2011: A Preview, And What To Watch Out For

Happy New Year, everyone! Hopefully 2011 is as great as 2010 hopefully was for all of you, if not better! Like last year, I wanted to devote a post to some of the things to look out for in the coming year. This is by no means comprehensive or complete, but 2011 has a lot of things in the works, so it's worth devoting a bit of time on, just like last year! So let's take a look at what we know is coming this year, and what to expect!

In terms of major concerts in either of the twin Saults, the only metal/hard rock ones that we can reasonably confirm at the moment are both at The Dreammaker's Theater at Kewadin Casino. The first announced one will feature a huge package of radio hard rock and post-grunge bands, including Buckcherry, Papa Roach, My Darkest Days, and Bleeker Ridge on March 14th! Allstar Promotions are hoping this concert will be a huge success, and knowing the success and popularity of these bands, I don't see any real reason why this won't be one of the biggest hard rock shows of 2011! The other confirmed major concert across the river at The Dreammaker's Theater is exactly one month later, and it involves Philadelphia hair metal legends Cinderella! They'll come to Kewadin Casino less than a year after another Cinderella (the play) was featured there. This time, it actually is the band, so if you want some live glam metal, you know where to be on April 14th! More details are likely to come in on both shows, but if you want to buy tickets, you can buy them at Kewadin Casino's ticketing page, at their box office, or by phone if you call 1-800-KEWADIN! As for other major concerts in the metal and hard rock vein, no others are known yet, but Allstar Promotions always have something up their sleeves, and you never know when The Essar Center will book something heavy, so be sure to keep an eye out!

For other concerts this year, we know more than we knew last year at this point, so here's what's scheduled! Hempfest returns this August after a year's relocation, with Frightlight and Half Past already among the confirmed acts, so if you want to support marijuana culture or enjoy some great music, head down to Ophir in August! Motley Crue tribute band Crued also return to Sault Ontario on April 30th for a high energy set at The Canadian Nightclub! The rest of the known shows on this side in 2011 revolve around the bands who frequently hit the bars for weekend sets, including a handful of Turner Up gigs at Docks Riverfront Grill through February and Tym Morrison's weekly arrangements at Foggy Notions and The Big Cheese. Expect more to be announced from both bands, including more weekend dates from That's Chester and many more shows from many other local acts as the year wears on! Sault Michigan concerts are harder to verify, but a ton at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino have been confirmed for almost the entire year, including numerous new dates from Monkey's Uncle, Splitshot, Peril, River Witch, and Driven! Expect shows from some of those bands at venues like The Bear & Dondee Lanes too, among others, but verification of those isn't simple. Add The Darwin Project's show on February 19th in Rudyard too, and you have a big year of concerts across the river already!

Check the SMS concert listings on your left and right for full confirmed dates that I currently know of! This doesn't even count the possible shows for 2011 that we can assume or guess will happen, so here's a couple more prospective metal concerts to keep an eye out for! Kewadin Casino had talked of possibly holding another major summer festival following the success of last year's 25th Anniversary Festival, and you know some metal bands could be on that! Other possibilities include both of the stages at Rotaryfest, the Bellevue Park concert series, the Sugar Island Music Festival, Oktoberfest & Sidewalk Sales in Sault Michigan, any possible battles of the bands, the concerts connected to The Guitar Studio rock camp, and (although not concerts) open mic and jam nights at various local bars and concert spots!

You could also throw possible CD release parties on there, as there are a pile of local metal and hard rock albums that have either begun recording sessions, or are in line for releases in the very near future! After a slower than usual 2010 for local album releases, hopefully the floodgates open in 2011! We'll go over some of these in full detail tomorrow for our January "Where Are The New Albums?" update post, but check out all the bands who have albums announced, partly recorded, or finished without release: April Eyes, Bring The Fallen, Garden of Bedlam, Gates of Winter, Half Past, Lion Ride, Mike Haggith, No Arrow, Riverin, Sense of Truth, Silver Dream, Sykotyk Rampage, Tym Morrison, and Woods of Ypres, and that doesn't even count certain bands' plans for multiple releases this year! Not to mention, bands like The Bear Hunters, As It Stands, State of Misery, and others have new original material that may or may not have release plans down the road as well! In Sault Michigan, Clownsack's new EP is still in the works for a release, along with Bad Side's retrospective DVD, and with new material from Elipzis and Half A Man (among others), you never know what could be announced across the river this year! We'll elaborate more on many of these albums tomorrow!

There, hopefully this is a good look at what we know and might expect for 2011, but this just scratches the immediate surface. As 2011 rolls along, much more will come out, and as I hear about it, I'll have it right here! I should have a new news post TONIGHT, so stay tuned for that, as well as our "Where Are The New Albums" post tomorrow, a revision to our current poll, and more! Thanks everyone, and once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!