LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Separate Wayz, Stones At The Alter, And Greg Simpson), Plus The Cory Marks Concert Preview!!

Let's dive into what is an interesting weekend for hard rock fans in terms of live music! Due to the amount of shows, we'll hold our previews of of the previously announced Bone Yard 225 and Epic Rush concerts this weekend for our next post. Here's what you should know, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this weekend!

Bone Yard 225 frontman Greg Simpson will bring his "Ranting Rockstar" acoustic solo concert back to The Dive Gastro Pub for a "Think It Over Thursday" concert TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook page on Tuesday. While there may have been an assumption that Greg's solo debut at The Dive was a stopgap measure for him to keep playing while Bone Yard were still on their spring break, the band proper is back, so perhaps we will see Greg back sans Alex & Warren for more "uncorked" gigs beyond TONIGHT! Regardless, if you like your local 225 (or the former Bearded Lounge), you'll be right at home with Greg's unplugged southern and hard rock covers, though if you want the full band back, they'll be at Beck's tomorrow (preview forthcoming). TONIGHT's show will definitely be in "The Naughty Corner", as Greg's show last month was.

Expect a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge at the former Low & Slow TONIGHT, so visit the above links for more details on Greg's third solo show of 2026, and here he is live at The Dive!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Separate Wayz will hit up Reggie's Place for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via the band's Facebook page on Monday (note that the venue has not corroborated this booking on their own Facebook page at press time). While fans last saw their sister band Soundcheck two weeks ago at Jay's and a month ago at Reggie's, these will be the first Separate Wayz-branded concerts with Nicole present since April, when they played a standalone gig at Jay's and an "epic crossover" weekend at The Esquire Club with Soundcheck. Surprisingly, I can't find record of Separate Wayz playing at Reggie's since their debut last year, so if you're an existing fan or are curious to see how Soundcheck sound with a female singer, keep TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows in mind! No word on when we'll see Soundcheck back on stage, but we'll let you know.

As usual for weekend cover action at Reggie's, TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT's concerts are at 9:30 PM with no cover charges and 19+ age limits. See the above links for more details on Separate Wayz' Reggie's debuts, and for a preview, here they are live!

Also newly announced for this weekend is the headlining debut of new local hard rock quartet Stones At The Alter, who will play a special outdoor concert on SATURDAY NIGHT outside of the aforementioned Dive Gastro Pub! Apologies again for the short notice, this show was only announced by the venue's Facebook page on Sunday, though note that the band's Facebook group has not seen any updates in over a month. The Doo & The Boyos side project will set up shop outside of the former Low & Slow on SATURDAY to take advantage of that day's Sault Ste. Marie Festival of Beer, the annual LopLops Lounge-promoted event that returns to The Downtown Plaza, which is just down the road. Note that I don't know if Beerfest will have their own music lineup at the Plaza (they did last year), but we'll let you know if something comes out late. Hopefully S@TA can fit their full setup on The Dive's patio!

Note that Curtis McKenzie had advertised playing at The Dive on Saturday himself (in an announcement that slipped us by last month), but he blamed a "double booking accident (by) the venue" for the mixup. We'll let you know when he'll be back there soon! This rare plugged-in "Patio Play" gig will be an 8:00 PM nightcap at The Dive with a 19+ age limit and no cover. 9&10 News is calling for a high of 20° on Saturday with a low of 9°, and while we're too soon to see an hourly forecast, be advised that the chance of rain on Saturday in general is about 50/50 at present. Visit the above links for more details, and we'll let you know when Stones At The Alter videos surface!

Finally for this preview post, it's TONIGHT'S main event, as North Bay country/hard rock musician Cory Marks will return to The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre for a headlining concert! While promotion calls this the "first concert ever" at the Bushplane Museum (Cory himself says as much in this promotional video), that isn't true, as multiple locals-only shows have happened there, not to mention Cory's acoustic concert last year for Hope Air Day. However, for a high scale, high production concert, this is uncharted territory for the 50 Pim Street venue, and tickets are selling well for Cory's genre hybrid sound, which we last saw in a full band, electric splendour at The Machine Shop in 2023 & 2024. He has had charting singles on US rock radio, and some very high profile guest spots, so if you like hard rock and/or country, there will be something for you! In a late confirmation, former Northwest bandmates Greg Callaghan & Mike Yakasovich will open tonight in an acoustic set.

While their acoustic exploits largely haven't crossed our radar, Greg does cover some punk in his solo dates, so hopefully the set things off on the right foot! This concert takes place in the hangar proper tonight at 7:30 PM (running until 10:00), it is all ages, and limited general admission tickets cost $40 at the door. Online sales have ended, and VIP passes (which get fans an early acoustic set from Cory at 6:30 PM among other perks) have completely sold out. Food trucks will be on site tonight too, as they are every Thursday this summer. Click here and visit the above links for more on what should be a big night for the Bushplane Museum and fans of Cory's, and here he is live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Bone Yard 225 and Epic Rush previews (and more) next! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Molten Imp

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! To cap off the first half of 2026 in this series, our latest random selection takes us to a talented and creative early 2020s solo project from a familiar face in the metal community, so here's what you should know!

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Molten Imp

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Industrial Metal/Noise Rock

Lineup:

"Lord Unterbiss Von Wigwaus" Boyd Rendell (AlgomA, BeeFMouTH), all instruments

Audio/Video: Boyd put out four digital singles (complete with buyer-exclusive bonus tracks) on Bandcamp in 2021 and 2022 that were compiled into the 2023 compilation album "Bloom Closing", while they factored on the "Pyrolytic Punishment" split with inactive local goregrind solo project Crucify The Whore in 2023, and released one final standalone single, "Diesel On The Steamship I & II" in 2024. Much of Molten Imp's studio catalogue can also be heard on their Soundcloud page and YouTube channel, plus some instrumental electronic performances not directly tied to Molten Imp by name on the latter, though anything posted on their Facebook page (let alone their original Bandcamp page) has long since been taken down. Here's the title track from their second single "Constable Sewage"!

Info/Analysis: Quietly launched in 2019 (shortly after Algoma went inactive) but only going public two years later, Molten Imp are Boyd's most recent musical project, taking things into a far more industrial and post-rock bent than his bands were, while relishing in dark and cryptic social media promotion. A one-time signing to Mike Haggith's MorningStar Records who even experimented with Patreon backing and fan contests, Molten Imp teased the occasional collaboration with other artists, including work with Twistory's Josh Amendola as a songwriter, but a planned live debut at October 2022's Garbageface/No Funeral concert from Dryer Fire did not come to pass. Public updates slowed down by late 2023 as Boyd left Facebook, with June 2024's "Diesel On The Steamship" single being their last public act. I did prefer Boyd's band work for heaviness, but Molten Imp showed a different side of him, with many songs leaning more into electronica and drum-and-bass than metal, though a darker ambiance permeated regardless.

Molten Imp let Boyd stretch with experimental effects, samples, and a lean towards deconstructing the songs on offer. It's hard to explain, but for local bands, the only really equitable one that I can cite is The Realignment Project, and they don't even dabble in extreme metal and harsh vocals. Creative stuff on the whole, so don't bypass Molten Imp, as they have a lot of music that will appeal to a lot of tastes!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile Series! Things return on or around July 10th when we look at another randomly selected local band of the past, and as fate would have it, we're staying industrial via another solo project, namely local/Winnipeg industrial/classical act Sell This!, so look for that on or around July 10th! That's all for now, but stay tuned for this weekend's concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Peril, Tarnished, And Go Skateboarding Day!!)

Tonight's news post gives us some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, including a big returning Sault Ontario event later this month and some intriguing concerts in the E.U.P. in the coming months. Here's what you should know!

The annual local Go Skateboarding Day concert returns to Queen Elizabeth Park outside of the John Rhodes Center on Sunday, June 21st! After nine prior installments (eight with live music) were held by Tidal Records from 2014-2019 and 2022-2024, local promoter and musician Mikhal Muto inherited the reins of this annual event last year, only for Go Skate Day to be rained out as intended, the first time that the local version was ever called off for a reason other than the pandemic. An indoor skateboarding event at Prince Township was held on short notice, with a partial lineup of bands playing a private event afterwards, but weather permitting, the original format of Go Skate Day is back for 2026 via Mikhal's new promotional agency Underground Events SSM. This includes all-ages and free skateboarding for all skill levels from 12:00-5:00 PM, plus skate games and giveaways from sponsors.

For the first time since 2016, the local Go Skateboarding Day concert will have six advertised acts atop the half-pipe at the skate park, and while the performance order isn't clear from the Facebook event page, there will be two (kinda three) returning acts. Local party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty (who played in 2024) and Shane "DJ Seith" Erickson (who played in 2015 and 2016) are back, while ska punk trio A.S.D.P. will play their first John Rhodes Centre gig on the 21st, though they (and DJ Seith) played at last year's private fill-in event. Go Skate Day newcomers will include Half Scoundies (Josh & Todd from folk/bluegrass quartet The Golden Scoundrels going acoustic), new local hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe (in their first ever public multi-band concert), and local jazz/EDM solo musician Mario "Yecharo" Kwon, who is on Underground Events SSM's compilation album.

Quite an eclectic lineup of musicians (I never would have connected the Scoundrels... er, Scoundies with extreme sports) will be on hand, but of course, Mother Nature is very much a factor as to if Go Skate Day 2026 will occur as planned, and part of me is surprised that it took until 2025 for one to be impaired due to weather. I do hope that everything goes off without a hitch for Mikhal and crew this time, so visit the above links for more on all of the action one week from Sunday!

Next up, Traverse City, Michigan classic metal trio Peril have announced their concert calendar through September via new schedule images on their Facebook page! We knew about their car show-weekend gigs in St. Ignace on the 26th and 27th, but when else will Jeff, Howard, and Brooks be rocking a stage within an hour of the Soo? Their next shows in our coverage area will be on Friday, July 10th and Saturday, July 11th at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino, and they will be rocking out after the Steve Earle concert at The Dreammakers Theater on the 11th, so if you wanna keep the party going, head to the lounge afterwards! In August, they have two shows in St. Ignace, but not at Kewadin Casino. They'll instead set up shop at American Legion Park for one-nighters on Thursday, August 6th and Friday, August 21st as part of the Music By The Bay concert series!

 

Those are outdoor shows (bands play under a canopy at the park), and while these are rare non-Kewadin gigs for Peril in our neck of the woods, they have played at the Music By The Bay series before, weather permitting. Hopefully things go well for the guys in all six of their regional concerts this summer! The Kewadin dates next month are at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits, the St. Ignace outdoor shows run from 7:00-8:30 PM with no age limits, and none have a cover charge. Visit the above links for more on this hard rocking veteran group's regional shows ahead!

 

Finally for this post, we'll stay in St. Ignace, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished will return for some non-Kewadin shows of their own in a few months! They too will return to American Legion Park for St. Ignace's Music By The Bay series on Friday, July 31st and Saturday, September 5th, with the latter falling over the Labour Day long weekend (they'll actually be the penultimate band of this series for 2026). As best as I can tell, Tarnished and Peril are the only heavier-leaning bands playing Music By The Bay shows this year, but there are other familiar names that you can see on the daily schedule at this link. Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron will make another hour's drive south on Friday, September 18th when they rock The Driftwood Sports Bar again, this time during the Richard Crane Memorial Truck Show weekend! You may recall seeing Tarnished play three different locales during this event last year.

 

No word on if they'll be similarly busy in 2026, but if you love big rigs and transports, this truck show will be up your alley, and kudos to The Driftwood for capitalizing on all of these vehicle shows in St. Ignace by booking bands during them! We'll address the band playing there on Thursday, September 17th in an upcoming post. Like with Peril, the Music By The Bay shows are at 7:00 PM with no age limit or cover charge (weather permitting), while the Driftwood concert during the truck show weekend is at 9:00 Pm and will be 21+. See above for more on Tarnished's Mackinac County shows ahead, and look for weekend concert previews and our next Defunct Local Band Profile on the SMS in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Realignment Project Updates, Including Their First Full Length Album's Release!!

Here's the latest from local industrial metal solo outfit The Realignment Project, so what have they been up to in recent months? With lyric video uploads from their fourth EP "Let You Fall" concluding by early February, project leader Matt Hicks announced in this vertical Facebook video on February 10th that his fifth T.R.P. release would be a full-length album with nine songs, rather than a six song EP like with their first four releases, confirming Matt's teaser that he was "working on something that's... a little bigger". He noted that he didn't have much of a strategy for what he was putting out at first, but was encouraged by his label East London Recordings to work on a longer album. While some music was heard in the background of that clip, we hear a little more in the vertical video embedded below from February 19th, which revealed the title of the album ("Long Cold Winter", which is not a hint towards the release timeframe, as you'll see later in this post.)

The video just lets us see a song in progress on a tracking computer, and my guess is that this is the opening of one of the songs based on the slow build. No point commenting on the fragment yet, but the Lego Mario figurines (misplaced heads and all) seem into it, so check out this early clip below!

The following week, Matt was interviewed by Jay Kelly of the British alt-rock band The New Serpents for an episode of his YouTube interview series The Snakepit Dialogues! It's called a "podcast" but I haven't found audio-only versions on podcasting services. Interestingly, we never see Jay throughout the interview, with most of the video featuring the show logo and text links, with Matt seen in black and white in a vertical strip on the left for the duration. After discussing the wintry weather still in the Soo at this point, Jay asks Matt about his styles of music, his recording methods and processes as a solo artist, what it's like coming up with lyrics, his then-newest EP "Let You Fall", the personal inspirations behind its songs, his quick EP recording pace to start, why he took such a long break from music after 2010 (Dirty Virgin and Riverin are briefly brought up here) and what led him back to music, ...

...its affect on his health and well-being, his hopes and dreams for his son, and where you can hear The Realignment Project online. This is a good interview that lets Matt dip into personal territory to explain his music and his background in a casual manner with thoughtful remarks, and Jay has a good presence as an interviewer, even if you can't see him! Not much talk of the full-length album ahead, but it covers some solid ground for Matt, let alone the music he's working on, so give his interview a watch below!

After showing a sample video of him playing a Realignment Project EP on vinyl, Matt uploaded this video on March 12th of him observing a new song on his computer, namely "An Ounce Of Your Cure", which was later confirmed to be the first single off of "Long Cold Winter". The following week, Matt revealed the cover artwork for the new album, and on April 7th, Matt confirmed that recording sessions had wrapped up. Remember, he moves quick to record and release new material! The full track listing was also unveiled then, and before he could even announce a release date, he announced on April 18th that he was already working on demos for T.R.P.'s next studio album! To hype "Long Cold Winter", Matt posted three videos (linked here, here, and here) featuring electronic beats from the album (I'd assume) along with imagery that he will likely use for each song's lyric video.

On May 29th, Matt announced that "Long Cold Winter" would be released on June 5th (this past Friday!) on "all streaming platforms", which definitely isn't true, as it's not even on Boomplay yet. You can actually stream it in full on Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube, Spotify, Bandcamp, and KKBox, and buy it on CD through East London Recordings. At press time, the vinyl copies of the album are not on sale yet, but CDs cost $17.90 via ElasticStage's print-on-demand setup. Digital mp3 copies are on sale on Amazon for $8.35, on iTunes for $9.99, and on a "name your price" model on Bandcamp. To further hype The Realignment Project's full-length debut, Matt filmed his first ever music video for the aforementioned "An Ounce Of Your Cure", which was uploaded to T.R.P.'s YouTube channel on Wednesday! This is a performance video in black and white with a grainy filter added in post-production.

The video features Matt singing and playing guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard across four different camera angles at his home studio. Maybe not ideal to visualize the lyrical themes, but it does show off Matt's multi-instrumental talents very nicely! I'll hold comment on the song pending our review of this album, and given our immense backlog and the glut of albums released in the past six months, I'm likely going to review it in February, shelving our planned review of "Let You Fall" (which was scheduled for October) for now so we can move later reviews up a month and try to ease back into a timely schedule. Stay tuned for all that and more on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone, and here's The Realignment Project's music video!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Peril, Fyrbird, And The Nameless), Plus About:Blank Updates!!

Today's post does indeed wrap up our weekend concert previews, but things fell into place for an all-Sault Michigan/EUP post, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and new videos, so here's what you should know!

Manistique hard rock cover duo Fyrbird will set up shop at The Driftwood Sports Bar in St. Ignace TONIGHT, but they will also return there for a special Thursday night concert on June 25th! Both shows were announced on The Driftwood's Facebook page (thankfully with lots of advance notice each), and both line up with special events for vehicle owners in and visiting Mackinac County. As noted yesterday when we previewed Tarnished's shows at the St. Ignace Kewadin, tonight's show takes place during the Bronco The Mac Festival (whether you have a Ford Bronco or not, click here for details), but the Thursday the 25th show coincides with an even bigger institution, namely the 50th annual St. Ignace Car Show Weekend! Kudos to Fyrbird and The Driftwood for jumping in on this too, and there should be a sizeable crowd tonight and on the 25th for Jamie & Rikk's minimalist hard rock covers! The show on the 25th is a nightcap for the cruise night.

Both tonight's and the 25th's are 9:00 PM concerts at The Driftwood with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Unless they've played in our neck of the woods (an hour's drive from Sault Ste. Marie) in an unadvertised gig, we haven't seen Fyrbird locally in around a year, so even with the expected large turnout for both car shows, keep their shows in mind, starting with tonight! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Fyrbird live!

Next up, that's not all for hard rock fans in St. Ignace during the Car Show weekend, as Sault Ste. Marie hard rock cover quartet The Nameless will reportedly make their Driftwood Sports Bar debut on Friday, June 26th! The venue announced the show via their Facebook page on Sunday, and at press time, the band has yet to corroborate this booking on their own Facebook page. Fans last saw The Nameless at The Merch two weeks ago, but this will be their first show outside of the Soo in 2026, and their first in St. Ignace in two years, believe it or not. Fingers crossed that Josh, the Mikes, and Jamie recruit a strong turnout for this one-nighter on what will be a very busy weekend for St. Ignace at large! This concert will also serve as lead-out entertainment, this time for that evening's Down Memory Lane Parade, and if you're curious, The Driftwood will be hosting DJs on Saturday the 27th.

Like with Fyrbird the previous night, The Nameless take the stage at 9:00 PM on Friday the 26th with no cover charge and a 21+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, but is that all for the St. Ignace Car Show Weekend in a hard rock context?

Nope, as Traverse City classic metal trio Peril have booked The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino for shows on Friday & Saturday, June 26th-27th! Like with The Nameless, Peril have not corroborated the booking on social media yet that I have found, but Kewadin's entertainment page confirms that these well travelled Northern Michigan live favourites have snagged the casino's lounge for what should be a busy and lucrative weekend! The guys are no stranger to the conceit of a well timed weekend at this Kewadin branch, as their last St. Ignace shows were in February during the Labatt Blue UP Pond Hockey Championships. Jeff, Howard and Brooks should deliver a fun weekend of rocking classic covers for Car Show participants ans fans alike later this month, so keep these in mind as well! These shows are also at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover. See above for more details!

We'll stay in the E.U.P. to close, via two new videos from Sault Ste. Marie hard rock/punk band About:Blank! On May 4th, the guys shared a clip on their Facebook page of them playing their new song "Dilettante" when they opened for Bimbo in Pizza Hut's basement a few days prior. The 44 seconds-long video sounds promising with a 1990s alt-rock flourish, but the video is fuzzy, Parker completely obscures Kade at this vantage point, and the video was (sadly) uploaded in vertical dimensions with letterboxing despite being horizontal from the off. Embedded below is About:Blank's newest Facebook video, and while it also has a horizontal video forcibly crammed into vertical "Reel" dimensions with major pillarboxing. How does that happen twice in a row? In any event, the video sees the guys jamming their song "What You Wanted", albeit for 48 seconds. The big scoop is that there is a third performer in the clip!

About:Blank have not firmly or publically said if they have finally replaced Nathan Webber in their lineup after four months as a duo, or if this musician is just a guest/fill-in, but based on appearances, this looks like local rock bassist and visual artist Jon Stone (please let me know if I am incorrect). Assuming that they have added him full time, it is good to see About:Blank without a blank in their lineup, and while the tight camera placement doesn't do Kade many favours here either, the guys deliver some good intensity in what we do see, so check it out for yourselves below!

That's all for now, but we'll catch up with recent Sault Ontario news and notes next! Thanks everyone!

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

Let's dive into this weekend's hard rock concert previews for today's post! Due to the amount of shows, we'll address Saturday night's Fyrbird show in St. Ignace, Michigan in our likely news post tomorrow. Now, here's what you should know for the majority of the hard rock weekend previews of June 2026, and miraculously, none (so far?) were announced on short notice!

We'll start TOMORROW NIGHT at The Water Tower Pub, when local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will end their 2+ month spring break by going "uncorked"! After some personal matters led to a hiatus from the stage since their St. Patrick's Day gig (also "uncorked") at Smitty's, the guys are back in full swing for what should be a busy summer, with tomorrow's one-night-only concert being their first at The Water Tower Pub since late January. It's great to see Alex back with Greg and Warren for what should be a fun evening of hard rocking covers and originals, though as usual for Bone Yard's trips to this central venue, this will be an acoustic show. If you want to see "the dirty three" in a fully plugged-in show, they make their electric return at Beck's Bar next week. Tomorrow's Water Tower Pub show is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge, as per usual for bands there.

As this venue doesn't host the same band on back to back nights, fans there on Saturday will be able to see Out & Out Country (featuring former Bone Yard drummer Ric Datson). Visit the above links for more on your local 225's return to action, and for a preview, here they are live!

Next up, we'll keep the unplugged vibes going when veteran local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison returns to The Dive Gastro Pub for another solo headlining concert TOMORROW! Tym announced this show in his batch Facebook event page for Dive shows last month, and it is his second of three scheduled acoustic gigs at the former Low N' Slow in mid-2026. As this downtown venue is expanding their live music schedule for the summer, Tym's three Dive shows are all on different nights, and while The Dive has not corroborated Tym's own scheduling, this will be a relatively rare Friday nighter, so if you don't wanna think it over on Thursday for a change, keep tomorrow's show in mind! I have not seen firm confirmation as to if this will be an outdoor "patio play" gig or not, but based on recent promotion, it looks like they're sticking with hosting Thursday nighters indoors, as fans who saw Arik Karki there tonight will be aware.

The Facebook event page actually lists tomorrow's show as being at 8:00 PM, and it will presumably be 19+ with no cover. If Tym is on the patio tomorrow night, 9&10 News is calling for weather of 17-20° with cloudy skies, and a slight chance of rain in the 9:00 PM hour, but given that it isn't a matinee, it could easily be in "the naughty corner" too. Keep tabs with The Dive On Queen for updates, but see above for more details, and here's Tym live!

Also, let's hop the border quick to look at Sault Michigan classic/hard rock quartet Tarnished's return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Two weeks removed from their most recent show (also in St. Ignace, albeit at The Driftwood Sports Bar), these will be Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron's first stops at The Northern Pines Lounge in 2026, and they picked a good weekend to be in town. While not addressed in the band's own promotion of this weekend's shows, St. Ignace plays host to the annual Bronco The Mac Festival tomorrow and Saturday, with parades, a drone show, and trail rides for Ford Bronco owners and fans to take part in. Interesting to see such an event locally for one specific make of vehicle, but there are certainly lots of Broncos out there, so click here for full details! Tarnished's concerts are not official Bronco The Mac events, but they are well timed!

Remember, we are previewing Fyrbird's show in St. Ignace on Saturday night in tomorrow's post, partly because they have another new Driftwood show in a few weeks to make mention of, so I want to give it proper emphasis. Tarnished bring their own brand of rock to the St. Ignace Kewadin tomorrow and Saturday at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are live!

Finally for this preview post, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for our own Gateway Casino, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to the stage for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! This talented veteran quartet has been taking a two month break from the stage, in part due to an unspecified family emergency, though they have reportedly added a few new songs into their setlist since fans last saw them at Searchmont in early April for their Snowcross festivities. Hopefully Valerie, Joe, Pierre, and Tony shake off the rust well with their classic and hard rock favourites on Saturday If you can't make it to the casino on Saturday, they'll be back at The Water Tower Pub in three weeks. This show takes place on Saturday at 9:00 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!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the Fyrbird preview and more on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!

Where Are The New Albums? (June 2026 Update)

Here is this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, as we again shine a light on the upcoming hard rock, metal, and punk albums from local artists who have publically signalled recording sessions! This is largely a holding pattern installment, as there's nothing major to report new from the bands in question, so links and dates have been updated where necessary. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out! 

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Bone Yard 225's debut album

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

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

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

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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

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

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

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

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Convergence's self titled album

Rumoured Songs: "Gemini", "The Ebb", "In Bloom", "Breaking News", "It Ate The F&$%ing Moon", "Kraken Mara", "You Are Not Flesh", "Dead & Dreaming", "Dig Up Your Ghost", "Glass Statues", "Awake"

Background: After previously teasing a third instrumental EP named "Gemini" for much of 2024, local progressive/djent metal group Convergence wiped most most prior media as they retooled as a full band, now including singer Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio and drummer David Peredun. Convergence worked in studio last year with producer Dustin Goodall at Unsalted Audio, documenting the sessions in Facebook "Reels", eventually confirming in concert that the now-full length album (then named "In Bloom") is still in progress, with Adam Roxner mixing the songs in Sweden. A new version of "The Ebb" (from their delisted second EP "Dead And Dreaming") was released to streaming services on Christmas Day, while the song "Gemini" followed in April. As "Dead And Dreaming" was pulled from streaming, the possibility of Convergence doing full versions of its other four songs for this album has been hinted at, and other songs from that EP have been played live with the full band. Now self-titled, you can sample the studio sessions for the album in this video.

Current Release Status: No clue, and given the complexity of their music yet their independent studio trappings so far, that could bode a quick or lengthy timeline for this album to come out, depending on what angle you take. Since their modern studio cycle commenced in 2023, things have been relatively steady for Brendan and Jake as a recording act, and here's hoping that Convergence keep that up for their third offering! 

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Fort Creek's debut album

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

Background: Local southern/hard rock band Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, but they wouldn't release any samples until almost two years later when they shared (now-deleted) clips of their original song "Hammer Down" on their Facebook page. The guys would play it regularly at concerts from 2022-2023, with studio sessions taking place in early-mid 2023 as well. After the departure of bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer Anthony Fabiano in the fall of 2023, Fort Creek opted to abandon material recorded with them "as a show of good faith", and have been working on new material and rebuilding their studio over the past two years. Now featuring Phil Greco on drums, their first single (the acoustic "One For The Road") was posted online in January 2025, with the band confirming plans to now record a 10 song album at Jettison Studios prior to returning to live concerts. Their new single "Sweet Rosie" was being recorded as of August 31st, and a teaser of the song was posted to their Facebook page on New Year's Eve.

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

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Mike McCleary's new album

Rumoured Songs: "Carousel"

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

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

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on or around July 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will likely be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next week. That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's weekend concert previews on the SMS tomorrow evening! Thanks everyone!