LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Scarkazm & Banned) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we cover some newly announced concerts (including a big tribute show in March), let's tackle our first hard rock concert previews of February 2019 to end this month! Due to the amount of shows, we're bumping our preview of Saturday night's Chase Wigmore concert at The Rednecks Saloon to tomorrow's post, which will also (in theory) allow an extra day for public information on the lineup, as updates haven't been quick since the postponement. Now, let's kick off this weekend's previews with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE!

Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned will make their first live appearance of 2019 when they rock the beer tent at the annual International 500 snowmobile race in Sault Ste. Marie TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed this gig via it's Facebook event page on Friday. In spite of the ongoing polar vortex and frigid temperatures, the show must go on, and Banned are still slated to rock the I-500 pre-race festivities, as they previously did in 2016, not to mention their rare mid-week Kewadin Casino gigs timed with the I-500 in 2017. This will be Banned's first concert outside of Manistique since the fall, so if you've missed the Traynors and Wayne in recent months, and can withstand the cold, head to the I-500 beer tent at the race site at 984 West 4th Avenue! Much like Project 421 did last year, Banned are on TONIGHT at around 8:00 PM after the Woody’s Challenge race, with their set coinciding with the annual I-500 downtown pub crawl, so keep that in mind if you're so inclined.

Musical entertainment is not advertised on other days for this year (usually, the beer tent only has a band on the Thursday), but click here for the full schedule, and follow necessary links there for details on the race proper and potential admission fees where required. Of course, the I-500 race begins on Saturday morning, and I believe 1230 AM will call the action for those curious. Visit the above links for more details, hopefully Banned put on a great show in spite of the temperature TONIGHT, and here they are live!



Next up, we'll stay in Sault Ste. Marie, where Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will rock The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, but that's not all from their camp, as they've announced more 2019 dates for the E.U.P. via a spree of Facebook event page postings last week! We already knew of local gigs from Scarkazm and sister band Peril in the first quarter of 2019, but as linked en masse here, we can now confirm the rest of Scarkazm's Kewadin Casino slate for this year, so where and when can you see them in the coming months? At the aforementioned Rapids Lounge, you can see Scarkazm on May 17th-18th, September 27th-28th, and November 29th-30th, while they'll return to The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace for concert weekends on June 21st-22nd, August 9th-10th, October 4th-5th, and December 20th-21st. Aside from April and July, E.U.P. fans will get their Scarkazm one weekend a month for the rest of the year!

Of course, don't forget about tomorrow & Saturday night's Scarkazm gigs in the Soo, and with convenient timing during the I-500, that should be a nice attendance boost, so consider a run to The Rapids Lounge for some hard hitting tunes this weekend after each day's festivities! All of these Kewadin gigs from Scarkazm have 21+ age limits, 9:00 PM start times, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for full details, and here's Scarkazm live!

Now, let's head north to Sault Ontario, where local acoustic hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will continue his long-term arrangement at Gliss Restaurant with matinee concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY! Unlike the next two weekends (where he has a nighttime concert elsewhere), this weekend's bookings are solely the usual Gliss ones, but his unplugged covers are always worth a listen, especially with his prolific setlist, so don't bypass Gliss on Spring Street for all of the action this weekend! If you'd rather see him at nighttime, be at Room 21 or The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on each of the Fridays after this week. As usual for Tym's shows at this downtown restaurant, both of these shows are 6:00 PM evening events with no announced cover charges or age limits, but mind the locale. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!



Finally for today's previews, we'll head to The Machine Shop, where this year's Bon Soo Winter Carnival will welcome back local bands via the first annual Soolebrity Showcase SATURDAY concert event! Promoted by (Choose) Maxx Entertainment, this will be an indoor event unlike Bon Soo's old Marquee series, and it will unite live bands with local artists of various media (like painting, crafts, and photography), while local craft brewed beer will also be on tap to purchase, so this should be a prime chance to support varying local talent! Visit the official Facebook event page for full details on the artists and brewers you'll see at The Machine Shop on Saturday. Country rock cover quartet Bone Yard are headlining on Saturday at 10:00 PM, preceded by classic/hard rock veterans Soundcheck at 9:00 PM for the night's only heavier kick, and their Machine Shop debut.

The opening bands are both acoustic country duos, namely Bone Yard side project The Bearded Lounge at 8:00 PM & The Jeff & Jeff Show at 7:00 PM. Yes, all four of these bands played at Toystock in both 2018 & 2017, so if you want an encore/spinoff, you know where to be this weekend! Admission is free with the purchase of a Bon Soo button from local merchants or at the door, and despite the craft beer angle, this is an ALL AGES event. While I wish The Marquee lived up to it's potential, it's great to see Bon Soo trying a local-centric concert again, and hopefully this is a big hit for the festival! Check the above links for more, and here's Soundcheck live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!