LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Bon Soo Marquee), Treble Charger Concert Preview, And More!!

Today's second post rounds out the weekend's hard rock and punk concert previews, and it's very much themed around the 52nd annual Bon Soo Winter Carnival, including an extended preview of a big opening night concert TOMORROW, a related recent news article, and all of the details (at last) on this year's Marquee entertainment stage (also TOMORROW), so here's what you should know, and check out more previews in the post below this one!

The lineup for the third annual Marquee performance stage at this year's Bon Soo Winter Carnival was finally announced yesterday via this SooToday press release, so what should you know? Moving from The Roberta Bondar Pavilion to the Mill Market at Bon Soo's new home of Mill Square this year, The Marquee (as previously reported) is only a one day event this year, but now being held on Bon Soo's opening day. Once again, it is being promoted by Sault College's Public Relations Event Management program in cooperation with Bon Soo itself. As for the performer lineup, there is one punk band playing tomorrow, so consider this a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT! The band in question is Stereo North, who some readers may remember from their search in December for a bassist on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group. They identified as playing punk and modern rock, and their drummer is Brett Norton, but I know nothing else on them yet. Hopefully we'll all find out more tomorrow, and we'll let you know when more comes out!

The full lineup for The Marquee also includes local acoustic cover duo Frankly Speaking, solo artist Jesse Merineau, and local beatboxer Robert "Killabeatz" Drolet (all of whom played at The Marquee last year) alongside North Shore frontman Jeremy Hannah, Aardvark the Magician (my dad!), local DJ Michael Babcock (a.k.a. Soldjure), the cast of Korah Collegiate & Vocational School's production of "The Phantom of the Opera", Thunder Bay's Eric the Juggler, local progressive rock quartet Mannapool, the aforementioned Stereo North, and local blues/country musician Cody Watt, with Mr. Bon Soo and "a special surprise" also teased. Quite a varied lineup, which isn't necessarily a change from last year, just condensed into one day. The Marquee kicks off at 4:00 PM tomorrow at Mill Market at the former St. Mary's Paper site, complete with a new film-themed stage, though I can't 100% confirm if The Marquee will still be outdoors.

Admission will be via a purchase of a $7 Bon Soo button at the door, at Wal-Mart (either location), or at Scotiabank, and this is definitely ALL AGES. For more details, visit the above links! I was hoping that Marquee organizers would (be allowed to?) promote the lineup and advertise the acts playing more visibly and with more advance notice, especially after last year (which had a Saturday crowd of 1 person; myself, at points), but given that The Marquee is now part of Bon Soo's opening night, that should be an easy fix for the attendance. I love the concept of an outdoor winter concert festival, and hopefully that is proven this year so it can grow for the future! Keep it in mind for TOMORROW, and apologies again for the short notice!

Of course, that's not all for SMS readers at Bon Soo's opening night, as local punk/alternative veterans Treble Charger will make their long awaited return to the stage when they headline at The Machine Shop at Mill Square TOMORROW NIGHT! Hyped as the official opening night for this Huron Street venue (though they have hosted sporadic events in the past, like the 2013 Gino Vanelli concert), this will also be the first major event following the announcement of Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori's new partnership with Mill Square and Algoma University, which will see his recording studio and more concerts brought to the site in the coming months. This well advertised concert (which has even had commercials on MCTV) will be Treble Charger's first in the Soo since a Searchmont Resort fundraiser last January, and this Juno-nominated quartet should be raring to rock their hometown once again tomorrow with classics like "American Psycho" and "Red", with guests and surprise covers also teased (source here.)

Opening for them will be local roots collective Frank Deresti & The Lake Effect and young alternative/grunge trio The Pixo Control (pictured), and while neither are perfect genre matches, they're both very talented and will bring a lot to the table, so don't miss them either! Tickets for this show cost $39.95, and while that does seem high, they're less than half of what the Searchmont fundraiser admission was, so keep that in mind (there are limited VIP tickets with meet & greets for $69.50 as well.) This is an ALL AGES concert AT 7:30 PM tomorrow, and tickets can be bought at this link, at the door, or at the LIFEforia Wellness Club at 681 Pine Street. For more details, visit the above links, plus SooToday and The Sault Star's coverage of the show! Among other coverage of this concert, a new Sault Star article from Brian Kelly went up on their site yesterday (and presumably in yesterday's paper) featuring interview excerpts with Greig Nori, so what should you know on that?

Entitled "Nori jams with Algoma U", the article goes further in-depth on Greig's new local plans, which include returning full time to the Soo this summer to teach commercial music production courses with Algoma's existing music program, something he's done at a few Southern Ontario schools since the late 2000s. The plans still involve construction of a full recording studio at The Machine Shop, he wants students to get experience recording and filming bands that play there, and he's working on getting a similar position here for Treble Charger bandmate Bill Priddle. The article also confirms that Greig and Bill wrote four or five new Treble Charger songs last fall (their first in over 12 years), but they're holding off on recording them until the Algoma program starts so they can involve students.

And yes, Greig really is coming home, he's purchased a new home here, and he said in the interview that he knew he had to move back when he saw the development going on at Mill Square, which he's enthusiastically hyped in prior interviews with local media. It's a solid article that sheds more light on what Greig is planning for the Soo, and while there's still a lot to do and reveal, I'm cautiously optimistic! Check it out above, and be sure to see above for more details on the Treble Charger concert TOMORROW NIGHT at The Machine Shop! For a preview, here's Treble Charger playing "Brand New Low" live in Southern Ontario in 2013!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes over the weekend, plus Treble Charger (and Marquee?) concert fallout as well! Thanks everyone!