LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Project 906), Toystock VIII Preview, And More!!

Let's get a new news post up on this Saturday night, and given that there is a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT leading off, it's not a moment too soon! That said, we do have our promised Toystock preview to round things out, plus some more assorted stories from the last while. With all of that said, here is what you should know!

Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 will return to the stage TONIGHT at Hulbert Happy Hour in nearby Hulbert Township (obviously!) Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show via it's Facebook event page less than an hour ago, and while they did acknowledge there that this was concert was "very late notice", the venue's Facebook page had announced it on Wednesday. This will be Project 906's first announced concert since the Rudyard Musicians Festival in August, just their fifth in the past 9 months, and their first show at Hulbert Happy Hour since December 2018. We haven't seen as much activity from Project 906 this year due to members' own personal lives, but it's great to see them back out there TONIGHT, even with the late notice! As usual for their headlining bar shows, TONIGHT's affair is a 21+, 9:00 PM affair with no cover charge. See the above links for more details, and here's Project 906 live earlier this year!

Next up, and in what could be considered the kickoff to the Christmas concert season in Sault Ontario, the eighth annual Toystock fundraiser event goes down TOMORROW at The Grand Gardens North! Since it's inaugural installment in 2012, this (Choose) Maxx Entertainment-promoted concert has seen loads of toy, food, and monetary donations to Christmas Cheer, and expect more of the seasonal good will tomorrow,  with the Stuff-A-Bus on site once again to collect all of the goods for those in need. Aside from the musical performers, expect to see Mr. Bon Soo, princesses, and both Santa & Mrs. Claus on hand to meet the kids, while there will be face painting, a photo booth, a kids play area, and even video games. Click here for all non-musical details! As for the bands, Toystock VIII will again welcome 10 bands in 10 hours for tomorrow's festivities, though unlike last year, the roster for this year is half devoted to Toystock newcomers, largely on the younger side.

Local country rock cover quartet Bone Yard will headline at 9:00 PM in their eighth Toystock appearance total and seventh consecutive time, while two event newcomers will precede them in strong timeslots, namely power rock quartet Re:Born at 8:00 PM and the recently busy Fluid 5ive at 7:00 PM. Fellow classic/hard rockers Soundcheck will hit the stage for a third straight Toystock at 6:00 PM, though no word yet on if they'll have a fill-in singer again or if they'll play as a trio (and yes, Glen Thomas is again donating refurbished drum kits to a few lucky young attendees!) Local country musician Brendan Hodgson will return from 2018 with a set at 5:00 PM, following a pair of debuting acts, including pop rock quartet L!me at 4:00 PM and singer Kaitlyn Parr (who I know little about) at 3:00 PM. For a fourth straight year, a group of unidentified Case's Music students will hit the stage at 2:00 PM, while classic country duo The Jeff & Jeff Show return for a third year of their own at 1:00 PM.

Finally, Soo's Got Talent semifinalist Cameron Oliver will open with a solo performance at 12:00 PM. Toystock VIII is, as usual, an ALL AGES event with admission via a Christmas cheer donation (toys, non-perishable food, or money.) This is another great lineup of music and family friendly entertainment donating their time for a wonderful cause, so kudos to Greg and everyone at Maxx Entertainment for putting this on once again, and hopefully The Grand Gardens North is hopping in a good way tomorrow! Visit the Facebook event page and the above links for more details, and here's Bone Yard tackling a hard rock cover live!



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

• On Sunday, revived Sault Michigan hard rock solo project Hubbard posted a photo of a drum kit to their Facebook page, saying that it was "time to record drums." This appears to confirm that Chris has indeed resumed (restarted?) work on his debut solo album, but with new postings there tending to be sporadic with not much to say, how fast will we hear updates from the 415E guitarist's camp?
• Sault Ontario metal solo musician and Bear Hunters alum Mike Vincent is looking for a drummer for his new band project, who apparently play pop and punk rock (I presume Mike's on guitar.) Interesting change from his usual pace, but if you're interested in trying out, message Mike at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Thursday!
• Over two years after posting a drummer search on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group for a band project, young local guitarist Rainey Rancourt is again on the hunt, this time for a 14-18 year old vocalist. The band he's working on already has the other musicians enlisted, and they play metal & punk covers and originals. If you are interested, message Rainey at this link or via his group post from November 15th for more information!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more recent concert video footage on the site next! Thanks everyone!