LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Mourning Wood), Northern Vibe Festival Coverage, And More!!

Before this month's Defunct Local Band Profile makes the SMS, here's a new news post, as we have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to touch on for this weekend! To round things out, we have the first details on an ambitious event for next month,  and some long awaited fallout from a debuting festival last month, so let's get things started! (Updated at 9:08 PM)

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will rock The Rednecks Saloon for the second weekend in the past three TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard about the shows via drummer Glen Thomas on his personal Facebook page last night. Three weeks removed from their new lineup's debut, things will look a little different for this weekend's shows, as Glen indicated that they'll be playing as a trio this weekend due to a member absence, and Glen himself can't make tomorrow's show, so they will have a fill-in drummer that night that has yet to be identified. While not 100% confirmed online, process of elimination via personal plugs of the shows suggest that new bassist Paul Belair will be absent for unannounced reasons, presumably with Steven Flint back in his old role this weekend. If we get confirmation as to who's drumming Saturday, we'll be sure to let you guys know!

There's no cover charge for this weekend's shows at the former Nicolet Tavern, which both have 10:00 PM start times, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Mourning Wood live!



Next up, an intriguing concert event has been announced for next month from the debuting Spotlight Canada, so what should you know about it? Promoted by North Shore/ex-Lorax frontman Jeremy Hannah (in his return to local concert promotion), the event will be a showcase of local musicians of any genre, while also "engaging the youth in the importance of voting", with a targeted weekend date between October 9th & 17th to fall before the election, though a host venue has yet to be announced. There are also hopes for lots of media coverage and vendors on-site, with discount youth tickets and free admission for kids under 15. As far as I can tell, this is not a battle of the bands, but the event is definitely geared to promoting rising artists. This event is planned to be the first of an annual series, and is among the ambitious though still somewhat vague plans for Spotlight Canada, who want to book tours using a promoter & venue database, promote musicians, and grow beyond the Soo so they can create an efficient and effective promotion network to benefit musicians and help them succeed in the future.

There's a lot of unanswered questions & vague notes regarding Spotlight Canada so far (for both the concert & the big picture), but Jeremy has shared lofty goals like this with me in personal conversations before, so it's nice to see something finite coming together at last! There is a lot of interest already in performing or being involved, but if you want in or if you want more details, visit the above link, Spotlight Canada's Facebook page, or Jeremy's post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group from last week, or message him on Facebook at this link, and Spotlight Canada's now in our "Other Local Metal Links" on the lower left of the SMS!

Finally for today, here's the long awaited Village Media coverage from last month's first annual Northern Vibe Festival in Hempfest's old Ophir stomping grounds! On August 31st, SooToday's Donna Hopper posted this recap article from the Saturday portion of the festival featuring 33 excellent photos from the "Forest Stage" bands that day, though she did not capture openers Spider Fingerz & Kylie Precepa or out of town headliners Drew Leith & The Foundation, nor any of the DJs from the "Beach Stage". Punk/country veterans The Billy Bastards were captured in 5 photos, with other photos including 4 of Changing Lanes, 3 each of Frank Deresti & The Lake Effect and Al Wood & The Woodsmen, 2 of The Hustle Brothers, and 1 each of festival host Adam Hayward & beatboxer Robert "Killabeatz" Drolet, who I believe played an impromptu guest set midway through, not unlike at Toystock last year (the rest of the photos were of attendees & vendors on the Saturday.)

Donna also interviewed Adam Hayward for the newest episode of the webseries Tuned on Local2 (which finally went online yesterday), where she asked him about why they launched the festival, challenges in hosting the festival, the double stage layout, the appeal of some fans just hanging out in the bush, and future plans for The Northern Vibe Festival. Informative if grainy-looking interview that definitely paints the first year festival in a good light, and hopefully next year's even bigger! I will note that a picture of the set times for the Forest Stage included one surprise addition that wasn't advertised online: Ottawa indie rock trio The Red Rails (featuring Sault native Steve Brogno on drums), who were listed there as the Friday night opening band. They were already in town that weekend for a Rockstar Bar headlining show the next night, and while it's odd that neither the band or festival advertised their set online, it's nice to see them rocking out in Ophir too!

In terms of video footage from the event, there are scattered muted clips during the interview (including of Drew Leith & The Foundation), while there are clips with sound of The Billy Bastards and Killabeatz after the interview wraps up. What we hear sounds good, and it's nice to have The Billys back, so give the full Tuned episode a look at the above links, and here's to a bigger & better Northern Vibe Festival in 2016!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for, at last, this month's Defunct Local Band Profile later today! Thanks everyone!