Another seemingly quiet concert weekend is ahead for hard rock fans in the Twin Saults, but we do have a related LOCAL CONCERT ALERT from one band and a new video from another, so here's what you should know as we slowly come out of this week's cold snap!
We'll start with southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, who will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, but in another new announcement, they'll return to Beck's Bar on Saturday, February 14th for a special Valentine's Day gig! While the band proper has not confirmed their slate of concerts beyond this weekend on social media or their website, the venue announced the show (on the Family Day long weekend) on their Facebook page yesterday, and it's not a run of the mill concert. For Valentine's Day, Beck's is hosting a concurrent "stoplight party", the gimmick being that you wear coloured clothing to signify your relationship status and hopefully encourage matchmaking (green = you're single and looking, yellow = maybe/it's complicated, red = you're taken/married). Fun idea, and hopefully there's a strong turnout at the former Vibe Lounge in two weeks to make it as successful as possible!
No word yet on if Bone Yard also have the "uncorked" matinee slot on the 15th, we'll let you know when they or Beck's confirm. In the meantime, tomorrow & Saturday mark the first stops at The Esquire Club for "the dirty three" since November, and just their second and third full electric shows of 2026, so keep everything in mind this weekend and next month! This weekend's Esquire Club shows are at 9:30 PM, the Valentine's party at Beck's is at 9:00 PM, and the three are all 19+ with no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's your local 225 live!
Next up, one of the bigger attractions this weekend is the surprise reunion of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Over a year after the band parted ways following their New Year's Eve 2024 concert at the YNCU Curling Centre, most of the band's final lineup (singer/guitarists Terry Eaton & Cameron Oliver and bassist Jim Michaud) are back for presumably one weekend only. Of course, we have seen unions of 2+ of them multple times in the past year via Cameron's own solo dates, with his short-lived "The Band", and via Terry & Jim's current successor bands Separate Wayz and The Guilty Party, so why Terry is only just now reviving the Soundcheck name isn't publically clear. Hopefully their classic and hard rock covers (with a dash of country) go over well after a year+ away, if technically!
Terry & Jim's new Separate Wayz/Guilty Party bandmate Johnny Amendola will take Glen Thomas' spot behind the drumkit, in his first public gigs with them under any band name, so if you're curious to see how he fits in, come to the former Roosevelt Hotel! Like usual for their old gigs, the former Nameus hit the Jay's stage at 9:30 PM tomorrow and Saturday night with no cover charges or age limits. See above for more details on Soundcheck's reunion weekend, and for a preview, here they are live!
In a brief detour to Sault Michigan, fans across the river can welcome Traverse City metal/hard rock trio Scarkazm back to The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino for the first times this year TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Their sister band Peril kicked off 2026 at the Soo Kewadin four weeks ago, and will be in St. Ignace in two weeks, but in the interim, Scarkazm are hear to bring things a little heavier with their rocking slate of covers and possibly some originals, and it will be good for fans of Adam, Dave, and Jeff to see them back at it after another busy past year! If you miss this weekend's shows, Scarkazm proper won't be back at The Rapids Lounge for almost two months. As usual for Scarkazm's (and Peril's) Kewadin bookings, tomorrow and Saturday's shows are 21+ affairs with no cover charges and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details, and for a preview, here they are live a few years back!
Finally for this weekend's known and public hard rock concert previews, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for a one-nighter, as local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will return to the stage on SATURDAY NIGHT at The Full Throttle Saloon! Four weeks ago, this talented veteran group played their first gig at the former Primavera Hall, and now they're back in Steelton for their second show there and of the year. Bassist John Amendola (whose son Johnny is drumming with Soundcheck at Jay's that same night) teased that Headrush will have new songs in their setlist to unveil on Saturday, so head to the Full Throttle Saloon to see what's new! This is a 9:00 PM concert on Saturday with no announced cover charge and a 19+ age limit. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new jam session video of Headrush in action, as shared to their Facebook group!
Shared from John Amendola's personal Facebook page, this sees him, John Anderson, Wes, Gino, and Frank covering "Spaceship Superstar" by Canadian hard rock legends Prism. The camera could be centered moreso, but the cover sounds good to me, and it's always good to see a local band covering some Cancon that isn't one of the usual suspects! Check it out below, and see much more from Headrush on Saturday night!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review next, either tomorrow or on Saturday! Thanks everyone!
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