LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Wyld Stallyns), Long & McQuade In Sault Ste. Marie, And Much More!!

Let's tackle a new news post on this Tuesday evening, which mostly reflects some big news regarding two of Sault Ontario's three music stores, but we also have some assorted shorter news and notes, and leading off, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month!

Local acoustic hard rock trio The Wyld Stallyns will return to The Whiskey Barrel on Gore Street for another night of "funktastic rock" on May 24th, a.k.a. next Friday!  After last playing there a couple of Fridays ago (apologies for erroneous plugs of a Tuesday nighter), the Elements side project will return to the former Konoba Tapas location for another night full of fan friendly, crowd participation-encouraged rock covers, with heavy stuff sure to be on offer within! It's great to see that Christina, Rob, and Jesse's unplugged show is going over well at this new downtown venue, and hopefully this is another hit for them next weekend! As was also the case at their last two Whiskey Barrel stops, next Friday's show has a 7:00 PM start time and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more show announcements from The Wyld Stallyns when they roll in!

Next up, here's some big news concerning Sault Ontario's music instrument/gear stores, starting with the big announcement yesterday that Northland Music will become the local branch of the Long & McQuade music store chain this fall! As per a news release on their Facebook page, Northland has entered into an agreement with Long & McQuade (Canada's largest musical instrument retailer), after 35 years as a locally owned and operated music store, though owner Mark Mizzi will remain as the local manager, and long-time staffer Bob Croteau will stay on as well. Northland will continue operations under that name through September before officially switching over to the Long & McQuade branding, but over the summer, more stock than ever will arrive at their 312 Queen Street East location, and they will have full access to the parent company's lines, rentals, and financing. More hiring of staff will take place as operations grow, and they are currently accepting resumes.

While things are vague on the topic, it sounds like Northland/Long & McQuade will open up in a larger location this fall, but if I read those allusions correctly, I don't know the new spot. I did notice that the old Blockbuster Video location on Pim Street was undergoing renovations, but that's purely speculation, I have no inside knowledge. Meanwhile, this news will affect one of the Soo's other active music instrument/lesson shops, as the Thomas Walls School of Music at 505 Albert Street East will apparently be merging operations with Northland into the new Long & McQuade location, after almost 60 years of independent operation locally. Thomas Walls himself will be retiring later this year, with instructor & veteran local musician Lindsay Pugh heading up the renamed Long & McQuade Music School. Like Northland, Thomas Walls will remain open in their current home through the summer, and student/lesson programs will remain intact with existing staff.

This is absolutely huge news for local musicians, as Long & McQuade will ensure a much larger selection and wider range of options than Northland or Thomas Walls could offer (as visitors of their Sudbury location may attest), and with hirings expected later this year, this should be a boon to job-seekers as well! None of this affects Case's Music directly, but if their rivals do indeed move, that could help them attract customers who prefer to shop downtown. Stay tuned for much more on the Long & McQuade transition as it comes in, and visit the above links and SooToday for more on this story!

Finally for today, here's three shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades and (surprisingly) Shit Liver drummer Matt Baic have quietly been announced as the openers for Calgary punk quintet The River Jacks' headlining concert at The New American Pub on June 3rd! A rare New A set by Jack Spades, this will be the second time that guitarist Tiffany Stocco has opened for The River Jacks, after doing so with Stegadeth in 2017. No word on what form Matt's solo set will take on though, but will it bear more similarities to Shit Liver or his St. Catharine's bluegrass band Dirtfight? Time will tell, but visit the Facebook event page for more!
• The third single from local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock artist Mike Haggith's upcoming CD "Bridges" was released to major music streaming/download platforms on Friday! Entitled "Come On Home", the song is a softer, more downbeat ballad, but I'll hold further comment until our likely review of "Bridges" later this year.  Give "Bridges" a listen or buy on services like Spotify, Amazon Music, and iTunes in the meantime!
• In a quiet lineup change for the Music 4 Kayge benefit show at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion next Saturday, new local rock band The Tilrays have replaced blues rockers Johnny & The Revelators in the 3:00 PM opening slot, as per this new poster last week. A reason for The Revelators' withdrawal wasn't announced, but hopefully nothing bad happened! I don't know much on The Tilrays sound beyond their decade range for covers, but their lineup includes ex-Stiffler's Mom bandmates Michael Davies & Jon Ferguson, which should get a number of readers' attention! See above for more details!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site later this week! Thanks everyone!