2020: A Preview & What To Watch Out For!!

Happy New Year (and Decade), everyone! As is tradition on the SMS, we're kicking off 2020 with a forecast looking at what will and could happen among local metal, hard rock, and punk artists and events over these 12 months, so here's what we know for upcoming concerts to start things off!

We already have a strong lineup of shows announced for this year, with Kewadin Casino in Sault Michigan welcoming four major headlining concerts to The Dreammakers Theater in 2020 already, including shows headlined by Mr. Big frontman Eric Martin on February 15th, Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer one week later, Black Label Society on March 13th, and Candlebox on April 18th. For ticketing and opener details on all of these dates, visit Kewadin's ticket page! Sault Ontario will kick off an unusually busy stretch for the Sault Community Theater Center with shows from Theory of a Deadman on February 16th, Matthew Good on March 26th, and Queen: It's A Kinda Magic on June 17th, so click here for admission details on those shows. On the Canadian side of the border, look for Tym Morrison's ongoing weekly run at Gliss Restaurant to continue each Friday and Saturday like clockwork, while The Apocalypse Afterparty will help open Bon Soo at month's end, and the First Jason concert takes place on April 26th.

As for remaining E.U.P. concerts that I am aware of, look for Tarnished's own weekly matinee run at Biggby Coffee to continue until further notice, with the other concerts all coming at The Rapids Lounge at the Soo Kewadin or the Northern Pines Lounge in St, Ignace. We knew of some of the earlier Peril & Scarkazm dates already, but each venue's entertainment page is newly updated through July, confirming more dates from those acts, as well as locals 415E & Highway 63, as well as some surprise original hard rock bands from out of town (BRKN Love, The Lows, and Tripp 'N' Dixie). Visit the above links for more on all of these dates, and stay tuned in the coming days for proper SMS write-ups on the new Kewadin lounge gigs and Queen: It's A Kinda Magic, which is also new for our coverage. Moving to shows that aren't publically announced yet, we can expect to see heavier and punk bands returning for various annual events, but which ones would those be?

I'd look towards Rotaryfest (Stages 1 & 2), Toystock, J.D. Pearce's annual Halloween Party, Go Skateboarding Day, the Oh!No festival's multi-venue move to Sault Ste. Marie, The Northern Vibe Festival, Go Skateboarding Day, the Oh!No festival in Leeburn, the Fringe North Festival, and The Soo's Got Talent, among others. Speculation-wise, could heavier bands return to The Fishbowl Festival and The Northern Vibe Festival after being absent in 2019? Will the Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing have punk or hard rock back for a second year? Could a battle of the bands take place after three cancellations in 2019? And what kinds of CD release parties could occur? In Sault Michigan, will heavier acts return to The Sugar Island Music Festival and Rudyard Musicians Festival? Could the teased LemmaFest revival take place as planned?

Follow sources like the SMS, SooToday, Sault Online, the Sault Music News Letter Facebook page, and other such websites to stay in the loop in this regard, as well as the Facebook/social media pages of your favourite local bands. As for album releases, we will have more on upcoming CD and album releases in our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post, which is coming soon (perhaps tomorrow). As of this writing, we have entries for bands like A Dire Setback, The Bear Hunters, Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide, The Elements, Id Iota, Mike Haggith, Pillory, The Sorrow Fields, and Treble Charger, but how many of these acts will get their teased albums on sale in 2020? Also, how prolific of a year will Chase Wigmore and his projects have? Could Mike McCleary resurface with new/re-uploaded albums of his own? What does Blood Shed Productions have up their sleeve? Stay tuned as the year progresses, but this should be an exciting year, no matter what!

2020 is already looking like a busy year, so follow along with us as we cover the whole year, and we will start with this weekend's concert previews tomorrow morning! Thanks everyone!