LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Blackwood Sinners), Local Fringe Rock Radio Updates, And More!!

Let's get our first news post of October up on the site, and yes, if you're wondering about why we haven't covered the Project 421 or Moon Tan shows yet, they are coming in this weekend's concert previews! They weren't covered last week in the midst of a slow news period, forcing their delay. In this post, we have some friendly information for fans of rock radio stations on the fringe of this market, and a new video from a local band, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next week! (Updated at 1:42 PM)

A double whammy of Sudbury hard rock is hitting The Rockstar Bar on October 15th (one week from Saturday), as rock & roll quartet The Blackwood Sinners and alternative rock quartet Vintage Slang will each make their local debut! Sudbury bands don't make their way out west nearly like they used to, so kudos to both bands for hitting the Soo next weekend! Featuring alumni of Set in Stone and Long After Dark, The Blackwood Sinners' bluesy hard rock sound has been making waves in the past year, including from many high profile concerts and album plans. Similarly, Vintage Slang (replacing fellow Sudbury rockers The Fortunate Losers) harbour an entertaining alt-rock sound inspired by mamny Canadian artists, which helped them win this year's Q92 Rock Rumble, so don't miss either band next week! A local band is advertised to open this show as well, but they have not been publically announced yet.

Doors open at 9:00 PM for this 19+ show, which has a $7 cover charge. This should be a fun concert for hard rock fans, especially if you want to see Sudbury bands playing here, so check the official Facebook event page for more details, stay tuned for updates, and hopefully nothing bad happened with The Fortunate Losers, it'd be nice to see them play here!

Next up, here's a new Facebook video from local alternative hard rock trio The Din! Uploaded to their Facebook page on Wednesday, it's another of their comedic clips that doesn't feature a live music focus, this time as a black & white parody of charity commercials for helping feed the poor (a'la UNICEF or The Christian Children's Fund of Canada), only the needy here are starving musicians (The Din), with frontman Mike Haggith portraying the representative talking to the camera. I'm sure some viewers might not entirely agree with the parody basis here, but if you can take it lightly, it has it's moments, so check it out below, and watch for the surprise ending!

Finally for today, I wanted to give a long overdue update to our listings of Michigan rock radio stations that, while not locally based, get fringe reception in the Twin Saults. Fans familiar with Northern Michigan radio will likely recall the Cheboygan stations Classic Rock: The Bear (WCHY, 97.7 FM) & Rock 105 (WGFM, 105.1 FM), and Petoskey's KLT: The Rock Station (WKLZ, 98.9 FM), but in recent months, I've discovered through bandscans that two more classic rock stations in Michigan can be received here on a typical FM radio if all lines up the right way. One is WRUP in Manistique, which airs at WRPP 92.7 FM (not to be confused with the former Q92 in Sudbury), repeating from it's main station in Marquette. WRUP airs "real classic rock", and from what I've seen, it's playlist is a little heavier than The Bear, plus it broadcasts Green Bay Packers games if you're a fan of that team. I picked it up locally on a smartphone's FM radio last night (Ozzy Osbourne was playing), and it might be worth checking out if you want some variety!

The other fringe classic rock station that you might want to take note of is Thunder 100.7 (WWTH) in Oscoda, which has broadcast classic rock since dropping their country format in 2013. Information isn't too prevalent online on Thunder 100.7 (their online pages are largely assimilated into their parent company's True North Radio Network sites), and it's tougher to pick up here reliably, but I have heard and streamed it a few times in the Soo, and if you're closer to St. Ignace or have a larger antenna, you may have more consistent luck. WWTH notably airs the syndicated morning drive show Free Beer & Hot Wings, which has aired on Rock 105, 93 Rock in Marquette, and on AM radio in Petoskey, so keep that in mind too. I don't believe any other non-local FM rock stations will pick up here without a big external antenna or atmospheric quirks, but for fans who don't like Rock 101, wish WLSO aired heavier stuff more frequently, or just want some rock radio variety in this market, it's well worth remembering these 5 stations!

From my experience, the easiest of these to pick up in the Soo is KLT, followed by The Bear, Rock 105, WRUP, and then Thunder 100.7. The Bear is similar to it's old local affiliate in Newberry (no more Nights with Alice Cooper though), KLT reminds me of Rock 101 mixed with The Bear, and Rock 105 airs a heavier and more modern selection (a'la WRIF in Detroit), in case you need a refresher on those three. You may need the right antenna, weather, or position, but don't let these pass you by for some rock radio variety on the FM dial! That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!