LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Toystock) & More Assorted Updates!!

Today's news post is mostly devoted to a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, but we also have a handful of assorted recent updates to round things out. With all of that said, here's what you need to know!

The official lineup for this year's fifth annual Toystock charity concert has been announced, with 10 bands rocking for 10 hours once again! The event returns to The Grand Gardens at 1324 Great Northern Road for a second straight year on Sunday, November 20th, and while the lineup and poster have been floating around personal Facebook pages for a few weeks, we only received public confirmation of the lineup via local news sites like SooToday and Sault Online earlier today. Harbouring a very different lineup than last year, only two bands are returning from 2015, including country cover quartet Bone Yard (in their record breaking fourth Toystock set) and the return of Christmas-themed punk outfit The Rude-Offs (featuring Destroilet and Treble Charger alumni), so it'll be fun to see them again, especially as their non-seasonal spin-off band Killer hasn't been up to much publically! These are the advertised headlining bands via local news media, and while the poster's band order isn't identical, we'll treat the lineup from articles as accurate unless otherwise stated.

They're presumably on at 9:00 & 8:00 PM each, while the remaining lineup of debuting bands includes funk/hard rock quartet The Elements at 7:00 PM, punk trio Redundant at 6:00 PM, classic/hard rock cover quartet The 3 Day Millionaires (with new guitarist Bill Brouillard in tow) at 5:00 PM, debuting local rock band Shyte at 4:00 PM, 1960s-themed classic rock quartet The Peace Vibe at 3:00 PM, alternative hard rock trio The Din at 2:00 PM, unidentified Case's Music students at 1:00 PM, and online page-less hard rock quartet The Band Camp Rejects (successors to 2015 one-off band Under the Influence) at 12:00 PM. Notably, the Case's Music students are replacing a previously advertised return of students from the Bocturoc Acacemy of Music for unannounced reasons, though Bocturoc was only advertised before public announcements were made. As for Shyte, promoter Greg Simpson confirmed on Facebook that they're a new band from veteran local singer Jim O'Leary, of That's Chester & Flat Stanley fame.

This wouldn't be the first time that Jim debuted a band at Toystock, as his old band Griphook were revealed at Toystock I in 2012, but how will Shyte look and sound? We'll let you know if we hear anything! Promoted once again by Maxx Entertainment (now officially called Choose Maxx), this year's Toystock is again an ALL AGES charity event, with Christmas Cheer food, toy, and/or money donations being readily accepted on site, and those are also the admission fee as usual. The Stuff-A-Bus will be back as well, while Santa & Mrs. Claus will be on hand to meet the kids, and there will be refreshments on sale, and various prize giveaways. Toystock V is shaping up to be another fun marathon concert, and while it maintains it's usual Rotaryfest Stage 1-style lineup, there's a nice sampling of original performers as well (including Redundant, who we don't see live nearly enough anymore), and it'll be interesting to see how the Case's Music students do also! Will they resemble the late Mike Case's Junior All Star bands from Toystocks II & III? Be there to find out!

There's a little something for everyone at this year's Toystock, so be at the Northern Grand Gardens (not the Dennis Street location) on Sunday, November 20th for 10 hours of live music action and Christmas good will from 10 talented local bands, and stay tuned for updates! We'll close today with some assorted recent news and notes from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• Local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters have officially been confirmed to open THIS FRIDAY'S Norilsk concert at The Oddfellows Hall! There had initially been concerns about work and other personal commitments scuttling plans, but the band and promoters have confirmed that they are able to play in what will be their first live concert appearance since drummer Johnny Belanger's birthday concert there in May. This has been a long summer without The Bear Hunters, but welcome them back to the stage on Friday, and stay tuned for our full preview later this week!
• We have removed former Queen Street bar and acoustic concert venue Bottoms Up Lounge from our defunct venue links, as it's only surviving online page (a personal account named after the venue) has been turned into ex-owner Lori Lanoce's own personal Facebook page in recent years. Bottoms Up was a nice quality venue, especially for Tym Morrison solo gigs once upon a time, and hopefully regulars maintain good memories of it!
• The planned one-off Me First & The Gimme Gimmes tribute (named "Hey, What About Us?!") has quietly been removed from the lineup of THIS SATURDAY'S Halloween Party at The Algonquin Pub for unannounced reasons. Maybe a key member(s) can't make it? A replacement act is to be announced, and we'll let you know if they're confirmed by the time of this weekend's concert previews!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and features in short order! Thanks everyone!