LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Rotaryfest Stage 1!!)

As you may have seen since last week, the official lineup for Rotaryfest's Stage 1 at Clergue Park has officially been unveiled! The festival's Facebook page did so via separate Facebook event pages for each act, primarily between Tuesday and Friday, but I held off on announcing anything in an SMS post until the last open timeslot (Saturday at 2:00 PM) was filled, which belatedly occurred earlier today. After being reduced to a delayed virtual concert setup in 2020 and a drive-in format at Lowe's Plaza last year due to pandemic restrictions, Stage 1 is back at the familiar pop-up stage at Clergue Park outside of the Centennial Library from Thursday, July 14th-Saturday, July 16th, and with the pandemic at a much better state in 2022, it looks like we're back to normal or close to it for live music at Rotaryfest! Of course, visit the official website for continuing non-musical details, and we are awaiting the reveal of the returning Second Stage's full lineup (the Friday schedule is out already).

Like every year from 2001-2019,  Stage 1 (presented by the Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation) will have three days of covers-leaning live music, though as has been the case since 2018, select scheduled bands will have original music in their repertoire and are not stuck on Stage 2 as a result, though I believe original acts remain the Second Stage's focus. This year's Stage 1 lineup has 20 acts, up from 15 last year at Lowe's Plaza, so here's what you should know via three LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Unless there's a late addition, Thursday, July 14th will only have four bands this year, the first time Stage 1 at Clergue Park hasn't had five announced acts since 2014, and this is the only night without a 10:00 PM act. As such, the advertised 9:00 PM headliners are classic rock cover quartet L!me in their second Stage 1 set, last seen there in 2019. Featuring Id Iota and Rising Tide alumni, L!me are a talented young group seen often in the Soo, and while not a hard rock band, don't bypass them! Co-headlining that night are local funk/hard rock quartet The Wyld Stallyns in their second straight Rotaryfest appearance, though no word on if they'll be plugged in again or back to acoustic. The Speers and company should entertain fans with their accessible but often heavy cover range! Vintage classic rock trio Flathead Ford will hit Stage 1 for the fifth time and first since 2017 with a set at 7:00 PM, while The Northern Jazz Ensemble will open the day at 6:00 PM.

The only band to play the last three Stage 1s, this jazz/pop collective have entertained Rotaryfest attendees twelve times since 2001, and they should kick things off well on the former jazz night for the main stage! Thursday's action is FREE & ALL AGES as usual, so visit the above links for more on the opening evening's musical entertainment!

Friday, July 15th's lineup is back to the six act setup of 2017-2019, and will be headlined at 10:00 PM by Rotaryfest newcomers Angry Joe & The Growlers, an established classic rock quartet who you may have seen on the weekend cover circuit since 2018. The most common Stage 1 band in the modern era will co-headline, as classic rock quintet Mustang Heart are on at 9:00 PM in their seventeenth Stage 1 set in the past eighteen years! Mustang Heart do cover hard rock in their vast setlist, so don't write them off! In a surprise reveal last week, local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith will return home for his Stage 1 debut at 8:00 PM! This is effectively the long delayed realization of his planned 2020 full band concert at LopLops, with the same band from his Steeltown Sessions video (A Dire Setback's Chris Nielsen & Matt Quinn plus his old Din bandmate Brandan Glew) backing him up.

It's great to see Mike back home for a non-acoustic gig, and with the Stage 1 platform to boot (The Din only got to play Stage 2), so fans won't wanna miss this one! Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Obsession precede Mike in the 7:00 PM timeslot, in their twelfth Rotaryfest set in the past fourteen years, but first public concert in over two months after two cancellations. A special guest named Jessica Amadio will be joining them for at least part of the set, though I don't know what instrument she'll handle. Hopefully Valerie, Gabe, Jim, and Steve deliver a strong and hard rocking set once again! Classic rock cover veterans RPM will return to Rotaryfest in the 6:00 PM slot for their second appearance, last playing Stage 1 in 2016, The opening band at 5:00 PM will be Stage 1 newcomers Ladies Sing The Blues, a classic rock/R&B project led by Obsession's Valerie Powley and Spyder's Web's Shirley Kominos.

Both ladies are obviously talented singers and they should set the tone well on Friday, if a change of pace from the heavier set that Obsession will bring in a couple of hours! Again, everything is FREE & ALL AGES for music fans on Friday, so see above for more details!

Like usual, the Saturday, July 16th lineup is the longest and has the featured touring headliners, so what ten acts can you expect? As has been the case since 2015, a local band will actually close Saturday night, and like last year, it'll be southern hard rock cover band Bone Yard, in their eighth Stage 1 set since their festival debut in 2010, but first with their current trio lineup. Another solid opportunity for Greg, Alex, and Warren to rock out on the big stage, so don't miss them at 10:30 PM! This year's featured touring headliners are Montreal-based Queen tribute band Queen Flash in their local debut, but Queen fans are quite spoiled locally, having just seen Queen: It's A Kinda Magic in May! Two tributes in two months may seem like too much too soon, but Queen Flash will be free, and while still very faithful to the Queen sound, they are their own animal entirely, so don't miss them at 8:30 PM!

Classic rock cover veterans Mid Life Crysis will hit Stage 1 for third straight year & ninth time overall at 7:10 PM, but before them at 6:00 PM is a surprise second touring act, namely Toronto roots/folk musician Julian Taylor, a Juno Award nominee who you may recognize from the rock band Staggered Crossing, as seen locally at the former Foggy Notions and on 2003's "Foggy Style" compilation CD, so it'll be neat to see him back in town with his accomplished solo material! Local country singer & Summer Thunder alum Brendan Hodgson will return to Stage 1 for the second straight year at 5:00 PM, while four consecutive Stage 1 newcomers precede him, including new local classic rock cover trio The Sidekicks (featuring ex-Griphook bassist Dan Beaupre) at 4:00 PM. Also playing Rotaryfest for the first time are local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek at 3:00 PM in one of their biggest shows yet, though no word on another merchandise giveaway.

New local classic rock/blues cover band All The Tired Horses (featuring Treble Charger's Bill Priddle and Id Iota alumni Robert Sartini & Blair St. John) will hit the stage at 2:00 PM, while local country duo The Jeff & Jeff Show (who opened for Bone Yard at the Queen Street Cruise) will perform beforehand at 1:00 PM. Saturday's lineup opens at 12:00 PM with a surprise reunion of nine-piece horn-laden classic rock band Pegasus, who debuted in 1973, and came back for the Rotaryfest anniversary year in 2018. Once again, Saturday's music is FREE & ALL AGES, so absolutely check the above links for more on this stacked Stage 1 lineup, and stay tuned for more news & notes on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!