LemmaFest 2012 Extended Preview!!

After a successful first installment last year, the second annual LemmaFest goes down TOMORROW at the outdoor stage outside of Dondee Lanes in Sault Michigan, so here's an extended preview of it for this post! This annual festival in memory of late Dondee employee Michael Lemma will go down all day tomorrow with all kinds of activities for fans and revelers, including $1 bowling offers, prize draws, drink specials, food by donation, and shirt & mug sales for the event, though volleyball & horseshoe games from last year aren't advertised this year that I can tell. Check the above links for more on the non-musical aspects of tomorrow's event, and we'll get to the admission details in a bit, but how about tomorrow night's performers? 8 bands have been scheduled for this year's LemmaFest, down from 10 last year, but this helps facilitate both longer sets and easier set up and tear down time, so this should all work out well! Plus, there's been a LOT less lineup changes, with no bands dropping out and only one timeslot being switched, luckily! I believe Grooves Music are also on hand to take care of the sound for tomorrow's bands. The lineup is full of veterans from last year and some newer talent, including a greater local concentration, so here's who's on tap for this year in chronological order!

This year's opening band (right at 12:00 PM) is Brimley metal trio Half A Man (pictured), fresh off of their first show in 13 months TONIGHT at The Bird, and with a hard hitting metal sound (complete with their Lemma tribute song "Goodbye"), you know they'll set the tone really well for this year's event, especially after missing last year's LemmaFest! Also note that they may have a CD of some form available, and some merchandise proceeds will go to area firefighters, which is an awesome gesture! Following them at 1:30 PM are new local indie cover band The London Gentlemen, whose singer/guitarists Mike Russo & Steve Sivret played second last year as well with their acoustic band Fallen Heroes. However, The London Gentlemen also feature Trail's End/ex-Nixxon Dixxon bandmates Kyle Beaumont & Jake LaLonde on bass & drums, but despite their metal pedigrees, this new band won't be too heavy from what I know. Still, they're a talented quartet, so don't miss them, and if I hear anything good or bad on Trail's End's recently quiet status, I'll have it here! Third up tomorrow at 3:00 PM are the local rock cover band Chump Change (fronted by Terry Talentino, who was 3rd last year as well with the inactive acoustic band 2PumpChump), and they have a nice mix of covers from many genres for their fans tomorrow in a rare afternoon concert for them. Think of 2PumpChump plugged in with a full band, and you'll get a good idea of what to expect!

The 4:30 slot tomorrow belongs to local hard rock trio Powerslug, whose members performed at LemmaFest last year in both River Witch & Great Bodily Harm. Expect an entertaining hard rock set from the two Chris' and Orb tomorrow, as the talent's there, even if the online pages aren't (and click here for a rare video of Powerslug in action!) After them, the fifth band at 6:00 PM is the local rock band Bucksaw, who I know very little on, despite returning from last year's LemmaFest at the exact same timeslot. I know their lineup last year included guitarists Bill Ogston (ex-Blind Baby) and Ryan Franklin (a local boxer), bassist Barney Gravelle, and drummer Jason VanLuven (also in Chump Change), but is that the same this year? Do they have online pages or media? Are they even hard rock? If I ever find anything more on Bucksaw, you know I'll have it here! Sixth is the only non-local band at this year's LemmaFest, that being Munising metal quintet Infathom (pictured), who played right after Bucksaw last year as well. Featuring former Half A Man singer Dillion Semasky, this will be Infathom's first announced show of 2012, and they're sure to build on their brutal sound and good local notices with another entertaining set of covers and originals tomorrow night at 7:30 PM!

The outdoor portion of LemmaFest will be headlined by the return of local metal trio Scofflaw (featuring Barney Gravelle from Bucksaw) at 9:00 PM, who will play their first announced local concert since October tomorrow! After a successful set at last year's LemmaFest, look for Jeff, Barney, and Ivan to melt faces with their rough but entertaining metal assault tomorrow night! As Scofflaw begin their set, local southern rock cover trio The Hixx will play a standard Saturday night set inside The Dondee to close the festival, just like last year, though they aren't playing an earlier outside set this time around. Their dependable and oft-seen party music will be a great way to end the evening, so don't miss The Hixx inside at the end of the night! Now, if you're planning on going, here's some attendance details. Tickets are $10 in advance at The Dondee, Grooves Music, and The Merchant's Bar, but the price jumps to $15 at the door. All times are above for when the bands play, and while the event itself is ALL AGES, attendees under 21 years old can't be in the Dondee's bar or the fenced in area after 8:00 PM. For more details, including individual merchandise and drink pricing, visit the official Facebook event page!

This sounds like an awesome festival for a great cause, especially seeing as some proceeds will go towards the Grosse Point Music Camp this summer in Sault Michigan, so click here for more details! Mike Lemma would definitely be proud of everyone coming out for this year's festival in his memory, and with 5 returning bands (and only one with no performers from last year), the synergy and talent will go a long way tomorrow! For metalheads, half the lineup (plus one if Bucksaw count) are hard rock or metal, so there's no shortage of music up your alley if you come out to LemmaFest, which will be worth every penny! Check the above links for more on the festival and each band tomorrow, and for a preview, here's Scofflaw playing their original song "Love Destroyer" circa 2008!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and this month's YouTube Channel Profile TOMORROW! Thanks everyone, and don't miss LemmaFest tomorrow outside of The Dondee!