LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tarnished), Project 906 Updates, And Much More!!

Another July 4th is here, so of course, Happy Independence Day to our American readers! Coincidentally, The Sault Metal Scene launched 13 years ago today on our original Facebook group, and of course, I would like to thank all of our readers and local musicians for all of their support and content over the past year, especially so over the past four months! At this point last year, I never would have guessed that a global pandemic would pump the brakes on the local concert calendar and make us swap over to a new normal, but as you saw with our 91 day posting streak from March-June, I was able to get new content out there to keep everyone informed as best as I could. The summer concert season has been decimated due to social distancing measures, though with Spun allegedly coming to St. Ignace next month, and the LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (yes) ahead, you can see that the Sault Michigan area is trying to bring some semblance of a live concert schedule back.

I'm hoping the worst of the coronavirus pandemic has came and went, especially given how the Algoma District and Chippewa County case counts have been small so far, but with fears of a second wave ever present, I hope everyone is being cautious and safe, and hopefully we'll have a full concert schedule for the summer of 2021. Thanks again to everyone for their support over the past 13 years, and now, let's dive into some big Sault Michigan news!

Barring another COVID-19 lockdown, Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished will play their first public concert since the spring on Saturday, July 18th when they headline the "Rock the Block" event at Crooked Music at 540 Ashmun Street! Yes, this will reportedly be inside the music store, despite the obvious space limitations brought about by social distancing, Tarnished confirmed as much on their Facebook page on June 19th. That said, they are encouraging social distancing and face masks, so if you do attend, please use common sense to keep everyone safe, and maybe more shows could happen in the near term. This will be Tarnished's first live show with new drummer Gary Croad, and their first show as a plugged-in quartet since October, so if you've missed Tarnished's full band setup in 2020, this will be worth your time! Three opening acts were sought in the above Facebook post on June 19th, and they are now confirmed, including Detroit hard rock quartet Letters From Abel in their local debut!

Having a downstate band open for a local band may seem atypical, but Letters From Abel are relatively new from what I have read, and they do have a Sault tie, as their drummer is Midnight Logic alum Kade Desarmo. You can see them cover Nirvana at this link, and they are a promising young group! The other acts are solo musicians, including singer/guitarist Kevin Blakeney, who you may recognize from the last three Rudyard Musicians Festivals, and who does have grunge and alternative songs in his repertoire. The other performer is St. Ignace solo artist Austin Graham, who performs under the name Grayham Entertainment. I don't know what he plays, but you can find out tomorrow when he performs at The Club at Breakers in St. Ignace. Note that Tarnished's online ticket page advertises Illinois blues project Concreteslim as playing on July 18th, but it looks like Kevin replaced them for unannounced reasons.

An all ages event with a 6:00 PM matinee start time, Rock The Block will have $10 admission at the door or via online tickets purchased above. Of course, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is not magically going away in the next two weeks, and while I hope this show goes off without a hitch and with all of the proper safety measures, the situation is volatile, as evidenced by the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in the state. If this concert is cancelled, postponed, or relocated, we will let you know, but fingers crossed everything works out for everyone involved! See the above links for more details!

Finally, let's look at ex-Tarnished drummer Tommy Korcal's current local hard rock band Project 906, who have been staying busy during the pandemic working on original songs for a planned debut EP! On June 21st, the guys revealed on their Facebook page that they hope to record it later this year or in early 2021. Fans may have seen them play originals live on occasion, but now you can hear copies recorded from their jam room (I'd guess), starting with a fully public re-upload of "It's So Easy". Other original song names include "The Comeback" (watch them perform it live here), "Walk On", and "8th and Nowhere", but embedded below is their newest song posted on Thursday, entitled "The Lonely Few". I'll hold comment on the songs for now, in deference to the album review that will follow the EP's release, but it's great to see Project 906 staying busy and productive while they can't play live! Get more updates above and below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!