LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Sylo & Tarnished), Mid-Week Concert Previews, And More!!

Before we begin this post, we have a cancellation to take note of, as the planned Krang-headlined concert at The Distraction on September 8th is no longer taking place. Promoter Mikhal Muto said on his personal Facebook page that it was "due to the current situation with The Distraction", likely referring to the East Street venue's fire safety compliance needs following the Ripcordz concert cancellation last month. With almost three weeks to go, it's a wonder why they're not looking for a new host venue, but this is still disappointing, and hopefully Krang get a chance to play here again, let alone that The Distraction re-opens with all approved safety measures soon!

Now, today's post features an unusually robust lineup of mid-week concert previews, including two SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, plus some assorted updates, but let's lead off with one of the two brand new shows, as Sault Michigan hard rock/classic metal cover quartet Tarnished will play a special outdoor concert TOMORRROW NIGHT at Lake Superior State University outside of Brady Hall! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the show on their Facebook page earlier today, even calling this a "surprise show" there. Tarnished did not specify why they're playing a random outdoor show at LSSU outside of one of their residence halls, let alone TOMORROW, but this is orientation/move-in week for students enrolled in the fall semester at Lake State, so this must be a fun pop-up concert for the new and returning students to check out to escape from the usual preparations and unpacking!

Despite the university campus trappings, Tarnished are on TOMORROW at 8:00 PM with no cover charge, and while there's no stated age limit or restrictions for students/non-students, mind the locale if you want to check things out. 9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy skies TOMORROW with no chance of rain, and temperatures ranging from 64-66° (18-19° Celsius), so conditions should be really good for some live hard rock covers. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Next up, Sault Ontario hard rock quartet Sylo will headline a special mid-week concert at Beck's Bar TOMORROW  NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced on Sylo's Instagram page on Saturday.  With very rare exceptions so far (like the Motorhead tribute M1), Beck's has only hosted full electric bands on Saturdays since re-opening, so it'll be interesting to see how an originals-infused local band does TOMORROW there, especially given the atypical scheduling for a local headliner! On their Facebook page, Beck's called this "a special treat" and referenced that "we love welcoming up and coming new bands to the scene" (even though Sylo debuted in 2021). An unsaid motivation for this concert may be frontman Elijah Russell's university commitments out of town, which caused the band to take a hiatus from August 2024-May 2025. If Eli is heading back to school, TOMORROW may be the last Sylo show for a while.

Whether Sylo are going on hiatus again or not, they are a talented young group, and hopefully their Beck's debut TOMORROW goes off without a hitch despite the unusual scheduling! This is a 19+ concert at 9:00 PM with no cover charge. Visit the above link for more details on TOMORROW's stop at the former Vibe Lounge, and for a preview, here's Sylo live!

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Also today, here's one more mid-week concert preview, but it's one we knew about already, as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will headline the annual Cruisin’ The Dub motorcycle show at the older A&W at 121 Great Northern Road on THURSDAY NIGHT! Weather permitting, the last few years have seen joint classic car and motorcycle shows to support Multiple Sclerosis Canada at both of the A&Ws on Great Northern Road (the newer one down the highway hosts a car show), and given Bone Yard's affinity for motorcycles, it's a no-brainer that they'd support a great cause like this at the bike show half! August 21st is Burgers To Beat MS Day too, so buying a burger will help out even if you don't come out for the concert and bike show, which includes games, raffles, popcorn, and more. There will reportedly be live music at the newer A&W for the car show but I'm unsure which band. We'll let you know if something is publically said.

For more charitable motorcycle concert action, Bone Yard 225 will also rock the annual Dragonfly Run on Sunday, and our preview of that hits the SMS this weekend. While the bike (and car) show starts at 5:00 PM, your local 225 don't take the outdoor stage until 6:00 PM on Thursday. This is absolutely an all ages concert with no cover charge, but donations to MS Canada will absolutely be encouraged. 9&10 News is currently calling for similar conditions on Thursday evening, with partly cloudy skies, no chance of rain, and a weather in the 22° range. Visit the above links for more on Bone Yard 225's first charity motorcycle concert of the week, and here they are live!

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

 

• SooToday's Greg McGrath-Goudie reviewed B.A. Johnston's concert at Venue in May for this article, going into solid detail about the eclectic happenings at the Hamilton outsider punk musician's latest local stop and what goes on at his shows in general. Two pictures were included, even of him performing on top of a car outside of the Queen Street East events space, and Greg did get some interview remarks with B.A. post-show as well. Entertaining read that does as good of a job at outlining his hard-to-describe live shows as you can, so check out the full article above!
• Newer local death metal band Bardo, progressive metal quartet Convergence, and online page-less metal supergroup The Sault Side Squad will join the previously confirmed Maynard Hayes as the local openers for the Napoleon-headlined concert from Heavy North Entertainment at Soo Blaster on Friday, September 26th, as per a quiet update to the Facebook event page. Notably, this will mark Convergence's first time opening for a touring band, while this will be Bardo's first concert in almost a year, after debuting when they opened for Selias at the same venue this past September. Looks like a solid lineup to me, so visit the above links for more details!
• I have moved local punk quintet The Gambit to our inactive band links. The former Sick Sons have not issued a public update since their Rotaryfest Stage 2 set in July of last year, but note that they have always been sporadic for their social media updates and live gigs, having played just once a year since their name change and late 2022 revival. The Gambit were working on original material and had teased future plans, so hopefully we do see Lucas, Steve, Christian, Dave, and Clint back when the time is right, especially with that stacked lineup of local punk veterans!

 

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

Most Of This Weekend's Concert Previews, Plus Two Missed Show Apologies!!

Before we begin this news post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert in our packed Rotaryfest weekend coverage, as local hard rock band HeadF1rst returned to the Pridefest Loud & Proud family fun day at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on Sunday. I honestly saw no public advertising for a band lineup this year (shouldn't there have been some given the events last week?), but HeadF1rst frontman Red Jettison let me know about it earlier on Sunday. They played this event alongside veteran rock trio Spiders Have Names (who played this event in 2019 under the name Woodwind), though a planned return set by The Apocalypse Afterparty didn't take place. I hope things went well for this Pridefest event, and apologies again!

Now, this preview post takes us to a busy (but not as busy) weekend of hard rock concerts in the twin Saults, with Saturday's WestFest and Generations concerts being held for tomorrow's previews, and we'll start with the big one this weekend, as Montreal hardcore punk legends The Ripcordz will return to The Distraction for another basement punk concert TOMORROW NIGHT! As regulars of the East Street all ages venue may recall, Paul and crew kicked off the permanent move of concerts there from the former barbershop upstairs to the once-named Stellar Door downstairs when The Ripcordz took the stage here this past August. That show went very well for the bands' and attendee's sake, and here's hoping for more punk intensity downstairs tomorrow in The Ripcordz' tenth show here since 2013! Fresh off of their Stage 2 debut at Rotaryfest, crossover thrash quarter Hails will return as openers tomorrow as well.

Taking over for 2014 openers The Haze tomorrow are local hard rock quartet Sylo as their summer reunion run continues, so don't miss their energetic originals and covers to kick things off! This all ages (but unlicensed) concert begins tomorrow at 7:00 PM with a cover charge of $20 or "pay what you can", though limited $20 advance tickets were available at The Rad Zone and through the local openers. Should be another great time for fans of fast & furious punk rock, so visit the above links for more details, and here are The Ripcordz live at The Distraction last year!

Next up, let's head to the E.U.P. for some hard rock cover action, and we'll start at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where Traverse City, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Peril will set up shop TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Northern Pines Lounge! Last seen at the St. Ignace branch at the end of May, this will be Jeff, Howard, and Brooks' first E.U.P. booking since rocking The Rapids Lounge in the Soo last month. This weekend's shows should give fans a strong weekend of hard rocking favourite covers, so keep these in mind if you'll be in the region or are up for a short drive south! Note that Peril have not confirmed these shows on their Facebook page as of late, but they are listed on Kewadin's entertainment page. Tomorrow and Saturday's concerts are 9:00 PM affairs with 19+ age limits and no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Peril live! 

In a brief detour back to Sault Ontario, fans can check out classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison live at Misty's Fifties for another matinee concert on SATURDAY! The latest stop in Tym's long run of shows at this Second Line West nightclub in 2025, this will be his first matinee gig there in three weeks, and his first public show anywhere since he played a show that we missed for coverage on here, as he debuted at McCauley's Restaurant in Goulais River this past Saturday. Tym quietly announced the gig via its Facebook event page one week ago today, and I never saw social media reference to it from McCauley's end. Hopefully Tym's trip north to Havilland Bay was a success this past weekend, and I'd have happily covered it had I known about it! Alas, Rotaryfest week is always very busy. We won't miss his Misty's return on Saturday, which has a 19+ age limit, no cover, and a 4:00 PM start time.

Tym's huge setlist of rock covers should drive a solid response at Misty's Fifties on Saturday, so keep this one in mind for some early live music action this weekend! Visit the Misty's Facebook event page for more details, apologies again for missing last week's Goulais River show, and here he is live!

Finally for this preview post, we'll head back to Michigan for local hard rock quartet Unfortunate Sun's return to Huck's Pub & Grill in nearby Rudyard on SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen in St. Ignace last week, this will be the Fake Chow successors' first show at Huck's in three months, and comes on day #3 of the annual Rudyard Summerfest, so there should be a larger crowd for all of the action! Technically speaking, Huck's isn't part of the official itinerary (click here for the schedule), but they're smart to capitalize on the festival this weekend by hosting lots of live music, including three days starting tonight (for reference, tomorrow's band there is named Reserection, though I know nothing about them). Whether you'll already be in Rudyard, are up for some live music, or are planning to attend the "biggest party in the EUP", keep Unfortunate Sun's hard rock stylings in mind for Saturday night! This is a 21+ show with a 9:00 PM start time and no cover. See above for more details and here's Unfortunate Sun live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Sylo & Tarnished!!)

Just before things get rolling on the SMS, today marks our eighteenth anniversary since launching the original group. No major plans to commemorate the day, but just a brief thank you acknowledgement to all of our readers and followers for continuing to stick around and read/engage with our content, and here's to another big year for local metal, hard rock, and punk music ahead! For our first batch of weekend concert previews for July 2025, we have an all-LOCAL CONCERT ALERT post, mostly of the SHORT NOTICE variety, so here's what you should know!

Sault Michigan hard rock/classic metal quartet Tarnished have a busy and all-short notice concert weekend ahead, and before we get into all three gigs, I apologize for the short notice on all of them, Tarnished only announced the three via their official Facebook page earlier today. Is that a record for late notice gig announcements by one local band at different venues on a given weekend? Regardless, Tarnished will kick off the Independence Day long weekend TONIGHT when they return to the annual Fourth of July parade in Sault Ste. Marie, marking their fourth straight year playing on a float during the parade! Of course, the idea of a SMS-amenable band playing during a parade is still uncommon for bands other than Tarnished, but it'll be like a brief concert coming to you, which will be neat if you're checking out the parade TONIGHT! Obviously, this is free and all ages, but where can you see Tarnished along the parade route?

As last year, the parade begins TONIGHT at 7:00 PM behind the U-Haul on Davitt Street, running until Magazine Street, and will move north along West 14th and Ashmun Streets, as well as West Portage Avenue, so pick a good spot to enjoy the parade, with some hard rocking tunes from Tarnished alongside! Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy skies with weather around 70° (21° Celsius), which sounds like fine conditions for a parade! Click here for complete details on the parade itself. Tarnished will continue the rocking in short notice show #2, as Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron will set up shop at The Savoy Nightclub TONIGHT at 10:00 PM! This will be Tarnished's first show at the 117 West Portage Road bar in over two years, and while The Savoy's modern social media presence isn't high, it is good to see that they're still open and hosting live music there! This is a 21+ concert with no announced cover charge.

Finally for Tarnished's busy long weekend, they'll return an hour south to St. Ignace TOMORROW NIGHT as part of the annual Music By The Bay summer concert series at American Legion Park at 200 North State Street, and in one more new show announcement, they'll return there on Saturday, August 16th as well! Good to see Tarnished spreading their wings and helping prove that there's more going on for St. Ignace concert venues than just Kewadin Casino, so keep TOMORROW'S show in mind! Click here for the full daily schedule at the Music In The Bay series too, it runs until the end of August. This is another free & all ages concert taking place from 7:00-9:00 PM, and while the stage is covered for the band's sake, be advised that 9&10 News is calling for a 40-60% chance of rain TOMORROW with 75° weather (24° Celsius). Visit the above links for more on Tarnished's shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, and for a preview, here they are live!

Finally for this all-LOCAL CONCERT ALERT post, Sault Ontario hard rock quartet Sylo will return to Reggie's Place TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced on the venue's Facebook page on Sunday (remember, Sylo don't have an active Facebook page). This has been a long time coming, as Sylo haven't played a show on record at Reggie's since 2022, so it will be neat to see Eli, Alder, Owen, and Jakob back at this Queen Street staple for a rare solo headlining appearance! Sylo have been making the most out of their return to active gigging this summer, and here's hoping for more of the same entertaining originals and covers from this talented young foresome TOMORROW! This is a one-nighter due to or resulting in classic rock cover quartet RPM playing there tonight. TOMORROW'S Sylo concert is at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details, and here's Sylo live!

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

Local Metal/Hard Rock Video Showcase!!

After escaping another busy weekend concert preview run, we have a new news post for your Saturday morning, and it mostly covers new videos relating to local artists and concerts, with related information therein. With all of that laid out, here's what you should know!

I hope to cover last night's Cory Marks concert livestream on the SMS soon (I have to, given that they have a 30 day lifespan now!), but to promote the event, the North Bay country/hard rock musician actually got interviewed on CTV News Northern Ontario on Tuesday! If you missed that night's newscast on cable/satellite (or channel 2 OTA), CTV News' YouTube channel uploaded the segment, which was anchored by Tony Ryma, who was a former Sault Ste. Marie city councillor before moving to Sudbury to work on the former MCTV News there. The interview is more about Hope Air, the remote health care access charity that put on the local concert last night at the Bushplane Museum (on Hope Air Day, of course). Only the last question was directly about the concert, which Cory (who recorded the interview in Sturgeon Falls) revealed there was "a pop up acoustic set". Maybe that helps explain why this didn't get a lot of promotion as a concert?

While Hope Air Day is understandably prioritized over Cory's music (though I guess he played a Hope Air Day concert in Timmins last year too), promotion for both on local network television would have been huge, and hopefully eyeballs watching CTV News Northern Ontario on Tuesday made the point to come downtown for the free concert! Check out the full interview segment below, and stay tuned for more public content from Cory's acoustic show last night, livestream or otherwise!

Next up, remember how local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith was tapped to sing "O Canada" at a couple of Barrie Baycats baseball games last summer, only for rain delays to get in the road? As you may recall, Mike did successfully sing the national anthem on June 13th, but that game was rained out after a few pitches, before Mike eventually did the honours at a game that went ahead in full on August 1st, and I surprisingly never talked about that on here. You can watch that particular Intercounty Baseball League game (which saw Barrie beat the Welland Jackfish 5-4) at this link, and Mike is introduced 6:05 into the livestream. It was a fine rendition, Mike put his voice to quality use on a big stage (well, diamond), but there were some audio dropouts after he finished, so there's an awkward silence on the video that likely wasn't there at Athletic Kulture Stadium. Kudos to the Baycats for bringing Mike back after Mother Nature got in the way!

Incidentally, the Baycats won the IBL championship last fall, so belated congratulations from afar on their playoff success! They also beat Welland in the finals, and the two teams also faced off on Thursday for another game where Mike was the anthem singer! Dressed even fancier this time, Mike's performance is just as good as his two stints last season, but in this game (full livestream here), the audio doesn't drop out after he's done singing, so we can hear the P.A. announcer's copy about Mike at the end. While the Jackfish got their revenge by beating Barrie 4-3, hopefully a good time was had by all in attendance! Mike uploaded just the anthem from Thursday's game to his Facebook page, so give it a watch below!

Also today, here's our first public videos of local hard rock quartet Sylo's current lineup! The band debuted new second guitarist Owen Middleton when they opened for Derev at Soo Blaster on May 23rd (itself their first show since Eli left for university last fall), and they posted two brief videos from their set to their Instagram page in the following days. Unfortunately, both are vertical (not even square), but you have to be used to Instagram video limitations on that platform. The band has promised that "full length footage (is) coming up soon", implying that longer videos are coming to a platform that will host them, but I haven't seen it anywhere obvious yet. One of the videos focuses on Owen playing during their cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" with drummer Jakob Fice-Lesage "switching up in the middle of the set", as noted via on-screen text. I don't think that the text was needed, but viral content creation, I know. 

The purpose is to make light of Jakob's change in fills, and Owen got a good laugh, but hopefully we see fuller video of this cover soon! Embedded below is Sylo playing their original song "War Times", and while I wish this was the full song and not shot vertically (you see very little of Owen and Jakob here), it's a strong performance of Sylo's earliest and best known original song! Good stuff, but hopefully we do see the long-form videos that Sylo teased. Give these two Instagram clips a watch above & below!

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Finally for today, newer local industrial metal solo project The Realignment Project posted four more lyric videos from their sophomore EP "The Frustration Sessions" onto their YouTube channel last month! One is for "Static" (which Matt had teased in a Facebook "Reel" in April), but "Minor Outburst", "Fireside", and "Stupid" also got the lyric video treatment. There is not (currently?) a lyric video for the closing song "Medicated (A Spade Is A Spade)", but remember that two songs from their debut EP "Afterthought" didn't get lyric videos either. I'll hold comment on the songs until our review of "The Frustration Sessions" in August, but give these new industrial rock songs a listen (with lyrics) above & below!

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

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

For this penultimate concert weekend of May 2025, things are actually busier than they were for the Victoria Day long weekend, so we'll hold our previews of Saturday night's Dos Amigos and Curtis McKenzie shows for tomorrow's post. Today, we're looking at hard rock/punk shows taking place tomorrow at least partially, so here's what you should know to kick off your weekend!

We'll start at Soo Blaster, where Toronto progressive metal quintet Derev will headline in their first local concert appearance TOMORROW NIGHT! Derev bring a unique blend of influences to the table with their melodic prog rock sound, with a strong technicality supplemented by Middle Eastern influences, and they'll be an interesting change of pace for metalheads looking to hear something different! Learn more about Derev via this SooToday press release. While a search for a formal co-headlining band didn't lead anywhere, promoters Heavy North Entertainment did secure a strong support lineup of local talent, including hard rock quartet Sylo in their first gig of the year and first with new guitarist Owen Middleton, party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty in their first show since opening for Robbie G at Soo Blaster last month, and a set from prolific folk punk/extreme metal artist Chase Wigmore.

Diverse lineup of strong local talent, so don't be late for this one! The third post-relaunch concert from Heavy North Entertainment and their first not headlined by Selias, this show (named "Mayhem 2025") has no age limit, a 7:00 PM start time, and admission fees of $15 in advance at this link or $20 at the door. This will be an entertaining night of "mayhem" for metal and hard rock fans, so visit the above links for more details on this concert, and for a preview, here's Derev live!

Next up, there's more touring action TOMORROW NIGHT, this time at Venue (the new public events space at the former Fortune Shop/Void Vinyl location at 482 Queen Street East), where Hamilton outsider folk/acoustic punk musician B.A. Johnston will take the stage once again! While this was (by my count) B.A.'s sixth local date, B.A. figures that he's played here at least fifteen times over the years, as noted in this brand new SooToday article by Kenneth Armstrong, featuring solid interview remarks from B.A. about his style of music, Canadiana-influenced songs, comparisons to Stompin' Tom Connors, and how he never plays the same local venue twice. Solid article to help set things up, but of course, B.A.'s comedic and audience participation-laden live shows are very hard to describe in text alone, so watch some videos of him to get an idea of what to expect at Venue tomorrow! Former Elements/Wyld Stallyns frontman Rob Speers will open tomorrow's festivities, as he did when B.A. rocked The Whiskey Barrel last fall, so don't be late for his acoustic covers!

There's no announced age limit for tomorrow's show, which has a $10 cover charge and 8:00 PM start time, though be advised that Venue is a very intimate locale for concerts, with their website listing a capacity of 60 guests, 30 seated. Always good to see B.A. on a local stage, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here he is live!

Also taking place TOMORROW NIGHT is local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9's return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only! Their first stop at this popular Great Northern Road nightclub for 2025 will also end their early 2025 concert calendar in terms of standard bar gigs, as like they have since their debut, they're taking the summer off aside from private bookings, benefits, and festivals. We will see them back out there a bit (they will reportedly be at Rotaryfest Stage 1 again), but if you want to take in Silent 9's fun and upbeat blend of classic and hard rock covers, don't bypass tomorrow's central gig, as they won't have a solo headlining one like it until the fall! Remember that The Water Tower Pub traditionally hosts different nightly musical acts, with the band playing on Saturday being new local soft rock cover quartet North Channel Sound. As usual here, Silent 9 take the stage tomorrow at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge.

Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new clip of Silent 9 in concert! Uploaded to their Facebook page on May 13th (and cross-posted from Instagram), this video is of them at The Esquire Club earlier this month covering Billy Joel's "You May Be Right" with drummer Steve Porco on lead vocals. Now, very early in the clip, Steve drops his left drumstick, but he doesn't miss a beat with the song and improvises well for drumming one handed before frontwoman Jess Amadio (on backing vocals) locates the stick and gives it back to him. Nice save, and the cover is well done for what we hear, though alas, the video is vertical. Check it out below!

Finally for this preview post, we'll head west to Jay's Piston Broke Pub, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will mostly hit the stage TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! While fans last saw Double Down at the former Reggie's West early last month, this weekend's shows will be very different, as singer/guitarist Beej Syrette will be absent for unannounced reasons, according to band members' personal Facebook pages. In his place, Double Down have enlisted bassist Dan Beaupre's Sidekicks bandmates Steve Cardiff and Tracey Hilderley to join him, Joel, and Ric for a joint concert! The branding suggests that the two bands are both playing separate sets this weekend, which makes sense when you realize that Tracey's involvement means that there's two drummers present, but some of the advertising is left vague, and there is at least an implication that Steve is sitting in for Beej in Double Down's sets.

Regardless, it'll be a unique weekend, and while The Sidekicks never leaned heavier from my knowledge of what they play, it'll be neat to see both of Dan's current bands join forces! And of course, hopefully all is well with Beej and that he's back with Double Down before long! This weekend's shows both have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Double Down live with Steve earlier this year!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Curtis McKenzie and Dos Amigos previews (and more) next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Virvum & Convergence), Derev Concert Updates, And More!!

Before we begin this post, we have a concert cancellation to take note of, as The Raygun Cowboys are not playing at The Whisky Barrel tomorrow night due to "an artist scheduling error", as per promoters Piecing It Together Shows' Facebook page yesterday. The show is still being advertised by the Edmonton psychobilly/punk band on social media, but note that they are scheduled to play in Ottawa tonight, and did not have a show lined up afterwards until Thursday in Alberta. Hopefully all is well with The Raygun Cowboys and that they try here again on a future tour! Remember that this show was always going to have no cover charge or tickets.

Now, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and related updates on the heavier side of things! Firstly, if you missed the all-local metal concert named The Pit at Soo Blaster on Good Friday, then you'll want to take note of its sequel, named The Upheaval, and it goes down at the same venue on Saturday, June 28th! This is a very similar show, with two returning bands both making their second local concert appearances on this night, including headlining progressive/djent metal quartet Convergence and new local hard rock quartet Maynard Hayes! No word yet on the former's teased tour run, but we can now confirm (most of) Maynard Hayes' lineup, which features singer/guitarist Damon King (ex-Infamous) and Convergence drummer David Peredun alongside guitarist Nathan Snider and a bassist who uses the handles "gabdontlike" and "gabnolike" on social media (I don't know his real/full name to my knowledge). 

Maynard Hayes still have no public videos on social media, but there is some personal media out there! The third and final band at The Upheaval will be The Sault Side Squad, the online page-less (not even Instagram) metal supergroup that played three shows in mid-late 2024, most recently opening for Cross Dog in October. Good to see them back in the new year, but hopefully they get some public online material soon! Despite having one fewer band than at The Pit, this show has a $15 ticket cost and $20 door charge, $5 higher in both cases. Click here to get your tickets for this all ages show, which has a 7:00 PM start time. Another intriguing show for metalheads, so see above for more details!

Next up, here's some more extreme metal action taking place deeper into the summer, as two Swiss death metal bands will be rocking Jay's Piston Broke Pub on Sunday, July 6th! Yes, as in from Switzerland! The bands in question are Zurich progressive death metal quintet Virvum and Geneva blackened death metal band Stortregn, obviously both making their local debuts. Fans of extreme and death metal will be very interested in this show, with Virvum's technical brutality and Stortregn's more atmospheric intensity both boding well, so definitely check both groups out to prepare for this intriguing concert! Local support will come by way of metal trio The BAG, who are also opening for Sentiment Dissolve at Jay's on Monday, preview hitting the site tomorrow. I don't know if The BAG are the promoters/facilitators for the former Roosevelt Hotel's return to hosting touring extreme metal bands, but hopefully things go well both tomorrow night and in July!

This 19+ concert on Virvum's Canada Takeover tour starts at 8:00 PM and has an advance ticket cost of $15.99 at this link (I don't know if you can buy advance tickets at Jay's or via BAG members, or if admission fees will jump at the door). Just from being hosting two European metal bands alone, this show will be of note, even on a work/school night for many, so definitely visit the official Facebook event page for more on this huge death metal show!

Also today, promoters Heavy North Entertainment finally announced the local openers for the Derev-headlined concert at Soo Blaster on Friday via the new official Facebook event page on Tuesday, so what familiar faces are opening for the Toronto progressive metal band next week? One will be local hard rock quartet Sylo in their first public concert set since their Soo Blaster headlining date in August, and if you want to know more about them, bassist Alder Devries actually has launched a website for them on Wix! As such, we can finally give them a proper link here that doesn't reflect their original run as Raincourt (though their two singles from then are linked there). The site hasn't been updated to reflect new guitarist Owen Middleton joining the group yet, but if lack of content and information on Instagram has stymied you on Sylo, do check out their website! A video of Sylo is also there, so what should you know on that?

The clip sees Eli, Alder, and Jakob playing "War Times" at Soo Blaster last summer, and it has a good casual hard rock groove that will serve them well during their (summer?) return! You can watch the video at this link, but be warned that, while Sylo aren't on Facebook, this is basically a Facebook "Reel", as it's vertical, unplayable in background tabs, and unembeddable on external websites. Also, why would the filmer have shot it vertically to accentuate the crowd levels on the floor like that? Back to the Derev show, your other openers on Friday are party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty in a rare Soo Blaster appearance opening for an actual band as opposed to a touring rapper, while prolific local folk punk/extreme metal solo artist (and new Eagles Club jam night host) Chase Wigmore will open in an increasingly rare appearance at a multi-band concert like this. Solid lineup of diverse opening local talent!

Note that, as of Tuesday, Heavy North Entertainment were openly looking for a co-headlining band for this concert (none of the three openers were labelled as such), but at press time, one had not been added. We'll let you know if they find one late! As for other specifics that this show didn't have when it was first announced, a start time of 6:30 PM is listed on the event page, and tickets run for $15 in advance at this link or $20 at the door. Nice to get some big specifics about the "mayhem" in store on Friday, so visit the above links for more on this concert, and stay tuned for more news and notes over the long weekend! Thanks everyone!

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

Before we begin our second weekend concert preview post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family & friends of former Great White frontman Jack Russell, who passed away yesterday at the age of 63, a month after retiring from touring following his diagnosis of Lewy body dementia. Visit your preferred music news websites (like this) for more details. The classic and longest tenured frontman of the Los Angeles hair metal icons best known for tracks like "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" and "The Angel Song", Jack fronted versions of Great White at least thrice in the Soo area, including on New Years Day 1990, where they opened for Alice Cooper at Sault Memorial Gardens. Great White would headline at The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino 19 years later, before the splinter version Jack Russell's Great White headlined outside of the St. Ignace Kewadin in June 2017.

Jack wasn't in the original Great White anymore when they opened for Ace Frehley at the St. Ignace Kewadin last month (he had already retired anyway), but fans of theirs will absolutely recognize Jack's talents as a singer and frontman from their late 1980s-early 1990s heyday until the modern era, and hopefully fans have lots of good memories, both from his local gigs and beyond. R.I.P. Jack!

Today's post otherwise completes another round of hard rock/punk weekend concert previews in the Twin Saults, and we'll pick things back up in Brimley, where a rare multi-band event with a touring artist goes down at Pickles Bar & Grill TOMORROW NIGHT! Two known SMS-amenable local bands are playing Brimley for the first time, those being Sault Ste. Marie rock quintet The Nameless and 2023 LSSU Battle of the Bands-winning punk band The Sole Aggressors, so if you like what these rising groups bring to the table, head to Pickles to see them in action! The headliner here is Detroit electronica musician R. Solomon, with Detroit experimental duo Sean & Diego also making the trip north, and if that seems out of left field, remember that promoter Brighton LeBlanc of Serious Business brought in a diverse mix of genres in his Satisfied Frog show in November featuring four touring acts from around the state, so this genre mix isn't new.

This 18+ (not 21+) concert takes place at 9:00 PM in the lower level of Pickles at 11204 West Lakeshore Drive tomorrow night, following an unrelated matinee gig by local jazz duo Midnight Sun at 5:30 PM, and it has a $10 cover charge. It is great that the E.U.P. is getting some promotion of multi-band shows with touring musicians like this, and hopefully tomorrow's festivities are a huge hit so Brighton keeps this up with even more! See above for more details, and for a preview, here's The Sole Aggressors live!

Before moving to our remaining Sault Ontario concert previews, just a heads up that Bone Yard 225's debut gigs at Gino's Fired Up Kitchen & Bar tomorrow night and on the 31st have been cancelled, as per bassist Warren Reville in comment replies on our Facebook page earlier today. Warren implied that Gino's have stopped/been prohibited from hosting live music period, but I haven't heard an announcement from the restaurant on this front (their social media last referenced hosting live musicians on July 27th). Hopefully this isn't 100% it for acoustic concerts there, but if all else fails, you can still see Bone Yard at the Laird Fair tonight!

Resuming this weekend's previews, let's head to Shooters Downstairs Lounge, where local hard rock quintet HeadFirst will return for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! This will be HeadFirst's... first concert since their CD release party for their debut EP "Head Trauma" at Shooters three weeks ago (our review of it is coming up this month), and while there's no raison d'etre for tomorrow's concert beyond just playing live, the band should have CD copies of "Head Trauma" on sale. With momentum at their backs, hopefully tomorrow's concert is a huge hit full of their entertaining hard rock originals and covers! A one-nighter due to Shooters' Friday DJ nights this year, tomorrow's concert has a 9:30 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's HeadFirst live! Yes, I am well aware of their new Rotaryfest video, we'll finally resume our Rotaryfest 2024 fallout coverage on the site soon!

Finally for this weekend, let's head to Soo Blaster, where a rare all-local concert goes down on SUNDAY NIGHT featuring four local groups and two solo musicians! In a mild surprise, young local hard rock band Sylo (the former Raincourt) will headline in their second public show of the year and first since parting ways with bassist Owen Dearing. Sylo's social media presence has been slim at best since they returned from hiatus earlier this year, but given that frontman Elijah Russell is reportedly moving from the area for college shortly, this could be your last chance to see the band for a while, so keep Sunday's show in mind! Joining Sylo at Soo Blaster on Sunday are local punk quartet (assuming that Carmen did join) Vanity First, thrash metal trio The BAG, and comedy rock band The Floor Between Us, alongside prolific local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore and anti-folk/outsider singer/guitarist Shae Tull.

Notably, we haven't seen Chase at a public concert since February, and it's good to see that he's still gigging despite his prior teasers about stepping away from music after his next album comes out! Unlike most of Vanity First guitarist Mikhal Muto's recent blitz of self/co-promoted concerts at The Distraction and Soo Blaster, Sunday's festivities do not have advance ticket sales, just a flat cover charge of $10. It is definitely ALL AGES, and doors open at 8:00 PM. An all-local show with this many acts, especially not attached to a festival, isn't as common as it once was, so don't miss out on all of the action on Sunday! In lieu of a Sylo video (they haven't uploaded anything since the name change), here's Vanity First live!

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