Oh!No III Festival Preview!!

Before we begin our extended Oh!No preview, just a heads up/apology, as Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished did play a morning matinee at Biggby Coffee today, as per their Facebook page shortly after showtime. In other words, "every Thursday" continued for at least one more week, though why not plug it as part of their advertising for this week's other concerts? In any event, I apologize for missing it, and hopefully it was a great show! Note that Tarnished have no advertised shows publically past Saturday in Ohio, so I'm not going to immediately jump the gun on more Biggby gigs until the band or venue confirms them. Stay tuned in any event!

Now, today's second weekend concert preview post is otherwise devoted to our extended preview of this weekend's third annual Oh!No concert festival, which returns to Robbie Adamson's old church in nearby Leeburn, Ontario for an expanded two night format TOMORROW & SATURDAY! As well advertised via diverse fundraisers in recent months (everything from dance parties & garage sales to car washes and punk rock ramen), organizers Six, Two, Oh. are going all out for year #3, and as usual, camping is encouraged for attendees taking the hour-long drive, and all of the usual fan-friendly experiences are presumably back this weekend, including vendors and hopefully another bonfire (any more pianos or organs they can use?) Check the official Facebook page for full non-musical details and even the precise location of the venue and camping areas, but let's dive into this stacked roster of local and touring entertainment, as 25 acts will hit the church stage in Leeburn this weekend, so who can you look for to start things off tomorrow night?

Only one touring band is playing tomorrow's shortened first half of Oh!No III, and they are Sudbury "party violence" quintet The Therapists in their third local concert appearance and second straight Oh!No set, and with their high energy, intense, and theatrical stage show, they should leave a huge impression on Leeburn once again! They're up at 12:20 AM, while the all-local opening roster will be toplined by rapper (and festival newcomer) Kodex at 11:40 PM. Punk/metal quintet Jack Spades will become the first band to play all three Oh!No festivals at 11:00 PM, while hip-hop duo Planet Rock will return from last year at 10:20 PM. Jack Spades' sister punk trio Stegadeth will make their own Oh!No debut at 9:40 PM, and tomorrow's lineup will be opened by local alt-folk solo artist Brenton "Slumshine" Ellis at 9:00 PM, who previously played here in 2017. I don't know if the spacing of the heavier/punk bands alternating with the hip-hop/solo acts is intentional, but the lineup is very impressive overall!

For what it's worth, Planet Rock were originally slated to play on Saturday afternoon, but quietly traded timeslots with Hannah Lindsay for unannounced reasons. Doors open at 8:00 PM for tomorrow's concert action, this is an ALL AGES event, and a B.Y.O.B. policy is in effect. There are no single day passes, so if you want to come down, buy a $40 ticket at the door or at Case's Music, The Rad Zone, and at Dryer Fire on Bruce Street (for maximum value, camp out and stick around on Saturday!) There's a lot to take in tomorrow, so see above for more details, and here's The Therapists live!

As for Saturday's lineup, the other 19 acts are being crammed into a full day's worth of music, including all of the non-Therapists touring acts, so who all can you see then? The 1:00 AM headliners are (surprisingly) St. Catharine's crossover thrash quintet Pisser, but a prominent act for many will precede them at 12:00 AM, namely Peterborough hardcore punk trio Cross Dog (featuring Sault Ste. Marie native Mark Rand and his wife Tracy), and it will be great to see them back on a local stage after melting many faces at Oh!No II! The festival-ending block of out of town bands will also feature Sudbury punk quartet Lightmares (in their third straight Oh!No set) at 11:00 PM, as well as Thunder Bay hardcore band Femur at 10:00 PM, and Montreal classic rockers Wrecker (who just played at Dryer Fire yesterday) at 9:00 PM. Drone/noise trio Pointless will be the highest placed local band at 8:10 PM in their third Oh!No set, while Peterborough doom rapper Garbageface will precede them in his second festival appearance, and he'll be no stranger to local fans from Soo gigs either!

Thunder Bay hardcore group Lord Hidetora will make their local concert debut at 6:50 PM, as preceded by fellow Thunder Bay desert rockers The Franquilizers at 6:10, in their third Oh!No set. Toronto indie rock quartet Forest City Aurora will return from last year with a 5:30 PM set, but with two exceptions, every preceding band is local. Instrumental surf rockers The Dynowaves will return from Oh!No II with a set at 5:00 PM, while revived acoustic punk solo project Telephone & Address are advertised to end their almost two years-long concert hiatus with a set at 4:30 PM (though I have not seen Chris plug their return publically on the band's Facebook page, for what it's worth.) Funk/hard rock quartet The Elements will also join the three-timers club with a set at 4:00 PM, and rapper Conika will take the stage for a 3:30 PM set. New Barrie "witchy punk" trio The Angry Spells (featuring Beaver Slap frontwoman Midge Beaver) will perform themselves 3:00 PM.

Fresh off of the timeslot trade with Planet Rock, local folk/pop solo artist Hannah Lindsay (replacing Dusty Hazelwood) will perform on Saturday at 2:30 PM, while Barrie punk quartet The Speed Humps will play at 2:00 PM as the earliest touring band that day. The opening acts are indie/folk musician Shae Tull at 1:30 PM and cybergrind solo project Malignant Neoplasm at 1:00 PM, though might that set morph into a C.T.W. set? Time will tell, but all of the pre-Elements bands are making their Oh!No debuts that afternoon. Doors open at 12:00 PM, and the same $40 ticket info applies as above, so be sure to visit the above links for full details on Oh!No III! The size, scope, and ambition of this festival continues to impress, but how will things go in Leeburn this time, and beyond adding a third day, how big can this get if it returns in 2020? Get down to Leeburn if you can for all of the action this weekend, and here's Pisser live!



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