Hair Scare Live Concert Videos, Plus Big Changes For KLT!!

Can you believe there's no weekend concert previews today? Still wrapping my head around that one. In today's pandemic-free news post, we're focusing solely on Michigan topics, so let's kick things off by belatedly looking at the final known public videos from The Hair Scare Live at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on February 22nd! One more YouTube user posted footage from that night onto their channel, namely attendee Carter Barsalou, who filmed two of the bands that night, though if you want footage of Kix's set, there's a fair amount from other attendees online. One of Carter's videos is of headliner Tom Keifer tackling his old band Cinderella's classic song "Shake Me". This is a solid rendition that was well filmed from the floor, though attendee heads can take up a lot of space, and the camera zoom can be somewhat choppy. Nice to see one more video of Tom & crew, so check it out below!



Carter's other video from Kewadin Casino last month was of opening Los Angeles hair metal band Faster Pussycat covering The Supersuckers' "2003 song "Pretty Fucked Up" (they titled it, not me!) A surprisingly modern song to cover at a 1980s hair metal throwback concert, it still seems to have gone over well, and drinking songs never go out of style! Unfortunately, Carter filmed this one from a vertical angle, but in this concert-devoid quarantine we're in, this may be the last Dreammakers Theatre metal show we see for a while, so savour all of the footage we can get! Give it a look below as well!

Finally, I wanted to close today with some news that doesn't directly affect the local FM radio market, but given the reach of the station in question, it is relevant for a number of listeners. Since 1991, Kalkaska-based rock radio station KLT has aired a simulcasted feed in Petoskey at WKLZ 98.9 FM, which did often reach Sault Ste. Marie with a fringe reception, and from my experience, picked up better here than Rock 105 or the modern day Classic Rock: The Bear. Well, in December, then-owners Northern Radio of Michigan agreed to sell WKLZ to the Educational Media Foundation, who plan to turn 98.9 FM into a Northern Michigan affiliate of their contemporary Christian radio network K-Love (keep in mind, the E.U.P. and Sault Ontario already have six Christian stations on FM & AM.) If you are so inclined, click here for details on the WKLZ sale. That said, KLT isn't gone from this part of the state!

Last month, Northern Radio of Michigan (who already failed to close a sale of KLT to Blarney Stone Broadcasting in 2016) struck a deal to sell KLT to regional radio giants Midwestern Broadcasting, complete with new digs at their Traverse City headquarters, staffing changes (Omelette's back on in the mornings!), and a new simulcast signal to replace WKLZ. Now, their main WKLT signal at 97.5 will also broadcast in Boyne City at WBCM on 93.5 FM, which had previously served as a simulcast of Traverse City country station WTCM. The rebroadcaster signal swap is similar to what happened with The Bear's tip-of-the-mitt feed two years ago (moving from 97.7 FM in Cheboygan to 95.3 FM in Tuscarora Township), and like then, the new signal isn't a positive for Soo listeners. Boyne City is slightly south of Petoskey already, but according to Radio-Locator's predicted coverage maps, 93.5 FM has a weaker signal, and it's estimated fringe reception doesn't even make it to De Tour Village, which may complicate things for existing northern fans.

I was able to pull KLT on 93.5 FM this morning, albeit with very staticy reception, so it can be done with the right equipment and location. Honestly, KLT's coverage range is now very comparable to Rock 105 and The Bear in terms of it's E.U.P. reach, but the strongest signal from it's originating tower belongs to Rock 105, so I expect you'll have the best luck of pulling 105.1 FM locally going forward. In any event, KLT is still worth a listen for local fans who want a playlist that's more classic-oriented than Rock 101, so click here for much more on the KLT sale and other recent radio changes downstate, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!