The Tea Party, Rotaryfest Stage 2, And LopLops Lounge Concert Previews!!

As promised, here's our third and final all-concert preview post for this stacked concert weekend (Darsombra on Monday aside, as it's technically next week), so what lies within this post? The third year of the current version of Rotaryfest's second stage, two linked 19+ shows from bands playing that event, and one more huge all ages event this weekend, so here's what you should know to close this huge weekend of concerts!

We'll start today's previews at LopLops Lounge for their first of two concerts this weekend featuring Rotaryfest Stage 2 performers, as local indie/punk quintet Northwest and indie/folk quartet K.I.C.K. will join forces TONIGHT before their Second Stage sets! Though the Keep it Cool Kids play later in the evening tomorrow, Northwest are the advertised headliners for this 19+ appetizer, marking just their second local concert appearance of 2017. Might they have some songs to share from recent EP recording sessions? Be at LopLops tonight to find out! As for K.I.C.K., this is their second show in a three day run of consecutive concerts, following their rainy set at yesterday's Downtown Street Party, and they should have some fun indie rock originals as well for fans tonight! A 19+ event, this show has a $5 cover charge and a 6:00 PM start time. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, don't miss out on this Second Stage prelude tonight, and here's Northwest live!

Next up, let's discuss TOMORROW NIGHT'S twelfth annual Rotaryfest Stage 2, which returns to it's "redirected" Clergue Park staging beside the art gallery as a one night only event, so who can you look for? Headlining the expanded 8 band all-original lineup at 8:00 PM is local indie rock artist Jesse Merineau with a full backing band (including Electric Church's Spencer Pine & 2/3rds of the former Caroline Divine), with the aforementioned K.I.C.K. co-headlining in their second Second Stage set at 7:00 PM. Alt-hard rock trio The Din will return to Stage 2 at 6:00 PM as this year's highest placed heavier or punk band, while the also aforementioned Northwest and fellow punk quartet A Dire Setback will rock the 5:00 & 4:00 PM sets respectively. Alternative/hard rock quartet Id Iota (and guest cellist Pete Mozarowski) will hit the festival once again at 3:00 PM, as preceded at 2:00 PM by the final all ages set from pop rock solo artist Mike Mikus before his announced move to Montreal (more on that in a second.)

Opening at 1:00 PM are new local indie/pop outfit All Us Others, featuring two female singers and a full backing band, so come early to hear how they sound! Curated for a third straight year by Chelsie Parayko, this year's Stage 2 action is once again FREE & ALL AGES, so see the above links or click here for full details on the all-original stage tomorrow! With a lot of talented young artists this year (with no bands that played Stage 2 even two years ago), this year's lineup promises lots of entertainment for fans of the recent alternative movement locally, so don't miss out tomorrow night, and for a preview, here's The Din live at Rotaryfest last year!



Also this weekend, here's LopLops Lounge's second Rotaryfest weekend concert featuring Stage 2 acts, as the aforementioned Mike Mikus and Id Iota will join forces tomorrow night for what is billed as Mike's "final show in the Soo"! As first announced last month, the former Pixo Control and Fever Tops frontman is moving to Montreal in the near future, so he's throwing one last headlining concert event before the big move, which will see him, Dustin, and Keeghan play songs from his forthcoming studio album, old Pixo Control favourites, and possibly some surprises. If you've missed Michael's old grunge/hard rock days with The Pixo Control, and/or love his newer poppier originals, here's your last chance for the foreseeable future! Id Iota (and presumably Pete) will also pull double duty tomorrow as openers, and gold star to Dustin Goodall in advance for playing four full sets with Mike and Id Iota in a 12 hour span!

The two acts have been heavily linked since Mike went solo last summer, so who better to open his farewell show than Id Iota? Much like with the Northwest/K.I.C.K. show, this is a 19+ event with a $5 cover and a 10:00 PM start time, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details. If you've followed Michael's music work in the 2010s, you know his move will be a disappointing loss around here, and while I hope he'll come back home for shows on occasion, best of luck to him in Montreal for sure, and be sure to give him a huge send-off tomorrow night! For a preview, let's throw back to The Pixo Control, whose last lineup is identical to Mike's outgoing solo band!



Finally for today's previews, here's a huge FREE show taking place THIS SUNDAY NIGHT, as Windsor hard/world rock trio The Tea Party will make their long awaited return to Sault Ontario with a headlining set at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion! The fourth of 23 free outdoor shows taking place this summer during the Ontario government's ONTour concert series, the Soo's stop on Sunday will see two bands and now two solo artists rock out in honour of the province & country's 150th birthdays, and this is a great epilogue to Rotaryfest weekend, so don't miss out! Of course, The Tea Party are a platinum-selling, Juno nominated hard rock band, and need no introduction for fans of 1990s Canadian rock, but this is their first local stop in nineteen years, so prepare for hits like "Heaven Coming Down" and "Temptation" on Sunday in their long awaited return! Openers will include Toronto drum & bass duo Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker, in U.S.S.' first show here in six years, as well as two Sudbury solo acts.

They include country musician Andrew Hyatt (replacing the re-booked James Barker Band) and, in a new confirmation via the official Facebook event page on Tuesday, Francophone alt-pop artist McLean, who curiously is only listed as having a 15 minute set. Very diverse lineup to be sure, but there's a little something for many tastes, and The Tea Party will satiate hard rock fans and those who haven't seen them locally since 1998 when they rock the big tent downtown! This FREE & ALL AGES show starts at 5:15 PM on Sunday, so check the above links for full details on this show and other upcoming shows in the ONTour series, and here's The Tea Party live!



That's all for today, but we're not quite done with concert previews, as Monday's Darsombra show will be previewed in our next news post, so look for that then, along with other stories! Thanks everyone!