LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Slumshine), The Tym Morrison Concert Preview, And More!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed (if abbreviated) concert earlier this week, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck played at a car show at the newer A&W on Great Northern Road on Thursday. The band never promoted this gig on their Facebook page, and I only belatedly heard about it via drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page... but the show only lasted for an hour before heavy rain washed the band out and they were unable to continue. Hopefully their gear wasn't damaged, and I do apologize for missing the show, I'd have covered it if someone said something! Now, here's a weekend concert preview & a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local acoustic punk solo project Slumshine are back and will headline day #3 of this year's Fringe North Festival with a concert at The Sault Ste. Marie Museum TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Slumshine's Facebook page has not been updated to reflect this date, but project leader Brenton Ellis' personal Facebook page, and Fringe North's own promotional materials have picked up the slack. Slumshine had been publically dormant since the release of their "Slumlord" EP in May 2021 and the launch of Brent's current band These Magnificent Tentacles that same week, and they hadn't played live at all since early 2020, so you can see how a new Slumshine gig could take fans by surprise! As you may recall, the Fringe North Festival is the annual arts & culture festival intended to showcase open, censorship-free, and limitless performances from artists of all stripes, and is hosting in-person events again this year.

While many Fringe North performances remain as videos viewable by ticket purchasers only (The Uncanny Valley participated as such last year), and there's no linked Up The Arts Festival at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion like there was pre-pandemic, The Sault Ste. Marie Museum at the corner of Queen & East is the 2022 home base for in-person events. However, recent Facebook promotion indicates that the poor weather forecast for this weekend has forced Fringe North to move previously planned outdoor events inside the Museum, but capacity is limited across the board whether they were in the museum or not. Full details on any schedule adjustments are available on the Fringe North Facebook page. The only hard rock/punk-leaning in person act this year, Slumshine will be performing in the Museum at the Durhan Gallery TOMORROW NIGHT at 10:00 PM as part of a six act program, with Slumshine as the only "band".

Also scheduled are a performance of the one-act play Danielle at 8:30 PM, a Haus of Gore drag show at 7:00 PM, musical comedy troupe The Floor Beneath Us at 5:30 PM, a Project Nishin Niizh watch party (for indigineous culture videos reflecting the impact of the pandemic) at 4:00 PM, and Tim Murphy's historical one-man-show Wasn't It Grand? at 2:30 PM. It is worth noting that Slumshine's set TOMORROW NIGHT is plugged in the official Fringe North program as "a personal recovery based musical performance piece incorporating visual art", implying that Brent's paintings will be involved along with personal song lyrics, but of course, his pink knit ski mask is a given. Performances at Fringe North are individually priced, and while the format is "pay what you can", organizers suggest $10 for most acts and $20 as a "support the artist" price. Age limits are not specified, but use your discretion given the open culture.

Space limits inside the Museum for both size and pandemic protocols mean that there will be only 35 paid attendees allowed to see most acts, Slumshine included, so head down to the Museum A.S.A.P. if you want to ensure you're in before showtime! I'm very surprised to see Slumshine back, if at a very restricted event for capacity, but hopefully Brent has a lot more up his solo sleeve after TOMORROW NIGHT, so look for his entertaining unplugged punk originals downtown! Visit the above links for more details, Slumshine are back in our active band links, and here they are live!

We'll close tonight's post with one more weekend concert preview, as local classic/hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for a matinee concert THIS SUNDAY! Tym debuted at the Dennis Street nightclub last month with two consecutive Sunday matinees before ceding the timeslot to Leslie Cook over the last two weeks. Tym's back over the next two Sundays, and while I don't know if he and Leslie are trading two Sundays in rotation for the time being or not, fans of his deep covers setlist should find a lot to like in a couple of days! No weather issues to deal with either, doubly so given that it's at Shooters Downstairs Lounge. Whether this works out better for you than his Trading Post gigs or if you can't get enough, Tym's show on Sunday has a 3:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!

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