LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Europe), Ten Kings Concert Previews, And More!!

As another work week comes to a close, we have some more big news for you guys on this cold Friday afternoon, so what's on the docket today? Some assorted recent updates, a new acoustic performance video, previews of a pair of Sault Michigan concerts this weekend, and first, our first major LOCAL CONCERT ALERT at Kewadin Casino for 2015, so here's what you should know!

After a hiatus of over 18 months, Allstar Promotions are bringing major concerts back to The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, with one being headlined by Swedish glam metal legends Europe on Thursday, April 23rd! Best known for hits like "Rock The Night", "Carrie", and (of course) "The Final Countdown", Europe will be touring in support of their brand new album "War of Kings", and their memorable hard rock sounds should be welcomed to the Soo for the first time(?) in April, and courtesy of their classic lineup too! Support will come via The Black Star Riders, the hard rock band who basically spun-off from Thin Lizzy so they could tour and record full time (not unlike Black Sabbath and Heaven & Hell), and their lineup features 3 Thin Lizzy members plus Megadeth & Ratt alumni. These guys definitely deliver quality classic hard rock, so be sure to come early to see their set!

Note that this show comes one week after Allstar Promotions' official return show, a rare country concert from them headlined by Parmalee and featuring local country openers Hawk Junction. It's odd to see that neither of their new shows are modern hard rock in tone, but they have teased more shows to announce in the coming weeks on their Facebook page. Tickets for the Europe show (which is all ages) are a very respectable $27.50, and go on sale this Monday online, at the in-person box office, or at 1-800-KEWADIN. For more details, visit the above links! It's great to see Allstar Promotions back in the game, and the Europe show should be a hit, so stay tuned for updates!

Next up, here's our only known Sault Michigan-area hard rock concert previews of the weekend, as new local modern hard rock quartet Ten Kings will make their live concert debuts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! Featuring ex-Nixxon Dixxon singer Brandon Carr, ex-Scofflaw bassist Barney Gravelle, and former Bottom Line bandmates Joe Jenkins & Will Storey, this will be the first of two straight weekends at The Rapids Lounge for this promising new band, whose lineup speaks for itself, and it will be extra neat to see Brandon fronting a band again over 4 years after Nixxon Dixxon's breakup! This weekend's shows both have 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 21+ age limits. For more details, visit the above links, don't miss the debut of Ten Kings TONIGHT or TOMORROW, and here's the preview video from WK Media!

Also today, here's the long teased episode of Local2 & VM Radio's new acoustic performance webseries Bare that features members of local grunge/alternative trio The Pixo Control (who confirmed on their Facebook page last night that they've signed with Tidal Records!) Uploaded to the official Bare YouTube channel this morning, the video features frontman Michael Mikus and bassist Steve Edwards (drummer Keeghan Rosso's not featured) playing an acoustic version of their song "Land of the Moles", which won't be uncommon if you recall the guys' unplugged sets at Gusto's early last year. Still, this is a strong performance of one of the guys best' known oriigals, and it still retains the grit and grungy qualities of the full band version! Give The Pixo Control's Bare episode a look below, and don't miss them with The Cover Up and Northwest TONIGHT at The Rockstar Bar!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or company name:

• Infamous drummer Damon King is looking for a hard rock guitarist and bassist, though I can't confirm if the search relates to Infamous, and/or if original guitarist Anthony Boudreau has left their lineup. If this is for Infamous, time is of the essence, as the guys are scheduled for the VM Radio Battle of the Bands next month, so if you're interested, message Damon at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from yesterday!
• The long teased Edmonton, Alberta relaunch of former local concert promotion agency Dismembertainment is now official, as they're promoting Benighted & Bookakee's upcoming concert there on March 15th at DV8! Still ran by Rich Moreland, you may remember Dismembertainment for promoting the original Rosie metal nights and 2012's Ypres Metal Fest before Rich moved out west, but it's great to see him promoting again after almost 3 years!
• Former State of Misery drummer Nick Kainula is looking for a bass player (and maybe a second guitarist) to join his new local punk project, which apparently already has a singer and guitarist enlisted. No word yet on extra sound details, but if you're interested in trying out, message Nick at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Tuesday!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates over the weekend! Thanks everyone!