It took a few extra days, but the complete lineup for Rotaryfest Stage 2 has been announced via their website! Sponsored once again by SooToday, this is the tenth installment of the Second Stage since the "Redirected" era kicked off in 2015, and will once again occur at the pop-up stage beside the Art Gallery of Algoma at the festival's Clergue Park homebase. As has been the case since the pandemic hiatus ended in 2022, Stage 2 will take place on two days, starting with the Friday Night Blues lineup on July 17th, curated by the Sault Blues Society. This lineup never has hard rock or punk acts, but the Facebook event page does list many familiar names in the given bands! Newer local blues rock band Sunday & The Broken Hearts will debut on Stage 2 as the 8:30 PM headliners, while veteran local blues/jazz musician Rusty McCarthy (again billed as "Rusty McBlues") will co-headline at 7:30 PM.
This will be Rusty's fourth Friday Night Blues set, and his sixth solo headlining set of any type on the Second Stage, tying Machines Dream for the most ever. The debuting Jay Scali Band (featuring Zak's All-Stars alumni) are up at 6:30 PM, preceded by the third straight Stage 2 set by by veteran blues rockers Mudfoot Mike & The Muckrakers at 5:30 PM. The day will be kicked off at 4:30 PM by Josh "The Preacher" McNally, though unlike his festival debut last year, he will be backed up by his Jackleg Band. As for the longer program on Saturday, July 18th, this takes a turn from what you may be used to sonically from any era of the Second Stage. With one exception, this year's Stage 2 bands on the Saturday don't lean towards alternative, indie, and/or folk rock. However, while only one Saturday act is a returnee from past Stage 2 lineups, that isn't necessarily strange, as 2024 only had one returning Saturday band as well.
Honestly, the big surprise to me this year is that there are two death metal bands playing on the Second Stage this year, including death metal trio Pillory as the headliners at 8:30 PM! While we have seen Robert Sartini here with All The Tired Horses, The Peach Thieves, and in The Preacher's Jackleg Band, he finally takes center stage next month on Stage 2, so prepare for face melting brutality! Co-headlining at 7:30 PM are Eli Russell & The River Fools, the new southern rock band from (former?) Sylo frontman Elijah Russell and former Wild Iris bandmates Steve Myers & Courtney McDonald. They've been making some waves at headlining gigs this year so far, so keep The River Fools in mind, and we'll let you know if Sylo's status is clarified! Eleven years after launching a petition and fan campaign to get added to the Rotaryfest lineup in 2015, the former Bear Hunters have finally secured a spot on Stage 2 next month!
The now-renamed Eden Plague will finally play at the "Redirected" Clergue Park stage at 6:30 PM, and while Mitch & Johnny have played Stage 2 since in lighter projects, it will be huge for them, Nik, and Justin to finally brutalize Stage 2 next month! After playing the last two years with HeadFirst, drummer Anthony Boudreau will return with his new local blues/hard rock trio Stones & Crows at 5:30 PM, just three weeks after their live debut. Twenty years after playing at the second annual Second Stage, veteran local folk musician M.D. Dunn will be this year's only returning Stage 2 act at 4:30 PM, in his first set here since 2023 and fifth total. Local country musician Brendan Hodgson will perform at 3:30 PM, and while this will be his Stage 2 debut, he previously performed on Stage 1 from 2021-2024, making him just the eleventh credited act to play both stages. Newer local blues/hard rock quartet The Reeves will debut at Rotary at 2:30 PM.
We'll have more on them soon, but you may recognize them as the Haze/Long Shot successors who publically debuted at Toystock last fall. Surprisingly, Stage 2 will be kicked off at 1:30 PM this year by an open mic block, and while I don't know if this is due to low artist applications or just trying something new, this will be the first Saturday lineup with only seven Stage 2 bands since 2018. This isn't entirely unprecedented, as the last two Swampstravaganzas in 2014 and 2015 also opened with open mic performers, so hopefully some talented folks step on stage to kick off the action by the waterfront! Stage 2 remains a FREE & ALL AGES event as part of another stacked weekend of the Soo's annual summer festival, so visit the above links for full current details on what to expect on Rotaryfest Stage 2 in its 19th installment, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!
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