LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Bon Jovi Forever), One More Weekend Concert Preview, And More Updates!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for missing a late concert cancellation on the SMS, as Go Skateboarding Day did not take place as planned at Queen Elizabeth Park outside of the John Rhodes Centre due to yesterday's very rainy conditions. The worst of it was in the morning, but it rained off and on all day, which isn't safe to skateboard in, let alone play plugged-in live music. As far as I can recall, this is the first time that the local Go Skate Day was ever cancelled by rain, but organizers did have a back-up plan to keep the annual June 21st festivities going. They were able to host an indoor Go Skate Day an hour east at the Prince Township Community Center's skating rink, while a concert did take place, albeit at a private house party last night. Unfortunately, Hails and Pillory were not able to play the delayed concert, and they were replaced by a new mystery act named Adam Smith Death Parade and... The Sole Aggressors?

How they were able to swing getting the Sault Michigan punk band to play across the border on short notice, I don't know, but that would have been fun to see if you were able to get the address and come out! Our source for much of the above info is Spaceship Opening member Ralph Barber's personal Facebook page. As for the Queen Street Cruise events yesterday (including Bone Yard 225's concert under The Roberta Bondar Pavilion tent), that all went on despite the rain, so hopefully the car show and other events went as well as they could for all involved!

Today's post otherwise features one more weekend concert preview, some assorted updates, and to start, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as Oshawa-based Bon Jovi tribute band Bon Jovi Forever will return to the Soo on Saturday, September 13th at the Sault Community Theatre Centre! Since the SMS launched, at least four different Bon Jovi tributes have came here (the others being Bed Of Roses, Keep The Faith, and the hybrid Bon Journey), but Bon Jovi Forever are the ones that played at The Rockstar Bar in May 2016. What distinctions you can make between them will depend on personal preference of their talents and appearances, but Bon Jovi Forever have the classic sound down, both for their early hair metal hits and their later songs, and fans should have a good time in their return to the Soo after nine years! As best as I can tell, there is no opening act. This all ages concert has an 8:00 PM start time.

Loads of tickets are on sale for this newly announced concert in all rows (the balcony is not open for this one), so click here to buy yours, or visit the in-person box office! Prices are much higher than in 2016, running $54.24 for adults, $42.94 for seniors over 65 years of age and students 14-21 years old, and $22.60 for kids 13 and under, but the former Kiwanis Theater is also a much larger venue. Visit the above links for more details on Bon Jovi Forever's long awaited local return this fall! 

Also today, here's one more weekend concert preview that really fell through the cracks while we jumped into our Rotaryfest coverage, and it goes down TODAY, as local alternative/punk cover sextet Bookclub and veteran R&B/soul band The Hustle Brothers will both return to Thomson Farms Cider & Winery at 4057 Third Line West for their second annual teddy bear picnic! Once again, this special matinee concert will see outdoor performances alongside family friendly entertainment at the cider mill. Of course, kids are welcome to bring their teddy bears for the picnic proper, but attendees and families will also get lots of activities to enjoy, exhibits from Entomica, prizes, vendors, food and drinks, tractor rides, and much more, so visit the Eventbrite ticket page and the above links for complete non-musical details! Admission is $10 per person, though babies 2 years old and under will be admitted free.

The teddy beat picnic begins at 1:00 PM (running until 4:00 PM), and if you do come to Thomson Farms, please prepare for the weather given today's heat warnings, including a 40° humidex, so dress accordingly and drink lots of fluids. It's great to see Bookclub and The Hustle Brothers back for year #2 of this fun family event, so keep it in mind this afternoon, and hopefully Bookclub's varied blend of covers finds another willing audience, humans and teddy bears alike! See above for more details, and here's Bookclub 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:

 

• Toronto deathcore band Beguiler have been added as an extra act on the Insurrection-headlined concert at Soo Blaster on July 30th, as per promoter Mikhal Muto on the Facebook event page on Thursday. If the name Beguiler rings a bell, it may be because they were slated to play at the cancelled Crucifest metal festival in Leeburn in July of last year, making them the first of the planned five touring bands at Crucifest to land a new booking in the Sault Ste. Marie area. Very cool to see Beguiler finally make their way here next month, and they should add to the brutality well!
• In another instance of an additional act on a Mikhal Muto-promoted concert next month, Sylo frontman Eli Russell will also be performing at the Ricky Mullen/Washout-headlined folk punk show at The Distraction next Friday, as per the Facebook event page on June 14th. While Eli's solo material doesn't really cross our radar, his original acoustic folk material will fit that side of this concert, so don't miss him on the bill next week!
• I will likely be moving local industrial metal solo project Molten Imp to our inactive band links tomorrow. Led by former AlgomA guitarist Boyd "Lord Unterbiss von Wigwaus" Rendell, Molten Imp had retreated from updating most social media in recent years, with their most recent public update (to my knowledge) being the upload of their song "Diesel On The Steamship 1 & 2" to their Bandcamp page on June 23rd of last year. Hopefully all is well with Boyd, and that we hear more from him musically when the time is right, as Molten Imp were a very unique and distinct project with lots of potential! 

 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Rotaryfest Stage 2!!)

The eighteenth annual Rotaryfest Stage 2 goes down on Friday, July 18th and Saturday, July 19th, so what should you know there? The Second Stage returns to the pop-up stage beside the Art Gallery of Algoma on Friday, July 18th and Saturday, July 19th for the ninth year of the "Redirected" era, and fourth since adopting the current two day format, including a "Friday Night Blues" program, followed by the usual indie/alternative-leaning lineup on Saturday focusing on original musicians. Thirteen acts will rock Stage 2 that weekend, which is down one from 2024, but there isn't a touring band this year either, so the amount of scheduled local acts is unchanged. Only six acts are returnees from past Second Stage lineups, so there's a good amount of expected and unexpected faces next month! Starting with the Friday Night Blues program, it is devoid of hard rock or punk acts as usual.

Friday's lineup includes veteran local blues musician Rusty McCarthy (billed as "Rusty McBlues") at 8:30 PM in his fifth Stage 2 appearance as a solo act, and third time on a Friday Night Blues bill, while Michael Yurich's blues rock cover band Smokehouse will play their own third Friday Night Blues set at 7:30 PM. Former Generations fill-in guitarist Mike McDonald's band Mudfoot Mike & The Muckrakers will return to Stage 2 for a second straight year at 6:30 PM, and the day's first two acts are newcomers to Rotaryfest. One is new local "electric power blues" band Dark Eyed Junko, who I don't know much about beyond their sparrow-inspired name, but you can find out at 5:30 PM. The day's lineup will begin with solo blues musician Josh "The Preacher" McNally at 4:30 PM, and he'll be a fitting lead-off for the day's festivities, so visit the above links for more details on the fourth annual Friday Night Blues program for 2025!

As for the Saturday bill, eight acts will hit Stage 2, and in a mild surprise, reunited local midwest emo/post-hardcore trio Fuller will headline at 8:30 PM! This will be their first public concert since their LopLops reunion in December 2023, their second show with drummer David Peredun, and their first gig since releasing their album "II" on streaming services in March, so you could call this the de facto release party (no idea if they'll have a run of CDs or not though). Really cool to see Mark come back home for Rotaryfest, and hopefully the full Fuller end things with a bang! Indie/pop rock band Jupiter Marvelous (led by Caroline Divine/Pixo Control alum Anthony Marcello) will return to Stage 2 for the first time in three years at 7:30 PM, while Shane "DJ Seith" Erickson will surprisingly make his first ever solo appearance on the Second Stage at 6:30 PM, as opposed to joint sets with Conika or Planet Rock.

Local djent/progressive metal quartet Convergence will make their Rotaryfest debut and first ever live appearance beyond Soo Blaster at 5:30 PM, in what you could argue will be the heaviest Stage 2 set ever, though fans of Gates of Winter's 2005-2006 Second Stage sets may disagree! Hard rock quintet Headf1rst will return to Stage 2 for a second straight year at 4:30 PM, preceded by the festival debut of crossover thrash quartet Hails at 3:30 PM. The day begins with acoustic singer/guitarists, including Mile 38/ex-Soundcheck frontman Cameron Oliver's Stage 2 solo debut at 2:30 PM as he continues making the local rounds (while still local) with his own country material, while folk musician Matthew James kicks off the program at 1:30 PM in his second Stage 2 appearance, having also played here in 2023. Notable absences this year include 2023-2024 performers All The Tired Horses and The Hollow Heads, and active three-timers The Northwest, among others.

Sounds like a very strong lineup to me, with Saturday's bill dipping into heavier and punk territory more than we have ever seen on Stage 2 (even when Gates of Winter played here, they were notable outliers), so fans won't want to bypass the FREE & ALL AGES entertainment beside the Art Gallery next month, so click here for details (so far) on Stage 2 in 2025! As for the second year of Stage 3, that will see four DJs/EDM musicians spinning tunes at the Downtown Plaza on Friday only, so click here to learn more. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more (non-Rotaryfest) news and notes on the site over the next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Rotaryfest Stage 1!!)

The lineups for this year's Rotaryfest were finally announced earlier this week (about on schedule with last year but beyond earlier "late May" claims), so what should you know here? We'll focus on the covers-centric Stage 1 at Clergue Park in this post, and we'll discuss the originals/blues-centric Stage 2 lineups tomorrow. For this 25th year of Rotaryfest's music lineups in this format, bands will take to the familiar pop-up stage beside the downtown library from Thursday, July 17th to Saturday, July 19th for three days of FREE & ALL AGES musical entertainment to go along with all of the other community activities and events during the Sault's summer festival. Click here for ongoing details on what to expect next month (the program is not out yet though). Like last year, 20 musical acts will grace Stage 1, half being returnees from 2024, but only five of these bands have played three times previously, and only one played in 2021, so there is a good historical variety!

For night #1, the lineup on Thursday the 17th will have a touring headline act, which I believe is a first for the Thursday schedule. At 9:30 PM that night are Billy & Elton: The Legends, a joint Billy Joel/Elton John tribute from British Columbia-based former Saultites Mick Dalla-Vee and Michael Sicoly. Mick (now of the reunited Bachman-Turner Overdrive) and Michael (a veteran commercial/voice over artist and anthem singer) have also performed together in Simon & Garfunkel and Beatles tributes, even playing with the latter here in 2014, so it will be neat to see these accomplished local artists back home next month! Co-headlining at 8:00 PM are local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 in their second straight Rotaryfest as they pause their summer break, while the other two bands are new to the festival. At 7:00 PM are The Lock City Rollers (not to be confused with 2000s regulars The Twin City Rollers).

A new soft rock big band with a full horn section, this ten-piece band will be full of familiar local faces playing classic covers, so keep them in mind! Pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue will surprisingly make their Rotaryfest debut to kick off the festival at 6:00 PM, and their talents should be on full display! Yes, they are known to cover hard rock on occasion too! Diverse lineup to begin Rotaryfest on a good foot, with Silent 9 delivering the most for heavier fans on average, so visit Rotaryfest's website's page on Stage 1 for more on this and the other days' musical lineups!

Six bands will grace the Clergue Park stage on Friday, July 18th, and this year's night #2 headliners at 10:20 PM are local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations in their third straight Rotaryfest appearance and first as a closing band, so this will be a strong platform for their fan friendly range of covers! Also playing Rotaryfest for a third consecutive year at 9:00 PM are Jeffrey Wright's local classic country cover band The Way Backs, while the 8:00 PM band is the one-off Mile 38, heavily implied to be fronted by ex-Soundcheck singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver. Rotaryfest's website drops another hint that Cameron is not long for the Soo, with plans to move away to further his musical career, so see him and crew next month while you can! This is a distinct band from this weekend's CO2 at Jay's, for the record (no one named Lori in CO2). Veteran classic rock quartet RPM will rock Stage 1 at 7:00 PM.

This will be RPM's fifth time at Rotaryfest and fourth consecutive, while 6:00 PM band Flathead Ford (another 2024 returnee) will be taking over Stage 1 for the seventh time since 2013. Your openers at 5:00 PM are The Jazz Cats, apparently unrelated to the one-off "Jazz Catz" that played Rotaryfest in 2017. with this new band seen live on occasion since their 2024 debut. Convergence guitarist Jacob Valois is definitely in their ranks, so keep that in mind! Lots of good stuff here for classic rock and country fans, with Generations ending things well, so visit the above links for more on details!

As previously noted on the SMS, the featured touring tribute band on Saturday at 8:30 PM (in partnership with 104.3 The Fox, no less) are Toronto-based AC/DC tribute Who Made Who, a recurring local sight for AC/DC fans, but who will be joining them? Like usual, a local cover band will close the Saturday bill at 10:30 PM, and this time, it's newer local classic/hard rock quintet Headrush, so what a way for them to debut at Rotaryfest! Pop rock cover quartet Lime (who have some heavier covers in their back pocket) will play Rotaryfest for the fourth time since 2019 in the 7:00 PM timeslot, while alternative/punk cover sextet Bookclub will grace Stage 1 for a third straight year at 6:00 PM. Classic rock veterans Encore will play their fourth Rotaryfest set since 2017 at 5:00 PM, while The Northern Jazz Ensemble will continue their run as the modern Rotaryfest iron men/women at 4:00 PM in their seventh straight year on Stage 1 and sixteenth total since 2001.

The kids take over Stage 1 that afternoon, as St. Mary's College's newer student rock band Crusade will make their Rotaryfest debut at 3:00 PM, immediately preceded at 2:00 PM by Superior Heights Collegiate's student rock band Steel Rock in their second Stage 1 appearance. Great to see these bands get the spotlight, and now we just need The Pine Tones to pop up here! Funk/dance cover quintet The Rhythm Junction will return for their second Rotaryfest at 1:00 PM, and the day will be kicked off by veteran local blues musician Rusty McCarthy's new classic rock cover band Rusty & The Soft Parade at 12:00 PM. For SMS readers, you'll get the most bang for your buck (free admission acknowledged) on Saturday, but there's a lot of diversity among this lineup, with old and new faces alike! For the record, notable 2025 absences include Abba Soo, Brendan Hodgson, Double Down, and Mike Haggith, who all played the last two years on Stage 1.

There's a lot to take in as usual for Rotaryfest Stage 1, and we haven't even glanced at the Stage 2 lineup yet, so visit the above links for more on this year's stacked Clergue Park band lineup, and our Second Stage coverage is on the way next! Thanks everyone! 

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (CO2 & Dos Amigos) And More Weekend Concert Previews!

Today's post wraps up another busy weekend for hard rock and punk concerts in the Twin Saults (unless I missed something), so here's what else you should know for the next two days, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

New local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos will return to The Whiskey Barrel for one night only TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced by the venue's Facebook page last night, and the band has not updated their own Facebook page at all in over two months, though updates have been made on members' personal Facebook pages right along, if targeted to their own amigos. The Bookclub/Inner City Surfers side project had debuted at the Gore Street nightclub last month, and if you want to know more about Dos Amigos, Brian Kelly wrote a Sault Star article on the project on June 11th that you can read at this link! The article features interview remarks from singer/guitarist Dustin Jones on working with Mikey Hawdon, how Dos Amigos came to be (from surprisingly far away), and how live music finally got back to good levels locally after the pandemic subsided.

Good article that promotes Dos Amigos in a friendly way for Sault Star readers! TONIGHT'S Whiskey Barrel show is a one-nighter, due to or resulting in Juliana Regan & Blair St. John playing at the acoustic-leaning Irish pub tomorrow. There is no announced cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and has an 8:00 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details, and hopefully public and embeddable videos show up to preview Dos Amigos with soon! 

Next up, new local country/hard rock cover band CO2 will debut TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT at Jay's Piston Broke Pub! Again, apologies for the short notice, these dates only went public on Jay's Facebook page on Tuesday. CO2 is one of the recent (and possibly short term) band names used by former Soundcheck singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver, alongside The Band and Mile 38, but this group also features Handsome Sandwich guitarist Jesse Cook, his old Wyld Stallyns bandmate Brandan Glew on drums, Brandan's Big Finish Bandmate Elly McWatters on backing vocals and/or guitar, and former RPM/Twin City Rollers bassist Rob Gilmar, who was a frequent fill-in bassist with Soundcheck. This lineup information comes from an e-mail conversation with Brandan, who confirmed that C02's sound will have a large amount of rock covers in addition to songs from Cameron's country wheelhouse, so late-era Soundcheck fans won't be alienated.

With this lineup and what we know of late-era Soundcheck, this should be a fun time for fans of Cameron's live band work! However, given the online teasers that he may be moving out of town to further his music career later this year, CO2 may not be long for this world, so go see them TONIGHT & TOMORROW if this interests you! They also hosted last night's jam night at Jay's, for the record. 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limit, and no cover charges are in effect as usual there. Visit the above links for more details on these debut performances, and we'll have more on Cameron soon!

We'll close things today at Beck's Bar, which is hosting two classic/hard rock acts TOMORROW for two separate concerts! First up at the former Vibe Lounge is acoustic singer/guitarist Tym Morrison, who will be tomorrow's matinee entertainment in their 3:00 PM timeslot, just six days removed from his most recent gig there. Always good to see Tym's tried and true sets of classic and hard rock covers on the public stage, and with his musical talents, hopefully west end fans will get a great show from him tomorrow before that night's full band concert! Remember, this is a full concert with a two hour gap between when Tym ends at 7:00 PM and the band's first set kicking off, and Tym isn't the "opening act". Of course, if you want to see both and hang out, there's no cover charge! As usual at Beck's, this is a 19+ concert as well. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

Finally for this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, the night cap at Beck's Bar TOMORROW will come by way of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations in their debut at the new Goulais Avenue nightclub! Yes, I am well aware of Generations' Rotaryfest return next month, we're doing a deep dive into the schedule reveals this weekend. This one-nighter should provide Generations with a strong opportunity to rock another stage and make some new fans in the west end, and hopefully there's another solid turnout that will lead to more Beck's dates down the road! You can enjoy Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre's classic and hard rock favouites tomorrow only (Fridays there are DJ nights) at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charges, and remember, Tym isn't "opening" for them, but you can hang out and see both for free if you want. See above for more details on this nightcap, and here's Generations live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for Rotaryfest lineup announcements on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Curtis McKenzie) & The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

Another busy concert weekend is upon us, so we'll have to break up this round of hard rock and punk concert previews in two, so look for our CO2, Tym Morrison, and Bookclub concert previews next. Here's what you should know to start, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Former Haggith/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will return to The Dive Gastro Pub TONIGHT for another "Think It Over Thursday" acoustic concert! Apologies for the short notice, Curt first announced this show via its official Facebook event page on June 3rd but it completely slipped me by in the past two weeks. Last seen at Beck's on June 1st, TONIGHT's gig will be Curtis' first at the former Low & Slow in three weeks. If you like hard and alternative rock covers from a familiar and experienced local musician in a more intimate setting, then you won't want to miss Curt's latest stop in the "Naughty Corner" TONIGHT! As usual for The Dive, this show has a 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details on TONIGHT's concert, and here's Curtis live!

Next up, local acoustic classic/hard rock trio Dodge This will return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of their most recent stop at The Dive on Saturday (apologies again for missing that one here), this will be their first stop at this long-standing Great Northern Road venue since March, unless I missed something else in the interim. It will be good to see Jason and the Julys setting up shop in a more central venue than normal for them, and hopefully their unplugged covers go well tomorrow with a solid turnout! With The Water Tower Pub historically hosting different bands nightly, don't go there on Saturday expecting to see Dodge This (classic rock cover trio The Sidekicks are playing there that night). Tomorrow's Dodge This show is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here they are live!

Also this weekend, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will take things to The Roberta Bondar Pavillion TOMORROW & SATURDAY as the musical entertainment for this year's Queen Street Cruise once again! For an eighth straight year, and third under the big tent downtown, "The Dirty Three" will be rocking out for attendees at home base for the annual Cruise and its related Show-N-Shine car show, with tomorrow's concert being at 6:30 PM during the cruise proper and Saturday's being a 12:30 PM matinee during the car show itself. Visit the official schedule for the full daily itineraries to know what's going on when, whether you're a spectator or entering a classic car for any official events. As community events go, the Queen Street Cruise is right up Bone Yard's alley, and hopefully they provide another apt soundtrack for all of this weekend's downtown action! This is FREE & ALL AGES unless you registered for the vehicle-involved events.

While your local 225 are playing under The Roberta Bondar Pavilion's tent, it is not a fully indoor locale. Tomorrow evening is looking like mostly cloudy weather at around 20° but with a 30% chance of rain after 8:00 PM, as per 9&10 News. At present, the temperatures are projected to be similar on Saturday afternoon, albeit with a risk of thunderstorms, so while the tent is acknowledged, double check the weather forecast closer to if you are at all concerned about the car show. Check the above links for more details on the Cruise, and here's Bone Yard 225 live!

Finally for this preview post, the tenth annual local celebration of Go Skateboarding Day (and ninth with an attached concert) is scheduled to go down on SATURDAY! Of course, I just mentioned that there was currently a thunderstorm risk for the Queen Street Cruise, but there's even less protection from that at Queen Elizabeth Park outside of the John Rhodes Center, so definitely keep tabs on local weather forecasts in the next few days to see how that pans out. For 2025, promotional duties have passed from Dustin Jones and Tidal Records to Mikhal Muto, though Tidal remain sponsors of the event, which features free & all ages skateboarding with local vendors and sponsors on-site, some with refreshments on sale as usual. This year's music lineup at the stage atop the big ramp will feature Mikhal's crossover thrash quartet Hails (in their record-tying third set at Go Skate Day) and death/thrash metal trio Pillory.

Newer and online page-less space rock duo The Spaceship Opening will also rock the ramp on Saturday, while Shane "DJ Seith" Erickson will perform turntable mixes at Go Skate Day as well, in his first appearance at this annual June 21st event since 2016. This year's festivities take place from 1:00-5:00 PM on Saturday, this is completely free whether you're skating or not, and again, double check the weather forecast closer to just in case the current forecast bears out. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Ha!ls live at last year's Go Skate Day!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our CO2, Tym Morrison, and Bookclub previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Rust & M1), The Clutch Concert Preview, And Exit 808 Updates!!

Today's post features a bit preview for a notable E.U.P. concert and recent fallout from another one, but leading off, we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS concerning upcoming tribute band concerts in Sault Ontario, so here's what you should know!

Calgary-based Motorhead tribute band M1 will make their local concert debut on Wednesday, July 9th when they rock Beck's Bar! This is the first instance of a touring band of any genre to headline at Beck's since opening in April, and it comes by way of a tribute to hard rock legends that you don't often see tackled here beyond the occasional "Ace of Spades" cover by local acts. While M1 don't necessarily look like Lemmy and crew, they have the sound down well, and if you check out their videos on their Facebook page, they do a good job in mimicking Lemmy's gravelly vocals in particular! When Beck's announced the show on their Facebook page on Monday, they indicated that there would be an opening band, but we await public confirmation. This 19+ concert will be an early-ish night (ideal for a Wednesday) with the openers starting at 7:00 PM, and there is NO COVER.

It's not every day when a touring band plays a free show in the Soo, let alone a tribute band, and hopefully M1's take on Motorhead draws well at Beck's in three weeks, as it may lead to more touring acts playing at the former Vibe Lounge in due course! Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, there's more tribute hard rock action ahead this fall, as Sudbury's Rust: A Tribute To Rush will rock Soo Blaster once again on Saturday, October 18th! Fans may recall seeing Rust rock the same venue in November of last year, but their members are no strangers to the Soo, as the Kuthy brothers also perform in Just Leppard, who have played Def Leppard classics here four times since 2019, including at Soo Blaster two months ago. Rush fans will enjoy Rust's faithful take on the progressive rock legends' catalogue once again this fall, and hopefully there's a sizeable turnout at Soo Blaster once again for Rust's local encore! Notably, Rust plan on playing the "Moving Pictures" album in its entirety in four months. Like last year, tickets run for $25 online and at the door, this is an all ages event, and there is an advertised 8:30 PM start time. Visit the Facebook event page for more details!

Also today, let's get a slight jump on this weekend's concert previews by way of a major headlining concert in Sault Michigan TOMORROW NIGHT, as Maryland stoner/hard rock band Clutch will make their way to The Dreammakers Theater at the local Kewadin Casino! Well known among metalheads (if not necessarily mainstream rock radio) for songs like "Careful With That Mic...", "The Mob Goes Wild", and "10001110101", Clutch's melodic & bluesy but rough edged brand of hard rock stands on its own, and it'll be interesting to see how things go tomorrow in their local debut! Part of me is curious to hear if there's a normal amount of Canadian attendees given the current political climate and tariffs, but we'll have to see in that regard. Opening for Clutch tomorrow are Nashville southern hard rock quartet Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown and Washington D.C. folk/country musician Nate Bergman. 

The performers definitely get heavier as the night wears on, but Tyler and Nate are talented artists, so don't be late! Clutch frontman Neil Fallon even plugged the show directly to fans in this "Reel" on Kewadin's Facebook page, which is neay! Presented by Rock 101 (who have played a fair amount of Clutch on air in the past four months), this stop on Clutch's Full Ahead Flank MMXXV Tour is all ages with an 8:00 PM start time, and this is the rare standing room only concert at The Dreammakers Theater. Tickets run for a flat $55 USD at this link, at the in-person box office, or at 1-800-KEWADIN. Should be a good time, and a definite change of pace, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Clutch live!

We'll stay in the E.U.P. to end today's post, courtesy of a new video from local hard rock band Exit 808! They kicked off their summer concert season at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino two weeks ago for their only truly local dates of this month, and it sounds like everything went well for Exit 808, aided by a bachelorette party taking place on the Saturday nighter! As per their Facebook page, they welcomed two guest musicians for the weekend, namely About:Blank/ex-Tarnished guitarist Nathan Webber (himself a founding member of Exit 808/Double Jack) and Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins on bass. While he was tagged in this post featuring photos from the weekend, Blaze Beairl appears to have missed these shows again, but he did rejoin them for their Walloon Lake concert on Saturday. A video was posted from the Saturday the 7th show, so what can you see there?

The video (sadly shot vertically) sees Exit 808, Nathan, and Joe covering the abnormally popular 4 Non Blondes' song "What's Up?" with Amy Beach handling lead vocals. I'll never quite understand how this song is such a popular cover choice (Sault Ontario bands cover it a lot), but it does have that crowd sing-along quality, whether I get it or not. The filmer was more to the side of the stage than we usually see from Northern Pines Lounge videos, and while I'm not a fan of accentuating empty crowd levels on the floor, they do eventually zoom in. Not my personal cover choice, but give Exit 808's newest St. Ignace concert video a watch below!

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

Spades GT Album & Concert Updates From The Last Two Weeks!!

It's been a busy two weeks for local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT, with both live concerts and hype for their upcoming studio album "United" to address, so what have the guys been up to since we last left off with them on June 3rd? The following day, the band announced details for their album release party at The Bovine Sex Club in Toronto in July 5th, confirming there that the opening bands will be York Region punk band G.F.U. and guitarist Daniel Horton's other band The Fast Life, both of which have played with Spades on numerous occasions since their 2021 relaunch. The rest of the concert updates will primarily interest fans in the G.T.A., but keep it in mind if you'll be down south then! On June 6th, the former Jack Spades revealed the cover artwork for "United" on their Facebook page, which features a black spade-shaped jigsaw puzzle with four pieces, one not in place. Shouldn't it be completely "united" like the album name?

Are the four puzzle pieces a reference to the band's then-four members who recorded the album (they were in between bassists during the recording sessions), and if so, does the ajar piece represent one of them specifically? Liner notes for the album were also shared, hinting that the album will have at least some level of a CD pressing. As seen in this image shared from the liner photos, the band thanked a number of names, including producer Kyle Marchant (who produced both of the Spades GT-era albums at Room 21 in Toronto) and graphic designer Brandon Ross of BJR Graphics (who made the album artwork), but the other names may hint at the album's guest performers. One is former Spades guitarist Jay Sarrazin, who was shown in a teaser video from the recording sessions, and another is Fast Life frontman Andrew Moorehouse, who (like Jay) also guested on 2023's "Sewer City Radio".

Spades had said on their Facebook page in February that the last day of recording sessions would feature "gang vocals", but never posted a teaser video from that day, so is that a hint as to Andrew's contributions here? Also credited is Julien Dos Santos, a.k.a. Mersinary, a rapper from the G.T.A., confirming the band's tease in April to have "a wicked feature" from the hip hop label Reel Wolf Productions. Should be an interesting styles clash there! Current Spades GT bassist Sean MacNab is thanked as well, and is included in the band photography in the liner notes, but he joined the band a few weeks after the sessions wrapped up. If we hear that he will be included musically on the final product in some form, we'll let you know! In their first of three concerts this month, Spades returned to their Barrie homebase on Wednesday to open for drummer Tyler Reiner's old band Selias at The Queens Nightclub, so what should you know from that night?

Frequently teased as "the last one (in Barrie) for a while" in the lead-up, their usual vertical recap video from the proceedings was posted to their Facebook page on Friday the 13th. The first half is focused on the guys mingling outside of the venue with locals while hyping up the concert proper, and what appears to be a studio track from the new album can be previewed underneath the video itself. In the second half, we see the guys setting up for and playing at The Queens, though why the jazzy instrumental track, I couldn't tell you. Why not have the raw concert audio in the recaps? It's still recapping the show just as well, moreso if we can actually hear pieces of the set! Still well edited, so give it a watch below!

Also on Friday the 13th, Spades GT revealed the official track listing for "United" on their Facebook page, with all eight songs confirmed in this image (likely the back cover of CD copies), though we don't yet know which songs have guest performers, let alone if Daniel will be on bass for all songs on offer. The advance single postings still await (the title track drops first on Saturday), but the second advance single is spelled "Demons", so the prior reference to the song having an A in the title was obviously a typo. Lastly for this post, the guys rocked Windsor for the first time that night when they opened for Devilz By Definition at The Cherry Rock Lounge. As plugged beforehand with this video of the full band hyping the show outside, the Windsor recap video made it to Facebook yesterday, this time with over 6 minutes of vertical action! The first 2½ minutes captures the band's commute to Windsor.

A lot of references are made to the guys being very close to Detroit and the American border, which is old hat for J.D. and Dan given their years in the Soo! For a change, we do get some raw live audio from Spades' set, as we see the guys playing "Sewer City Radio" at the 3:42 mark, albeit for just 19 seconds. The video ends with the guys remarking on their set, hyping their next show in Toronto, playing arcade games and even arm wrestling inside the venue, and heading home, but not before a stop at Tim Hortons. I'd still prefer full songs to heavily edited recap videos, let alone vertical ones, but this is an improvement on the Barrie recap video in every way for what I like from local artist videos, so give it a watch below!

We're caught up anew for Spades GT updates, but with two Toronto shows ahead and a new album release, fans will soon be "united" in anticipation for their new studio material and more big happenings, so it'll be interesting to hear what J.D., Daniel, Matthew, Sean, and Tyler have in store in the coming weeks! Visit the above links for more from Spades' camp, raise 'em up and cause a scene, and stay tuned for more news this week! Thanks everyone!