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 ALERTS (Soundcheck) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we begin this weekend concert preview post, just a heads up that Sault Michigan hard rock cover trio Nate's Chow are not playing at The Merchant's Bar on Saturday anymore, as per this updated concert calendar that removed the gig (but added three more Merch shows for later in the year that we will look at in an upcoming post). A reason for this Saturday's cancellation wasn't announced, but we'll have more on their returns soon, as they'll be back before you know it! Now, here's what you should know for most of this weekend's pre-Sunday hard rock concert previews for this weekend, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only confirmed on members' personal Facebook pages yesterday, and have not been publically announced on their (nor the venue's) Facebook pages at press time. TOMORROW & SATURDAY's shows got an AI-generated poster on personal accounts again giving their name as Soundcheck 7.3, which has still not been publically corroborated on the band's social media accounts, but it does promise "live classic rock" and "timeless hits" that are "always loud", among other promotional taglines. The shows will mark Soundcheck's second weekend at the former Reggie's West with new bassist Dan Beaupre, and he has finally been confirmed to have also joined their sister band Separate Wayz, as per a live photo and a "Story" from their Facebook page.

If you Hollow fans have missed this reunion of Dan & Terry so far, then keep TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S Jay's shows in mind! These are not promoted as "epic crossover" gigs with Separate Wayz, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Nicole won't pop in. Also, no word if the song used to soundtrack said AI poster (Three Days Grace's "Just Like You") is a teaser of their planned sets. Both of this weekend's shows are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck (7.3?) live a few years back!

Next up, let's head a half hour or so east of town to Echo Bay, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will headline their Elks Lodge #535's "End Of Summer Bash" on SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen at the Bruce Mines Fall Fair even further east on Highway 17, this Saturday's show will send out the summer (which officially ended on Monday) in style with a night full of classic, hard, and southern rock favourites from "the dirty three", and while I'm not sure if there any other frills or perks to this event, the music may be all you need. If you'd rather see Greg, Alex, and Warren in city limits, they'll be rocking Beck's Bar next Saturday. The Elks Lodge in Echo Bay is located at 96 Church Street off of the old Highway 17B, and admission is $15 via the hosts on the Facebook event page or at the door. There is no stated age limit, and the show starts at 8:00 PM. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Bone Yard live in concert last year!

Also on SATURDAY NIGHT is the latest concert from local promoters Underground Events SSM, as Ottawa extreme metal bands Salem Trials and The Jenova Projekt will both make their first stop in the Soo at Blaster Powerhouse! The former's brutal brand of deathcore and the latter's sharp metalcore sound will be a solid complement on Saturday, so don't bypass what will be a devastating one-two punch for metalheads at the former Soo Blaster this weekend! Local support will come by way of space/hard rock duo The Spaceship Opening and party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty (kinda sorta making up things after dropping out of the 94Fatso show there last month). Neither is gonna do much yelling or growling, but they're both talented bands, so don't be late! Promoted by A.A. bassist Mikhal Muto, advance tickets are still on sale for $25 at The Rad Zone or through members of the local opening bands.

Admission at the door will jump to $30 for this all ages concert, which is slated to have doors opening at 8:30 PM. The Saturday timing is certainly advantageous for Mikhal and all involved performers, so if you love brutal extreme metal, this show will deliver the goods! Visit the official Facebook event page for more on this stop on the Ottawa bands' Heavy Is The Head Tour, and for a preview, here's Salem Trials live!

Finally, let's head south to Sault Michigan for the latest concert from Soo Tang Records, as local hardcore punk trio Viscera will headline another concert in the basement of Pizza Hut on SATURDAY NIGHT! Now named "Sault Slaughter" on the new poster, this concert will again pair Viscera with touring Michigan bands, but one fewer than we realized, as Marquette "ghostcore" band Particle Thrower dropped out of this concert, as per Viscera's Instagram page on Sunday. A reason for their withdrawal was not announced, but hopefully nothing too serious happened, and that we see Particle Thrower make the 3 hour drive east in the future! Possibly due to the short notice, they were not replaced on Saturday's bill, but there will still be two touring acts here, namely Grand Rapids death metal quartet Life Sentence and Marquette progressive deathcore quartet SilentLife, both in their local debuts. Three bands worth of extreme metal and hardcore punk sounds like a fun way to spend your evening if you wanna head to Pizza Hut!

Doors open at 7:00 PM with a $15 cover charge, and this show is absolutely all ages. Visit the above links for more details on all of Saturday's action, and for a preview, here's a new video of Viscera live! This was uploaded to frontman "Blind" Bob Quinn's personal Facebook page before being shared onto the band's Facebook page by drummer Mitchell Leon on September 3rd, and it features vertical (alas) video clips of their gig at Three One Three On Ashmun last month set to live background audio with some grainy filtering in post-production. No attempt to sync the audio, but it's an effective sampler with some neat panning camera angles of the action at the former Back Door, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new news post next! Thanks everyone!

The Aneurysm/Bloodshots Concert Preview, Plus New Concert Videos & Tarnished Updates!!

Let's cover some recent news and videos in tonight's post from both sides of the border, but first, here's a special mid-week concert preview!

We'll begin today with a special mid-week concert preview, as Winnipeg-based Nirvana tribute band Aneurysm and their sister "nu grunge punk n' roll" band The Bloodshots will both debut at Beck's Bar on WEDNESDAY NIGHT! While we have welcomed a Nirvana tribute here before (Like A Pisces a decade ago), that was a Pixo Control one-off, where this Wednesday's concert has far more in common with the Crush/Pyramid Theorem show at Reggie's in 2022. There and here, an original touring band is doubling up as a tribute band, with the latter being the headliner and the primary focus in promotion. Aneurysm deliver the goods for fans of early 1990s grunge, but don't bypass The Bloodshots, as their hard to categorize and melodic yet in-your-face original attack will set the tone before they channel their inner Kurt, Krist, and Dave! It is a shame that this is a work/school night, but alas, we can't control tour routing.

Wednesday night's concert is a 19+ affair at Beck's, with a 9:00 PM start time and a $10 cover charge. If you can swing coming out, this will be a fun time for grunge and alt-rock fans, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and with public Aneurysm videos hard to come by (I recommend crawling personal accounts), here's The Bloodshots live!

Next up, let's stay with Beck's Bar's Facebook page to look at their own videos from the Bone Yard 225/Spencer Pine concert there on September 9th! A Wednesday nighter itself, you can see more videos from this special collaborative jam on Bone Yard's Facebook page, but Beck's got three of them, though two are sub-40 seconds long, and alas, all three are vertical. One is of an instrumental jam, while another sees them covering Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble's "Pride & Joy" with Spencer on vocals, with (by far) the longest of the three being a slower instrumental jam session. For some reason, both instrumental clips have unnecessary text captions slapped on them, but the videos capture a fun and unique night for your local 225 as they welcomed Stones & Crows' frontman for a jam, and Becky sure enjoyed the results, so give them a watch above! Unfortunately, Beck's content matched the audio to themselves, so I can't embed the videos here.

Now let's head to Michigan for some new videos from recent concerts, and we'll start with Manistique hard rock cover duo Fyrbird's concert at The Driftwood Sports Bar in St. Ignace this past Thursday! The venue's Facebook page shared this video of Jamie and Rikk covering Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" (seemingly the Guns N' Roses version) during this Richard Crane Memorial Truck Show weekend event. Alas, this video is vertical, filmed distantly from the stage (at least zoom in a bit!), and only 14 seconds long, but they get a decent sound out of this slow cover despite being a two man band. Check it out below, and hopefully we see Fyrbird back soon!

We'll close today with the latest from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished, who also played at The Driftwood on Saturday, and we'll save the bar's video of Tarnished for our next preview of one of their local gigs. Their busy truck show weekend there was lightened a bit though, as their planned Kingston Kitchen show on Saturday night was cancelled, as per the band's Facebook page just 14 minutes prior to showtime. A reason for the cancellation wasn't announced, but hopefully all is well in their camp (let alone the restaurant), and we'll let you know when Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron make their next hour's trip to St. Ignace! I don't know when we'll see Tarnished within an hour of the Soo next, but they will be hitting the road for Engadine (90 minutes west of here) on Friday, October 30th for a pre-Halloween party at The Pine Bar! Click here for the AI-generated poster for that on-the-road gig.

Finally, remember how Tarnished played on an alleged pirate ship for a matinee concert in Mullett Lake near Cheboygan on September 5th? Well, a video was shared to the band's Facebook page via bassist Chris Leask's personal Facebook page! It was bizarrely hard to find details on this event (which looks reminiscent of the Government Bay Barge Bash in Cedarville), but Tarnished were playing on a pirate ship replica that matches one used at the Cheboygan Pirate Invasion festival in May. I wish the filmer had zoomed in, as the ship is distant to a point where I can't make out most of the band, but this cover of AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" sounds good for the 48 seconds we get, so give it a watch below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Reeves) & Fort Creek Updates!!

For a second straight day, we have an SMS post of two topics, one being an extended look at a band's new music video/single release, but leading off is a Halloween weekend LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with a lot to say itself, so here's what you should know on this Sunday morning!

Local hard/blues rock quartet The Reeves will headline an early Halloween party at The Art Hub At Spring on Friday, October 30th! This Devil's Night show will mark the Haze/Long Shot successors' return to the Queen Street arts venue following their set opening for Autopilot there two weeks ago, and will be their first show since beginning their recent recording sessions, so they should be in fine form to show off their already impressive array of original material, let alone the spooky themes! Opening here is the debut of new local pop punk/emo quintet Homeroom Hero, whose only social media presence so far is on Instagram, but their descriptions so far point to a sound that fans of MySpace-era pop punk and emo will enjoy. Their lineup includes former A Dire Setback/A Fall From Innoncence singer Larry Babic, guitarists Brian Lester (ex-No Shadows Cast) and Dennys Andrade, bassist Paul Fowler (ex-Keep It Lit), and former As It Stands/For July guitarist Ryan McLaughlin on drums.

Intriguing lineup given the names involved (though Dennys is a total unknown to me), so keep their debut in mind for late next month! Former Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci will open with an acoustic set (featuring some originals), and if you were hoping to see him as part of the cancelled open mic block at Rotaryfest Stage 2, keep this indoor event in mind, especially as it will be FREE! However, the Facebook event page still specifies that it is "by invite only", so they ask to contact performers to get on the list, though "last minute admission may be available". I assume this is more to do with the smaller size of the Art Hub, as the event is absolutely publically advertised and marketed. Regardless of that implied hoop to jump through, there will be complimentary snacks and drinks, a post-show dance party (no idea if there will be a DJ as such), and while costumes are welcome, they aren't necessary. They did not specify if there would be a costume contest of some kind either.

This is absolutely an all ages event with music starting at 8:00 PM, and it is shaping up to be a welcome addition to the Halloween weekend festivities, and not just thanks to the debut of Homeroom Hero. We'll let you know if they get a more substantial social media presence or post any media of them prior, but thanks to Brian for telling me what he did about the group! Visit the above links for more details on what to expect, and remember to contact members in advance to get on the list just in case!

Next up, let's talk about another local band who just released a new single and music video directed by Josh Penno from Spacebag Productions, but in this case, it's southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek! Just eight days after announcing their new lineup (now featuring bassist Arthur Lacasse and drummer Sam DeDominicis), the band announced that they completed shooting the music video for their new single "Sweet Rosie" on September 1st, later confirming that it would be released on "your favouite streaming platforms" this past Friday. What if your favourite is Bandcamp, where the song isn't available? Regardless, the song was mixed and mastered by Dustin Goodall at Unsalted Audio, though the credits on major streaming platforms don't give details on the song's producer (they were working at former drummer Phil Greco's Jettison Studios before he left the band earlier this year).

Interestingly, Lime/ex-Rising Tide guitarist Liam Seymour is credited on bass for the studio recording rather than Art, but I don't know if this was strictly as a session musician or if he was briefly their bassist before Art (who does play in the video) signed on. The video features performance footage of the whole band on a darkened set intercut with scenes of a drag race featuring actress Jennifer Valotaire as the flag girl. This is the first original song release featuring the full plugged-in band, though note that the shelved "Hammer Down" did have preview clips posted online once. I'll hold full comment on the entire track in lieu of their debut album in progress, but fans of melodic hard rock will enjoy what's on offer here, and there is a southern rock edge to the instrumentation! It's great to finally see Fort Creek making some big progress as they re-emerge as a full band with material to show for it, but are concerts next? Give the "Sweet Rosie" video a watch below!

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

Dead II Society Updates, Plus Our Next Tym Morrison Concert Preview!!

Today's post ended up being more skewed to one band than I imagined, but there's a lot to cover with their recent launch and first major material! However, we are leading off with a preview of a matinee concert tomorrow, so here's what you should know on this Saturday night!

We'll start today with the last hard rock concert preview for this weekend, as local classic/hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will return to Reggie's Place for another matinee concert TOMORROW! Shifting his unplugged concert focus to indoor venues for the fall, Tym just played at Reggie's last week, with tomorrow's concert being the only time in his confirmed bookings there through December where he is the matinee performer on consecutive Sundays. Hopefully things go well with a good turnout and solid covers from the former Caveman Morrison frontman tomorrow afternoon as usual! Like last week, this is a 2:00 PM concert with a presumed 19+ age limit and no cover charge. If you can't make it, he'll be back at Reggie's in three weeks. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

Next up, here's a new music video and single from new local outlaw punk quartet Dead II Society! As teased when they publically launched last month, they did indeed release their first studio original "Dead & Buried" onto "all music streaming platforms" (a continually unlikely claim from any band) on Wednesday! To promote the release of it and its music video, frontman Erik "Buzz" Boissineau was interviewed on Scott Cook In The Morning on Rock 101, where the song was also played. It's rare when clips from on-air interviews on 101.3 FM get shared online, but hopefully the interview went well! To promote everything, the band was featured in this SooToday article by James Hopkin on Tuesday, which features remarks from Buzz and guitarist Mike Yakasovich. In it, Buzz details that his plans to write and record a full album with a new band began in 2020, shortly after he moved back to the Soo.

Mike noted that Dead II Society were basically kept secret while they were in development in recent years, so they're not brand new as a unit, just new to the public at large. Buzz's past work with his 2008-2015 metal band Garden of Bedlam is also brought up, especially as he knew Scott Cook following that band's victory in the Rock 101-hosted Kiss Battle of the Bands in 2009. It's a solid and informative interview that helps explain what Buzz and the gang have been up to in the early-mid 2020s, so give it a read above! Now that the cat is out of the bag, the song can be heard on major streaming platforms as well as Bandcamp, which all confirm that the song was recorded at the Canadian Musicians Co-operative Studio in Barrie and at The Loft at the Algoma Conservatory of Music with producer/Golden Scoundrels guitarist Brandon Ruch, with mixing by Jordan Zadorozny of Skylark Park in Pembroke.

Bryan Lowe mixed the song at Joao Carvalho Mastering in Toronto. Buzz did imply wanting to release a Dead II Society album, but is that 100% in the works or is this just step #1? Regardless, the music video (directed by Brandon's Golden Scoundrels bandmate Josh Penno at Spacebag Productions) is the first upload on the band's new YouTube channel. The video intercuts studio performance footage of Buzz, Yak, bassist Andrew Torgerson, and drummer Charlie Yanni (all separately shot) with scenes of actress Jean Becker. The lyrics imply that the song/video is about a woman trying to get out of an abusive relationship, and her hopes for what she wants her partner to deal with as a result. Well edited overall, and left with just enough room for interpretation that there are still some elements of the story to question what happened and why! With all of that said, how exactly do Dead II Society sound as a band on this track?

Their sound was described as melding "skater punk, alternative country and arena rock", and while the soaring Volbeat-reminiscent vocals will remind you of Garden of Bedlam instantly, this is a pure punk song that fans of the 1990s local scene will appreciate! If anything, this fits more with Charlie's back catalogue than anyone else here. I don't really get a country vibe from this song, but if they're implying it, that must be ahead (also, remember that Buzz's other main local bands like Barfly and Changing Lanes weren't as heavy as Garden of Bedlam). A promising start with fantastic production and mastering, so give it a look above and below, and witness their debut at the sold out Punk Rock Fiesta at The Rockstar Bar on October 3rd!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band And Separate Wayz) & More Weekend Concert Previews!!

For today's second post, we're keeping our weekend concert preview train rolling with more hard rock-featured concerts in the Twin Saults and area over the next two days, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS! Due to the amount of shows, our preview of Tym Morrison's Sunday matinee gig will be in our next news post. Now, let's pick things up for preview post #2 with those newly announced shows in Sault Ontario this weekend!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Separate Wayz will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were first announced late last week via the venue's 2026 concert calendar on their Facebook page, in their return to hosting bands after their annual summer break, though I couldn't immediately fit these two into a post. Note that the poster actually credits TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows to their sister band Soundcheck (who are playing there in November and December), but Separate Wayz frontwoman Nicole Thibodeau confirmed in a comment reply that this weekend's shows are actually for that band, and the marquee board there also says "Separate Waze" now. Presumably, this will mark the Esquire Club debut of Dan Beaupre on bass, though of the two bands, only Soundcheck have directly confirmed him by name in their own marketing.

No idea if Soundcheck singer/guitarist Travis Sharpe will be present as a guest, but the concerts are specifically being advertised for Separate Wayz. TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows are 19+ and at 9:30 PM with no cover charge. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of them live! This appears to be from the two bands' "epic crossover" weekend at The Esquire Club in April, and features Soundcheck and Nicole (or Separate Wayz and Travis) covering Alannah Myles' "Black Velvet". I wish this was longer than 66 seconds, as it's a strong performance with a good angle and high video quality, so give it a watch below, and don't miss Separate Wayz back there TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT!

Next up, fresh off of tonight's Downtown Street Party, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith (with The Big Finish Band in tow) will make a rare jaunt to St. Joseph Island on SATURDAY NIGHT when they open for Tottenham pop rock trio Dorene at The Hilton Beach Community Hall! Again, apologies for the short notice, Mike only confirmed his involvement in this show on his Facebook page this past Friday. As Northern Vibe Festival fans know, this would be an hour's drive southeast of the Soo (give or take ongoing Highway 17 construction), but instead of hanging a right to Richards Landing at the turnoff, everyone is going left to Hilton Beach, where this concert takes place on SATURDAY at 3050 Hilton Road. The reason for the rural scheduling is that Dorene are currently on their Village Tour, which sees them exclusively playing shows in small towns and communities.

Dorene aren't a hard rock act, but they have a lively original sound with power pop influences, and it would be interesting to hear how they go over in a more intimate, rural locale, let alone with Mike & crew in tow (Mike sounded very optimistic about returning to St. Joseph Island, but if he has ever played a concert there prior, it's news to me). SATURDAY'S concert is at 7:00 PM, it is all ages, and there is a $10 cover. If you'll already be on St. Joe or are up for the drive east, keep this unique concert in mind on SATURDAY, so see above for more details, and here's Mike & The Big Finish Band live!

Moving to shows that did have advance notice, Iron Mountain, Michigan classic/hard rock cover quintet Oz will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Eight long months after Oz last made the trek east for shows at the Soo Kewadin, this weekend's shows will likely be the last for Ryan, Kevin, Joe, Todd, and Dave at The Rapids Lounge before the long-teased renovations and re-opening next year (bands are scheduled to play there through at least Halloween). Hopefully Oz deliver a solid pair of hard rocking concerts for classic rock fans in the EUP this weekend, so keep these shows in mind if these are up your alley! These are 9:00 PM start times with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Oz live!

Finally, let's head back to Sault Ontario for this weekend's arguable main event, as Toronto pop rock/pop punk musician Fefe Dobson will make her local debut TOMORROW NIGHT at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion! This concert is the main event of the second annual Vivid Art Festival taking place at various downtown locales from today through Sunday, and there's a lot of musical, film, visual, and performance art events going down (My Son The Hurricane were last year's Pavilion headlineds), so click here for full details on the Vivid events itinerary! 2000s MuchMusic fans will be curious to see Fefe Dobson on stage here with hit singles like "Bye Bye Boyfriend", "Ghost", and "Can't Breathe" in her back pocket, and especially her early catalogue crosses the pop punk line, so this should be a fun show for many! Joining her is Toronto pop rock duo Goodnight Sunrise (in their third local appearance).

In one of their first fall bookings for 2026, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will open on Saturday, and they're no stranger to big stages, so don't miss their set either! Tomorrow's concert is FREE (My Son The Hurricane last year was too), this is absolutely all ages, and a 7:00 PM start time is advertised. As the Roberta Bondar Pavilion isn't a fully indoor venue, 9&10 News projects temperatures peaking at 16° and dropping as low as 10° by night's end, and while the tent is acknowledged, skies will be partly cloudy. Sounds like an agreeable night for live music, so visit the above links for more on this free Vivid Festival concert tomorrow, and here's Fefe live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished & Downtown Street Party #3!!)

A surprisingly busy weekend (perhaps the last really busy one for hard rock concerts before Halloween) is upon us, so we'll have to break up this weekend's previews into three posts! This one looks at SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and/or concerts taking place later today, while our previews of this weekend's Fefe Dobson, Oz, Dorene/Mike Haggith, and Separate Wayz concerts will be in our next post, and Tym Morrison's Sunday matinee show will be in a news post following. Here's what you should know as we enter the weekend concert preview fray once again! 

While we still don't know have the complete schedules and locations, we basically have to call it, as the third and final Downtown Street Party on Queen Street East (featuring Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band) goes down TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, I was waiting to hear a firm public announcement from Mike or You Belong SSM as to whether they'd be performing on the Dennis Street Stage or the Gore Street Stage, but such an announcement was not made before yesterday. In any event, this will be the last Downtown Street Party from the City of Sault Ste. Marie for 2026, and will feature loads of family entertainment at the western end of Queen Street East (bus terminal to Ernie's), including food and drink vendors, games, Queen Street businesses open en route, an outdoor vendor market at Queen & Tancred, and much more, so click here for full non-musical details!

The "stages" at the this year's Downtown Street Parties have tended to have three acts apiece, but only five were announced last month, and without specifying the exact locations. Mike confirmed in a personal Facebook reply that he and The Big Finish Band will be headlining the Gore Street Stage at 9:00 PM, while Hustle Brothers frontman Jay Case did the same to confirm that the jazz cover quartet will be opening for Mike & crew at 8:00 PM. At press time, we do not know if all of the other three advertised acts (country solo musicians Brian Tremblay & Jeffrey Wright and Dustcovers frontman "Just" Tom Peer) will all be on the presumed Dennis Street Stage or not, but one would assume that one of them (or "and more!") will be the 7:00 PM opener at Queen & Gore, For what it's worth, Tom opened for Mike at last month's street party on The Canopy at Village Media, and Brian is signed to Mike's MorningStar Records, in case those are indicators.

Downtown Street Party #3 goes down from 6:30-11:00 PM TOMORROW, it is absolutely FREE & ALL AGES, and 9&10 News is calling for clear skies with temperatures ranging from 13-19°. This Downtown Street Party somewhat feels like an afterthought with the Vivid Art Fest, the Soo Greyhounds season opener block party, and more taking up similar outdoor events attention in the same timeframe, but these street parties are fun for families and music fans alike, and Mike and crew will have a solid way to prime the pump for their hour's road trip this weekend (more on that in our next preview post). Visit the above links for more on TOMORROW'S street party, and for a preview, here's Mike & The Big Finish Band live!

Next up, we'll head to Michigan, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished have a busy weekend in St. Ignace during this weekend's Richard Crane Memorial Truck Show, which will see them play three shows in two days. We knew about two of the gigs already, but the first of them is a brand new confirmation, as the guys will rock The Little Bear East Arena & Community Center at 275 Marquette Street TOMORROW! Again, apologies for the short notice, Tarnished only confirmed this added gig on their Facebook page on Tuesday. Based on the St. Ignace city website, Tarnished will be among the "live music at (a) variety of downtown locations", and the schedule implies that musicians will be playing outdoors to go along with the truck show at multiple spots downtown. Hopefully things go well for the kinda-matinee TOMORROW before Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron back their gear and take the two minute drive to The Driftwood Sports Bar at 590 North State Street TOMORROW NIGHT for their second concert of the evening!

Tarnished have played at The Driftwood before on similar weekends, so hopefully tomorrow night's previously announced gig is a hit! As for SATURDAY, the band already confirmed that they would return to Kingston Kitchen at 250 South State Street, so if the timing or Jamaican restaurant setting suit you better, keep the finale of their St. Ignace weekend in mind! TOMORROW'S Little Bear Arena show is at 5:00 PM and all ages, the Driftwood show afterwards is at 9:00 PM, Saturday's Kingston Kitchen show is at 8:00 PM, the latter two are 21+, and if outdoors TOMORROW from 5-8, 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy skies in the 60° (15° Celsius) range. See above for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Finally for weekend concert preview post #1, this isn't all for Richard Crane Memorial Truck Show concert action this weekend at The Driftwood Sports Bar, as they'll play host to Manistique hard rock cover duo Fyrbird TONIGHT! Yes, tonight, it's at the end of the post because there's no short notice local gigs from them alongside it. While Fyrbird have dialed back on shows in our coverage range this year (shows in Gould City acknowledged), tonight's Driftwood gig will be Fyrbird's third this year, following shows this summer coinciding with the St. Ignace Car Show and Bronco The Mac. Hopefully this proves to be another entertaining night of live hard rock from Jamie and Rikk, with a packed house to boot! The Driftwood will host live DJs tomorrow, which has been common Friday procedure for their vehicle show weekends this year. Like with Tarnished on Saturday, tonight's Fyrbird show is at 9:00 PM, 21+, and has no cover.

It feels like 2026 has been ramped up in terms of concerts (genre irregardless) in St. Ignace to fully capitalize on car shows, but when your town gets a huge influx of tourists to both show off and see the vehicles, why not make the most of it? Tarnished and Fyrbird both deliver the hard rock goods in different ways, so consider seeing both TOMORROW and tonight as the truck show goes down! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Fyrbird live at The Driftwood this summer!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Fefe Dobson, Oz, Dorene/Mike Haggith, and Separate Wayz previews next! Thanks everyone!