LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Fort Creek, Soundcheck, And The Wyld Stallyns), Plus A New Cover!!

Top o' the mornin' to ya! Another concert weekend is upon us, and with that comes SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for both Friday and Saturday as you'd expect, but also St. Patrick's Day today, which is where we'll lead off! A new cover by two local musicians can be seen at post's end, but let's get the concert previews rolling!

Local acoustic hard rock quintet The Wyld Stallyns will play their second public concert of 2022 when they return to The Whisky Barrel for their St. Patrick's Day party TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced via its Facebook event page on Tuesday, but at least the band proper plugged this one on their own Facebook page, unlike last month, where the venue did all the advertising. Soundcheck's open mic night aside (more on them in a bit), TONIGHT'S Wyld Stallyns concert is the only hard rock concert show for St. Patrick's Day in Sault Ontario as far as I can tell. Look for the Speers' and crew to cover some drinking songs (Irish and otherwise) in their sets TONIGHT, while expect seasonal food & drink specials, though I cannot confirm if green-dyed beer will be on tap. The festivities at 113 Gore Street will commence at a slightly early start time of 8:00 PM, and expect a 19+ age limit and no cover charge.

Until Monday, face masks are still required indoors unless posted otherwise, so do not forget yours. Also, while the vaccine passport restrictions were lifted in Ontario, please celebrate St. Patrick's Day responsibly for both alcohol and the pandemic, especially on a weeknight, to ensure everyone comes and leaves safely. Visit the above links for more details, and here are The Stallyns live!

Next up, local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek will return to Reggie's West for headlining concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the guys announced these shows on Friday, and I only heard about them over the weekend. TOMORROW & SATURDAY's shows come two weeks removed from Fort Creek's most recent gigs at the downtown Reggie's, and directly follow Soundcheck's open mic night tonight (they're coming up next), but these will be Fort Creek's first gigs at The Reggievelt of 2022, last seen there four months ago. More merchandise giveaways are planned this weekend, while classic rock singer/guitarist Jeremy Logan Newman (who has opened for Fort Creek twice since last fall, once with Whiskey & Beer) will return with an opening set TOMORROW only. He's a talented artist, so don't bypass him if you're there for night #1!

You can enjoy Fort Creek's southern fried hard rock stylings TOMORROW & SATURDAY at 8:00 PM with no cover charge and a 19+ age limit, and like with The Wyld Stallyns, face masks are still mandatory to enter until Monday, and please use common sense regardless to ensure that everyone has a safe time. See above for more details, and here's Fort Creek live!

Also this weekend, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will make their debut at Shooters Downstairs Lounge at 68 Dennis Street for one night only THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, Soundcheck only announced this show via its Facebook event page on Monday, but five days' notice is an eternity compared to many of the shows they advertise! This is the first concert of any kind that I have previewed from Shooters (formerly the Breakaway Bar & Grill), which is in a prime downtown location right beside GFL Memorial Gardens and seconds away from the bus terminal and Station Mall. You may recall us covering the Northern Film Showcase there back in 2019, but how will Shooters do as a concert venue? We may know more on SATURDAY! Open mic nights aside, Soundcheck were last seen with at the downtown Reggie's last week.

Hopefully Terry, Cameron, Paul, and Glen deliver a fun night of hard rocking covers for fans new & old alike at Shooters, and could this help lead to more concerts there from them and other bands? Things go down SATURDAY NIGHT downstairs at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover, but again, do not forget your face mask for one last weekend (we hope) before the indoor mandates start to go away, and please respect any public health measures at Shooters, especially as the venue is unfamiliar for our coverage. See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Finally, let's circle back to Fort Creek (well, 2/5ths of them) for a new cover of Slipknot/Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor's solo song "Imperfect" by singer Justin Grayson and bassist Robin "Bones" Lee on acoustic guitar, as uploaded to the band's Facebook page on Sunday. The audio-only cover isn't badly handled and will let fans hear Justin's distinctively raspy clean vocals in a rawer, more intimate setting! I prefer heavier songs, but it'd be interesting to hear the whole band tackle this song! Give it a listen below!

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