LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906 & Scarkazm) Plus Heavy Lies The Crown Updates!!

To kick off another week at the SMS, today's post takes us entirely to Michigan for some new updates from the E.U.P., including big updates on an upcoming album release, and leading off, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this month. Here's what you should know!

Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino for concerts on Friday, February 16th & Saturday, February 17th! The band has yet to confirm these dates on their Facebook page, but they are listed on Kewadin's entertainment page, which announces shows through the end of each month nowadays (I'll address the hard rock band playing at The Northern Pines Lounge this coming weekend in our next weekend concert previews as things got too delayed). These will be Scarkazm's first shows of 2024 in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, and they were last seen up here at the St. Ignace Kewadin in early December. Hopefully Jeff, Dave, and Adam deliver a strong weekend of hard hitting originals and covers for fans in two weeks! Expect 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and look for more from Kewadin Casino soon!

Next up, local blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 will play their first show of the year on Saturday, February 17th when they return to The Strongs Tavern in nearby Eckerman! Last seen at the Veteran's Day Ride in Brimley in November, this will be Project 906's first concert at The Strongs Tavern in over seven months, which is really surprising given their past frequency of shows there. I don't know why Project 906 have been so quiet this winter, but it will be great to see Billy, Joe, Dustin, and Jason back on stage in two weeks, but hopefully this is the start of a big 2024 for their camp, so keep this show in mind if you're in the area or are up for the hour's drive west! This one-night-only event has an 8:00 PM start time, no announced cover charge, and a 21+ age limit. See above for more details, and stay tuned for more from Project 906's camp when updates roll in!

Also, let's dive into recent updates from St. Ignace metalcore band Heavy Lies The Crown, who we haven't talked about much since their battle of the bands set in the Soo in November, so what's new from their camp? As you may be aware, they had been working on a new album late last year while taking a break from the stage (the battle aside), as per updates on their Facebook page, even asking fans what formats they'd want to buy it on in December. Last month, teasers started ramping up, including the reveal that their newest song (as of January 10th) begins with the letter H, since revealed to be named "Heartsex". The full track listing can be seen on their DistroKid page for the album, to be named "Built For Us", and it includes previews of all eleven songs, including the four advance singles from 2023 (though "Gods Butter" is now called "God Butter"). Yes, "Country Song 2" appears to be its final name.

It's not 100% clear what the cover artwork for the album will be. This "Reel" on January 22nd featuring preview audio of "Heartsex" shows off gray artwork with drawings of all four current band members' heads (and their duck mascot Iggy), but this tentative track listing has a file labelled "Album artwork Blue", which lines up the DistroKid splash image, especially the left side if its supposed to be cover art. Regardless, on January 20th, Heavy Lies The Crown revealed that their new album was done, and they later shared another "Reel" featuring audio from the previously released "Celebrate The Night". Their last update so far was for a merchandise giveaway contest through DistroKid. It's great to see that H.L.T.C.'s album sessions are done, and I can't wait to hear the whole thing, review absolutely on tap when it's out! Alas, I can't embed "Reels" on the SMS, but there is one new video that I can embed here, albeit not from the new album sessions!

From January 18th, this 2+ minute clip is of ex-bassist Danny Tucker playing their song "Princess" in studio alongside a backing/click track. Odd timing to see this given that he's left the group, and I wouldn't have made it a black & white clip with film grain, let alone in square dimensions, but it's a solid performance! It's not all that common to see videos of local bassists playing solo, but Danny's a talented musician and this is cool to see, especially for fans of early H.L.T.C.. Give it a look below, and get more on the band's new album sessions above!

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