We're back after a quiet weekend with a stacked post on this Monday night, including a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, a brand new album release, and a new concert video & related updates, so here's what you should know!
Muskegon, Michigan hard rock quintet Pop Evil will return to our area on Sunday, April 12th, but this time, they'll be making their debut in Sault Ontario at The Machine Shop! Yes, it is 100% the local Machine Shop, not the one in Flint. Fans have seen these Rock 101 mainstays seven times in Sault Michigan over the years (all but one at their Kewadin Casino), including their most recent date here in March 2023, but if you Canadian readers were previously unable or unwilling to cross the border, then you'll want to circle this date on your calendar! Like last time, Pop Evil are touring in support of their new album, so expect to hear cuts from "What Remains", plus existing hits like "Skeletons", "Trenches", and "Breathe Again" in the spring! This will also be their first local stop since Blake Allison replaced Hayley Cramer on drums. No word on potential openers yet, but this show will not feature Sabaton, who Pop Evil are opening for on much of their early 2026 tour run.
Tickets for this all ages and 8:00 PM concert run for $40 + additional processing fees at this link at presumably at the door. We've been getting a good run of big new rock concert announcements in Sault Ontario for early 2026 so far, and this will absolutely help in that, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!
Next up, here's a new-ish album release from Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night! On Friday, they released "Christmas Night 3" to their Reverbnation page for $7.99, and it's not on other paid or subscription streaming services beyond their YouTube channel. If you're not familiar, the original "Christmas Night" came out as an instrumental album in 2011, before they re-recorded and expanded it with then-singer Rachel Mender in 2022 as "Dreams Of Winter" (I assume they're considering that to be "Christmas Night 2"). For this third go-around with a seasonal album, Theatre of Night are collaborating again with German soprano singer Gaby Koss, who was once an official (if remote) band member in the early-mid 2010s, and worked with Craig, Steve, and crew again last year for a free "Celtic Christmas metal EP", but there were teasers at the time that Gaby would be working on more material with them.
The five songs from last year's batch are included on "Christmas Night 3" along with five new additions, and note that of the 10 songs, "The First Noel", "O Come Emmanuel", "Let All Mortal Flesh", and "Good King Wenceslas" are all brand new to Theatre Of Night's paid studio output and did not feature on the two prior albums. How do these sound, and how do the other six compare to prior versions? I think we'll find out this month, as I'm going to bump our album review queue all up a month so this can be reviewed in a timely fashion! Otherwise, it'll be blocked for mid-2026 at the earliest, nowhere near Christmas (No Arrow will 100% come next month). Stream "Christmas Night 3" for yourselves below!
Finally, let's head back to Sault Ontario for the long awaited full concert video from Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band's outdoor-ish headlining show at the Downtown Plaza in September! Of course, this concert was released as a live album named "Under A Moonlit Sky" late last month, but Mike promised right along that the the full video would be posted to his YouTube channel, and that went live on Thursday. 705Live Sound Co. were on hand to provide sound for the concert and this album, while videography was credited to Big Finish Band backing vocalist Elly McWatters (who must have set up one of the stationary cameras), guitarist Chris Nielsen's A Dire Setback bandmate Matt Quinn, and Celeste Maurer. There's at least three stationary cameras on hand here (one pointing directly at the stage, one at a corner angle, and a drumcam for Brandan Glew's sake), while Matt and/or Celeste was roaming to capture various close-up angles.
For what it's worth, the last two songs are solely featured via the main stationary camera with no switches to other views. Of note, the stage was tarped on three of four sides with a forest/sky motif, but the material wasn't opaque, so natural lighting is reflected in the skyline, and as the show took place during sunset and dusk, things do darken naturally. It is a neat visual! The concert proper is longer than the album, so more of the between-song banter and gaps are left in, but in tagging each individual song in the YouTube description, Mike opted not to credit the guitar adlib or the separated introductions (aside from "The Power of Community") for the video proper. As you may be aware, Mike pledged proceeds from streams of "Under A Moonlit Sky" to Christmas Cheer this month, and that includes 10¢ from every view of the concert video.
Mike was interviewed by SooToday's Darren Taylor for this article about the live album and charity drive, where Mike talks about getting the idea to support his old hometown (remember, he lives in Barrie now), where he focuses his attention for gigs when he comes back north, and the change of plans from the battle of the bands to the full concert on September 25th, apparently on just two days notice! Solidly informative article, even if The Big Finish Band name wasn't given, so read it above! I'll hold my thoughts on the concert proper for our review of "Under A Moonlit Sky" next year, but it's very well shot and edited with some neat views of the plaza stage, so give it a watch below and support Christmas Cheer in the process!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for more on the SMS this week! Thanks everyone!
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