LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Downtown Street Party & Alex Traynor!!)

The busiest non-holiday concert weekend of the year is upon us, so here's what you should know regarding our scheduling. As best as I can gather, our Rotaryfest Stage 1  previews will be coming on the site this afternoon, while our Stage 2, Tym Morrison, Highway 63, and Re:Born previews should hit the site in two more posts on Friday. Fingers crossed there's no more short notice gigs on the docket, as this post is already solely comprised of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, both with an element of apologies for missing prior gigs with these artists, so here's what you should know to start!

Kinross/Mount Pleasant, Michigan hard rock solo musician Alex Traynor will return to Biggby Coffee on Ashmun Street for another acoustic matinee gig TODAY, but he's not alone! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard public confirmation of it earlier this week via the venue's and Alex's Facebook page. In fact, if you've been paying attention to both sources, you'll know that more is up than just Alex playing for tips and coffee. As it turns out, the band Tarnished that replaced the now-defunct Banned at Kinross Speedpark this past weekend is in fact Alex's new local band, featuring him on vocals & guitar alongside bassist Josh Fair (who I'm unfamiliar with from past local music) and Project 906 drummer Tommy Korcal. No online pages or public media yet, but a personal Facebook video is floating around of Tarnished covering ZZ Top and Bob Seger, and they sound good with some grit! I mention this here in part because Josh was the uncredited guest from Alex's 4th of July set.

Leading from that, Alex & Josh played Biggby Coffee together last Thursday too as well as that day's Ashmun Alive! festival downtown (apologies for missing those short notice sets here), while Josh will also be joining Alex TODAY at 10:30 AM, and if Biggby Coffee are to be believed, they will be playing there "every Thursday." Is this a sign that Alex is back home for the foreseeable future, or is it just a sign that Biggby Coffee don't know how long he can play Thursday mornings regularly? Tym Morrison aside, this verbiage isn't common for our coverage, so we'll play the wait and see game for now. In any event, Alex & Josh sounded good in the preview video embedded below from two weeks ago, but how long does "every Thursday" go, and will we see more of Tarnished on the public record? As usual for Alex's (and Josh's) Thursday matinees, there is no cover or age limit TODAY from 10:30 AM-1:00 PM.

Hopefully this set goes well for Alex, Josh, and fans alike with their hard rocking cover selections, so see above for much more details on Alex's solo and band pursuits, and I apologize again for missing his recent local gigs, we'd have covered them here had more information been available!

Next up, Sault Ontario funk/hard rock quartet The Wyld Stallyns and acoustic hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will be reportedly be among the entertainment at TONIGHT'S first Downtown Street Party of the season! Again, apologies for the short notice, the full lineup was only announced on the official Facebook event page yesterday. Similarly to last year's three Downtown Street Parties, TONIGHT'S festivities will see vendors, family entertainment, refreshments, and various other activities going down Queen Street East from Pim Street to Spring Street, so see above for full non-musical details! Like last year, there will be a multi-"stage" setup on Queen, with Tym and The Wyld Stallyns both opening the lineup at 6:30 PM at their designated location (Tym at Queen and Pim, The Stallyns at Queen & East.) Tym's opening for classic rock veterans Flathead Ford, while The Wyld Stallyns will open a pseudo-Stage 2, preceding sets by surf rockers The Dynowaves, and two of this Saturday's Stage 2 acts (indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. and solo standout Jesse Merineau.)

The hard rock-free "Stage 3" will be in the block of Queen Street between Brock and Spring, and will feature North Bay indie rock trio David Dino White alongside local blues rock veterans Five Below Zero, country/bluegrass quintet Johnny & The Revelators, and acoustic country duo The Bearded Lounge. Presented by the Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Association, the party proper begins TONIGHT at 6:00 PM, and this is absolutely FREE & ALL AGES, so see above for more details! While we're on the subject, The Wyld Stallyns aren't done for this weekend, as they'll also return to The Whiskey Barrel on Gore Street TOMORROW NIGHT for one night only, after apparently playing a show there on Saturday, July 6th that we missed on the site. Apologies again for the short notice (and for missing the July 6th gig), the venue had announced both weeks ago via this Facebook event page covering all July concerts there, which completely slipped us by until now.

For what it's worth, The Stallyns never publically confirmed the July 6th show online, and The Whiskey Barrel never plugged it alone beforehand, so I am uncertain if it took place. If it did, I profusely apologize, I will do better to cover Whiskey Barrel concerts in the future! Downtown Street Party aside, the Elements side project have seemingly made their home at The Whiskey Barrel in recent months, and their hard rocking yet varied covers should go over well there TOMORROW! Here, there's an 8:00 PM start time, no cover, and a likely 19+ age limit. See above for more details on both of their shows this weekend, and here's The Stallyns live!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Rotaryfest Stage 1 previews and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!