The Soo's Got Talent Finals, Afroman/Apocalypse Afterparty, And Tarnished Concert Previews!!

A busy yet somewhat quiet weekend for hard rock concerts leads us to tomorrow in particular, with three big shows in their own ways taking place featuring familiar faces out of their usual comfort zones. With all of that said, here's what you should know!

Let's start in Dafter, Michigan as this is a rare Friday matinee event, as local hard rock quartet Tarnished will return to Northern Light Cannabis Co. for their second show at the dispensary TOMORROW! Tarnished debuted at Northern Light on September 30th for a well received Fire Up Fridaze event, and they're coming back just three weeks later, though the circumstances are different, as they'll be the afternoon warm-up for the Take A Drag Show! Rare to see drag performers in the E.U.P. (granted, the population's smaller than up here), but this should be a fun diversion, so follow Northern Light for extra details on that! Refreshments, vendors, and deals will also be a part of Fire Up Fridaze here, and of course, Tarnished's hard rocking covers & originals will draw a crowd in and of themselves! To accommodate the drag show, Tarnished are playing at 1:00 PM tomorrow, so keep the early start time in mind, especially if you're at work/school!

Obviously, this is a 21+ event, while there is no cover charge, and the event proper begins at 12:00 PM. If you're a fan of at least two of hard rock music, marijuana, and/or drag, a trip to 2736 West M-28 should be heavily considered tomorrow, so visit the above links for more detailds, and here's Tarnished live in concert last year!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario for two huge concerts taking place TOMORROW, both at Soo Blaster! This may explain why the first of the events starts so early, as The Soo's Got Talent finals are first up at the Queen Street East venue, where the final six performers will take the stage, with local hard rock/alternative band Handsome Sandwich returning as a house band for all six performers! It's unclear whether they're playing one song with each or more, but if the first two T.S.G.T. events are any indication, finalists get two songs each, one being chosen by the judges. The six finalists competing tomorrow are Ali Nisbett, Amanda Phillips, Colin Gasparelli, Maharlika Joy (or M.J.) Servillon, Nanette Garcia, and Xavier Pelletier Leboeuf. Unless they surprise us or bring up a guest, all are singers only doing covers except Colin, who primarily played guitar also while doing original songs.

Whether Handsome Sandwich are learning songs chosen by the finalists/judges or only offering their own catalog isn't publically known yet, let alone how singer Taylor Emlaw will be involved, but we'll know the answers tomorrow! For reference, none of the finalists are primarily hard rock performers, with all but Colin and Xavier leaning towards pop covers in their prior performances (Colin's originals were acoustic soft rock aside from a Styx cover, and Xavier was all over the map for chosen covers). Aside from the finalists & Handsome Sandwich, three guest performers will take the stage, including judge & ex-Obsession singer Valerie Powley, returning guest judge & local theatre staple Tim Murphy, and in a late confirmation, 2019 T.S.G.T. winner Adrian Sullivan in a rare live appearance without his band The Uncanny Valley. Adrian is a fitting choice to return as he is still the reigning champion of this event!

I haven't seen reference to the winner's prize this year, but Adrian won $1,000 in 2019. An early 5:00 PM start time is in effect at Soo Blaster tomorrow, this is absolutely all ages, and admission is $15 at the door ($10 for kids 12 and under), with proceeds going to the Brain Injury Association of Sault Ste. Marie & District. Given that the Afroman concert has doors opening at 7:00 PM and an 8:00 PM start time, the finals program will likely be brisk and ran on a tighter ship than normal, so keep that in mind too. Visit the above links for full details on The Soo's Got Talent's finals tomorrow evening, best of luck to all six finalists, and here's Handsome Sandwich live earlier in the competition!

Finally, Soo Blaster's busy day TOMORROW NIGHT concludes when Los Angeles alternative rapper Afroman comes to town, with local rap/metal duo The Apocalypse Afterparty among the supporting lineup! Three weeks removed from being the outliers on an otherwise hip hop-centric lineup for the Tech N9ne show at Soo Blaster, co-promoters R-Evolution Media called on the Stanghettas to deliver their party rock stylings in similar confines again, so hopefully The A.A. deliver a similarly fun set among the rap sea tomorrow! Of course, Afroman will be very familiar among local rap fans for his hit single "Because I Got High" and a further two decades of underground rap songs heavily dipping into comedy and cannabis culture, so he should deliver a fun set tomorrow himself! Guelph rapper Robbie G will co-headline tomorrow, as he did at the Tech N9ne show, while local openers also include Conika, MJR League (both also Tech N9ne openers), Sawbe, Ryxnnick, Jaay Sheps, and Illest (OTG).

Surprisingly, this stop on Afroman's Canadian Cannabis Tour is all ages, and doors open at 8:00 PM with a 9:00 PM start time. Tickets run for $35 in advance or $70 for the VIP package that includes a meet & greet with Afroman himself, and you can directly buy tickets through the Facebook event page. This should go over well for the local rap scene, especially with Afroman's lively brand of underground rap, and The Apocalypse Afterparty should make another good impression tomorrow night! Odd that they'd be present the same night as The Soo's Got Talent finals, where they finished third in 2019. See above for more details, and here's The A.A. live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thnaks everyone!