LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Pop Evil) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

Let's dive into this weekend's hard rock concert previews today, and while this is somewhat of a quiet weekend for heavier gigs (possible late notice shows acknowledged), we're leading off with a huge LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the spring, so here's what you should know!

Muskegon hard rock band Pop Evil will return to The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino for their seventh local concert appearance and first post-pandemic on Friday, March 17th! Last seen when they & Buckcherry headlined a special outdoor gig at the local Kewadin branch in August 2019 (and, for shows at The Dreammakers Theatre, in February 2018), it will be great to welcome these modern hard rock mainstays back to the E.U.P., especially as they're still performing quite well on rock radio! Since we last saw them, "Breathe Again", "Survivor", and "Eye of the Storm" have reached #1 or #2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts, so look for another high octane set of melodic and hard hitting original favourites in three months! This will also be Pop Evil's first local show since bassist Matt DiRito left the band, with Joey Walser currently handling bass as a touring performer.

Opening bands will include two metalcore quintets, namely Phoenix's The Word Alive and Seattle's Avoid, and with the former's techno-influenced sound and the latter's rawer, more abrasive attack, both should set the tone nicely! Brought to you by Allstar Promotions once again, tickets run for $29.50 USD (up from $25 in 2018), and they go on sale tomorrow at 10:00 AM at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, or at the in-person box office, and if you use the password ALLSTAR2023 online, you can get yours today until 10:00 PM. This stop on Pop Evil's Skeletons Tour is an all ages & 8:00 PM event, and it should be another huge one for hard rock fans, so definitely visit the above links for more details on Pop Evil's return!

Now let's dive into this weekend's hard rock concert previews, and we'll start while staying in Sault Michigan, as Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will return to The Rapids Lounge at the very same Kewadin Casino branch for their last E.U.P. dates of 2022 TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Their sister band Peril will wrap up the year in St. Ignace on New Year's weekend, but this is the 2022 last call for Scarkazm in our area. If you want to enjoy Dave, Adam, and Jeff's hard rocking and classic tinged originals & covers, you know where to be tomorrow and/or Saturday! As usual for Scarkazm's Kewadin gigs, expect this weekend's shows to be 9:00 PM affairs with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here & here for more details, and here's Scarkazm live!

Now let's head north to Sault Ontario to round out the weekend concert previews (barring any late notice gigs), starting with local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard's return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! These are the final dates in Bone Yard's six weekend run of steady local gigs, and will mark Greg, Alex, and Warren's first shows at 306 Korah Road since Reggie's West changed names & owners in October, so if you want to see how Bone Yard do in a somewhat new locale, head to the former Rosie this weekend! In fact, these shows will be Bone Yard's last of 2022 before they "go into hiding for a few weeks", if you believe the Facebook event page, so there's extra reason to get out and enjoy their southern fried classic & hard rock covers! As usual, these are 9:30 PM affairs with no cover charge and 19+ age limits. See above for more details, and here's Bone Yard live!

Finally, fellow local southern hard rock band Fort Creek will return to Soo Blaster on SATURDAY NIGHT when they headline a special one-night-only holiday concert that they're calling their "Christmas blowout"! Much like their May 7th date at the same Queen Street East venue, this will be a bigger event in scope than just your usual weekend nightclub gig, including a Christmas Cheer element to the proceedings that may make up for Fort Creek not playing at Toystock last month, including food donations accepted at the door for this show's expected merchandise giveaway contest, and Santa Claus himself will reportedly show up too! Beyond that, 705Live Sound Co. will be on hand to make things sound great, and their established hard rock and metal covers, plus burgeoning originals, should be enough of a draw on their own! No opening acts are advertised for this 8:00 PM event, which is for ages 19+ as you'd expect.

Proving the larger scope of this one, "minimal" advance tickets are still available for $10 (higher than in May) at Soo Blaster, Sessions Cannabis at 216 Second Line West, through band members, and in a later confirmation, Stone's Office Supply at 529 Queen Street East. This will be the biggest event yet for Fort Creek's new lineup, so hopefully Bill and his new bandmates leave a great first impression with fans on Saturday! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Fort Creek live!

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