Shinedown Concert Preview, Cancer Fundraising For Luke LeBlanc, And A New Video!!

Finally, here's our fourth and last post covering this very busy weekend in hard rock and metal concerts, as arguably the biggest of the weekend is going down tomorrow night! Our extended look at that leads off today's post, but we also have news on a local musician's major cancer fight, and a recent live concert video, so read on below for what you need to know!

In the second of two major concerts from Allstar Promotions this weekend at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino (following TONIGHT'S Daughtry concert), multi-platinum Jacksonville hard rock quartet Shinedown will make their Sault-area debut TOMORROW NIGHT! Touring in support of their new CD "Amaryllis", Shinedown have been one of the most successful modern hard rock bands of recent years, with hits like "Second Chance", "Save Me", and "Bully" keeping them as staples of rock radio, and they have a lot of popular and memorable songs that are sure to strike a nerve tomorrow night! They'll be joined by Memphis hard rock band Devour The Day (featuring two members of Egypt Central) as openers for tomorrow's show, and their energetic and upbeat hard rock sound should suit them well as they hit the Soo themselves! Note however that Detroit hard rockers Fifth Way (featuring Rudyard native Zak Stelmaszek on guitar) will NOT be opening this show anymore, as per their Facebook page last week. A reason was not announced, but note that Allstar Promotions never publically confirmed that they were playing.

Disappointing news to be sure, especially knowing Fifth Way's local familiarity and talents, but no matter why they're out, they WILL still be opening for Tesla on July 27th (one week from today), so keep that in mind! The Shinedown concert (which is ALL AGES) will go down at 7:00 PM TOMORROW, and as of this writing, only a handful of center section tickets (mostly in the fourth row) were available, so this is a near-sell out. If you want to try for tickets, click here, call 1-800-KEWADIN, or visit the Kewadin box office! Also, I have no idea on the protocol for a potential meet & greet, so call ahead just in case. Check the above links for more details! This should be a very successful concert, especially knowing Shinedown's popularity and success in recent years, so if you have tickets, have a great time! Myself, I don't mind a few of their songs (like their "Simple Man" cover), though I admittedly find a few of their songs overplayed, but they have a lot of talent, so don't miss their local debut TOMORROW! For a preview, here's Shinedown's video for their newest single "Unity"!



Next up, another fundraising campaign has been launched to help raise money for former Half Past frontman Luke LeBlanc's battle with cancer. Launched by Denise Armstrong on May 21st on the website GoFundMe, the links above explain that Luke and his family need financial assistance to help him at this time of need, along with noting that the cancer has spread to his stomach, spine, kidney, and one eye. The main goal is to raise $20,000 for his fight and related expenses, though as of this writing, only $120 had been donated. Luke's a very nice guy, and I commend him 100% for his brave battle with cancer in the past year, as well as keeping his trademark sense of humour through every up and down! He's also a talented singer, as Half Past fans and his old bandmates should attest to, but right now, his health is what's most important. If you can even donate a few dollars, that would mean a lot to Luke and his family right now, so keep this fundraising campaign in mind, click here for information, and help out if you can! Get well soon, Luke!

Finally for today, here's a new video from the second Golers concert at The Roosevelt Hotel on July 4th! Filmed by AlgomA singer/bassist Kevin "Marty Chase" Campbell & posted on his YouTube channel on Tuesday, this is of the Vancouver crossover/thrash band playing their original song "This Is Not A Test", as filmed on a stationary camera on one of the long tables near the stage. Good angle of this short original track, and the audio quality's solid, but the video is fairly dark. Still very solid, so check out this new Golers concert video below!



That's all for today, but I'll see you guys TONIGHT at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre for Bushplane Musical Madness II, and if weather and timing permits, you might spot me at the Tenaris Second Stage in the evening before or during Sailor's Tongue's set, especially with their hyped CD availability! Thanks everyone!