LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Greg Rekus & The Inside Job, Bone Yard 225, Soundcheck, And Tym Morrison!!)

Another concert weekend is upon us, but let's infuse things with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, some on SHORT NOTICE! This is a relatively quiet weekend as heavier shows go, but with new announcements beyond this weekend, things are filled out well, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will continue his bi-weekly arrangement at Misty's Fifties with another matinee concert on SATURDAY NIGHT, but before then, he will make his debut at the newly opened Dive Gastro Pub TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice on his show at The Dive, it was only announced this past Thursday via Tym's Facebook event page, with the venue corroborating that with their own event page yesterday. The Dive is the new restaurant at 648 Queen Street East, taking over the building last occupied by Low & Slow in March. Click here for details on what The Dive offers as a restaurant and bar, but they're dipping their toes into concert promotion right away with "Think It Over Thursdays", featuring acoustic musicians every Thursday evening. Soundcheck frontman Cameron Oliver led off last week with a country set, and Tym's rock covers are second up TONIGHT, so come check out the new digs and perhaps try the menu!

If you're curious, former Jack Spades bassist Steve Shaw plays there next Thursday. Tym's show takes place at 6:00 PM TONIGHT with a presumed 19+ age limit and no cover, while his bi-weekly return to Misty's Fifties on Second Line West is on Saturday at 4:00 PM with otherwise similar ground rules. If you can't make it to Misty's this weekend, Tym has at least three more shows coming up there through the end of next month. Visit this link & above for more on TONIGHT'S and Saturday's shows, and here's Tym live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will reportedly return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these bookings were only announced via the band's Facebook page earlier today. TOMORROW'S & SATURDAY'S shows are fill-in gigs for the previously advertised Mustang Heart, who have dropped out of this weekend's bookings, apparently due to guitarist Lorenzo Fabbri recovering from shoulder surgery, as per that band's Facebook page. Hopefully he gets better soon! Now, as per The Esquire Club's early 2024 concert calendar, Soundcheck are also scheduled to play there next week, but did they and Mustang Heart swap weeks or are Soundcheck now playing back-to-back weekends there? As nothing I've read mentions next weekend, I'll treat them as Soundcheck both for now.

Of course, Soundcheck (sans Cameron) are hosting jam night at Jay's tonight too, but as for TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, their late notice Esquire Club shows are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charge. Kudos to Soundcheck for stepping up, so don't miss their varied and often hard rocking cover slate this weekend, and here they are live!

Also this weekend, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will play previously announced concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Reggie's Place, but the guys have also announced their concert slate into early June via this calendar on their Facebook page! We already knew about their Water Tower Pub show on Friday, May 31st thanks to the venue's advertising but the rest are new to us, so where else are Greg, Alex, and Warren playing ahead? On Saturday, May 18th, Bone Yard will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for a one-nighter on the Victoria Day long weekend, so if you want some fully electric entertainment for the May 2-4 ahead, go to Dennis Street! From one downtown venue currently only booking bands on Saturdays to another, Bone Yard 225 have also booked gigs (likely "uncorked" ones) at Gateway Casino on May 24th and June 8th, so fans of their acoustic stylings have two likely chances to see them in that fashion!

The other new show will see Bone Yard "FAFO" at Reggie's Place once again on Saturday, June 1st, another one-nighter due to their gig at The Water Tower Pub the previous day (they are not booked on Friday otherwise for the new shows after this weekend, and I don't yet know if a different band is playing at Reggie's on the 31st). These dates are all 19+ affairs with no cover charge, and aside from the Gateway Casino gigs (9:00), all start at 9:30 PM, this weekend at Reggie's included. Visit the above links for more on Bone Yard 225's upcoming shows, and here they are live!

Finally, let's completely leap out of this weekend for one more new show announcement, this time at The Distraction on Thursday, May 23rd when Winnipeg folk punk band Greg Rekus & The Inside Job make their local debut! Musically, I'd compare Greg and crew to Dustin Jones & The Rising Ride, but rawer and with lyrics more based on the issues and hard times, so to speak. Genre fans will find a lot to like from Greg Rekus' original material, and they should attract a solid audience to the East Street venue in two weeks! A mosaic of styles will be on offer for the scheduled acts, with local openers including hard rock quintet HeadFirst (in what I believe to be their debut at The Distraction) and a turntable mix set from Shane "DJ Seith" Erickson, who is no stranger to mixed genre events like this (remember when he opened for Ha!ls here?) "Music, dancing, (and) art" are promised for attendees on this night, so keep all of that in mind.

An all ages show as usual for the former barbershop, doors open at 6:30 PM on May 23rd, and admission is $10 or "pay what you can". This should be a good time for folk punk fans, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details on this concert, and look for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!