I was not expecting to have a news post today (more likely Sunday), but with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for TONIGHT, I had to rush this one. That said, we can get the postponed Mike McCleary story from yesterday back up, as well as some assorted updates from an upcoming festival and some recent news and notes, but let's start with a new addition to our band links directly tied to that new show, and check out last month's poll results and this month's new poll in the post below this one!
We have a new-ish band to add to our active band links, and they are
The Wyld Stallyns, a.k.a. the two man acoustic hard rock act from
Elements frontman Rob Speers and guitarist Jesse Cook! Yes, it appears that the Bill & Ted homage is 100% their official name now, though remember that they were previously called The Kariokeheads and Rob & Jesse, depending on who was advertising their concert online. This band is nothing new locally, having debuted back in November, but The Wyld Stallyns only just launched
their Facebook page today, hence the delay for making our band listings. Their bio indicates that Rob's wife Christina is a permanent member of the band now, and while their cover photo features Rob's Jack Spades bandmate Daniel Horton, he's not listed in their official lineup. The page indicates that they play "rock from the '60s to today", and can customize setlists for specialized gigs, and have encouraged crowd involvement at past shows.
Primarily seen at Room 21, your next chance to see The Wyld Stallyns will actually be TONIGHT, as they'll play a rare hard rock show upstairs at The Upper Deck Bar & Grill above
The Canadian Nightclub! Profuse apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced this afternoon via
it's official Facebook event page. This will be their venue debut, and it will have an early-ish 9:00 PM start time with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. It's great to see Jesse and the Speers' finally expand their online presence, and hopefully the phone booth trip to The Upper Deck doesn't have any hang-ups! Don't miss their unplugged cover action there TONIGHT, and here's The Wyld Stallyns live at The Rockstar Bar earlier this year!
Next up, here's the latest from local hard rock solo musician
Mike McCleary, who was once pencilled in for yesterday's weekend's concert previews himself, as he had advertised recently that he'd be playing a special acoustic set
today at the local New Democratic Party office on Queen Street East in the lead-up to the provincial election. Mike cited "the unpredictable nature of politics" for the set being put on hold, as per
his Facebook page, but he teased that updates will follow. If you can get past the political nature, it'd have been a unique setting! Leading from that,
Mike's Soundcloud page strongly hints that his next solo album will be entitled "The Party Album", based on a preview playlist there featuring 5 songs, including an intro, a title track, "Superstition", "Rain", and "The Great Musical Landscape". This presumed cover artwork is also online, which features the colours of the NDP, Liberal, Conservative, and Green Parties. Is Mike's aim to release this on or around the provincial election on June 7th? Time will tell!
We'll keep you posted when more comes out on it, but Mike has two new videos on his Facebook page to close with! One from this past Saturday is a lyric video for his "Hourglass" song
"Lest Ye Be Judged" (which is about the West Memphis Three, and features extra information about the trial and case), but embedded below is something a little lighter, namely a solo acoustic rendition of title track from his "Weight of the Truth" album, featuring a cameo appearance from his son. Solid casual performance, and it's cute to see father and son like this, so check out Mike's new videos above and below, and stay tuned for more on "The Party Album"!
Also today, here's the latest updates for the second annual
Oh!No concert festival
in nearby Leeburn, Ontario on September 8th, so what's new to report there? Well, there have been two lineup alterations, as the aforementioned
Elements have been added as an
18th act for their second appearance at
this event, while the still drummer-less
Vol.
have been replaced by frontman Steve Edwards and guitarist Mikaela
Murtonen's duo project Mik & Steve, who fans will have seen at the
Steves concert at LopLops earlier this month. Nice to see Steve and
Mikaela still on the bill, and hopefully The Elements deliver a fun set once again! This poster was unveiled last week on
the Facebook event page to add The Elements, and revised on Monday to replace Vol.. The poster also confirms admission fees and ticket availability for Oh!No II, as tickets will jump from $25 last year to $35 (which is unfortunate, but remember, there are 5 more bands this year.) Tickets are reportedly on sale at both
Case's Music and
The Rad Zone, and presumably through promoters
Six, Two, Oh. and perhaps some of the local openers.
Also, while doors open at 11:00 PM, a full setlist has not been confirmed at press time. That said, the poster does list the out of town bands (including the relocated Shit Liver) above the locals, and if the band placement is intentional, does that mean Peterborough doom rapper Garbageface is headlining? Time will tell, but this is an immense lineup for Oh!No 2018, so visit the above links, and get your tickets A.S.A.P.!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual for these short form story blocks, these are in alphabetical order by artist or program name:
- This doesn't bear directly on the local radio market, but The Bob & Tom Show returned to Northern Michigan last fall after Black Diamond Broadcasting moved the syndicated morning drive radio show from Classic Rock: The Bear (now at 95.3 FM) to 106.3 Mac FM in Onaway, coinciding with that station's move from adult contemporary to classic hits. Read more on the changes at this link.
It's great to see that Bob & Tom weren't off of the Northern
Michigan FM dial for long, and 106.3 FM arguably gets much better
reception here than The Bear's post-Newberry signals ever did, so keep
their new local-ish home in mind!
- After a couple years of uncertainty and rumours to this end, The Gore Street Cafe will close by the end of June, as per this photo of the letter received from property owners advising of the rental agreement ending, as shared to the laundromat's Facebook page. I won't elaborate further here, give the negative feelings and personal details in the thread, but I hope business is strong in the final weeks! Nicole's done great work for the community with the unique events and concerts, "pay what you can" meals, and local engagement done there, and hopefully she stays busy in related ventures after June 30th, even if a new cafe isn't imminent!
- I have replaced the link for former local concert/marijuana culture festival Hempfest in our concert festival links, as it's website's domain name has expired and been adopted by a women's clothing seller (there's no visible connection whatsoever to hemp or any fest.) It's new link here is it's Facebook page, which is teasing details on the forthcoming 2018 return after a year's hiatus and ownership change, but it remains to be seen if it will remain in Moonbeam, return to Ophir, or move elsewhere entirely. If we hear anything locally relevant, we'll let you know!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
Next up, and with June about to begin, let's add Tym Morrison's latest array of acoustic hard rock solo concerts to our concert listings, including Gliss Steak & Seafood shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY, and then on June 8th-9th, 15th-16th, 22nd-23rd, and 29th-30th! Again, apologies for the short notice on this weekend's shows, remember that we take his Gliss bookings one month at a time due to their long term nature. Elsewhere this month, we knew of Tym's upcoming Mark's Breakfast Plus shows from June 11th-13th already, but there are two Thursday nighters to note in advance of his expected return to thrice-a-week Gliss gigs next month, as Tym will return to The Water Tower Pub for a rare solo show there on June 14th (as per this venue schedule), while he will play a special "Back to the 80s" concert on Thursday, June 21st at.... Burger Don?! Yes, the restaurant at 7 Great Northern Road (formerly Gigi's Bistro) does host live solo musicians on occasion, and this will be Tym's debut there!
Also this weekend, let's head south to Kinross, Michigan, where hometown classic/hard rock trio Banned will play their first of three special concerts at the Jack Passmore Grandstand at Kinross Speedpark during this summer's racing season THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Specifically, Banned will be serving as the musical entertainment for Saturday's post-practice festivities, with the full season schedule commencing on Sunday, so whether you're in this for the fast driving action or Banned's hard rocking covers, entertainment is likely for Saturday! They'll be back at Kinross Speedpark in three weeks after practice for the Triple Crown event later this month, so keep that return in mind also. Saturday's show has a 9:00 PM start time with no age limit or cover charge (though the races proper have paid admission), while the race practice itself is from 12:00-4:00 PM. See the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Banned live!
