LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Cory Marks & Bone Yard!!)

Today's SMS post is devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for your summer delectation, and while most come from a frequently seen cover band, a big headlining show was also confirmed featuring a rising headliner. Here's what you should know on all announced fronts!

Local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard have announced their concert schedule for the entire summer season (barring anything that could be announced in the interim) on their Facebook page, so what should you know about Greg, Alex, and Warren's mid-2023 plans? Firstly, we won't retread the Queen Street Cruise at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on June 16th & 17th, as they were already announced for that last month, but click here for our coverage at the time. Five (technically six) of the new shows will take place at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, including a one nighter on Friday, June 2nd and then full weekends on June 30th-July 1st (Canada Day) and August 18th-19th! No word on why they're not playing at the former Roosevelt Hotel on Saturday, June 3rd, but as you can see in the calendar, they will reportedly be replacing Soundcheck as jam night hosts there on Thursday the 1st, though the reason for the switch is not yet known.

This won't be the first time that Bone Yard have subbed in for Soundcheck as the Thursday jam night hosts at Jay's, so prepare for the change in band if you come to that in two weeks! Of note, the August gigs at Jay's coincide with the Dragonfly Run, so what is that? Basically, it's the relaunched and renamed Ride For ARCH, the annual motorcycle rally that benefits the Algoma Residential Community Hospice, which will be held on Saturday, August 19th this year. Bone Yard are no strangers to the Ride For ARCH, having played at the former Reggie's West multiple times to support the cause, and while I'm not sure why the event was renamed, it's still benefiting ARCH in full. Along with the bike rally, there will be a barbecue, a street party on Korah Road, local vendors, and family entertainment outside of Jay's, so be sure to visit the above links and the Facebook event page for details on the event as they come in! All of Bone Yard's upcoming Jay's concerts have 19+ age limits, no cover, and 9:30 PM start times.

Heading downtown, Bone Yard have confirmed five upcoming concerts at Shooters Downstairs Lounge on Dennis Street, so look for them there on June 23rd & 24th, Friday, July 7th only (no word on why they're not playing on Saturday the 8th), and then on August 11th & 12th. Good to see the guys back at this familiar nightclub, so consider checking them out on all five of these dates! These are all 9:00 PM events with 19+ age limits and no cover. The other new dates are not local, starting with their already teased return to The Coulson Entertainment Centre in Sudbury (four hours east of the Soo) on July 21st-22nd, and hopefully they get a similarly strong reception compared to their gigs there in March! Lastly for this schedule, they'll take a road trip on Saturday, August 26th to Larder Lake (7 hours northeast of the Soo, near the Quebec border), so what's going on there in three months?

They're heading to Larder Lake (east of Kirkland Lake) for the third annual Rock N' Country By The Lake festival, whose full lineup hasn't been announced yet by organizers, but clearly Bone Yard got the go-ahead to promote their involvement. Should be a fun time for country & rock fans, so see above for details when they roll in! Conspicuous by its absence in the above schedule is a July return to Rotaryfest, an event that Bone Yard have rocked each year since 2019 and eight times total (nine if you count the virtual 2020 set) since their debut there in 2010. I wouldn't assume the worst yet, as the schedule reveal was in late June last year, so stay tuned there and at the above links for more on Bone Yard in 2023!

We'll close by staying in a country-ish lane, as North Bay country rock musician Cory Marks will make his local debut with a headlining concert at The Machine Shop on Friday, July 21st! This may seem off topic for the SMS, but Cory has been getting real crossover notice on both Canadian and American country & rock radio in the early 2020s, with his single "Outlaws & Outsiders" being a top 15 single on rock charts on both sides of the border, and a #7 country hit in the US at the same time. Adding to the crossover appeal, that song features Five Finger Death Punch's Ivan Moody, country star Travis Tritt, and ex-Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars! There's more collaborations where that came from, including with Lzzy Hale from Halestorm and Theory of a Deadman's Tyler Connolly, among others. If you've taken to country/rock crossover artists like Hardy and Jelly Roll, then Cory will be up your alley come July!

No word on possible opening acts yet, but tickets for this 7:00 PM concert are now on sale at this link for $37.71, and there are no posted age limits. Country concerts usually do well here, but one that has such a rock component (especially courtesy of his new EP "I Rise") will be interesting on its own, so definitely give Cory's music a listen to see what he brings to the table, and it is neat seeing a Northern Ontario musician getting real notice like this! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!