LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison) & More Halloween Weekend Concert Previews!!

Here's the third and final Halloween weekend concert preview post on the SMS for 2026! Here, we're looking at three big Halloween party concerts in Sault Ontario tomorrow night, with a new video of one of the bands for good measure, but leading off, we have a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT attached to a preview of a Sunday matinee concert, so let's start there before winding back to the apex of spooky season!

Joining his previously announced matinee concert on SUNDAY at Beck's Bar, local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will also perform at Beck's one week later on November 8th! I forgot that Tym announced this Sunday's show well in advance on his batch Facebook event page for fall shows there, but the gig one week from Sunday is a new addition. Of course, this Sunday's matinee concert is first on tap, and hopefully there's a good sized crowd for both the euchre tournament and his unplugged rocking covers! I have no idea if Beck's will lean into any Halloween frills or branding a day late, but remember that Tym's strong religious faith may not jive with spooky goings on. Of note, Tym's show is the same day as the first elimination round for the venue's Vocals & Victory karaoke competition, with $2,500 awaiting the winner later this year. Good luck to the singers competing on Sunday night!

As usual for Beck's matinee concerts, Tym is up this Sunday and next at 3:00 PM, there is a 19+ age limit, and there are no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, we'll snap back to TOMORROW'S Halloween slate, and in the arguable main event, local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will open for local/Toronto pop rock quartet The Killer Hooks at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre for Fright Night At The Museum! Similarly to this summer's Cory Marks show, the hangar will be open for a big production concert, with The Killer Hooks (led by Gsis Murphy alum Tony Marcello) breaking out their video dance party-format concert for the occasion, so expect big video screens to accentuate their set, which does include the occasional hard rock cover. Headrush will fill the quota in their set, and it should be a fun night of live rock music with all of the spooky frills you could ask for! There will absolutely be a costume contest, with prizes for the best individual and group costumes. This show is sponsored by Northern Superior Brewing Co., hence the lack of a Tap Room show tomorrow.

Unlike most shows this weekend, this will be a ticketed event, and tickets cost $35 at this link, at the Bushplane Museum, or at Northern Superior. Unfortunately, this is a 19+ concert (but it will be licensed!), and doors open at 8:00 PM. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a rare long-form video of The Killer Hooks playing hard rock covers, specifically of them tackling Queen classics at the former Canadian Nightclub in 2019! Had to wade through a lot of sub-30 second "Reels" to find this, but they sound good, and still do, so look for more tomorrow night!

Also on the Halloween slate, local classic/hard rock cover trio The Sidekicks will return to The Water Tower Pub to headline their Halloween party TOMORROW NIGHT! Playing their first Water Tower Pub show since the spring (and fresh off of a Beck's show last week), The Sidekicks will topline this special 1980s-themed Halloween party, and while I doubt the AI generated poster nailed Tracey, Steve, and Dan's costumes, break out your best from that decade to party along with The Sidekicks, who have a number of 1980s covers in their back pocket! The poster (whose logo doesn't seem to know how our Water Tower is shaped) claims that there will be "prizes", but doesn't outright confirm if there will be a costume contest and/or some other type of giveaway. This is a one-nighter as usual for The Water Tower Pub, who are hosting RPM tonight, while bassist Dan Beaupre is playing a short notice gig with Soundcheck TONIGHT at Beck's Bar.

Tomorrow's '80s party with The Sidekicks is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on what should be a fun night of classic and hard rock covers from this year's closing band at Rotaryfest, and here they are live!

Finally, also taking place TOMORROW NIGHT is a double whammy of local tribute bands at Blaster Powerhouse, where Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band Mellowship Slinky and Pearl Jam tribute band Even Flow will join forces! Both bands have had productive years (Even Flow actually debuted on Halloween weekend last year), and if you like 1990s-leaning rock, you should find something to like between the two bands, including lots of grunge classics from Even Flow, plus some heavier early RHCP tracks from "the Soo's slinkiest" Chili Peppers tribute band (is there a less slinky active one?). Of note, if you were hoping to see Mellowship Slinky frontman Brad Irwin this weekend, be at the former Soo Blaster tomorrow, as his active original band The Reeves dropped out of tonight's Art Hub At Spring concert. Aside from the tribute action, this is plugged as "one spooky Saturday night".

If there are frills beyond Halloween decor, no one has publically said anything, but there is no firm public mention of a costume contest tomorrow at Blaster. Even Flow will kick off the night at 9:00 PM, this is all ages and licensed, and tickets run for $20 at this link, through band members, or at the Queen Street East venue, with the door charge jumping to $25. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's a new jam session video of Even Flow covering Pearl Jam's "Daughter"! This was shared from frontman Rob Speers' personal Facebook page to the band's Facebook page to promote tomorrow's show, and while it sounds good with Rob sounding like Eddie Vedder in the ways you hope, the tight camera angle completely blocks out bassist Mike Bird and drummer Derek Turner from view (apologies, PFC fans!). Also, this video is needlessly letterboxed into vertical "Reel" dimensions despite being in landscape.

Yes, they fill one of the black boxes with text captions about tomorrow's concert (at least it's not hard-coded on the video proper), but I'd far prefer if this was uploaded in full horizontal resolution so it's not so unnecessarily tiny no matter how you watch it. Regardless, it's a good preview, so give it a watch below!

That's all for our marathon Halloween concert preview slate, so go occupy a venue of some kind this weekend tonight or tomorrow night, and we'll be back next month! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906, The Sidekicks, And TNT) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

Not the busiest weekend going for SMS-amenable concerts, possibly because Halloween weekend is more of a focus, but there's still enough shows this weekend to warrant two weekend concert preview posts. As such, we'll look at Saturday night's Customer Service and Who Made Who shows tomorrow, as well as Tym Morrison's Sunday matinee. Tonight's post focuses on a big multi-band show in the EUP and SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so let's lead off on the Canadian side of the border!

Local acoustic classic/hard rock cover duo TNT (Soundcheck's Terry Eaton and Travis Sharpe) will return to Beck's Bar for a matinee concert on SATURDAY! Apologies for the short notice, Beck's only announced the show in their weekly entertainment schedule post on Wednesday (two days late due to ownership's work on the Misty's Fifties renovations). Regardless, TNT still don't have a known public social media account to promote their gigs with. Trav n' Terry last rocked Beck's two weeks ago for the Thanksgiving long weekend (you may have seen "Stories" on Facebook from that gig). If you like Soundcheck and don't hate unplugged covers, then you will enjoy what TNT bring to the table! No word on if cajon player Rusty Barrel will join them on SATURDAY, but he is (at least) a frequent guest, and he was supplying percussion two weeks ago, as seen in the aforementioned "Stories".

SATURDAY'S matinee concert is at 3:00 PM running until 7:00 PM, it is a 19+ event, and there is no announced cover charge. No public/permanent and embeddable videos of Terry n' Trav(is) yet, but visit the above links for more on this show, and we'll let you know if more comes out on TNT!

Next up, who is playing at Beck's Bar on SATURDAY NIGHT? Local classic/hard rock cover trio The Sidekicks, and they'll also be rocking The Water Tower Pub for their Halloween party on Saturday, October 31st! Again, apologies for the short notice on THIS SATURDAY's concert, it was announced by Beck's when they announced the TNT matinee. Speaking of which, Travis & Terry welcomed Sidekicks bassist Dan Beaupre into Soundcheck not too long ago, so could there be any crossovers between the two bands at any point on SATURDAY? Fans last saw Dan, Tracey, and Steve together as the closing band at Rotaryfest Stage 1 in July (they are not seen on the weekend nightclub circuit as regularly as many other bands), with SATURDAY'S concert being their first at a standard indoor venue since May. As for next weekend, The Water Tower Pub's Halloween party will be 1980s themed, which will be right up the alley of many concergoers.

The Sidekicks do play their fair share of 1980s covers, and while the AI-generated rendering of the band likely won't represent their 100% attire, costumes referencing the decade are encouraged! There is also a teased costume contest (or "prizes", at least). THIS SATURDAY's Beck's show is at 9:00 PM (TNT aren't "opening" for them, there's a two hour gap between bands), the Water Tower Pub Halloween bash is at 8:00 PM, and both events are 19+ with no cover. Get more details on both events at the above links, and for a preview of THIS SATURDAY's concert, here's The Sidekicks live!

Let's head to Michigan for the back half of the post, and we'll next take the hour's drive west to Eckerman, where local hard/blues rock quintet Project 906 will return to the stage at The Strongs Tavern on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, both the band and venue only announced this show via different AI-generated posters on their respective Facebook pages on Tuesday. After a quieter-than-usual #summerof906, the guys will be playing their first publically advertised gig since the Barge Bash in Cedarville in early August, and their first concert at The Strongs Tavern in four months. Good to see Billy, Joe, Dustin, Jason, and Brian back at it, and this could be a good warm-up gig for their Halloween party in Rudyard next week! The Strongs Tavern doesn't book the same band on back to back nights, though note that Friday's 5:00 PM concert from Will Springsteen wouldn't conflict.

SATURDAY'S concert will take place at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Project 906's entertaining mix of hard rock covers should go over well at one of their favourite venues, so don't miss out on the action in Eckerman on SATURDAY, and here they are live!

Finally for weekend concert preview post #1, we'll head back east to Sault Ste. Marie, where the latest multi-band concert in the basement of Pizza Hut goes down TOMORROW NIGHT! Promoted once again by Serious Business, this show will unite three touring acts from points south and west, including headlining Detroit experimental/progressive duo MRKT, who will keep with the promoters' eclectic multi-genre tastes for sure. The other two out-of-town bands are no strangers to the EUP, including Marquette art punk duo Bimbo (who headlined a prior Pizza Hut show in May) and Muskegon punk trio Violet Scum, who you may recall from a Pickles Bar & Grill show in Brimley last year before Serious Business shows largely moved to the Soo proper. Your local openers are punk duo About:Blank, just two days after frontman Parker Talentino competed at the LSSU Battle of the Bands (fallout coming soon).

Parker & Kade were openers at both of Bimbo and Violet Fuse's past local dates, so they're ideal to call on for this show! Tomorrow's festivities at 2255 Ashmun Street will have a $15 door charge, a 7:00 PM start time, and an 18+ age limit. Hopefully there's a sizable turnout of punk fans at the Hut for this concert, and kudos to Brighton and crew for bringing these touring multi-band shows to the area! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Bimbo live (gotta love the lo-fi VHS 4:3 aesthetic!)

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The T.R.I.P.) & More Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we finish off this weekend's hard rock concert previews, just a heads up that a celebration of life for former Rising Tide/Wild Turkeys bassist Marshall Jaaskelainen will be held tomorrow night at The Tap Room at Northern Superior Brewing Co. at 6:00 PM. The brewery announced this on their Facebook page yesterday, and members of Marshall's family had announced it on personal social media accounts prior. The event will have an open mic aspect where friends, family, and bandmates can talk about Marshall and/or play music in his honour, though as far as I can tell, there are no formally scheduled bands. Of course, kudos to Northern Superior for hosting this, and given Marshall's talents and nature, I'm sure it will be packed tomorrow night to pay tribute to him. As of this writing, an obituary or details of further services have not been publically released, and we will let you know if/when they are. R.I.P. Marshall!

Today's post otherwise caps off this weekend's known and advertised hard rock concert previews in the area, and we'll start with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as sporadically seen acoustic classic/hard rock cover band The T.R.I.P. will reportedly be performing at The Water Tower Pub TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via personal Facebook postings this week, though note that The Water Tower Pub's October schedule (since yanked off of their Facebook page) originally had TOMORROW as being a Beej Syrette solo concert. As you may recall, The T.R.I.P. (no word on what the acronym means) started as a side project for cousins & then-Double Down bandmates Joel & Beej Syrette, though after that band abruptly disbanded in March, The T.R.I.P. returned for a Beck's Bar gig last month, now with bassist Dan Beaupre joining them.

Now, this show conflicts with Soundcheck's short notice gig TOMORROW NIGHT at Jay's Piston Broke Pub (Dan joined them in August). He is listed by name in personal postings referencing TOMORROW'S T.R.I.P. concert, but where will he be? I'll clarify if something comes out! Regardless, if you've missed Double Down over the past seven months, keep this gig in mind, even if it's unplugged and sans Ric! Remember, The Water Tower Pub doesn't host the same band on back to back nights, and classic rock veterans 46th Parallel are playing there tonight. TOMORROW's show is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details, and no T.R.I.P. videos yet!

Also this weekend are local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations' newest concerts, which will see them rock Reggie's Place TOMORROW NIGHT! They were originally advertised to be playing tonight too, but the band confirmed that they are not playing tonight due to "certain circumstances", as per their Facebook group. As such, their defunct predecessors Jus' Chillin will perform instead with guest guitarist Michael Yurich. Usually, a Jus' Chillin reunion is prompted by Valerie being unavailable, but if Mike is sitting in, maybe Joe is absent (too)? The post said nothing about tomorrow night, so hopefully the status quo returns then. Here's hoping that there's a good turnout downtown regardless! Tomorrow's show is at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charges. See above for more details, and for a preview, guitarist Joe Miller has shared two new videos of them live onto their Facebook group! Both see them covering Pat Benatar songs at their most recent Water Tower Pub show, one being "Heartbreaker", which was originally filmed by attendee Kyle McGinnis.

Sadly, that one is vertical and only 93 seconds long, but it's a strong performance that lets Valerie let loose on vocals! Embedded below is the slightly longer (and horizontal!) video of Generations covering "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", which Joe shared from his own personal Facebook page. Not as challenging of a song for Valerie's range, but a classic rock staple that they know well, and despite the venue's extremely blue lighting, this video is well shot and framed. Give these a look above and below, and don't miss Generations at Reggie's Place tomorrow!

We'll close this weekend's hard rock concert previews in Sault Michigan, where local punk/alternative duo About:Blank will play a rare headlining concert TOMORROW NIGHT at The Merchant's Bar! The second of at least three gigs (private and public alike) for Parker and Kade this month, this will be their first public show in the Soo since their acoustic matinee outside of Moloney's Alley in June. Coming less than a week before they open for Bimbo at Pizza Hut (no word yet on if they're in the LSSU Battle of the Bands on Thursday), hopefully the guys tear things up at The Merch, where fittingly, they will have new merch for sale! Tomorrow's concert is a short one, running from 10:00 PM until midnight, so no openers and no stuffing four sets with covers.This is a 21+ concert with no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's About:Blank live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) And Weekend Concert Previews, Part 1!!

This is an unusually busy weekend for concerts at this time of year, so much so that I'll have to break up our hard rock/punk concert previews into three posts! Today's will look at bands playing tomorrow and/or Saturday in some description, but larger events on Saturday (namely Oktoberfest, Punk Rock Fiesta, Quite Frankly, Curtis McKenzie, Dos Amigos, and shows in the EUP) to follow. We're on it, and we're starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know to start things off!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck (7.3?) will reportedly return to Reggie's Place for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows have not been publically announced on social media by the band or venue, and I only learned about the shows via personal Facebook postings. Soundcheck most recently rocked the Queen Street East tavern early last month, with this being their second weekend there with their current lineup. Should be a fun weekend for classic and hard rock cover action, assuming the personal Facebook postings are accurate! This AI-generated image was made by Reggie's for their shows there in May, but intentionally or not, it's not dated so it can be reused (though if the guys really have tacked 7.3 onto their name, why not make that official on their public social media pages? They should use social media more regardless.)

TOMORROW & SATURDAY's concerts are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no announced cover charges, and the shows were not advertised as "epic crossovers" with their sister band Separate Wayz, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Nicole won't turn up. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, a packed weekend at the resurgent Rockstar Bar kicks off TOMORROW NIGHT with the one-off supergroup Hard Rock Review taking the stage there! For one night only, staples of local hard rock bands of the 1990s will join forces for a night full of 1980s-leaning rock covers, and for recent SMS coverage's sake, the most familiar names here will be (former?) Dodge This/Phatstick frontman Jason Taillefer and Flathead Ford/ex-Gsis Murphy drummer Anthony Fabiano. Good to see Jay in a plugged in band again after way too long! Bassist Robert Iacoboni (who later made his way to Taiwan in his extensive musical journey) and drummer Jeff See will round out their full lineup, but Robert's friend Dallas Crockett (of the Kelowna-based AC/DC tribute band High Voltage) will guest for a six song mini-set of AC/DC hits. Dallas isn't local, but his guest turn will add some zest to the proceedings!

One night before punk reunions take place at the same venue with Punk Rock Fiesta (preview coming tomorrow), Hard Rock Review will have no announced cover charge tomorrow night, but bring cash just in case given that most of the performers are living out of town. This is a 19+ concert with doors opening at 8:00 PM. Obviously, I have no videos of Hard Rock Review (shouldn't it be "Revue?") to preview the show with, but the Facebook event page lists bands that the guys will be covering, and with the talent on display, fans of this era of local hard rock bands should have a blast tomorrow night! See above for more details on the Hard Rock Review's debut!

Also taking place TOMORROW NIGHT is the return of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations to The Water Tower Pub for one night only! While the band did announce the shows last month as part of their slate of (at least) three October gigs, the shows have been confirmed anew via the venue's October concert calendar, and we'll address its unaddressed hard rock shows in an upcoming post. After skipping this central nightclub last month, fans will get to see Generations back there tomorrow, and hopefully their classic and hard rock covers go over well as usual! As The Water Tower Pub hosts different acts nightly, country singer/guitarist Jeffrey Wright is headlining there on Saturday. Tomorrow's concert will be an 8:00 PM affair as usual 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 video of Generations live!

This was shot at their Gateway Casino concert last month, and was uploaded to guitarist Joe Miller's personal Facebook page before being shared to the band's Facebook group. It features him, Valerie, Pierre, and Tony covering Amanda Marshall's "Let It Rain", which I don't recall them covering in past media. Not badly handled, and Valerie's voice is more than up to the task of this mid-1990s slice of Cancon. Well filmed and horizontal to boot, so give it a watch below, and don't miss them at The Water Tower Pub tomorrow!

Finally for preview post #1, we'll go west to Beck's Bar, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will take the stage on SATURDAY NIGHT! Just Saturday though, as despite their website still listing the Sunday matinee for an "uncorked" concert, Beck's has since confirmed on their Facebook page that Curtis McKenzie is playing that day instead (preview forthcoming). A reason for the switch was not announced, but hopefully it's just a simple scheduling conflict. The full electric Bone Yard 225 experience awaits on Saturday though, with this being their first full plugged-in ("corked") concert since their one-off with Spencer Pine early last month, and their first typical weekend nightclub gig in city limits in two months. Now that the fall season is firmly in place, "the dirty three" should have a solid night of hard rocking covers and originals in store for fans at the Goulais Avenue nightclub on Saturday!

If you want to see your local 225 in "uncorked" mode, their next acoustic gig will be next Friday at the aforementioned Water Tower Pub. Saturday's concert is at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cove charge, so see above for more details, and here's Bone Yard live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Korpiklaani & Generations), Plus Convergence's New EP!!

Here's a second post late on this Thursday night, which is half devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this fall, plus a surprise new album release and related videos, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations have announced three concerts for next month, as per this concert calendar on their Facebook group! The first of the shows will be a one-nighter at The Water Tower Pub on Saturday, October 2nd, marking their first show of any kind since a private event last week, and their first at this central venue since early August. They're not scheduled anywhere over the Thanksgiving weekend, but Generations will return to Reggie's Place for a full weekend on Friday-Saturday, October 15th and 16th as well, after playing there late last month. No word yet on if we will see Valerie, Joe, Pierre, and Tony anywhere over Halloween weekend, but keep all three shows in mind for their talented mix of classic and hard rock covers next month! These are all 19+ with no cover, with the Water Tower Pub show at 8:00 PM and the Reggie's gigs at 9:30 PM. See above for more details!

Next up, here's the big new show announcement that caught many extreme metal fans by surprise, as Finnish folk metal sextet Korpiklaani will make their local concert debut on Saturday, November 7th at Blaster Powerhouse! A veteran staple of metal in Finland for over two decades, Korpiklaani (which means "The Backwoods Clan") deliver an effectively folk-inspired sound that often sounds like a medieval party, complete with a violin and accordion(!) in their live repertoire, but they are decidedly a metal band with harsh vocals, and certainly not something we see often in this part of Ontario, so welcome them to the Soo in six weeks' time! Opening on their Canadian tour in November are Toronto melodic death metal quintet Crimson Shadows in their own local debut, and their power metal-influenced brutality should get the pits going in their own right, so definitely give them a listen as well!

Local support will come by way of local death metal quartet Eden Plague (the former Bear Hunters) and debuting local "midwest screamo" band Free Drugs. I have no intel on who they are, but assuming they're not a surprise band that night, we'll let you know when anything goes public! Promoted by Underground Events SSM, this all ages show at 7:30 PM has tickets running for $25 (no word on a hike at the door or if local openers will have any), which you can buy online at this link. Legit Scandinavian metal legends coming here is rare, so do not bypass what will be a major highlight of the fall calendar for local metalheads! Visit the above links for more details!

Also today, here's a surprise new EP release, as local progressive metal quartet Convergence quietly dropped their long awaited first studio effort with their current lineup on major streaming services on September 7th! After previously teasing that it'd be self-titled or named "In Bloom", the EP has reverted to the "Gemini" name that they were planning to use in 2024 before Stephen and David came on board, despite "Gemini" being their third release. "The Ebb", the title track, "You Are Not Flesh", and "In Bloom" are the four included songs, with "The Ebb" being a holdover from their de-listed all-instrumental 2024 EP "Dead & Dreaming" (now with a full band) and the other three songs all originated in the planning for album #3 in any form. Convergence have been very quiet this year, partly due to drummer David Peredun now living in Southern Ontario, so hopefully the abrupt release of "Gemini" isn't a bad sign re: their future!

In any event, you can actually buy this EP for $5.99 on Bandcamp, or hear it for free there and on the usual streaming haunts. Our review backlog remains quite large, so "Gemini" is currently pencilled in for April, so look for that then, and hopefully we hear more new songs and re-recordings alike from Convergence when able, as they were teasing a full album as recently as the spring! To promote the release, new videos have been posted to the band's YouTube channel in recent months, including guitar playthroughs from Brendan and Jake of both the title track and "You Are Not Flesh" in amusingly suburban locales, complete with on-screen tabs if you want to try and play along or learn how the songs were constructed. Watch for Rocky the dog in the latter video! Completing the set with prior lyric video uploads, Convergence also uploaded lyric videos to their channel for both "You Are Not Flesh" and "In Bloom".

The whole EP was also uploaded as one single YouTube video (as opposed to the auto-generated songs on YouTube Music), but embedded below is the playthrough video for "You Are Not Flesh" starring David, as it's the only one of the three where the band member in question is fully seen on camera (Brendan and Jake's heads are continually out of frame on theirs). Despite his move down south, it is encouraging to see David still working with Convergence, and while I'll hold comment on the song pending our full review next year, his drum abilities are certainly not in doubt. Give these new videos (and the "Gemini" EP) a look above & below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERS (Fefe Dobson & Greg Simpson), One More Weekend Concert Preview, And New Videos!!

On this Friday night, let's wrap up what might be the last mega busy concert weekend until Halloween season, with a couple of linked unpl... "uncorked" concerts ahead (one a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT), along with another big new show and some newly found live concert videos. With all of that now outlined, here's what you should know!

Just over a week after rocking The Dive, Bone Yard 225 frontman Greg Simpson will return to Beck's Bar for another acoustic matinee concert on SUNDAY! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via Beck's weekly schedule announcement on their Facebook page on Monday, and remember that Greg doesn't have a social media page dedicated to his "Ranting Rockstar" persona/solo act where he can announce shows in advance. SUNDAY'S concert is effectively a re-booking of a briefly advertised show that Greg was supposed to play at Beck's this past Sunday, only to be replaced by Whiskey Hippy for unannounced reasons. Did Beck's err on the date, or did Greg legitimately withdraw/have to reschedule? Regardless, you have another block of "uncorked" southern and hard rock covers in store at the former Vibe Lounge to go along with the weekly euchre tournament!

The Ranting Rockstar will be on stage SUNDAY at 3:00 PM, this is a 19+ concert, and there is no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, we'll have more from Greg this weekend in a bit, and for a preview, here he is live earlier this month!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will play their second show of the fall on Friday, September 18th, when they open for Toronto pop rock musician Fefe Dobson in a FREE concert at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion! We'll have Wolf Fest details when someone firmly posts the lineup outside of "Stories". This show takes place during the third annual Vivid Art Festival (successor to the Summer Moon Festival), a yearly celebration of the arts and culture, and while full details are forthcoming, this concert is the main attraction this year. I could have swore that Fefe Dobson had played here previously, but you may recognize her for hit singles like "Bye Bye Boyfriend", "Don't Go (Girls & Boys)", and "Stuttering", and her early material frequently crossed the pop punk line, with many Avril Lavigne comparisons, for better or worse. If you watched MuchMusic frequently in the mid-late 2000s, this will be a huge throwback!

Also playing this date are Toronto pop rock duo Goodnight Sunrise, who you may recognize from last year's Poutine Feast and 2022's Northern Vibe Festival, and it'll be good to see them back in our area! Presented by Kiss 100.5 (a better fit than 104.3 The Fox when you consider her newer material), this is an ALL AGES and FREE concert at 7:00 PM in three weeks, and it should be a fun mix of pop and rock with (hopefully) agreeable temperatures, so visit the above links for more on this concert!

Next up, let's finish up this weekend's concert previews with a show that had lots of advance notice, as the aforementioned Greg Simpson will be joined by Alex & Warren for an "uncorked" concert with their southern/hard rock band Bone Yard 225 TOMORROW NIGHT at The Water Tower Pub! While all of their shows at this Great Northern Road venue are acoustic in spite of electric bands playing there often, this will cap off their summer season schedule ("end of summer" bash in Echo Bay next month acknowledged), and comes three weeks after their Algoma Tree Services gig, and almost three months after their last Water Tower Pub booking. Hopefully things go well for the guys tomorrow before Greg disembarks and heads west for his Beck's matinee on SUNDAY! If you're curious, the band who replaced Soundcheck tonight (due to them jumping to the full Jay's weekend) was North Channel Sound.

Tomorrow's show at The Water Tower Pub is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge, and if you prefer seeing the guys in local nightclubs, this is your last (scheduled) chance for over a month, so don't bypass this one! See above for more details, and for a preview, I found three new videos of your local 225 at The Water Tower Pub in May 2024! These were shared in the comments of this photo on Bone Yard's Facebook page from earlier that day, and they were filmed by attendee Wanda Wanda. Alas, all three are short and (sadly) vertical, but they include the guys covering Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" (with Alex on vocals), Pink Floyd's "Young Lust", and as embedded below, their staple cover of Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show's "The Cover Of 'Rolling Stone'", as it is the only video to exceed 46 seconds in length. Orientation and duration aside, these videos all suffer from deep/hazy blue lighting, but this isn't an isolated problem re: videos shot there.

If you have to shoot vertically, this was at least optimal to get all three guys in frame, even if Warren is very much in the background. The audio quality isn't bad from what we hear, and these are well handled covers, but you should expect nothing less from Bone Yard after over 15 years. Give Wanda's videos a watch above and below, and apologies for missing them for this long! Videos explicitly posted in/shared to comments can be tricky!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & Dos Amigos), A Concert Cancellation, And Related Updates!!

Before we get into this weekend's concert previews, just a heads up that tonight's Angelmaker-headlined concert at Blaster Powerhouse has been cancelled. Local promoters Heavy North Entertainment finally confirmed on Tuesday that it wasn't taking place, though Angelmaker quietly dropped the show from their tour routing at some point between July 15th and 31st, and H.N.E. hadn't promoted it on social media since July 8th. As well, tickets never went on sale for the local date, and the search for local opening bands had no public follow-through. A reason for the cancellation wasn't announced, but note that Heavy North Entertainment haven't hosted a concert since late last year, though company head Tyler St. Amour has played occasional solo concerts in recent months. It is worth noting that North Carolina deathcore band Larcenia Roe were tapped to replace Disfiguring The Goddess on tour, which was quietly confirmed in the local advertising. 

The cancellation is very unfortunate, especially as local promotion was hyping this as "the ultimate metal concert", but the lack of postings about the show for over a month was a tell that something was up, and even with no tickets to refund, Heavy North should have announced the cancellation well sooner than they did. Hopefully nothing too serious happened with Tyler or the bands, and that Angelmaker, Ingested, and Larcenia Roe try again here down the road, as deathcore fans were interested in coming out!

This post otherwise dives into the first half of this weekend's concert previews, and we'll look at this weekend's Stones & Crows, Peril, Tarnished, and Viscera shows in our next preview post due to this being a busier stretch. Today's all involve LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly SHORT NOTICE ones, and we'll start at Northern Superior Brewing Co., where local acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will play at their on-site Tap Room TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed this show via their Instagram-only schedule poster last week, and Northern Superior have not corroborated this booking on their own social media at press time. No major frills or tie-ins that I am aware of TOMORROW, but fresh off of their Canopy gig with BookcluB at the Downtown Street Party tonight, hopefully Mikey & Dustin deliver some solid unplugged punk favourites in the Tap Room!

Note that I am well aware that Northern Superior are teasing the return of Wolf Fest at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on Saturday, September 12th, complete with a promotional video featuring Trish Rainone in character as Jan from Jan's Not Movin!, but we await an official announcement of the lineup and other events in three weeks. TOMORROW'S Dos Amigos concert is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge, and if you can't make it, they have three shows in three days next week. See above for more details, and here's Dustin & Mikey live at The Tap Room!

Finally, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will rock Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, and they'll also return to The Water Tower Pub on Friday, August 28th! Again, apologies for the short notice on TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S concerts, they were first announced via this AI-generated events calendar for this week on Jay's Facebook page (Soundcheck have not posted on their own Facebook page since early May). While ostensibly a normal weekend now that the guys are back from their Chapleau road trip, this weekend's shows come fresh off of the news that they are parting ways with bassist Jim Michaud (a.k.a. "Jimmy Sweetz"). The news was revealed on their sister band Separate Wayz' Facebook page on Tuesday, where their singer Nicole Thibodeau confirmed that Jim is amicably retiring from both groups, and "band line up announcements for both bands (are) coming soon". 

Best known for his near two-decade run as Obsession's bassist, Jim replaced Paul Belair in Soundcheck at the beginning of 2023, and he had been a constant presence in Terry Eaton's plugged in cover rock bands ever since, including Separate Wayz and the short-lived Guilty Party. What's unclear is who is playing bass at Jay's TOMORROW & SATURDAY... is Jim hanging on short term? Will they debut the new bassist this weekend? Will there be a temporary fill-in, or even no bassist? Regardless, hopefully Jim enjoys time away from the live grind, and if he is definitely retiring from bands, he will be missed! For the record, next week's Water Tower Pub show was announced via that venue's August concert calendar, and it is a one-nighter as usual there (Bone Yard 225 go "uncorked" there next Saturday). These are all branded as Soundcheck-only gigs and not "epic crossovers", but of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that Nicole won't pop in.

Terry, Travis, Johnny, and ?????'s Jay's Piston Broke Pub shows are at 9:30 PM, next Friday's Water Tower Pub concert is at 8:00 PM, and all are 19+ with no cover (though I somehow doubt that Soundcheck all wear fedoras and look alike nowadays, based on Jay's AI poster). Visit the above links for more on all three new Soundcheck dates (TOMORROW & SATURDAY included), best of luck to Jim in the future, and here's Soundcheck live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews either tonight or early tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225!!)

Local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 have announced new concerts for September and October, as per their website's calendar, so where will fans be able to see them next? We'll get into their "uncorked" show on Thursday during our next round of concert previews due to the proximity of the event, as the band did not publically confirm their involvement early enough for us to plug it without being considered "short notice". We already knew about their August 29th show at The Water Tower Pub, and we'll address the band playing there on Friday, August 28th in an upcoming post this week if able, given the ongoing backlog clearout here. The first brand new show will be on Friday, September 11th, when your local 225 will kick off the fall season by headlining the annual Bruce Mines Fall Fair (a.k.a. Central Algoma Exhibition)! Technically, this is the first time that we have covered an SMS-amenable band playing at this event.

However, classic/hard rock cover trio The Sidekicks were among the opening bands for last year's Saturday concert headlined by The Luxury. Apologies for missing that, but remember, I didn't know that they leaned towards hard rock last fall. This year, the band aspect of the Fall Fair an hour southeast of the Soo (basically on the edge of our coverage range going east on Highway 17) will allegedly include a Saturday concert again, even though I cannot find public confirmation of who yet, but Bone Yard will be performing right after the annual demolition derby on the opening Friday night program. If you like seeing cars get smashed up, let alone Bone Yard's hard rocking sound, keep this in mind! Bone Yard's concert and the demolition derby will both take place at the Bruce Mines Fairgrounds at Highway 638 in Bruce Mines, and the only start time given is for the derby at 7:00 PM (implying that they'd prefer if you come for that too and stay for the band.)

This is all ages, but there will be a beer garden on-site, and while admission is $10 for a day pass and $25 for the three day festivities (kids 12 and under are free), the concert tickets specifically are $30, but will include admission to the Saturday concert, whoever is playing. Despite the costs, it sounds like a fun day, so visit the above links for more details, including all of the other family activities at the Bruce Mines Fall Fair in four weeks! Two weeks after this trip east, Bone Yard will also hit the highway (albeit just 20 minutes away) to Echo Bay for a special "End Of Summer Bash" at the Elks Lodge #535 there on Saturday, September 26th! While this really isn't summer anymore by then, the southward equinox is earlier that week, so the shoe fits in that way.  We haven't covered an Echo Bay concert on here since Soundcheck played a couple of shows there in 2024, but alas, I missed one.

As it turns out, Soundcheck played at their slo-pitch tournament again on June 27th of this year, as confirmed via this AI-generated poster on the Echo Bay Elks Lodge's Facebook page. It's tougher to catch some Soundcheck bookings when they update their social media so scarcely, but apologies again, and I hope the guys had a good time and crowd in June! I don't know if there's an official reason for Bone Yard 225's booking next month beyond the end of summer, but hopefully they rock the lodge well and have a strong turnout! The Elks Lodge is located at 96 Church Street off of Highway 17B (that's the old highway.) That concert has an 8:00 PM start time, no stated age limit, and an admission fee of $15 (contact the names on the Facebook event page if you want advance tickets). In terms of typical nightclub gigs in the Soo, Bone Yard 225 will play a rare double header weekend at Beck's Bar in early October!

The former will be a regular nighttime show (their first plugged-in public concert in the Soo in two months) on Saturday, October 3rd at 9:00 PM and the latter will be an "uncorked" matinee on Sunday, October 4th at 3:00 PM. Finally, fresh off of their "uncorked" gig at The Water Tower Pub in two weeks, they will return there for another acoustic show on Friday, October 9th, which will take place on the Thanksgiving long weekend. As always, they exclusively play here "uncorked", so keep Greg, Alex, and Warren's softer side in mind for this upcoming one-nighter, which is 19+ at 9:00 PM with no cover. Busy times ahead for Bone Yard 225 as they round out their summer calendar and enter the autumn, so visit the above links for more on the southern fried hard rock action ahead! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (5 Dollar Bribe) & The Rest Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

Here's the likely final post for this busy stretch of weekend concert previews! Just as a late note, The Sault Star's Brian Kelly published this article about tomorrow's WestFest II at Anna Marinelli Park, which notes extra details on vendors, the official setlist times for the four acts, and remarks from co-promoter Ronan Provenzano about the hopes and expectations for this festival. Good read, especially if you're invested in the Jamestown and Steelton development, so give it a read above! Now, here's what you should know for this weekend's other hard rock-leaning concerts, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Fresh off of their set at Maddy's Mighty Mutts' Family Fun Day on Wednesday (more on that event soon), young local hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for one night only TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced via this AI generated weekly schedule image on Jay's Facebook page on Saturday, with the band only confirming it themselves on Wednesday. Last seen at Jay's (well, outside of it) during last month's ARCH Run, this talented and quickly rising quartet should have another fun night of covers in store TONIGHT, so keep this one in mind if you need some late notice hard rock! This is a one-nighter due to or resulting in tomorrow's concert from classic rock quartet Doo & The Boyos (no word on if their sister band Stones At The Alter will take over a set again or not). While all of 5 Dollar Bribe are under 19, this show will otherwise be 19+.

TONIGHT'S festivities are at 9:30 PM with no cover charge as usual for the former Reggie's West. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's another new video of 5 Dollar Bribe's headlining gig at Blaster Powerhouse this past weekend! Uploaded to their Facebook page on Tuesday, this otherwise plugged-in cover of Silverchair's "No Association" features guitarist Tyler Greely on acoustic guitar after he broke a string on his electric guitar (as noted with a caption at the start). Still a well done cover for 1990s grunge fans, if not the whole song, and I am impressed that they don't default to "Tomorrow" for Silverchair cover choices, so give it a watch below, and don't miss them at Jay's TONIGHT!

Next up, let's head to the eighth annual Algoma Tree Services community meet & greet and barbecue, which goes down TOMORROW at 1424 Havilland Shores Drive in Goulais River once again! In this summer staple where Algoma Tree Services gives back to and celebrates with locals for their support over the past year, they're bringing the same lineup as they have had since 2024 tomorrow. Local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 are headlining at 7:00 PM (fresh off of the Maddy's Mighty Mutts Family Fun Day themselves), while classic rock quintet Angry Joe & The Growlers will again kick off the festivities at 1:30 PM in an event that they have played at for years before Bone Yard got in on it (Soundcheck were the headliners prior to 2024). Both bands have four hour nightclub-esque blocks tomorrow, so The Growlers aren't really "opening", but if you like one/both bands, you'll get your fill!

Proceeds of the barbecue go to the Kiwanis Club's childrens operations, and there will be a bonfire on site as well. The meet & greet/concert proper is FREE & ALL AGES, and as this is outdoors, temperatures will run for 16-21° with mostly cloudy skies clearing up as Angry Joe & them are rocking out, and things should be clear for your local 225's entire set. Kudos to both bands for supporting Algoma Tree Services once again, and hopefully there's a decent turnout once again for the food, music, information, and more! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Bone Yard live!

Also this weekend, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! One week removed from their return to the stage at Gateway Casino after a month+ break, fans will have last seen Valerie, Joe, Pierre, and Tony at this Great Northern Road venue on June 27th. If you're up for a night of classic and hard rock cover favourites from this experienced foursome, you can do far worse than come out on Saturday, though be advised that they aren't scheduled for more concerts until they return to Reggie's in three weeks. As usual for The Water Tower Pub, they don't book the same band on consecutive nights, and tonight's performer there is North Channel Sound singer/guitarist Greg Cull as a solo act. Saturday's Generations concert is 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 Generations live earlier this year!

Finally for this weekend's previews, another performer at the Maddy's Mighty Mutts Family Fun Day is hitting the stage for another concert this weekend, as former Haggith/Eclipse singer/guitarist Curtis McKenzie will return to Beck's Bar as their matinee performer on SUNDAY! I erroneously thought this was a short notice gig briefly, forgetting that Curt actually announced this show on his Facebook page back in May, as well as his Sunday matinee there in October. This will be your first chance to see Curtis at the former Vibe Lounge this year, having last played at Beck's in November 2025, and hopefully his grunge and hard rock covers find another willing audience on Sunday during Beck's weekly euchre tournament! As usual for matinee gigs here, this is a 3:00 PM concert on Sunday with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Curt live!

That's all for now, but with our weekend concert previews likely done for the week, look for the clear-out of our backlog to resume in earnest over the weekend! Thanks everyone!