7:00 PM by a mystery band named Headrush (yes, two bands named Head____ are playing Toystock this year). No idea whatsoever on who Headrush are and what they play, we will keep you posted when we hear more! Classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will play their fifth straight Toystock (the most for anyone other than Bone Yard) at 6:00 PM, with drummer Glen Thomas expected to do his drumkit giveaway after their set once again, so a young attendee will get quite a gift! Fresh off of their RSVP-only Halloween gig at The Art Hub, new local rock quartet Skinbox will make their Toystock debut at 5:00 PM, with the aforementioned HeadFirst playing at 4:00 PM. The band at 3:00 PM will surprisingly be a reunion of local punk trio Redundant!

Last seen at the Buckcherry concert at Soo Blaster in late 2021, this will be Redundant's second Toystock appearance after playing there in 2016. Some sort of revival plans had been teased since September, so this isn't entirely unexpected, but it will be great to see Justin, Andrew, and Rick back on stage after two years away, and they are back in our active band links! Another mystery band is scheduled at 2:00 PM named Kickstart, and like with Headrush, I don't know a thing about them (shades of Ravencore, now Far From Fine, in our initial coverage last year). We'll let you know when we hear anything on one/both bands! A student band from Long & McQuade will return for a second straight year at 1:00 PM, continuing Toystock's tradition of having a music student group on the bill since year #2 in 2013. Algo Rhythms/Wailing Aztecs alum Kelly McGillivray will open Toystock X with a set at 12:00 PM in her solo debut at this event.

Toystock X is an ALL AGES event with kids more than welcome to enjoy the music and activities on offer, and remember that admission is free with a toy or canned good donation to Christmas Cheer, though you may donate cash if you wish. Kudos to Greg for keeping Toystock going for 10 installments across 12 years, and hopefully everyone helps out needy families with lots of donations for the cause at month's end, while enjoying a varied array of live music! Visit the official Toystock website and the above links for more details on what to expect on the 26th, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everuone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Wyld Stallyns) & Three Inactive Band Notes!!

Late post on this Friday night, as a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT has hit the desk, and it's at a venue that hard rock fans may not expect! To round things out, I have notes on three different local bands who I had to move to our inactive links this week, so here's what you should know!

Local funk/hard rock band The Wyld Stallyns will take the stage for one night only TOMORROW at... the Gateway Casino?! Apologies for the short notice, The Stallyns's Facebook page only acknowledged this event earlier today, but the casino's Facebook page first mentioned it on Wednesday. Readers who follow the complete weekend bar/cover band circuit will know that bands are not a foreign concept at the former OLG Casino at 30 Bay Street, but Gateway launched a Saturday night concert series there in July that hasn't tended to focus on heavier-leaning acts (the closest would be Bone Yard side project The Bearded Lounge, more on them soon). Good to see some new paths cross here, and hopefully The Wyld Stallyns make a strong impression on fans and gamblers alike TOMORROW NIGHT! Also, in The Stallyns' Facebook promotion for this event, they shared a picture including guest saxophonist Josh Norling.

One assumes that's a giveaway that he'll be present TOMORROW, and from what I've seen lately, he's been with The Stallyns more often than not. Whether he's finally joined them permanently, I can't say, as the band has never listed their current lineup in text on their Facebook page. TOMORROW'S concert has an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and obviously, a 19+ age limit. Unlike at Kewadin, I don't believe the bands play in a separate lounge. See above for more on The Stallyns' diverse hard and classic rock cover attack TOMORROW at Gateway, and here they are live!

Next up, we have a trifecta of bands to move to our inactive band links due to a year's public inactivity, and alas, the first of them is local death metal band The Bear Hunters. While the guys have not publically confirmed anything, they have not showed any public signs of life since their set opening for Alien To The Ignorant at Mellow D's Underground one year ago today, and their only Facebook posting since 2020 was to plug Mitch & Johnny's current work in Handsome Sandwich. Beyond that, the guys have played live just three times since the end of 2017, pandemic acknowledged. Launched in 2010, The Bear Hunters became one of the biggest local extreme metal bands of the decade, which saw them release two studio albums, win the Battle For The Blood and make strong runs in multiple other battles of the bands, and open for acts like 3 Inches of Blood, Fuck The Facts, and Novembers Doom.

I sincerely hope The Bear Hunters are just hibernating and will resurface when the right time arises, as the Soo could use their ferocious brand of death metal again, but they sure left their mark in their heyday, and as someone who went to Bawating with three Bear Hunters alums, their evolution from D.O.T.H. to here was really cool to see. Best of luck to Nik, Mitch, Josh, Justin, Johnny, and Mike in whatever's next, R.I.P. Andres, and follow Handsome Sandwich, Exploring Detritus, and Chronic Demonic to see what members are up to musically nowadays!

Also, I have moved local punk trio Redundant to our inactive band links. The band last issued a public update relating to band activity one year ago on Wednesday when they opened for Buckcherry at Soo Blaster, which is their only live concert set of any kind in the past three years, and while they have posted on their Facebook page thrice since, those have just been to pay tribute to deceased musicians. Originally launched as Motion Carried in 2011, Redundant were the spiritual successors to frontman Justin Langlois' 2000s punk band The Scary Uncles, and also heavily featured Fitswitch alumni in their lineups. Across their decade-long run, Redundant released their self-titled EP in 2018, and were commonly seen on local stages throughout the 2010s, opening for bands like The Cancer Bats, Kittie, and The Rebel Spell, as well as select out of town dates (notably at the Vans Warped Tour in Toronto).

Of course, pandemic-related issues are acknowledged as to Redudnant's status in the early 2020s so far, so hopefully they're not 100% finished, as their lively modern punk sound and diverse covers were always a crowd pleaser, no matter who was on bass! Best of luck to Justin, Andrew, Rick, Jamie, James, and Yannick in the future no matter what!

Finally, we're pulling a double for the other local opener at the Buckcherry show last year, as I've also moved local/Ottawa hard rock quartet Bad Chug to our inactive band links. Like Redundant, they have not issued any public updates since the concert last year, not even posting on their Facebook page since the pre-release promotion for it. Originally active in Ottawa in 2016, Bad Chug got off some decent momentum there with live dates and original material, but they fell dormant until resurfacing in February 2020 once band members relocated here, albeit just before the pandemic threw monkey wrenches into everyone's plans. Despite their large market experience, Bad Chug activity in the Soo was limited to teasers, the addition of local folk musician Jacob Quarrell to their lineup, and the oft-delayed Buckcherry concert, though at least they held on to the support slot despite all of the challenges.

Debuting in a new city in its biggest hard rock concert of 2021 (pandemic acknowledged) should have been a great relaunching point for Bad Chug, and I did hear good things from both their set and videos from the night, but alas, there's been no tangible public updates in the year since. Hopefully we hear more from Aaron, Jacob, Kyle, and Matt in the near future! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Handsome Sandwich) & Northern Vibe Festival Lineup Details!!

Before we dive into this weekend's concert previews, here's a new news post for this Wednesday night, which is devoted to two topics, both involving the same band! One is the preliminary lineup for a returning summer concert festival (dates to be announced) and the other is a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and related missed show apology, so let's lead off there!

Local alternative/punk quartet Handsome Sandwich will return to The Rockstar Bar on Saturday, May 28th as part of a mixed genre concert in memory of late Manitoulin Island rapper/artist Zachary "$onny Vybe$" Cywink! If this sounds familiar, it's because Handsome Sandwich also played a benefit event for Zach (who died last summer at the age of 27) at the same venue on October 15th, 2021, a gig that the band did not promote in advance on social media, though organizers did promote it at the time. That was Handsome Sandwich's first post-relaunch set in city limits, for the record, and they were the only non-rap act on that bill. I profusely apologize for not covering that show on here at the time, especially given the tribute optics, I'd have plugged it here had promotion been larger! Note to self, give Facebook event pages for rap shows more of a look next time. Local rap label Sooicide Records are giving this another go-around at month's end to honour Zach, and proceeds will be going to some great causes!

Half of the show's intake will be going to the Cywink family and the remainder will go to the Ngwaagan Gamig Recovery Centre in Wikwemikong on Manitoulin Island, a very fitting gesture reflecting Zach's own struggles. A full performer lineup has not been released as of this writing, but note that last fall's $onny Vybe$ benefit also included MCs Fvck Sxvad, Bold Noize, Mic Swiff, Rick E., Sawbe, Kodex, JSK, Comniption, and Angelazura. Admission for this 19+ event on May 28th will be $8 in advance at this link or $10 at the door, and there is a 9:00 PM start time in effect. While Zach wasn't from the Soo, he certainly performed here and had strong relationships with musicians here, and clearly he left a positive impact on the local hip hop community to get a second memorial concert in less than a year, so definitely visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more details!

While we're on the subject, videos were uploaded to the $onny Vybe$ Facebook group from last year's benefit by attendee Amanda MacAloney, including one video of Handsome Sandwich playing what appears to be an original song that they haven't otherwise posted a video of yet, before finishing with "All For Nothing". The vertical camera angle is unfortunate, but this is a solid performance with good melodic structures, and while Taylor is a little stiff behind the mic, she gets into it well musically! Give it a look at this link, as the Facebook group's privacy settings don't allow external embedding of videos uploaded there.

Next up, the tentative band lineup for this year's Northern Vibe Festival has been announced! Alongside the reveal for the DJ-centric River Stage, bands scheduled for the Thompson Memorial Forest Stage on August 26th & 27th can be seen in the photo on the right, as posted on the Ophir concert festival's Facebook page yesterday. Yes, this year's Forest Stage is named in honour of late Frightlight drummer Chris Thompson, who pulled triple duty at last year's Northern Vibe in one of his final concert bookings before his passing last fall, which is a very nice gesture! Curated once again by J.D. Pearce in first local concert promotion role since last year's festival, be advised that last year's Northern Vibe Festival advertising never revealed the daily timeslots for the bands on the Forest Stage, leading our coverage to be surprisingly piecemeal, only sussing out the nightly band order after the fact.

This year's touring headliners are Toronto pop rock duo Goodnight Sunrise in their second regional concert set this summer, following a planned set at the Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing. Not a hard rock band, but Goodnight Sunrise's upbeat alt-rock sound should find an audience! Four bands are returning from Northern Vibe last year, including the aforementioned Handsome Sandwich (whose new lineup debuted in Ophir last summer), surf rock instrumental trio The Dynowaves, funk/hard rock quartet The Wyld Stallyns, and alt-punk trio A Dire Setback in their first announced concert set since Northern Vibe last year. Given J.D.'s involvement once again, he'll be back behind the mic on this night, including via the previously teased homecoming of Spades GT, as the former Jack Spades will play their first local concert set since 2019 and since their move to Barrie & name/lineup changes at Northern Vibe 2022!

That'll be a hook for attendees alone, so don't miss their presumably later set this year! As well, I believe J.D. will be fronting Hey, What About Us?!, which was the name to have been used by a one-off Me First & The Gimme Gimmes tribute band he planned to perform with at his annual Halloween Party at The Algonquin back in 2016. If still accurate, that will be a fun diversion! The other five bands making their Northern Vibe debuts include reunited and still online page-less punk cover quartet The Cover-Up (thankfully not still called You First & The Givee Givees) in their own first show since 2019, rising indie punk quintet (The) Northwest, punk/alternative duo These Magnificent Tentacles (more on them soon), punk trio Redundant (last seen opening for Buckcherry), and indie rock quartet Man Feelings. Stacked lineup, so stay tuned to festival pages for (hopefully) the full nightly lineups... fingers crossed!

I am surprised that none of Chris Thompson's old bands (except Spades GT) are playing this year in his memory, but bands could theoretically be added by August. Full weekend passes are currently on sale for $100 at this link (nothing on daily passes yet), and there is an early bird coupon code, so get on that A.S.A.P. if you want to save in advance of all of the action at the old Hempfest grounds this summer! Stay tuned for festival updates when they roll in, and look for weekend concert previews on the site tomorrow, and much more news and notes beyond! Thanks everyone!