LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Rotaryfest Stage 2!!)

The eighteenth annual Rotaryfest Stage 2 goes down on Friday, July 18th and Saturday, July 19th, so what should you know there? The Second Stage returns to the pop-up stage beside the Art Gallery of Algoma on Friday, July 18th and Saturday, July 19th for the ninth year of the "Redirected" era, and fourth since adopting the current two day format, including a "Friday Night Blues" program, followed by the usual indie/alternative-leaning lineup on Saturday focusing on original musicians. Thirteen acts will rock Stage 2 that weekend, which is down one from 2024, but there isn't a touring band this year either, so the amount of scheduled local acts is unchanged. Only six acts are returnees from past Second Stage lineups, so there's a good amount of expected and unexpected faces next month! Starting with the Friday Night Blues program, it is devoid of hard rock or punk acts as usual.

Friday's lineup includes veteran local blues musician Rusty McCarthy (billed as "Rusty McBlues") at 8:30 PM in his fifth Stage 2 appearance as a solo act, and third time on a Friday Night Blues bill, while Michael Yurich's blues rock cover band Smokehouse will play their own third Friday Night Blues set at 7:30 PM. Former Generations fill-in guitarist Mike McDonald's band Mudfoot Mike & The Muckrakers will return to Stage 2 for a second straight year at 6:30 PM, and the day's first two acts are newcomers to Rotaryfest. One is new local "electric power blues" band Dark Eyed Junko, who I don't know much about beyond their sparrow-inspired name, but you can find out at 5:30 PM. The day's lineup will begin with solo blues musician Josh "The Preacher" McNally at 4:30 PM, and he'll be a fitting lead-off for the day's festivities, so visit the above links for more details on the fourth annual Friday Night Blues program for 2025!

As for the Saturday bill, eight acts will hit Stage 2, and in a mild surprise, reunited local midwest emo/post-hardcore trio Fuller will headline at 8:30 PM! This will be their first public concert since their LopLops reunion in December 2023, their second show with drummer David Peredun, and their first gig since releasing their album "II" on streaming services in March, so you could call this the de facto release party (no idea if they'll have a run of CDs or not though). Really cool to see Mark come back home for Rotaryfest, and hopefully the full Fuller end things with a bang! Indie/pop rock band Jupiter Marvelous (led by Caroline Divine/Pixo Control alum Anthony Marcello) will return to Stage 2 for the first time in three years at 7:30 PM, while Shane "DJ Seith" Erickson will surprisingly make his first ever solo appearance on the Second Stage at 6:30 PM, as opposed to joint sets with Conika or Planet Rock.

Local djent/progressive metal quartet Convergence will make their Rotaryfest debut and first ever live appearance beyond Soo Blaster at 5:30 PM, in what you could argue will be the heaviest Stage 2 set ever, though fans of Gates of Winter's 2005-2006 Second Stage sets may disagree! Hard rock quintet Headf1rst will return to Stage 2 for a second straight year at 4:30 PM, preceded by the festival debut of crossover thrash quartet Hails at 3:30 PM. The day begins with acoustic singer/guitarists, including Mike 38/ex-Soundcheck frontman Cameron Oliver's Stage 2 solo debut at 2:30 PM as he continues making the local rounds (while still local) with his own country material, while folk musician Matthew James kicks off the program at 1:30 PM in his second Stage 2 appearance, having also played here in 2023. Notable absences this year include 2023-2024 performers All The Tired Horses and The Hollow Heads, and active three-timers The Northwest, among others.

Sounds like a very strong lineup to me, with Saturday's bill dipping into heavier and punk territory more than we have ever seen on Stage 2 (even when Gates of Winter played here, they were notable outliers), so fans won't want to bypass the FREE & ALL AGES entertainment beside the Art Gallery next month, so click here for details (so far) on Stage 2 in 2025! As for the second year of Stage 3, that will see four DJs/EDM musicians spinning tunes at the Downtown Plaza on Friday only, so click here to learn more. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more (non-Rotaryfest) news and notes on the site over the next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Rotaryfest Stage 1!!)

The lineups for this year's Rotaryfest were finally announced earlier this week (about on schedule with last year but beyond earlier "late May" claims), so what should you know here? We'll focus on the covers-centric Stage 1 at Clergue Park in this post, and we'll discuss the originals/blues-centric Stage 2 lineups tomorrow. For this 25th year of Rotaryfest's music lineups in this format, bands will take to the familiar pop-up stage beside the downtown library from Thursday, July 17th to Saturday, July 19th for three days of FREE & ALL AGES musical entertainment to go along with all of the other community activities and events during the Sault's summer festival. Click here for ongoing details on what to expect next month (the program is not out yet though). Like last year, 20 musical acts will grace Stage 1, half being returnees from 2024, but only five of these bands have played three times previously, and only one played in 2021, so there is a good historical variety!

For night #1, the lineup on Thursday the 17th will have a touring headline act, which I believe is a first for the Thursday schedule. At 9:30 PM that night are Billy & Elton: The Legends, a joint Billy Joel/Elton John tribute from British Columbia-based former Saultites Mick Dalla-Vee and Michael Sicoly. Mick (now of the reunited Bachman-Turner Overdrive) and Michael (a veteran commercial/voice over artist and anthem singer) have also performed together in Simon & Garfunkel and Beatles tributes, even playing with the latter here in 2014, so it will be neat to see these accomplished local artists back home next month! Co-headlining at 8:00 PM are local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 in their second straight Rotaryfest as they pause their summer break, while the other two bands are new to the festival. At 7:00 PM are The Lock City Rollers (not to be confused with 2000s regulars The Twin City Rollers).

A new soft rock big band with a full horn section, this ten-piece band will be full of familiar local faces playing classic covers, so keep them in mind! Pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue will surprisingly make their Rotaryfest debut to kick off the festival at 6:00 PM, and their talents should be on full display! Yes, they are known to cover hard rock on occasion too! Diverse lineup to begin Rotaryfest on a good foot, with Silent 9 delivering the most for heavier fans on average, so visit Rotaryfest's website's page on Stage 1 for more on this and the other days' musical lineups!

Six bands will grace the Clergue Park stage on Friday, July 18th, and this year's night #2 headliners at 10:20 PM are local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations in their third straight Rotaryfest appearance and first as a closing band, so this will be a strong platform for their fan friendly range of covers! Also playing Rotaryfest for a third consecutive year at 9:00 PM are Jeffrey Wright's local classic country cover band The Way Backs, while the 8:00 PM band is the one-off Mile 38, heavily implied to be fronted by ex-Soundcheck singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver. Rotaryfest's website drops another hint that Cameron is not long for the Soo, with plans to move away to further his musical career, so see him and crew next month while you can! This is a distinct band from this weekend's CO2 at Jay's, for the record (no one named Lori in CO2). Veteran classic rock quartet RPM will rock Stage 1 at 7:00 PM.

This will be RPM's fifth time at Rotaryfest and fourth consecutive, while 6:00 PM band Flathead Ford (another 2024 returnee) will be taking over Stage 1 for the seventh time since 2013. Your openers at 5:00 PM are The Jazz Cats, apparently unrelated to the one-off "Jazz Catz" that played Rotaryfest in 2017. with this new band seen live on occasion since their 2024 debut. Convergence guitarist Jacob Valois is definitely in their ranks, so keep that in mind! Lots of good stuff here for classic rock and country fans, with Generations ending things well, so visit the above links for more on details!

As previously noted on the SMS, the featured touring tribute band on Saturday at 8:30 PM (in partnership with 104.3 The Fox, no less) are Toronto-based AC/DC tribute Who Made Who, a recurring local sight for AC/DC fans, but who will be joining them? Like usual, a local cover band will close the Saturday bill at 10:30 PM, and this time, it's newer local classic/hard rock quintet Headrush, so what a way for them to debut at Rotaryfest! Pop rock cover quartet Lime (who have some heavier covers in their back pocket) will play Rotaryfest for the fourth time since 2019 in the 7:00 PM timeslot, while alternative/punk cover sextet Bookclub will grace Stage 1 for a third straight year at 6:00 PM. Classic rock veterans Encore will play their fourth Rotaryfest set since 2017 at 5:00 PM, while The Northern Jazz Ensemble will continue their run as the modern Rotaryfest iron men/women at 4:00 PM in their seventh straight year on Stage 1 and sixteenth total since 2001.

The kids take over Stage 1 that afternoon, as St. Mary's College's newer student rock band Crusade will make their Rotaryfest debut at 3:00 PM, immediately preceded at 2:00 PM by Superior Heights Collegiate's student rock band Steel Rock in their second Stage 1 appearance. Great to see these bands get the spotlight, and now we just need The Pine Tones to pop up here! Funk/dance cover quintet The Rhythm Junction will return for their second Rotaryfest at 1:00 PM, and the day will be kicked off by veteran local blues musician Rusty McCarthy's new classic rock cover band Rusty & The Soft Parade at 12:00 PM. For SMS readers, you'll get the most bang for your buck (free admission acknowledged) on Saturday, but there's a lot of diversity among this lineup, with old and new faces alike! For the record, notable 2025 absences include Abba Soo, Brendan Hodgson, Double Down, and Mike Haggith, who all played the last two years on Stage 1.

There's a lot to take in as usual for Rotaryfest Stage 1, and we haven't even glanced at the Stage 2 lineup yet, so visit the above links for more on this year's stacked Clergue Park band lineup, and our Second Stage coverage is on the way next! Thanks everyone! 

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (CO2 & Dos Amigos) And More Weekend Concert Previews!

Today's post wraps up another busy weekend for hard rock and punk concerts in the Twin Saults (unless I missed something), so here's what else you should know for the next two days, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

New local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos will return to The Whiskey Barrel for one night only TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced by the venue's Facebook page last night, and the band has not updated their own Facebook page at all in over two months, though updates have been made on members' personal Facebook pages right along, if targeted to their own amigos. The Bookclub/Inner City Surfers side project had debuted at the Gore Street nightclub last month, and if you want to know more about Dos Amigos, Brian Kelly wrote a Sault Star article on the project on June 11th that you can read at this link! The article features interview remarks from singer/guitarist Dustin Jones on working with Mikey Hawdon, how Dos Amigos came to be (from surprisingly far away), and how live music finally got back to good levels locally after the pandemic subsided.

Good article that promotes Dos Amigos in a friendly way for Sault Star readers! TONIGHT'S Whiskey Barrel show is a one-nighter, due to or resulting in Juliana Regan & Blair St. John playing at the acoustic-leaning Irish pub tomorrow. There is no announced cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and has an 8:00 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details, and hopefully public and embeddable videos show up to preview Dos Amigos with soon! 

Next up, new local country/hard rock cover band CO2 will debut TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT at Jay's Piston Broke Pub! Again, apologies for the short notice, these dates only went public on Jay's Facebook page on Tuesday. CO2 is one of the recent (and possibly short term) band names used by former Soundcheck singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver, alongside The Band and Mile 38, but this group also features Handsome Sandwich guitarist Jesse Cook, his old Wyld Stallyns bandmate Brandan Glew on drums, Brandan's Big Finish Bandmate Elly McWatters on backing vocals and/or guitar, and former RPM/Twin City Rollers bassist Rob Gilmar, who was a frequent fill-in bassist with Soundcheck. This lineup information comes from an e-mail conversation with Brandan, who confirmed that C02's sound will have a large amount of rock covers in addition to songs from Cameron's country wheelhouse, so late-era Soundcheck fans won't be alienated.

With this lineup and what we know of late-era Soundcheck, this should be a fun time for fans of Cameron's live band work! However, given the online teasers that he may be moving out of town to further his music career later this year, CO2 may not be long for this world, so go see them TONIGHT & TOMORROW if this interests you! They also hosted last night's jam night at Jay's, for the record. 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limit, and no cover charges are in effect as usual there. Visit the above links for more details on these debut performances, and we'll have more on Cameron soon!

We'll close things today at Beck's Bar, which is hosting two classic/hard rock acts TOMORROW for two separate concerts! First up at the former Vibe Lounge is acoustic singer/guitarist Tym Morrison, who will be tomorrow's matinee entertainment in their 3:00 PM timeslot, just six days removed from his most recent gig there. Always good to see Tym's tried and true sets of classic and hard rock covers on the public stage, and with his musical talents, hopefully west end fans will get a great show from him tomorrow before that night's full band concert! Remember, this is a full concert with a two hour gap between when Tym ends at 7:00 PM and the band's first set kicking off, and Tym isn't the "opening act". Of course, if you want to see both and hang out, there's no cover charge! As usual at Beck's, this is a 19+ concert as well. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

Finally for this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, the night cap at Beck's Bar TOMORROW will come by way of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations in their debut at the new Goulais Avenue nightclub! Yes, I am well aware of Generations' Rotaryfest return next month, we're doing a deep dive into the schedule reveals this weekend. This one-nighter should provide Generations with a strong opportunity to rock another stage and make some new fans in the west end, and hopefully there's another solid turnout that will lead to more Beck's dates down the road! You can enjoy Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre's classic and hard rock favouites tomorrow only (Fridays there are DJ nights) at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charges, and remember, Tym isn't "opening" for them, but you can hang out and see both for free if you want. See above for more details on this nightcap, and here's Generations live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for Rotaryfest lineup announcements on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Curtis McKenzie) & The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

Another busy concert weekend is upon us, so we'll have to break up this round of hard rock and punk concert previews in two, so look for our CO2, Tym Morrison, and Bookclub concert previews next. Here's what you should know to start, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Former Haggith/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will return to The Dive Gastro Pub TONIGHT for another "Think It Over Thursday" acoustic concert! Apologies for the short notice, Curt first announced this show via its official Facebook event page on June 3rd but it completely slipped me by in the past two weeks. Last seen at Beck's on June 1st, TONIGHT's gig will be Curtis' first at the former Low & Slow in three weeks. If you like hard and alternative rock covers from a familiar and experienced local musician in a more intimate setting, then you won't want to miss Curt's latest stop in the "Naughty Corner" TONIGHT! As usual for The Dive, this show has a 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details on TONIGHT's concert, and here's Curtis live!

Next up, local acoustic classic/hard rock trio Dodge This will return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of their most recent stop at The Dive on Saturday (apologies again for missing that one here), this will be their first stop at this long-standing Great Northern Road venue since March, unless I missed something else in the interim. It will be good to see Jason and the Julys setting up shop in a more central venue than normal for them, and hopefully their unplugged covers go well tomorrow with a solid turnout! With The Water Tower Pub historically hosting different bands nightly, don't go there on Saturday expecting to see Dodge This (classic rock cover trio The Sidekicks are playing there that night). Tomorrow's Dodge This show is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here they are live!

Also this weekend, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will take things to The Roberta Bondar Pavillion TOMORROW & SATURDAY as the musical entertainment for this year's Queen Street Cruise once again! For an eighth straight year, and third under the big tent downtown, "The Dirty Three" will be rocking out for attendees at home base for the annual Cruise and its related Show-N-Shine car show, with tomorrow's concert being at 6:30 PM during the cruise proper and Saturday's being a 12:30 PM matinee during the car show itself. Visit the official schedule for the full daily itineraries to know what's going on when, whether you're a spectator or entering a classic car for any official events. As community events go, the Queen Street Cruise is right up Bone Yard's alley, and hopefully they provide another apt soundtrack for all of this weekend's downtown action! This is FREE & ALL AGES unless you registered for the vehicle-involved events.

While your local 225 are playing under The Roberta Bondar Pavilion's tent, it is not a fully indoor locale. Tomorrow evening is looking like mostly cloudy weather at around 20° but with a 30% chance of rain after 8:00 PM, as per 9&10 News. At present, the temperatures are projected to be similar on Saturday afternoon, albeit with a risk of thunderstorms, so while the tent is acknowledged, double check the weather forecast closer to if you are at all concerned about the car show. Check the above links for more details on the Cruise, and here's Bone Yard 225 live!

Finally for this preview post, the tenth annual local celebration of Go Skateboarding Day (and ninth with an attached concert) is scheduled to go down on SATURDAY! Of course, I just mentioned that there was currently a thunderstorm risk for the Queen Street Cruise, but there's even less protection from that at Queen Elizabeth Park outside of the John Rhodes Center, so definitely keep tabs on local weather forecasts in the next few days to see how that pans out. For 2025, promotional duties have passed from Dustin Jones and Tidal Records to Mikhal Muto, though Tidal remain sponsors of the event, which features free & all ages skateboarding with local vendors and sponsors on-site, some with refreshments on sale as usual. This year's music lineup at the stage atop the big ramp will feature Mikhal's crossover thrash quartet Hails (in their record-tying third set at Go Skate Day) and death/thrash metal trio Pillory.

Newer and online page-less space rock duo The Spaceship Opening will also rock the ramp on Saturday, while Shane "DJ Seith" Erickson will perform turntable mixes at Go Skate Day as well, in his first appearance at this annual June 21st event since 2016. This year's festivities take place from 1:00-5:00 PM on Saturday, this is completely free whether you're skating or not, and again, double check the weather forecast closer to just in case the current forecast bears out. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Ha!ls live at last year's Go Skate Day!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our CO2, Tym Morrison, and Bookclub previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Rust & M1), The Clutch Concert Preview, And Exit 808 Updates!!

Today's post features a bit preview for a notable E.U.P. concert and recent fallout from another one, but leading off, we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS concerning upcoming tribute band concerts in Sault Ontario, so here's what you should know!

Calgary-based Motorhead tribute band M1 will make their local concert debut on Wednesday, July 9th when they rock Beck's Bar! This is the first instance of a touring band of any genre to headline at Beck's since opening in April, and it comes by way of a tribute to hard rock legends that you don't often see tackled here beyond the occasional "Ace of Spades" cover by local acts. While M1 don't necessarily look like Lemmy and crew, they have the sound down well, and if you check out their videos on their Facebook page, they do a good job in mimicking Lemmy's gravelly vocals in particular! When Beck's announced the show on their Facebook page on Monday, they indicated that there would be an opening band, but we await public confirmation. This 19+ concert will be an early-ish night (ideal for a Wednesday) with the openers starting at 7:00 PM, and there is NO COVER.

It's not every day when a touring band plays a free show in the Soo, let alone a tribute band, and hopefully M1's take on Motorhead draws well at Beck's in three weeks, as it may lead to more touring acts playing at the former Vibe Lounge in due course! Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, there's more tribute hard rock action ahead this fall, as Sudbury's Rust: A Tribute To Rush will rock Soo Blaster once again on Saturday, October 18th! Fans may recall seeing Rust rock the same venue in November of last year, but their members are no strangers to the Soo, as the Kuthy brothers also perform in Just Leppard, who have played Def Leppard classics here four times since 2019, including at Soo Blaster two months ago. Rush fans will enjoy Rust's faithful take on the progressive rock legends' catalogue once again this fall, and hopefully there's a sizeable turnout at Soo Blaster once again for Rust's local encore! Notably, Rust plan on playing the "Moving Pictures" album in its entirety in four months. Like last year, tickets run for $25 online and at the door, this is an all ages event, and there is an advertised 8:30 PM start time. Visit the Facebook event page for more details!

Also today, let's get a slight jump on this weekend's concert previews by way of a major headlining concert in Sault Michigan TOMORROW NIGHT, as Maryland stoner/hard rock band Clutch will make their way to The Dreammakers Theater at the local Kewadin Casino! Well known among metalheads (if not necessarily mainstream rock radio) for songs like "Careful With That Mic...", "The Mob Goes Wild", and "10001110101", Clutch's melodic & bluesy but rough edged brand of hard rock stands on its own, and it'll be interesting to see how things go tomorrow in their local debut! Part of me is curious to hear if there's a normal amount of Canadian attendees given the current political climate and tariffs, but we'll have to see in that regard. Opening for Clutch tomorrow are Nashville southern hard rock quartet Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown and Washington D.C. folk/country musician Nate Bergman. 

The performers definitely get heavier as the night wears on, but Tyler and Nate are talented artists, so don't be late! Clutch frontman Neil Fallon even plugged the show directly to fans in this "Reel" on Kewadin's Facebook page, which is neay! Presented by Rock 101 (who have played a fair amount of Clutch on air in the past four months), this stop on Clutch's Full Ahead Flank MMXXV Tour is all ages with an 8:00 PM start time, and this is the rare standing room only concert at The Dreammakers Theater. Tickets run for a flat $55 USD at this link, at the in-person box office, or at 1-800-KEWADIN. Should be a good time, and a definite change of pace, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Clutch live!

We'll stay in the E.U.P. to end today's post, courtesy of a new video from local hard rock band Exit 808! They kicked off their summer concert season at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino two weeks ago for their only truly local dates of this month, and it sounds like everything went well for Exit 808, aided by a bachelorette party taking place on the Saturday nighter! As per their Facebook page, they welcomed two guest musicians for the weekend, namely About:Blank/ex-Tarnished guitarist Nathan Webber (himself a founding member of Exit 808/Double Jack) and Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins on bass. While he was tagged in this post featuring photos from the weekend, Blaze Beairl appears to have missed these shows again, but he did rejoin them for their Walloon Lake concert on Saturday. A video was posted from the Saturday the 7th show, so what can you see there?

The video (sadly shot vertically) sees Exit 808, Nathan, and Joe covering the abnormally popular 4 Non Blondes' song "What's Up?" with Amy Beach handling lead vocals. I'll never quite understand how this song is such a popular cover choice (Sault Ontario bands cover it a lot), but it does have that crowd sing-along quality, whether I get it or not. The filmer was more to the side of the stage than we usually see from Northern Pines Lounge videos, and while I'm not a fan of accentuating empty crowd levels on the floor, they do eventually zoom in. Not my personal cover choice, but give Exit 808's newest St. Ignace concert video a watch below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Spades GT Album & Concert Updates From The Last Two Weeks!!

It's been a busy two weeks for local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT, with both live concerts and hype for their upcoming studio album "United" to address, so what have the guys been up to since we last left off with them on June 3rd? The following day, the band announced details for their album release party at The Bovine Sex Club in Toronto in July 5th, confirming there that the opening bands will be York Region punk band G.F.U. and guitarist Daniel Horton's other band The Fast Life, both of which have played with Spades on numerous occasions since their 2021 relaunch. The rest of the concert updates will primarily interest fans in the G.T.A., but keep it in mind if you'll be down south then! On June 6th, the former Jack Spades revealed the cover artwork for "United" on their Facebook page, which features a black spade-shaped jigsaw puzzle with four pieces, one not in place. Shouldn't it be completely "united" like the album name?

Are the four puzzle pieces a reference to the band's then-four members who recorded the album (they were in between bassists during the recording sessions), and if so, does the ajar piece represent one of them specifically? Liner notes for the album were also shared, hinting that the album will have at least some level of a CD pressing. As seen in this image shared from the liner photos, the band thanked a number of names, including producer Kyle Marchant (who produced both of the Spades GT-era albums at Room 21 in Toronto) and graphic designer Brandon Ross of BJR Graphics (who made the album artwork), but the other names may hint at the album's guest performers. One is former Spades guitarist Jay Sarrazin, who was shown in a teaser video from the recording sessions, and another is Fast Life frontman Andrew Moorehouse, who (like Jay) also guested on 2023's "Sewer City Radio".

Spades had said on their Facebook page in February that the last day of recording sessions would feature "gang vocals", but never posted a teaser video from that day, so is that a hint as to Andrew's contributions here? Also credited is Julien Dos Santos, a.k.a. Mersinary, a rapper from the G.T.A., confirming the band's tease in April to have "a wicked feature" from the hip hop label Reel Wolf Productions. Should be an interesting styles clash there! Current Spades GT bassist Sean MacNab is thanked as well, and is included in the band photography in the liner notes, but he joined the band a few weeks after the sessions wrapped up. If we hear that he will be included musically on the final product in some form, we'll let you know! In their first of three concerts this month, Spades returned to their Barrie homebase on Wednesday to open for drummer Tyler Reiner's old band Selias at The Queens Nightclub, so what should you know from that night?

Frequently teased as "the last one (in Barrie) for a while" in the lead-up, their usual vertical recap video from the proceedings was posted to their Facebook page on Friday the 13th. The first half is focused on the guys mingling outside of the venue with locals while hyping up the concert proper, and what appears to be a studio track from the new album can be previewed underneath the video itself. In the second half, we see the guys setting up for and playing at The Queens, though why the jazzy instrumental track, I couldn't tell you. Why not have the raw concert audio in the recaps? It's still recapping the show just as well, moreso if we can actually hear pieces of the set! Still well edited, so give it a watch below!

Also on Friday the 13th, Spades GT revealed the official track listing for "United" on their Facebook page, with all eight songs confirmed in this image (likely the back cover of CD copies), though we don't yet know which songs have guest performers, let alone if Daniel will be on bass for all songs on offer. The advance single postings still await (the title track drops first on Saturday), but the second advance single is spelled "Demons", so the prior reference to the song having an A in the title was obviously a typo. Lastly for this post, the guys rocked Windsor for the first time that night when they opened for Devilz By Definition at The Cherry Rock Lounge. As plugged beforehand with this video of the full band hyping the show outside, the Windsor recap video made it to Facebook yesterday, this time with over 6 minutes of vertical action! The first 2½ minutes captures the band's commute to Windsor.

A lot of references are made to the guys being very close to Detroit and the American border, which is old hat for J.D. and Dan given their years in the Soo! For a change, we do get some raw live audio from Spades' set, as we see the guys playing "Sewer City Radio" at the 3:42 mark, albeit for just 19 seconds. The video ends with the guys remarking on their set, hyping their next show in Toronto, playing arcade games and even arm wrestling inside the venue, and heading home, but not before a stop at Tim Hortons. I'd still prefer full songs to heavily edited recap videos, let alone vertical ones, but this is an improvement on the Barrie recap video in every way for what I like from local artist videos, so give it a watch below!

We're caught up anew for Spades GT updates, but with two Toronto shows ahead and a new album release, fans will soon be "united" in anticipation for their new studio material and more big happenings, so it'll be interesting to hear what J.D., Daniel, Matthew, Sean, and Tyler have in store in the coming weeks! Visit the above links for more from Spades' camp, raise 'em up and cause a scene, and stay tuned for more news this week! Thanks everyone!

Local Hard Rock Video Showcase!!

Let's dive into a video-heavy new post at the SMS, which includes live videos that I missed from two big concerts in the last couple of years, and some footage from recent local concerts, so here's what you should know!

We'll start with an apology for a show that I missed for our last round of weekend concert previews, as local acoustic classic/hard rock band Dodge This played at The Dive Gastro Pub on Saturday night. The venue first announced the booking on their Facebook page via their June concert calendar on the 7th, but that completely slipped me by over the past week, complicated by Dodge This not plugging this show at all on their own Facebook page.  I profusely apologize, things always get busier for the SMS in the summer, but hopefully their latest stop in the "Naughty Corner" was a hit, and don't miss them at The Water Tower Pub on Friday! However, we do have a new video to share of the guys covering The Gin Blossoms' "Hey Jealousy" with Jamie July on lead vocals, as shot at their Beck's Bar gig on May 3rd, though only uploaded it on June 6th to promote their return to Beck's the following night.

The 22 seconds long and (sadly) vertical clip features lots of close angles of the guys, including percussionist Jeff July, Jamie's brother, who was quietly 100% confirmed on their Facebook page in September as being a member of the band, despite their profile photo still just crediting Jamie & Jason. From what we hear of the "Hey Jealousy" cover, it sounds good and how you'd expect it to unplugged, and the filmer got some nice panning shots of the interior of Beck's, so check it out for yourselves below!

Next up, here's some videos from North Bay country/hard rock musician Cory Marks' headlining concerts at The Machine Shop in 2023 and 2024! I found these belatedly when looking up his Hope Air fundraiser concert at the Bushplane Museum earlier this month, and I apologize for not finding these until just now. These were shot by attendee Brian S for his YouTube channel, which we previously touched on here when Brian filmed at Pop Evil and Theory of a Deadman's most recent local concerts. From Cory's local debut in July 2023, Brian got just one video, of Cory and his band playing his original song "Blame It On The Double", and if you're still questioning the heavier rock credentials for Cory, this video opening with a brief cover snippet of Pantera's "Cowboys From Hell" may help! Unfortunately, all of Brian's Cory Marks videos are vertical (granted, few of his uploads aren't), but he was close to the stage and you get a good view of everyone on stage!

The frame rate seems somewhat low, but from Brian's vantage point, you see what you need to see, and the fans are well crammed in on the floor for this one! Solid performance for fans of this modern wave of country rock, so check it out for yourselves below!

Brian upped his video count for Cory's return to The Machine Shop in September of last year (in his most recent uploads to his channel), though like in 2023, he did not film local openers Silent 9. Last fall, Brian shot Cory and his band playing "Blame It On The Double" again, as well as "Keep Doing What I Do", and as embedded below, "Outlaws & Outsiders", which appeared to end his set. Compared to 2024, Brian has a better (re: front row) angle of the stage, but there is more of a sense that he's pointing upwards as a result. Still, these are strong renditions for fans familiar with Cory's music, and he has a good audience rapport, so check these out above & below, and we'll have more from the Hope Air show soon!

Finally for today, here's some new videos of local hard rock quartet Half Past's debut at the aforementioned Beck's Bar in April! While their cover of Tool's "The Pot" was posted to their Facebook page at the time, that and more were also uploaded to bassist Arthur Lacasse's YouTube channel, which exclusively has videos from that night of the guys covering Alice In Chains' "Them Bones", and as embedded below, Thousand Foot Krutch's "Lifeline". Unexpected band choice in a few respects, but they handle that song and "Them Bones" well, and the video quality is as good as on the Tool cover, so fans will have nothing to worry about! Check out Half Past's newest live videos for yourselves above & below!

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

Details On Three Brand New Local Album Releases!!

Remember when we had a two years-long backlog for new album reviews from 2022-2024? Well, another one is loading up for mid-late 2025, as no less than three SMS amenable albums from local musicians were just released in the span of three days! Here's what you should know on all three for this stacked Sunday morning post!

In what may be a surprise announcement for many, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith released his 53rd studio album to his Bandcamp page on Friday, but there's a story here! In mid-2023, you may recall Mike launching his own e-mail subscriber program, where members called "Frequent Fliers" get a weekly e-mail featuring essays from Mike about his music, personal life, and day job as a commercial pilot, along with membership perks for album discounts and deals, plus a "secret album". Starting in June 2024 (I was in on this right away), "Frequent Fliers" got a letter a week in their subscriber e-mails for a password to unlock songs for the album, named "Frequent Flier". Based on my e-mail content, I knew precisely what was going on and what the album would have in it, but as it was a subscriber bonus, I didn't actively cover the "secret" album here... but what would happen when I had all nine songs?

Answer: Mike would unveil it to the public the following week, but "Frequent Flier" isn't as openly accessible as his other recent albums. The album is only available to buy in full at once on Bandcamp, and only three songs ("Brand New Day", "You Are The Sun", and "Home") are available to listen to for free there. It is not on other major streaming services, so if you want to hear the other six songs without being on the Frequent Flier program, you will either have to buy it on mp3 format there for $10, or buy physical copies on CD or vinyl for $20.40 or $51.90 at his new ElasticStage store for his MorningStar Records catalog (no more Kunaki). Otherwise, you can get everything for free...gradually, over the next year, by signing up for the program! If you like Mike's solo music already, you'll enjoy his essays and personal thoughts about life, music, and flying airplanes there, and the longer you're a Frequent Flier, the better deals you'll get for his online store.

A e-mail fan club exclusive album is very new territory for the SMS, but Mike has the dedication and fan connections to make it happen long term, and the proof is this album, as it did legitimately take a year for each song's password to arrive in my inbox letter by letter! If you don't want to wait, you can pay to hear the full album right away, but fans should sign up for all you get, and who knows, we could get a second "secret album" down the road! Buy "Frequent Flier" or join the program above, and check out the lyric video for "Brand New Day" below, courtesy of Mike's YouTube channel!

Next up, Friday the 13th proved to be a good day for local album releases, as Sault Michigan metal solo project X's & Y's put out their sophomore album "Ruination Coactive" as promised that day as well! The follow-up to last fall's "Obsidian Dream" can now be heard for free on Bandcamp, YouTube Music, Soundcloud, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Spotify, representing a wider initial launch than their debut had, if not technically available "everywhere". If you want to actually buy Jason Mills' new album (released through AFR Records once again), it costs $3 on Bandcamp, $7.92 on iTunes, and $10 on CD. With Crooked Music now closed, contact Jason/X's & Y's directly if you want to buy physical copies, as I don't know if any brick-and-mortar stores in the E.U.P. would be carrying them. "Ruination Coactive" is a concept album themed around the classic Nintendo Entertainment System game Contra, with the songs inspired by each of the game's levels.

It's great to see Jason acting so fast to get his second proper paid album out (especially after the Werehold-era false starts), and given the Contra ties, there should be more interest from you metalheads who also love classic gaming! Along with another pre-release visualizer video for "The Gemini Machine" from the new album, X's & Y's proper YouTube channel has a full album upload in a single video, so check it out for yourselves below!

Finally, here's another new album release, as Sault Ontario folk punk solo project Agnosticism released their own new EP today! Project leader Mikhal Muto announced the album, named "Atticcore Fornication", via their Instagram page on Thursday (remember, this is Agnosticism's only social media account), where Mikhal said this would be their "last release for quite some time while I focus on other writing projects." Hails fans' ears may perk up at that statement, but Mikhal always has multiple irons in the fire! "Atticcore Fornication" is Agnosticism's fifth album & fourth EP on major streaming services, and first since last year's "A Letter Of Resignation", though Mikhal said that half of the songs are 2-3 years old now and he doesn't necessarily agree with their lyrics now, but wanted to finally get that material released. The EP does feature guest vocals from Kayden Simon on "Nightmares".

Kayden's unknown to me, but he played guest bass with Mikhal at an upstairs show at The Distraction in May of last year. You can now stream "Atticcore Fornication" for yourselves on YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and yes, even on Boomplay. If you want to actually buy the mp3 copies, the six-song EP is on iTunes for $5.94. Fans of acoustic/folk punk and emo will definitely be curious to hear Agnosticism's new material, and check out the EP's first song ("Sea Of Discontent") below!

With all of that said, what is the short term album review schedule for the SMS? I had pencilled in X's & Y's for this month already, so that's not changing, but Mike Haggith will now be slotted in for next month. I had already scheduled the new Realignment Project album "The Frustration Sessions" for August, so as to not review the same band twice in six months, so that would put Agnosticism in for September, and would shove our planned review of Spades GT's "United" (releasing next month) to October. Hey, our schedule is pretty well set in stone now, which is good! That's all for today's stacked all-new album release post, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone! 

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Ikons Of Rock), More Weekend Concert Previews, And New Videos!!

A slight delay for this second weekend concert preview post, but it is supplemented with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this fall and some new videos from another band playing this weekend, so here's what you should know on this Saturday morning!

Winnipeg/Las Vegas classic rock tribute band Ikons Of Rock will make their local concert debut on Sunday, October 5th at The Sault Community Theater Centre! This wide ranging tribute pays homage to hard rock legends from the 1970s onward, and as you can see in promotional materials, members (including Harlequin & Streetheart alumni) dress up as the covered legends in questions, with an emphasis on heavier artists, including female rockers and even going as recently as Rob Zombie! Ikons of Rock's multimedia-friendly live show is sort of a "jack of all trades" approach that you might recall from Las Vegas residencies, and there's definitely lots of talent in their ranks, so it will be neat to see them at the former Kiwanis Theater this fall! Unlike the newly announced Steve-O show at the S.C.T.C. this fall, tickets have not went too fast yet, so there's plenty of good seats available for Ikons Of Rock!

This all ages concert has a 7:30 PM start time, and tickets are only being sold in the lower area, not the gallery. All seats have flat prices regardless of location, those being $65 for adults and $55 for kids 12 and under or students with valid student ID. As of this writing, there are open seats in all rows, so act now before things start filling up! Get yours at this link or at the in-person box office at Station Mall, and visit the above links for more details!

Next up, let's finish up this weekend's known hard rock/punk concert previews, starting with new local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos' involvement in the Lot & Loaded Parking Lot Jam outside of Forty Five Social TONIGHT! This is an outdoor acoustic concert taking place during/after the Sault Ste. Marie Festival Of Beer down Queen Street East, which has bands of their own at the Downtown Plaza (as previewed in our last post), so the 117 Spring Street men's clothing store is capitalizing on the festivities by hosting concurrent live music along with offering cocktails behind the store on their patio and attached parking lot. Of course, Dos Amigos bandmates Dustin Jones & Mikey Hawdon are also playing at the Festival Of Beer at 3:30 PM with their alternative punk sextet Bookclub, so it'll be a busy day for them!

Dos Amigos play at 7:00 PM when the Festival of Beer is slated to end, with veteran local singer/guitarist Jay Case headlining at 9:00 PM, while folk artist Matthew James at 4:00 PM, Pillory bassist Blair St. John at 2:00 PM, and country musician Marty Frolick at 1:00 PM will kick off the program at Forty Five Social. Nice change of pace and alternative for music (and beer) fans today, so keep all of the action in mind downtown, and Dos Amigos' unplugged punk covers should find an amenable audience! Lot & Loaded is a free event, and 9&10 News is currently calling for mostly cloudy weather at 17° with no chance of rain. See above for more details, and no public Dos Amigos videos yet, we'll let you know when there are!

Lastly for this weekend's hard rock concerts, we'll zip across to Rudyard, Michigan, where local hard rock quartet The Nameless are advertised to return to Huck's Pub & Grill TONIGHT! Now, I do want to preface this by noting that the band has not publicized this concert on social media, and also did not do so for their advertised Huck's concert last month, while Huck's Facebook page hasn't acknowledged this show at all since this concert calendar from May 9th. At the same time, no one has said that it isn't happening, so I'll treat it as on unless otherwise stated, but it is odd that The Nameless would promote their recent shows at The Merch but not these. Assuming all is well, tonight's Rudyard gig will be The Nameless' second there with their current lineup, and their first show anywhere since the end of May. They are a talented hard rock band with lots of fun covers, so don't miss them tonight!

Notably, veteran local country musician Gary Hatch is playing a matinee concert today to tie in with Huck's customer appreciation day (complete with a pig roast!), but this is a separate 3 hour concert, and he isn't "opening" for The Nameless. That said, Huck's recent "nighttime" concerts have all had early start times, usually at 6:00 PM, tomorrow included, so don't be late! Expect a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's The Nameless live!

Lastly for this post, let's look at some new videos from local hard rock quintet HeadF1rst in advance of their debut at Beck's Bar tonight! To promote the concert, one more teaser "Reel" was shared to their Facebook page, which features frontman Red Jettison and guitarist Rainey Rancourt standing outside of Beck's physical signage while debating ways to get the word out about tonight's concert. Rainey has many ideas, but will Red like any of them? Find out there, and then go see them on Goulais Avenue tonight! For something longer and embeddable, the band posted a second music video from their new album "Road Trippin'" onto their YouTube channel on May 28th (apologies for the two+ week delay), and this time, it's for the song "Steam"! Red compiled this video entirely out of public domain black-and-white cartoons from the 1930s, expanding on that concept after using an early Disney cartoon in the "Slay The Dragon" video.

This video was edited around cartoons that had something to do with trains given the song's allusion to steam engine trains, namely the Looney Tunes short Porky's Railroad and the Fleischer Studios cartoon Betty In Blunderland (a pre-Hays Code cartoon, at that!). I'm a classic cartoon buff, so I approve of re-appropriating public domain cartoons from Porky Pig & Betty Boop in this manner, and while I might prefer actually seeing HeadF1rst in their own video, Red did a good job editing this to match the song. Check out the "Steam" video below, and you may hear them play it tonight at Beck's!

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