LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The 2022 Northern Vibe Festival!!)

Today's post is 100% devoted to previewing this year's Northern Vibe Festival, which returns for its seventh annual installment from Friday-Sunday at the old Hempfest site on Poplardale Road in nearby Ophir! 2020 aside (for obvious reasons), Northern Vibe has proven to be a huge end-of-summer bash for local concert goers and campers alike, and this year's is shaping up to be a fun one once again, especially with the pandemic at a lesser state! Food & art vendors will also be on site once again, and be sure to visit the official festival website for full non-musical details. Like usual, there will be two stages, including the Roost River Stage for DJs, and the Forest Stage for live bands, this year named the Thompson Memorial Forest Stage in honour of the late Chris Thompson, who drummed with three bands at last year's Northern Vibe before he passed away last fall. A little birdie told me that the memorial t-shirts made up in his memory might be on site this weekend, so if you ordered one, keep that in mind!

Like last year, the bands and DJs (regardless of stage) are mixed up on the official poster, but alas, organizers have not publicized the daily performer schedules on either stage this year, which is sadly on par with 2021. Maybe they're trying to encourage full weekend ticket purchases, so you can't cherry pick going to see specific bands and leave, but I don't know that for certain. However, Cover-Up frontman Dustin Jones did post the Forest Stage band schedule in a photo on his personal Facebook page, and while there has been a band withdrawal from his copy since, I want to give massive kudos to Dustin for sharing that, as it makes my job today much easier! Like last year, the Thompson Memorial Forest Stage is curated by Spades GT/ex-Frightlight frontman J.D. Pearce, who moved to Barrie in 2020 but has came back home to work with Northern Vibe and resume his live booking magic both last year and this weekend.

With all that said, let's cover these SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS now that I have a band schedule on hand (apologies again, it's their call to not post a schedule publically), and TOMORROW'S opening night will be headlined by the aforementioned Spades GT, as the local/Barrie crossover thrash quartet will play their first Soo area gig since their final concert as Jack Spades in late 2019. This will also be your first chance to see them since new bassist Daniel "Odie" Rodbard and drummer Tyler "Jeeb" Reiner joined & Tiffany, Rob, and Johnny left, while Spades GT should play their newest originals tomorrow as well. Very good to see J.D., Daniel, and crew back on a local stage, so don't miss them at 10:00 PM! Remember, Chris Thompson was briefly Jack Spades' drummer in 2017. In a late lineup addition not reflected in the poster, Niagara Falls prog/improv rock trio The Road Waves (who played at Northern Vibe in 2017 & 2018) will co-headline at 9:00 PM tomorrow!

Only confirmed for this year two weeks ago, The Road Waves made a good impression with their soul-influenced funk rock stylings, and it'll be neat to have them back this year also! Sporadically seen local Foo Fighters tribute band The Soo Fighters will return to Northern Vibe for a second straight year at 8:00 PM, in their first show since the Halloween weekend last year, and in the debut of their new lineup, with singer/guitarist Jules Cote & guitarist Wes Greco now joined by bassist Mitch Sirie (replacing Arthur Lacasse) and his Bear Hunters/Handsome Sandwich bandmate Johnny Belanger (replacing the late Chris Thompson). Thanks for Johnny for the clarification on their exact current lineup! A reason for Art's departure hasn't been announced, but hopefully we see him back out there at some point, and The Soos should deliver a fun set for Foo Fighters fans tomorrow, especially with Chris in mind!

Online page-less punk cover quartet The Cover-Up will play their second show of 2022 when they rock Northern Vibe tomorrow evening at 7:00 PM, while local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will end their year-long stage hiatus when they open the Friday schedule at 6:00 PM. Nice double whammy of modern punk rock to kick off the festival, so don't be late! I'll detail admission fees and such at post's end, but 9&10 News is calling for sunny-to-clear weather in the 17-22° range tomorrow evening. For a preview of the Friday lineup, here's Spades GT live!

SATURDAY'S longer lineup will be headlined by Toronto pop rock duo Goodnight Sunrise at 10:00 PM, marking their second regional summer festival appearance of 2022, following sets at this year's Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing. Not a heavier band, but still talented with a big sound, so don't leave early! The highest slotted local band is the diverse, genre-hating quartet Handsome Sandwich, who debuted their current lineup in Ophir last year, so look for more alternative and hard hitting jams from them at 9:00 PM! On Dustin's schedule, local punk/alternative quintet These Magnificent Tentacles are advertised in the 8:00 PM slot, but they apparently have withdrew from Northern Vibe, according to performer Johnny Belanger. If accurate, a reason for their exit has not been publically announced, but note that while the Tentacles were on the poster, they have not posted on their Facebook page in over a month.

Hopefully all is well in the T.M.T. camp! How timeslots will look with them apparently out, I can't say, but I'll go off of Dustin's schedule for consistency, though expect adjustments if you'll be in Ophir on Saturday. The 7:00 timeslot is given on his schedule as a Chris Thompson tribute, which I believe will be handled by the one-off Hey, What About Us?!, which is the band name that J.D. Pearce was planning to use for a Me First & The Gimme Gimmes tribute at his annual Halloween party in 2016. Whether Chris' tribute will also focus on Me First cover covers or not, I can't say, let alone the band members, but expect the good times & reminiscences to flow during this timeslot! The remaining Saturday bands include funk/hard rock cover quintet The Wyld Stallyns at 6:00 PM, instrumental surf rock trio The Dynowaves at 5:00 PM, indie punk quintet The Northwest at 4:00 PM (an oddly early timeslot given their recent profile), ...

...and indie rock quartet Man Feelings kicking off the Forest Stage lineup on Saturday at 3:00 PM. Solid group of recently prominent local bands to start the day, including some heavier/punk stylings from The Stallyns & Northwest! If you're wondering what happened to the previously announced set by local punk trio Redundant, it looks like they too have dropped out, which is reflected on Dustin's schedule, though like the Tentacles, they were still on the final poster from two weeks ago. A reason for Redundant's withdrawal has not been publically announced, but note that they have not played a concert since last fall, and have only posted on their Facebook page to note deceased musicians since then. Hopefully we see Redundant back on stage again soon! 9&10 News is calling for similarly sunny-clear weather on Saturday, with warmer weather in the 23-27° range. With all of the bands covered, what else should you know?

Camping gear is welcome to sleep over tomorrow & Saturday night (the festival ends Sunday but there's no bands that day), decorations are also welcome, but glass bottles and weapons are prohibited, as are renegade stages (this is actually something that has happened there before!). Online ticket sales have closed for Northern Vibe, but if you want to attend at the gate, full weekend passes will cost $125 there, and if last year was any indication, Saturday-only passes will run you at least $60 (understandably, organizers aren't hyping that up). Looks like a great time is in store for music fans in the Soo, so definitely consider heading east to Ophir (outside of Bruce Mines) for all of the action this weekend, and we'll have fallout when it arises! For complete details on the location, ground rules, and more, visit the above links, and for a preview of Saturday's lineup, here's Handsome Sandwich live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone!