LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Peril, Scarkazm, Banned, And Cousin Eddie), Plus A New Local Band!!

Kewadin Casino's entertainment page has been updated to reflect shows at The Northern Pines Lounge at their St. Ignace branch through August of this year (though curiously not The Rapids Lounge in the Soo yet), so we can confirm new shows there from four notable hard rock bands in this all-Sault Michigan-area post! Full band names are given this time, and for reference, "Pard. Excus." were Paradise Excuse, led by recent Broke on Sunday frontman Mark Bowen, and you can see a clip of them covering Chris Stapleton at this link. Now, let's tackle these LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, starting with a new addition to our band links!

We have a new Sault Michigan band to add to our full coverage on the site, and they are Cousin Eddie! Clearly named after the National Lampoon's Vacation character, we had been aware of this band since late last summer, but only recently confirmed that their genre would fit our range on the SMS. That seems obvious in hindsight, as they are a side project to local classic/hard rock cover veterans Highway 63, with guitarist Nathan Switzer, bassist Chris Leask, and drummer Ron Suchey playing in both bands! The exception is frontman Henry Switzer, with guitarist Greg Smith taking his place in Cousin Eddie, and while I can't be 100% certain, this photo suggests that Nathan and Chris share or trade off lead vocal duties with this project. Describing themselves as playing "classic rock, 80's hits and other genres", Cousin Eddie debuted at an outdoor De Tour Village show last July, and played their first Soo dates at The Rapids Lounge in August, followed by gigs at Huck's Pub & Grill (formerly Joe's Bar & Grill) in Rudyard in November.

As for those new Kewadin gigs, you can see Cousin Eddie at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on March 2nd & 3rd, June 29th & 30th, and August 17th & 18th, with possible Sault Kewadin gigs to be confirmed, among other venues. These new Kewadin bookings are all 9:00 PM events with no announced cover charges and 21+ age limits. Though there are no videos yet of Cousin Eddie in concert, their pre-existing chemistry with Highway 63 and extensive local music backgrounds should serve them well, and see the above links for more on Cousin Eddie and their 2018 St. Ignace bookings!

Next up, here's some new Kewadin lounge concert confirmations from Traverse City classic metal trio Peril, but not just in St. Ignace, as their Reverbnation page has dates listed for The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino as well, plus shows beyond August! As such, fans can see them at The Rapids Lounge on April 6th & 7th and on July 27th & 28th, while they have St. Ignace bookings lined up for June 15th & 16th and September 21st & 22nd. The April weekend in the Soo will be Peril's first E.U.P. weekend in almost 5 months, and their St. Ignace shows will be their first there in 7 months, so if you're been waiting for Peril to return north, now you have some dates! For reference, Jeff, Adam, and Brooks kicked off the year in Harbor Springs earlier this month. You can take in Peril's metal and hard rock classics at 9:00 PM each night at either venue, there are no announced cover charges, and these are 21+ events. See the above links for more on Peril's 2018 slate of shows in our area!

Likewise, Peril's metal sister band Scarkazm also have Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace gigs lined up for 2018 at each town's Kewadin Casino branch, also confirmed via both Kewadin's entertainment page and Scarkazm's Reverbnation page!  Keeping with their generally busier schedule compared to Peril, Scarkazm are booked for Rapids Lounge gigs in the Soo on April 27th & 28th, October 5th & 6th, and December 21st & 22nd, while they will return to The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace for shows on May 11th & 12th, August 10th & 11th, and November 30th & December 1st, so keep these ones in mind for your 2018 concert calendar! The May gigs will be Scarkazm's first in St. Ignace since last month, while April's weekend will be their first in Sault Michigan since October of last year. Scarkazm have proven to be reliable fan favourites from their E.U.P. trips, so don't miss them either in the coming months! Like above, these are 9:00 PM and 21+ events with no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details on these shows, and stay tuned for more on Scarkam's local gigs!

Finally for today, Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned will themselves return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Shores Casino for St. Ignace gigs of their own on May 4th & 5th, July 6th & 7th, and August 24th & 25th! Having just played there a couple of weeks ago, these shows confirm that this fan favourite trio will keep up the rock in St. Ignace through at least the summer, though we await confirmation of Rapids Lounge gigs for 2018, not having played there yet this year. As with all of the above new gigs, you can see Alex, Don, and Wayne live at the St. Ignace Kewadin at 9:00 PM each night, there are no announced cover charges, and you must be 21 or older to attend. Banned's hard rocking covers and occasional originals have been entertaining fans for years now, and these shows should provide more of the same, so visit the above links for more details on these shows!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and weekend concert previews on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!