LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Handsome Sandwich) & Northern Vibe Festival Lineup Details!!

Before we dive into this weekend's concert previews, here's a new news post for this Wednesday night, which is devoted to two topics, both involving the same band! One is the preliminary lineup for a returning summer concert festival (dates to be announced) and the other is a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and related missed show apology, so let's lead off there!

Local alternative/punk quartet Handsome Sandwich will return to The Rockstar Bar on Saturday, May 28th as part of a mixed genre concert in memory of late Manitoulin Island rapper/artist Zachary "$onny Vybe$" Cywink! If this sounds familiar, it's because Handsome Sandwich also played a benefit event for Zach (who died last summer at the age of 27) at the same venue on October 15th, 2021, a gig that the band did not promote in advance on social media, though organizers did promote it at the time. That was Handsome Sandwich's first post-relaunch set in city limits, for the record, and they were the only non-rap act on that bill. I profusely apologize for not covering that show on here at the time, especially given the tribute optics, I'd have plugged it here had promotion been larger! Note to self, give Facebook event pages for rap shows more of a look next time. Local rap label Sooicide Records are giving this another go-around at month's end to honour Zach, and proceeds will be going to some great causes!

Half of the show's intake will be going to the Cywink family and the remainder will go to the Ngwaagan Gamig Recovery Centre in Wikwemikong on Manitoulin Island, a very fitting gesture reflecting Zach's own struggles. A full performer lineup has not been released as of this writing, but note that last fall's $onny Vybe$ benefit also included MCs Fvck Sxvad, Bold Noize, Mic Swiff, Rick E., Sawbe, Kodex, JSK, Comniption, and Angelazura. Admission for this 19+ event on May 28th will be $8 in advance at this link or $10 at the door, and there is a 9:00 PM start time in effect. While Zach wasn't from the Soo, he certainly performed here and had strong relationships with musicians here, and clearly he left a positive impact on the local hip hop community to get a second memorial concert in less than a year, so definitely visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more details!

While we're on the subject, videos were uploaded to the $onny Vybe$ Facebook group from last year's benefit by attendee Amanda MacAloney, including one video of Handsome Sandwich playing what appears to be an original song that they haven't otherwise posted a video of yet, before finishing with "All For Nothing". The vertical camera angle is unfortunate, but this is a solid performance with good melodic structures, and while Taylor is a little stiff behind the mic, she gets into it well musically! Give it a look at this link, as the Facebook group's privacy settings don't allow external embedding of videos uploaded there.

Next up, the tentative band lineup for this year's Northern Vibe Festival has been announced! Alongside the reveal for the DJ-centric River Stage, bands scheduled for the Thompson Memorial Forest Stage on August 26th & 27th can be seen in the photo on the right, as posted on the Ophir concert festival's Facebook page yesterday. Yes, this year's Forest Stage is named in honour of late Frightlight drummer Chris Thompson, who pulled triple duty at last year's Northern Vibe in one of his final concert bookings before his passing last fall, which is a very nice gesture! Curated once again by J.D. Pearce in first local concert promotion role since last year's festival, be advised that last year's Northern Vibe Festival advertising never revealed the daily timeslots for the bands on the Forest Stage, leading our coverage to be surprisingly piecemeal, only sussing out the nightly band order after the fact.

This year's touring headliners are Toronto pop rock duo Goodnight Sunrise in their second regional concert set this summer, following a planned set at the Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing. Not a hard rock band, but Goodnight Sunrise's upbeat alt-rock sound should find an audience! Four bands are returning from Northern Vibe last year, including the aforementioned Handsome Sandwich (whose new lineup debuted in Ophir last summer), surf rock instrumental trio The Dynowaves, funk/hard rock quartet The Wyld Stallyns, and alt-punk trio A Dire Setback in their first announced concert set since Northern Vibe last year. Given J.D.'s involvement once again, he'll be back behind the mic on this night, including via the previously teased homecoming of Spades GT, as the former Jack Spades will play their first local concert set since 2019 and since their move to Barrie & name/lineup changes at Northern Vibe 2022!

That'll be a hook for attendees alone, so don't miss their presumably later set this year! As well, I believe J.D. will be fronting Hey, What About Us?!, which was the name to have been used by a one-off Me First & The Gimme Gimmes tribute band he planned to perform with at his annual Halloween Party at The Algonquin back in 2016. If still accurate, that will be a fun diversion! The other five bands making their Northern Vibe debuts include reunited and still online page-less punk cover quartet The Cover-Up (thankfully not still called You First & The Givee Givees) in their own first show since 2019, rising indie punk quintet (The) Northwest, punk/alternative duo These Magnificent Tentacles (more on them soon), punk trio Redundant (last seen opening for Buckcherry), and indie rock quartet Man Feelings. Stacked lineup, so stay tuned to festival pages for (hopefully) the full nightly lineups... fingers crossed!

I am surprised that none of Chris Thompson's old bands (except Spades GT) are playing this year in his memory, but bands could theoretically be added by August. Full weekend passes are currently on sale for $100 at this link (nothing on daily passes yet), and there is an early bird coupon code, so get on that A.S.A.P. if you want to save in advance of all of the action at the old Hempfest grounds this summer! Stay tuned for festival updates when they roll in, and look for weekend concert previews on the site tomorrow, and much more news and notes beyond! Thanks everyone!