LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Haggith, The Crusade, Banned, And The Sewer Swampstravaganza!!)

We have a stacked news post today in our first of two posts (this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles are going up tonight), but now, we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for five newly confirmed metal/hard rock shows! Two are from the same band in the Eastern U.P., but the others include confirmed bands for two previously announced multi-band events, and first, a short notice CD release party that also doubles as a concert preview, so here's what you need to know!

Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands runners-up Haggith will launch their third studio album "Deuce" with a CD release party TODAY! Apologies for the short notice, this was only just announced yesterday. To be held at 101 Crawford Avenue (which I believe is a band member's house), Haggith also plan to play an outdoor concert set to coincide with the release (a year to the day of the band's launch), in what will be Haggith's first live set since their battle run last month, so keep that in mind! Note that it's weather permitting, but the forecast doesn't call for rain tonight, so I assume it'll be on. The album will be sold for $5 at the party, which has a 6:30 PM start time and no other explicit charges, and attendees are welcome to bring drinks. Also, this is the final album cover, which is a simplified version of the image used on band pages & videos in recent months. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's a shame I'm going out of town for the weekend later today, as I don't live far from Crawford Avenue (near the Canadian Nightclub & the YMCA), and I'd love to pick up the album!

If you can't make the release party, CD copies will be on sale at The Rad Zone starting tomorrow, and I'm sure future concerts will have copies too! Go check out tonight's party, stay tuned next month for our review of "Deuce", and for a preview, here's the guys playing "Leon The Janitor" from "Deuce" at last month's battle!



Next up, the first confirmed bands for J.D. Pearce's cancer benefit fundraiser concert The Crusade at The Canadian Nightclub on May 20th have been announced, and yes, there's some heavier bands on the lineup! Five bands have been announced so far, and they include J.D.'s own local punk/metal quartet T-Rex Manning, Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands winners The Suicide Kings, the aforementioned Haggith, returning local death metal quartet Crimson Crusade, and ex-Terminal frontman Greg Callaghan in a solo acoustic set. While most have been seen at recent concerts, this will mark Crimson Crusade's first show since The Locals Attack six months ago, and it will be great to see them back before they open for Skeletonwitch next month! More bands are possible to be announced for this benefit show, which will see raised money going to the Canadian Cancer Society and the Relay For Life, which as you'd expect, is an awesome gesture! This show will go down at 5:00 PM on Monday, May 20th, with entry by donation (suggested amount: $5), and this is an ALL AGES event. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

The Crusade sounds like a great fundraising event, and as far as I know, there's more bands to be announced, so stay tuned for further updates, and hopefully lots of money is raised to help put an end to cancer once and for all! Stay tuned for more as it comes in, and I hope to see you guys there!

In a brief detour to the Sault Michigan area, Kinross classic/hard rock quintet Banned will apparently return to The Runway Bar in nearby Hessel, Michigan for two separate Saturdays on July 6th and August 10th! My source is The Runway Bar's Facebook page yesterday, and while Banned have yet to officially announce these shows, lead guitarist Alex Traynor liked the status confirming them, so they're on board. The July date will be Banned's first show in Hessel (45 minutes south of the Soo, a half hour northeast of St. Ignace) in almost 5 months, unless I missed one in the interim, and hopefully the guys (and girl) rock The Runway Bar well in their returns this summer! There's no announced cover charge for either show, you must be 21 to attend, and these likely have the earlier 8:00 PM start time. For more details, check the above links! It's good to hear of some more Banned concerts for this summer, so keep them in mind, and don't miss them back in Moran in two weeks!

Finally for today, the first official lineup information for the third annual Sewer Swampstravaganza at The Oddfellows Hall on Wednesday, August 21st is now out, and all three bands who played in the past two installments are back for this year, including local/Toronto punk/cello trio (and the likely headliners) RedD Monkey, local death metal quintet The Bear Hunters, and local extreme metal rockers Winkstinger! While the former two bands will be playing their first announced Oddfellows Hall gig of the year, this will be Winkstinger's second show there of 2013, though barring any interim show announcements, it will be just their second gig with their new rhythm guitarist & bassist (both still to be publically announced.) The other confirmed bands are Swampstravaganza newcomers, including Haggith (in their Oddfellows Hall debut) and the original crash band themselves, Sykotyk Rampage, in their first confirmed show since the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands! Though mainly new to this event, guitarist Dirk Becker provided sound for the first Swampstravaganza in April 2011, and bassist Tony Briglio was briefly scheduled to play that year with The Fury before they dropped out. Solid lineup so far, I like how it's shaping up!

As the last two Sewer Swampstravaganzas featured 10 or more bands (the first one had as many as 12 once), I'd expect a lineup of a similar scope come August, so look for perhaps 6-8 new bands to be confirmed for this massive ALL AGES concert soon! This show has as 2:00 PM start time and a $5 cover charge, but for more details, visit the official Facebook event page! The Swer Swampstravaganza is quickly becoming a must-see event for loads of local talent, so keep this major concert in mind come August, and keep an eye out for lineup news as it rolls in!

That's all for now, but stay tuned tonight for this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles on Cherubic Red & Faithless Sin! Thanks everyone!