LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison) & Mid-Week Concert Previews!!

The pandemic is definitely not what it was, given how busy the SMS has been for posts as of late, and that we have enough mid-week concerts taking place tomorrow and on Thursday to warrant a special mid-week concert preview post today! We'll start with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will indeed play at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post for a third straight Wednesday concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via its Facebook event page yesterday. With three straight late notice Wednesday concerts announced thusly, a pattern is established, and while he hasn't firmly stated this publically, it does appear that Tym has an arrangement to play weekly at The Mike Case Memorial Stage, not unlike his pre-pandemic agreements at Gliss and elsewhere. No word on how long we'll see Tym weekly at The Trading Post, but note that the stage only operates through September on a seasonal basis. As we did for Tym's prior weekly arrangements at indoor venues, I'll approach his presumed future Mike Case Stage gigs month-by-month, so I've added June 22nd and 29th to our concert calendar until/unless otherwise stated.

In any event, Tym's prolific and proficient brand of hard rocking vocal/guitar covers should deliver a fun couple of hours for fans TOMORROW NIGHT and likely on Wednesdays to come, so don't miss out! TOMORROW'S and other Wednesday night shows have 7:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and no age limits, but be advised that 9&10 News is calling for scattered thunderstorms from around 8:00 PM onward (the show is slated to end at 9:00). See above for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, let's preview two more mid-week concerts in Sault Ste. Marie, both getting lots of advance notice, starting with the local debut of British Columbia post-punk quartet Blessed when they headline at Dryer Fire's temporary pop-up venue at 285 Wilson Street TOMORROW NIGHT! Old fans of the late lamented Gnaeus will want to site up and take notice of Blessed and their indie/art rock-tinged brand of original post punk, complete with Talking Heads-influenced vocals, and they should be an intriguing early attraction in Dryer Fire's summer concert series! Local "triumphant rock" quintet These Magnificent Tenatacles will bring their alternative and punk hybrid attack to the stage as openers tomorrow, marking their third live appearance since expanding their lineup, and their second at 285 Wilson. The Tentacles have been making positive waves locally this year, and seeing as two of their new band members are Gnaeus alums, they will fit even better!

Tickets for this ALL AGES, 7:00 PM show will run you $10 at this link and presumably at the door. Barring a late show announcement or band switch, this will be the most punk/hard rock-friendly show Dryer Fire has all summer, so if you can make it to 285 Wilson (near The Breakfast Pig) tomorrow, you should get a strong night of talented live music! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Blessed live!

Lastly for this atypical batch of mid-week concert previews (we'll start addressing the Friday-Sunday crowd in a couple of days), local indie punk quintet The Northwest will take the stage for the first time since December 2019 (and since becoming The Northwest) when they open for Toronto alt-country trio Elliott Brood at the re-opened LopLops Lounge on THURSDAY NIGHT! A lot has changed and improved for Wayne, Greg, the Mikes, and Marc since the pandemic began, but a lot of patience and hard work led to the release of their third EP "All In" last week, with this show serving as the de facto release party. I can't confirm if they are imminently selling physical copies (their last two EPs were strictly digital), but this will be your first chance to hear these songs live regardless! Curiously, The Northwest still have not confirmed their involvement in this show on their Facebook page or the official Facebook event page, but members' personal Facebook accounts have been plugging this one a great deal.

As for the headliners, Elliott Brood are a Juno winning group whose brand of dark country & roots rock originals have been seen multiple times (generally at LopLops) in the Soo area since the 2000s, most recently at 2018's Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing. While not a hard rock or punk act, Elliott Brood are a talented outfit who may provide a more amenable sound for readers who don't like traditional country music, so don't bypass them if you're not familiar with them already! Thursday's concert will be the first held inside LopLops on Queen Street East since they were forced to close in March 2020 for very obvious reasons. Stephen & crew stayed active with craft beer deliveries and promoting off-site events, but being back in their home base will be awesome, and hopefully this show is a huge hit to kick things off again! A thankfully early 7:00 PM start time is in effect for this 19+ event.

Advance tickets cost $32.84, and you can buy them at this link and presumably at the door. This show is a big deal whether you're a fan of Elliott Brood, The Northwest, LopLops, or any combination therein, and while the Thursday scheduling isn't ideal, hopefully a sizeable crowd turns out for all of the action in a couple of days! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's (The) Northwest live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!