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!