The Glorious Sons & $onny Vybe$ Charity Show Concert Previews!!

Before we get into this weekend's remaining concert previews, just a heads up that Fort Creek will have opening acts for both of their shows at Reggie's Place this weekend, as per their Facebook page yesterday, including Short & Sweet/ex-Sense of Truth frontman Cory Murchison (credited as "Cory Daniel") tonight and the ever-prolific Tym Morrison tomorrow, fresh off of his Trading Post show tonight. Nice to see Fort Creek spread the wealth some more, and hopefully Cory & Tym set thing off on the right foot this weekend! Now, here's what you should know about two more big concerts this weekend, both with late updates to their lineups!

Local alternative hard rock/punk quartet Handsome Sandwich and newly confirmed alt-punk quintet These Magnificent Tentacles will be among the performers at the second mixed-genre benefit concert for late Manitoulin Island rapper/artist Zachary "$onny Vybe$" Cywink TOMORROW at The Rockstar Bar! A sequel to a very similar event held in October of last year that also featured Handsome Sandwich (who thankfully have been promoting tomorrow's show, unlike then), this event is again in memory of Zach, a talented MC and painter who lost a battle with drug addiction last summer, and while not from the Soo, had performed here and developed strong friendships in the local hip-hop community. Similarly to October, proceeds from tomorrow's concert will be split up between the Ontario Addictions Treatment Centre's local clinic and the Ngwaagan Gamig Recovery Centre in Wikwemikong on Manitoulin Island, so your attendance will help some extremely worthy causes!

While organizers Sooicide Records had published the performer lineup last year, I have not found anything to that effect from the same source this year, but this will be Handsome Sandwich's first gig in three weeks, and they definitely won't be alone in the non-rap contingent this year, as These Magnificent Tentacles confirmed their involvement on their Facebook page on May 18th. This will be the Tentacles' second show since publically confirming their expansion to a quintet on May 15th, in advance of their gig at a Dryer Fire open house last week, which I do profusely apologize for forgetting to include in last week's concert previews. We did cover it when first announced, at least, but hopefully they and The Dynowaves rocked the temp venue on Wilson Street to the maximum! As such, Brent Ellis & Steve Edwards appear to now be permanently focusing on guitar, with Brent still on lead vocals.

Now joining Brent & Steve in the band are Handsome Sandwich bassist Mitch Sirie (also of Exploring Detritus and, if still active, The Bear Hunters), as well as former Gnaeus bandmates Brad Irwin on the synthesizer and Brendan Garlick (nice to see him back in town) on drums. Fans of the original Gnaeus lineup should be amped for this half reunion alone, and hopefully this diverse quintet will prove a hit with the mostly rap crowd tomorrow at The Rockstar Bar, as I hope they did at Dryer Fire on the 21st (apologies again!) While a full performer lineup isn't out, Mitch (who's pulling double duty tomorrow) confirmed on his personal Facebook page on the 18th that rappers Conika, Ronin705, Bold Noize, and Fvksxvad would all be performing (only Conika was absent in October), while Comniption is credited as a co-host on the Facebook event page. Stay tuned to relevant sources for late lineup details!

The (second) $onny Vybe$ Charity Show has a 19+ age limit, 9:00 PM start time, and $8 advance tickets, which can be bought at this link for $8 (the door price jumps to $10), and Sooicide Records are asking attendees to also bring canned good donations for the St. Vincent Place Food Bank, though this isn't a mandatory appendage to admission fees. This should be a fun concert for some great causes, and if you like rap and rock, you'll get a nice sampling of both from this diverse lineup that will hopefully do Zachary and his family proud once again! Visit the above links for current & continuing details, and here's Handsome Sandwich jamming last year!

Finally for known hard rock concerts this weekend, let's head to The Sault Community Theatre Centre at White Pines Collegiate & Vocational School, as Kingston southern hard rock quintet The Glorious Sons will be headlining there THIS SUNDAY NIGHT! The third stop on The Glorious Sons' Unfinished Business Tour, this will be the two time Rock Album of the Year Juno Award winners' first headlining show of this scope in the Soo, though they reportedly played a local gig early in their run that I couldn't effectively source. As featured in this new Sault Star article by Brian Kelly featuring interview remarks by frontman Brett Emmons, The Sons will be familiar for their radio rock hits like "S.O.S. (Sawed Off Shotgun)", "Panic Attack", "Kill The Lights", and their newest "Hold Steady", but don't flee to Setlist.fm looking for their verbatim set on Sunday. They've been making a point of changing things up show-to-show for the past six years, so deep cuts are a given, which should please diehard fans of theirs!

Despite earlier advertising hinting that she'd only be missing the US dates on this tour, it has since been confirmed that Kitchener rock musician J.J. Wilde will not be playing on the May stops, the Soo included, and no replacement openers have been announced. Co-presented by LopLops Lounge, Music Tourism, and Lisa Zed Productions, this show is sponsored by local top 40/adult contemporary station Kiss 100.5 and Sudbury's 92.7 Rock, who have been running advertising and contests for listeners both there and on the online stream. Hopefully efforts to strike a meaningful Soo connection on the former Q92 are paying off! This all ages concert has an 8:00 PM start time, and while tickets run for $85 in the floor seating or $79 in the balcony, definitely consider coming out for this one to encourage more name Canadian rock bands to stop in the Soo rather than keep on driving!

Luckily, tickets have been selling well for The Glorious Sons, with nothing left closer than the ninth row, which is a great sign, especially at these prices! Get yours at this link or at the in-person Station Mall box office. While I admittedly trend to slightly more aggressive rock bands, The Glorious Sons do have their heavy moments with their soulful, rootsy brand of original Canadian rock, and their ample familiar radio hits (including in the States) should provide lots of familiarity tomorrow, even despite their ever changing set! Visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more details, and here's The Glorious Sons live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and this month's YouTube Channel Profile in the coming days! Thanks everyone!