LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Haggith) And Weekend Concert Previews, Including The Evans Blue Show!!

It's time for this weekend's local metal & hard rock concert previews, and though the weekend itself is somewhat light, there's a huge concert event going down across the river along with a few other events (not counting any possible ones that I can't source online), so we have an extended preview of that to close this post! For now though, let's begin with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for Sault Ontario on Saturday!

Local grunge quartet Haggith will make their second live concert appearance in Sault Ontario TOMORROW AFTERNOON as a featured act at this year's Art Gallery of Algoma Culture Days! I apologize for the short notice, but news only came on this gig earlier this week, and I didn't wanna redundantly post the same details twice in a brief span. This event is primarily to promote artistic development and exploration, and to let local youths learn art techniques of their own, so for more details on the artistic aspects of this event, click here! That said, there will be musical entertainment from at least one band (that being Haggith), who will be playing two sets outdoors on the Sault Waterfront Boardwalk tomorrow afternoon, and though a specific location isn't advertised, I'd have to assume they'd be fairly close to the Art Gallery of Algoma at 10 East Street (near the library downtown), so aim that route if you wanna check things out! That said, Haggith will play two sets at 2:00 PM & 4:00 PM tomorrow, with two very different sets planned, as per this photo from their Facebook page, but what's in store?

Their first set will comprise of songs from their planned second album "Deuce" & a bunch of covers (including new versions of Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, The Who, and Joe Walsh songs, among others), while their second set will see the guys play their upcoming debut album "Dragon Joy Ride" in full, along with the non-album track "Public Enemy" and what the band are calling an "extended ending" following the reprise of "Wanko". Haggith's performance will be an all ages and FREE event, with them starting at 2:00 PM and Culture Days itself beginning at 1:00 PM tomorrow. Check the above links for more details! Sounds like an entertaining event, and hopefully Haggith continue their local inroads with a successful day of music, so don't miss it! For a preview, here's Haggith covering Cheap Trick's "Reach Out" at a jam session earlier this month!

Now, we'll move to Sault Michigan for the previously announced shows of the weekend, starting with the return of Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven to the area TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! A month after last hitting St. Ignace for shows at Timmy Lee's Pub, these talented area favourites will cross the Mighty Mac once again to rock The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino for two concerts this weekend, and you know they'll have lots of entertaining hard rock covers in store for their local fans! Oddly, I haven't seen recent mentions from Driven on these shows on their online pages, but hopefully they're still on & ready to rock St. Ignace for these 21+ concerts! No cover charge is likely, and I'd expect them to be on at 10:00 PM tomorrow & Saturday. Check the above links for more details! Driven should deliver a fun weekend of hard rocking covers for their fans in St. Ignace, so consider a drive down there to see them in action, and hopefully we'll get media of them in action at some point!

Finally, it's a special and very notable hard rock concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TOMORROW NIGHT, as three notable hard rock bands will rock the stage for some great causes! As you may remember, Sault Michigan students Kim Rogers and Kelsey Raffaele tragically passed away in early 2010 in separate area accidents, and four hard rock bands (Pop Evil, Evans Blue, Graveyard Tan, and locals Nixxon Dixxon) came together to play a special benefit concert in their memory that February. Over 2½ years later, Toronto hard rockers Evans Blue will return to Sault Michigan tomorrow night, this time to headline a very similar second event for the same great causes! Proceeds for this show will go towards The Kids Driving Responsibly Challenge (a group launched in Kelsey's memory to help stop texting & driving), as well as scholarships in both Kim & Kelsey's names for local students, which are great causes to help keep their memories alive and help prevent similar accidents in the future! 

For Evans Blue, this will be their first local concert appearance with current drummer Dusty Saxton (Howard Davis was on drums during their 2010 show here), but their high tempo Chevelle-ish sound (including hit songs like "Cold (But I'm Still Here)" should go over really nicely in their return, so don't miss them tomorrow night! Opening for them on their current Graveyard of Empires tour will be Ohio hard rock quintet State Your Cause, who should make a splash in their Sault Michigan debut with their melodic and diverse blend of hard rock styles! The opening band will be Detroit hard rock quintet Fifth Way, in their first local concert appearance since opening for The Gin Blossoms at The Dreammaker's Theater in April! Featuring Rudyard native Zak Stelmaszek on guitar, Fifth Way are no stranger to the Soo following a number of notable appearances at Kewadin Casino concerts, and I'd expect the same from their heavy brand of originals tomorrow as well, and yes, they'll be plugged in this time! Also, note that this will be Fifth Way's first local concert appearance with new bassist Victor Wooten, who replaced Mike McMann this summer.

This ALL AGES concert, which is being put on by Allstar Promotions in cooperation with Kewadin Cares and local radio stations Rock 101 & 99.5 Yes FM, surprisingly still has tickets on sale for the ultra cheap price of $10 from the eighth row back (center seating aside.) To buy them the usual way, click here for online purchasing, visit the Kewadin box office in person, call 1-800-KEWADIN, or visit Allstar Graphics on 822 Ashmun Street! However, like the 2010 Pop Evil-headlined concert here, local businesses have joined the cause to help this show sell out and enable local attendees (students in particular) to be able to attend, with many buying or encouraging ticket purchases just for the charitable aspect. Those who buy tickets for non-personal use have been freely distributing them to local schools and people who will want to go, with the radio stations pushing for listeners to buy or match ticket sales, with the person buying the most winning a $100 Allstar Graphics gift card. Everything starts at 7:00 PM tomorrow with Fifth Way opening the festivites, and for more details, check the above links and this brand new article from The Soo Evening News featuring info on the concert and some remarks from Zak Stelmaszek about it! (For the record, I don't know any details on any possible meet & greets, so I'd call ahead just in case.)

This sounds like another awesome concert for some great causes, and hopefully all three bands rock the house both tomorrow and in their joint Traverse City set tonight as well! Kim & Kelsey are definitely still missed locally, and if the money raised and attention given help even in a small way, then it'll all be worth it, and kudos to the bands and organizers for all they're doing! Hopefully the show will be sold out by tomorrow night, and you know we'll have all the fallout as it comes in on it! For now though, let's preview this show with Evans Blue's music video for their song "Erase My Scars", and make sure to buy/obtain your tickets for this huge concert tomorrow night!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review (of Woods of Ypres' third album "Woods III: The Deepest Roots & The Darkest Blues") this weekend, along with more news and notes soon! Thanks everyone!