R.I.P. Austin McCrea (1995-2025)

The Sault Metal Scene would also like to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of local metal musician and rapper Austin McCrea, who just passed away in the past week, as per a number of personal Facebook postings. He was just 30 years old. This didn't cross my radar at the time, but Austin (a.k.a. Jayrald Micky) had been in hospital since September due to pancreatitis, and endured a number of devastating medical setbacks in the ensuing months, which you can read more via this GoFundMe campaign that was launched on his behalf by his sister two weeks ago. As a local musician, Austin is arguably best known as the frontman of the goregrind/death metal band Brutally Fatal (once intentionally spelled "Brutaly Fatal"), who had two different incarnations between 2012 and 2019, and had brief and more mainstream turns under the names Re-Born and The Revolution.

Austin was a co-founder of the local goregrind/death metal/rap label Blood Shed Productions alongside his late-era Brutally Fatal bandmate Tyler Gibson, and his bands turned up multiple times at Blood Shed-affiliated concerts in the 2010s, be they late-era Oddfellows Hall concerts or house parties, while they also performed at the 2014 & 2015 Swampstravaganzas. Austin also dabbled into hip hop in the early-mid 2010s, rapping under the handle Miracle Man. While Austin primarily provided vocals, guitar, and bass in his best known bands, his most recent public music work was as the original drummer for local hard rock band Far From Fine (née Ravencore), performing with them at the 2022 Toystock and helping on their original material for their unfinished album, but he left that band by June 2023. Austin was also tapped to drum with Frightlight at The Northern Vibe Festival in 2023, but the horror punk band dropped out of that event and fell inactive afterwards.

I didn't know Austin well, but he was a talented and improving multi-instrumentalist who played the music he wanted to play without apologies, even if the imagery & lyrics weren't always to a wide audience's taste. When we profiled Brutally Fatal on the SMS four years ago, I linked to much of their known public music, including their demo EPs, while you can hear the originals he was working on with Far From Fine (albeit after he left) via their Lopstock 2023 set linked here. Losing someone over the holidays, let alone after this prolonged fight, is something I can't even imagine, and our thoughts are with the McCrea and Nadon families at this time. When details on services go public, I will let you know. R.I.P. Austin!

R.I.P. Ben Kemp-Reynolds (1990-2025)

The Sault Metal Scene would like to offer its deepest condolences to the family and friends of former local rock guitarist Ben Kemp-Reynolds, who suddenly passed away earlier today at the age of 35, as per numerous personal Facebook postings. Local readers may be best familiar with Ben's music work while attending Central Algoma Secondary School in the late 2000s, where he performed in CASS Cafe bands like The Diego Experience, The Dedbeats, and most notably, the 2008-2009 blues rock quartet The Glass Statues. Joining future Late & Loud bandmates Benn Garside and Josh Hatherley, The Glass Statues would play their first non-CASS gig at the YMCA Battle of the Bands at The Grand Theater in March 2009 (where they finished in third place), and they later played out in Thessalon, and were among the openers for The Road Hammers at Rotaryfest Stage 1 that July. The Glass Statues disbanded due to Ben's relocation to British Columbia for university the following month. 

Ben kept at it musically out west, where (as "Benny Blitz"), he joined Victoria glam metal band The Lust Boys in early 2010, though a planned homecoming gig with them in March 2012 at the former Canadian Nightclub did not take place due to their tour van breaking down 5 hours outside of town. The local openers, Late & Loud among them, played on though. Alas, Ben never got to bring any of his B.C. bands home for concerts, but he remained in The Lust Boys until they broke up in 2014, and he stayed musically active in the Vancouver area, where he and fellow Lust Boys alum Jayme Black formed the old school metal band Rebel Priest later that year. It's with Rebel Priest where Benny found the most success, releasing two studio albums and some other EPs and singles, and touring as far away as Japan on multiple occasions! Rebel Priest last played live at The Cobalt in Vancouver on November 21st. 

As "Benny Burn", he was also a guitarist in the Vancouver speed metal band Roadrash from 2017-2020, while Ben notably also worked as a bartender and live DJ. It was too easy to miss out on what Benny was up to in B.C. over the years, but he accomplished a lot as a musician there, and while out interactions were brief before he moved, he was always a good guy, and it's a shame to lose him so suddenly, especially just days after Christmas. If you haven't heard his three main bands since he moved, do check out The Lust Boys, Rebel Priest, and Roadrash, as there's some solid classic metal of varying flavours therein, and it'd be neat to see their original music get some well deserved Ontario and Michigan hits. I don't know if any services are planned yet in the Soo or Central Algoma, but we'll let you know when more comes out. Check on your friends, and please reach out if you're struggling. R.I.P. Benny!

The Last Hard Rock/Punk Weekend Concert Previews For 2025!!

I hope everyone had a good and peaceful Christmas, and that Santa Claus brought you some good presents! On this Boxing Day, we have previews of this weekend's relatively quiet but eventful slate of concerts, partially because today is a holiday, so here's what you should know for the weekend! (Updated on Saturday at 10:31 AM)

We'll start with this weekend's main event, and as the holidays often see local homecomings, why not throw it back for a special reunion of 1990s local punk bands TOMORROW at Soo Blaster?! This special concert will be an Algoma Regional Community Hospice fundraiser in honour of late Fist Magnet guitarist Chuck Ayotte (who passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2018), and to that end, Fist Magnet will be reuniting for their first show in well over two decades tomorrow night! According to co-promoter Christian Foisy on Messenger last night, singer Garry Ingram, bassist Andrew Marson, and drummer Dave Stokes will be joined by Christian and his former Destroilet bandmate John Conway for this one-off set. Very cool for fans of the 1990s punk scene, and for a mini-Destroilet reunion guesting!

Also playing tomorrow is a reunion of The Spigots, who will be represented by singer Trevor Harding & bassist Frank Guidocco alongside Inner City Surfers bandmates Dave Bahun and Mikey Hawdon as guest guitarist and drummer (this may be why I've seen this band named "Some Spigots" in some postings). Incomplete reunion or not, this will be huge for punk fans of the era! Despite the stature of the reunions, neither is headlining tomorrow's concert, as active crossover thrash quartet Hails will close things at some point from 11:15 PM onward (Fist Magnet are at 10:30 PM, The Spigots at 9:45 PM). Debuting local punk band P.R.O.D. (short for "punk rock overdose") will take the stage at 9:00 PM, and thanks to Christian for confirming that this band will feature him, John, and Andrew from the Fist Magnet reunion alongside Gambit/ex-Northwest drummer Clint Wilson (he did not say who will be on lead vocals). Check out their Soundcloud songs above!

Christian confirmed on the Facebook event page last week that the planned Room 206 reunion has been dropped from this concert due to "unforeseen circumstances", though Dave will still be present tomorrow via playing with "some Spigots". Replacing them are online page-less local metal quintet The Sault Side Squad, who will open the proceedings at 8:00 PM. This licensed and ALL AGES concert goes down tomorrow night at 8:00, and admission is $15 in advance at The Rad Zone, the venue, or via those credited on the event page, or $20 at the door. Visit the above links for more on all of tomorrow's action, and for a preview, here the late lamented Destroilet covering Fist Magnet with Garry live back in 2014!

Next up, Bullet Train/ex-Sense of Truth frontman Cory Murchison will bring his sporadically seen acoustic hard rock show back to the stage TOMORROW NIGHT at The Water Tower Pub when he opens for the latest reunion of local/South Korea jam rock supergroup Odd Man Out! Every so often, fans will be able to see the former Skeyes of Seven vocalist (sometimes billed as "Cory Daniel") playing unplugged shows in town, usually as a support act, with tomorrow's concert being a direct reprise of the time that he opened for O.M.O. at the same venue in July 2018. Always good to see Cory on stage, and hopefully he sets the tone well at The Water Tower Pub tomorrow! Odd Man Out (featuring Cory's old Sense of Truth bandmate Steve Myers) don't play live all that often despite never breaking up, with this being the de facto release party for their new album "Quadranium" from last summer. Not a heavier band, but a very talented one who deliver entertaining and fun live concerts with solid musicianship, so keep their return in mind!

This concert also takes place at 8:00 PM tomorrow, it is presumably a 19+ event, and there is no cover charge. December 27th, 2025 is definitely shaping up to be a big day for local band reunions, but if your tastes lean more to jam rock with a hard rock chaser, head to this central venue for tomorrow's action! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's a video from earlier this year of Cory acoustically covering Beartooth's "Look The Other Way" via his YouTube channel. Not a bad cover, and likely a good sampler of how he'll sound tomorrow night, so check it out below, and see more from Cory above!

Finally for this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, local acoustic classic/hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison has a busy post-Christmas weekend ahead, as he will be playing a matinee concert at Misty's Fifties TOMORROW before serving as the Sunday matinee performer at Beck's Bar on SUNDAY! With his planned Eagles Club concert on New Year's Eve seemingly cancelled, these will be the former Caveman Morrison frontman's final public concerts of 2025, ending a very busy year as usual for this talented local music veteran. I'm sure he has a lot more bookings lined up for 2026 already, so stay tuned for confirmation of those when dates begin going public! As usual for Tym, tomorrow's show at Misty's is a 4:00 PM matinee, while the Beck's matinee concerts on weekends begin at 3:00 PM, Sunday included. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here for full details on both of this weekend's shows, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

Theatre Of Night - "Christmas Night 3" Album Review!

It's now time for our 198th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and in a seasonal break from our recent run of reviews of backlogged new albums in chronological release order, we're looking at Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night's new album "Christmas Night 3"! This way, our string of new album reviews will continue unabated, while we'll be able to look at this album in a timely fashion, as Theatre of Night's prior two Christmas albums (2011's "Christmas Night" and 2022's "Dreams Of Winter") were also reviewed here in December. If I kept it in our regular album queue, we wouldn't be able to get to it until the summer, so tis the season! No Arrow's "Souls For Sale" (released in July) will 100% be our first album review of 2026, so look for that next month. Independently released to the band's Reverbnation page on Friday, "Christmas Night 3" reunites Theatre of Night with German session vocalist and former permanent band member Gaby Koss, who resumed working with the band last year on new material.

While she had sang on one-off singles in the early-mid 2010s, Theatre of Night and Gaby released a "Celtic Christmas metal EP" exclusively to YouTube last year, and built on that for the full "Christmas Night 3" this year with five new recordings supplementing the EP's initial five songs. Compared to their prior Christmas albums, "Christmas Night 1" from 2011 was an instrumental effort, while "Dreams Of Winter" (effectively considered "Christmas Night 2") featured re-recordings of all ten songs from the previous album, plus two new cuts, as well as former lead singer Rachel Mender on vocals on seven of the songs. "Christmas Night 3" drops things back to ten songs, six of which are returnees from "Dreams Of Winter", but there are four new songs/carols here that Theatre Of Night never included on a prior paid album. Instrumentally, guitarist Steve Giles and keyboardist Craig Harrison are back as expected, though bassist credits were not given (note that Luke Bernard was their most recent live bassist for their early 2020s tours).

On the five songs carried over from last year's free Celtic EP, "What Child Is This" and "Carol Of The Bells" feature archival recordings from original drummer (and Steve's brother) Greg Giles, while current drummer Erik Sales drummed on the other three songs. One could infer that Erik that he drummed on the five new songs too, but again, credits were not given for the album proper. While you can stream "Christmas Night 3" for free on Reverbnation and YouTube, it is formally on sale via the former site for $7.99, so consider buying it to support Theatre of Night's work for the holidays! For the six songs previously heard on "Dreams Of Winter", I will offer comparisons between the 2022 and 2025 versions. 

Featuring 10 songs running for about 47 minutes, let's begin this festive review with the opening song "What Child Is This", which has led off all three Theatre of Night Christmas albums. The new version largely retains the same structure as the 2022 version, with a somewhat louder and more dramatic introduction, though the vocalist is the key difference. Gaby and Rachel have similar vocal performances here, but Gaby (who is classically trained) does hit higher operatic notes on her verses, and there is some multi-tracking here to make it sound more like a choir of vocalists. Otherwise, this remains an effective opener on par with the prior version! The first brand new Christmas song on offer is next, namely "The First Noel", which has a slow dramatic and symphonic opening before the first verse, and it maintains a serious but grand tone throughout. Gaby's sharper and more pointed tone of voice is very clear on this track.

I got kind of an "On The Turning Away" vibe from Steve's guitar solo here, which Pink Floyd fans may appreciate! The lyrics of this carol are somewhat repetitive, but that's not the band's fault. If you like your Theatre of Night in a more serious and orchestral mode than even their normal Christmas output, you should take to this song! Another new cover is next, namely "O Come Emmanuel" (note that they omitted a second "O Come" from their titling). A spare piano intro from Craig leads into a slow and very drawn out rendition of this somewhat lesser known carol, and while the music slowly builds in stature, the song never really gets out of second gear and remains really laboured in pacing. I've heard this cover done with more life while still being approached traditionally, so while technically sound, it's not a favourite of mine here. Next up is the second returning song from prior seasonal releases, namely "Silent Night". 

This is the shortest song on "Christmas Night 3", and it retains a similar structure and pace to the 2022 version. The big difference is the vocals, and here, Gaby does dial things back to sing this one at a more reserved pace than Rachel did, which suits the delicate and melancholy vibe of this carol a little more. Otherwise, if you like traditional "Silent Night" renditions with a slight rock kick, you'll like this! The first half of the album ends with "Little Drummer Boy" (no "The" at the start), which was also heard on Theatre of Night's prior Christmas albums. Functionally, the 2022 version is almost identical instrumentally, but the big difference is that Gaby sings the "rum-pum-pum-pum" parts throughout the verses, where Rachel omitted them until the title character started playing for the baby Jesus in the song's timeline. I do find that Rachel's singing fits this song a little better, but the full lyrics being restored helps a ton.

Otherwise, it's the same song, so pick and choose what you'd rather hear! Song #6 is "God Rest Ye Merry Gents", and yes, that is how they titled it for this album (under its full name "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", it debuted in their catalogue on "Dreams Of Winter"). Again, this song is basically a verbatim re-recording of the 2022 version, but similarly to "Little Drummer Boy", Gaby actually sings the full and complete verses here, where Rachel only sang the back half of most verses, something that I never understood the point of on the last album. The restored lyrics (including more outro singing) help a lot with this song, which still fits well in a metallized setting, so this is an album highlight for me! The next two songs are the other two brand new carols for "Christmas Night 3", starting with "Let All Mortal Flesh" (no "Keep Silence" in their title), By far the longest song on offer, Gaby's vocals really drive this one along for the duration.

It's very verse heavy, but the backing instrumentation has a very ominous building quality with really strong bass. I wasn't overly familiar with this carol going in, but it's way too drawn out and serious, and it leans too heavily on the singing, so while it's not one of my favourites, I do like how the band proper add to the ambiance, and the drumming steadily improves as it motors along! That's followed by "Good King Wenceslas", which is slowed down compared to traditional renditions, but it's well performed, and I honestly prefer Gaby's lower register singing here compared to her higher full voice work on most of the other tracks. Steve gets some room to show off with some guitar shredding in the background (even if it doesn't seem all that necessary), and while not the heaviest song on offer, it comes together fairly well and suits the mood of prior songs! The penultimate song here is "Hark The Herald", again shortening its title without "Angels Sing".

Once again, this song shares largely the same structure as prior carryovers from "Dreams Of Winter", including the between-verse interpolations of "The Twelve Days Of Christmas", but the retained structure is partially to its detriment, as the drawn out outro is back. The big change is vocally, as Gaby sings more and fuller verses here, whereas on the 2022 version, Rachel didn't sing on the first verse and only partially on others. That goes a long way towards making this song sound full, and it's a big improvement to one of the more grandiose and epic sounding songs here! The album closes with "Carol Of The Bells", which is done for the first time on a Theatre of Night album here with vocals, and even the 2022 version didn't have Rachel singing. As fans of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra know from "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24", this song bodes very well in a metal context, and the two versions only share minor differences from each other.

Obviously, the inclusion of vocals makes this one stand out a lot, and she really exercises her vocal range here, starting with upper register falsetto that gradually steps down and down later in the track. The sweet spot was in the middle, as the opening vocals were somewhat shrill and the latter ones sounded forced to get low like that, but it does show Gaby's abilities nicely! To me, the repetitive style of singing for "Carol Of The Bells" undercuts the heaviness of the guitar too much, but it's an effective capper to the album! So, three Christmas albums into their run, how does "Christmas Night 3" stack up? Really, it's not even a full sequel because it only has four brand new songs, and the only major change on the other six is Gaby on vocals, Whether you prefer Rachel or Gaby is subjective, but I appreciate Gaby's range and vocal control, while Rachel's full voice singing was a little deeper and softer edged, so both have their plusses.

Honestly, the big plus of Gaby's vocals here is that she/the band weren't pulling the "only sing half of the verses" thing like on "Dreams Of Winter", which made too many songs on that album sound incomplete. Musically, everyone performed soundly and with purpose to create classical metal magic, and while nothing major was changed for the six returning songs, the production values suited the grandiosity. Craig, Steve, and crew know what they're doing, even if we've been served most of this Christmas dinner before. I would have been curious to hear Gaby's takes on the three "Dreams Of Winter" songs with vocals that weren't carried over here (namely "Away In A Manger", "O Come All Ye Faithful", and "O Holy Night"), I did find some of the multi-tracked vocals to be a little roughly layered, "Carol Of The Bells" works better as an instrumental, and there is still a problem with some songs in terms of drawn out structures and lengthy outros.

Still, as a festive companion piece to their prior albums and a much belated end result of Theatre of Night's decade+ studio work with Gaby, this is a quality album for some heavier symphonic Christmas music, so buy/stream it above! I hope you guys liked our last monthly CD review of 2025, and we resume our new album release queue in release order next month when we look at defunct Sault Ontario grunge trio No Arrow's posthumous studio album "Souls For Sale"! Watch for that in January 2026 (hopefully early given the unexpected postponement of that review), and for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone, and Merry Christmas!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Peril, Half Past, Quite Frankly, And The Guilty Party!!)

Today's post takes us to a slate of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for early next year, so here's what you should know as the year slowly winds to a close!

Local hard rock cover quartet Half Past will end 2025 with a headlining New Year's party concert on Wednesday, December 31st at Beck's Bar! Announced via their Facebook page back on December 2nd (apologies for the delay), this will be their first concert since rocking Beck's in early October, and their third at the former Vibe Lounge since debuting there in April. It is reasonable to assume that there will be some level of holiday frills for New Year's Eve, but as Beck's wasn't a thing in 2024, we don't know exactly what Becky and crew have in store to ring in 2026 with. We should know more by Monday, when the venue typically announces the week's entertainment schedule on Facebook, and this includes the potential for a cover charge if things are fancier. At press time, the show has no announced cover, a 19+ age limit, and a 9:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, let's head across the border for Traverse City, Michigan classic metal trio Peril's first E.U.P. gigs of the new year, as they'll headline at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino next weekend, on Friday, January 2nd & Saturday, January 3rd! Last seen there over the Halloween weekend, it will be good to see Jeff & crew deliver their old school hard rocking covers for local fans once again, especially as next week's shows will be their first anywhere of 2026, so don't bypass them if you'll be in the area! Meanwhile, they'll make their first St. Ignace stops of the year over the Valentine's Day weekend for three shows from Thursday, February 12th to Saturday, February 14th! The reason for the added Thursday booking is because Peril are playing at The Northern Pines Lounge to coincide with the annual Labatt Blue UP Pond Hockey Championships, taking place at Chain Lake nearby, with Kewadin hosting some official events on site.

Readers may recall that Peril's sister band Scarkazm rocked the St. Ignace Kewadin on this busy weekend in each of the last two years, so why not let Peril have a turn? All five of Peril's upcoming shows (as announced via the concert calendar above on their Facebook page) have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more on their and Scarkazm's U.P. gigs in the first quarter of 2026!

Back in Sault Ontario, local classic/hard rock cover trio The Guilty Party will kick off 2026 when they rock Reggie's Place on Friday, January 2nd and Saturday, January 3rd! The Facebook event page for these shows originally had them playing a one-nighter at Beck's on January 3rd, but the venue was quietly switched out on Tuesday for unannounced reasons. After a relatively quick start to their run as a band in the fall, these will be Brent, Terry, and Jim's first public concerts since rocking Jay's Piston Broke Pub last month, and will mark the first public hard rock-leaning bookings at Reggie's since Bone Yard 225 played what they said would be their "last weekend playing there" in October. It has since came out that owner/namesake Reggie Daigle has resumed management of the 458 Queen Street East nightclub after Randy Lapossie's five year tenure there ended, so Bone Yard's finality hints about their last shows there must have reflected Randy's control of the day-to-day operations and/or a possible issue with Reggie himself.

I won't speculate, but it is only natural to see Reggie running Reggie's, and The Guilty Party's presence does hint that they're not going back to a 100% country music rotation like in years gone by! Read more on the new/old Reggie's on their Facebook page, though most updates so far relate to the menu. Note that prior hints of a female special guest for The Guilty Party on that Saturday were not kept when they revised the write-up on the Facebook event page (though that doesn't mean that she won't be present, whoever she is). Expect a 9:30 PM start time, no cover, and a 19+ age limit as usual. Visit the above links for more details, and a stay tuned for more concerts & updates from The Guilty Party!

Finally, also newly confirmed for next month is fellow local classic/hard rock quartet Quite Frankly's first date of the new year, as they'll debut at The Water Tower Pub on Saturday, January 17th!  After playing their first show since their lengthy hiatus at Beck's Bar late last month, this will be just your second chance to see Quite Frankly 2.0... or is that 3.0? Just four days after announcing this show on their Facebook page, the band confirmed that Blind River singer/guitarist Linsaey L.W. has replaced Haley Alopaeus on lead vocals, so this will be her debut with the band. It will be interesting to see how Linsaey fits in with Frank, Harley, and Joe, let alone how she compares to Haley (and Jack from their original run), but you can be the first to find out mid-way through January! Remember, The Water Tower Pub never hosts the same band on Fridays and Saturdays, and this will be a 19+ show at 8:00 PM with no cover. Visit the above links for more details!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Generations), A New Local Punk Band, And More!!

Today's post wraps up this busy slate of weekend concert previews (one also being a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT), along with some assorted recent notes, but let's lead off with a new local band and album all at once!

We have a new local ska punk band to add to our band links, namely A.S.D.P.! Short for "Adam Smith Death Parade", they surfaced with a Bandcamp page on Wednesday, and while they're new to our formal coverage, we did allude to them in the summer when they played at the private Go Skate Day replacement concert in July (remember when it was rained out?). They were also scheduled to open for Krang at The Distraction in September before the venue closed indefinitely following the fire code stuff at the Ripcordz concert. Describing their genre as "crackrocksteady", they are fronted by Hails guitarist and Agnosticism frontman Mikhal Muto (credited as "Châ"), alongside Sault Side Squad/ex-Stoned To Deaf bassist William Jordan Wardlaw (a.k.a. "Glistening Williard") and Spaceship Opening drummer Ralph Barber (or "Just Ralph"). If you gleaned from the Bandcamp page's existence that they have music out there, you're right, as A.S.D.P. released their debut EP "Atom Bombs & Lemonade" on Wednesday!

Ralph told me on Facebook that the album has three bonus covers (of Leftover Crack's "One Dead Cop", No Cash's "Kill Yer Parents", and The Suburbanists' "Wait Around"), but they are exclusive to the paid copy of the album, which costs $7. It's a short listen (the seven originals run for just 14 minutes), but it's encouraging to already see studio material from A.S.D.P., even if its review around here won't be until mid-2026 due to our extensive new album backlog! No word on if we'll see A.S.D.P. on social media otherwise (members don't seem to be eager to get Facebook pages going for most of their current bands), but stay tuned for more updates and content from this new ska band when things go public!

Next up, let's resume this weekend's concert previews, starting with local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations' return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, drummer Tony Santoro announced the gig via the band's Facebook group two weeks ago, and while I listed it in our concert calendar, the idea of adding it to a post slipped me by at the time. If there's a planned final show or two for 2025, I don't know, but if you like Generations' old school rock action, you won't want to miss TONIGHT's show in the event that this is it for the year! This will be their Water Tower Pub debut with new guitarist Joe Miller, after having guest guitarist Michael Yurich when they last played there early last month (and still no public word what the "special surprise" that night was). Whether or not they have a carol or two in mind TONIGHT, this one-nighter is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Generations live!

Also, let's wrap up this weekend's hard rock previews at Misty's Fifties, where veteran local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will set up shop once again for a matinee concert TODAY! After skipping last week in his lengthy run of Saturday matinee concerts at the Second Line West nightclub, Tym is back today for his fifth such show there in the past six weeks, and he will be back once more for 2025 next week. Hopefully Tym gets a solid pre-Christmas turnout for his hard rocking covers from his extensive setlist once again later on! While we're on the subject, it looks like Tym's planned New Year's Eve concert at The Fraternal Order of Eagles Club has been quietly cancelled, as per its removal from his Eagles Club shows' batch Facebook event page. A reason for the cancellation wasn't announced, but hopefully we see Tym back in Steelton in the new year!

As for today's Misty's matinee, it takes place at 4:00 PM as always, with a presumed 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on this and next week's Misty's concerts, and for a preview, here he is live a couple years back! 

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

• Welsh punk/alternative quartet James & The Cold Gun have been added as the final openers for most of Mammoth's North American tour early next year, the Kewadin Casino date in Sault Michigan on March 28th included. Fun lively sound that adds some genre diversity to the hard rock action in three months, and how often do bands from Wales play here? Get your tickets A.S.A.P. for what should be a solid concert!
• Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly have announced the addition of Blind River folk musician Linsaey Hartford-White (a.k.a. Linsaey L.W.) as their new frontwoman, replacing Haley Alopaeus. A reason for Haley's departure was not announced, but hopefully things were amicable, and that we see her out there again soon, as she is a talented singer! Some readers may recall seeing Linsaey open the Riffs For Rememberance memorial concert for Victoria Childs at Soo Blaster in October, and it will be interesting to see how she fits in with Quite Frankly in 2026!
• Local punk quartet Room 206 will no longer be playing at next week's 1990s punk reunion concert at Soo Blaster, as per co-promoter/P.R.O.D. guitarist Christian Foisy on the Facebook event page yesterday. Their exit was "due to unavoidable circumstances", and while Christian didn't elaborate, note that Brad does live out of town. Hopefully Room 206 resurface down the road when able! Online page-less metal quintet The Sault Side Squad will replace them on the bill as the 8:00 PM opening band, with P.R.O.D., members of The Spigots, Fist Magnet, and Ha!ls following in that order. This will still be a huge night, so visit the above links for more on next week's festivities!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished) And The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

With Christmas just a week away, there's just one more concert weekend to touch on beforehand, so that's what today's post is focusing on! It is sufficiently busy to warrant two posts though, so Saturday's Generations and Tym Morrison shows will be previewed next. Now, here's what you should know, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS in the E.U.P.!

Local classic/hard rock quartet Tarnished will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the gigs via their Facebook page yesterday, and they are late replacements for this weekend. Sault Ontario classic rock veterans Touch Of Class were originally slated for The Rapids Lounge this weekend, but they had to cancel their scheduled Kewadin dates since last month due to paperwork issues (source here), presumably related to their ability to perform in Michigan. Hopefully they get everything sorted out in time for their scheduled 2026 dates, but kudos to Tarnished for stepping in TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! With no public New Year's dates teased, these will likely be Tarnished's final shows of 2025, and their first at the Sault Kewadin in almost two months.

You can enjoy Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron's hard rocking mix of covers at The Rapids Lounge at 9:00 PM as usual TOMORROW & SATURDAY with 21+ age limits. Visit the above link for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Next up, we'll head south to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will set up shop for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! While not newly promoted on their Facebook page at press time, the shows have Facebook event pages linked here, and will be their first shows in our neck of the woods since rocking the Soo Kewadin three weeks ago. After tomorrow and Saturday, Scarkazm have just two other shows left in 2025 (downstate in Crystal Mountain), but they will be back in the Soo in January and in St. Ignace in April, so if you don't wanna wait, head to The Northern Pines Lounge for Adam, Dave, and Jeff's hard rocking covers and originals before Christmas! Like with Tarnished up north, Scarkazm's Kewadin dates this weekend are 9:00 PM affairs with no cover charges and 21+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Scarkazm live!

Also this weekend, let's head north to Sault Ontario for a stacked multi-genre concert TOMORROW NIGHT at Beck's Bar named Broke & Hungry! This concert will be a Soup Kitchen Community Center benefit as part of touring rapper/host Twitchy T. Tantrum's national food drive, and entry will be via non-perishable food items. Always a wonderful cause, and kudos to Twitchy and all involved at this rare multi-band concert at Beck's! A wide swath of musicians will include two SMS-amenable bands, namely crossover thrash quartet Hails and online page-less metal quintet The Sault Side Squad, while this show will also feature Juno-nominated Toronto rapper Unknown Mizery (a.k.a. King Mizo), local bluegrass quartet The Golden Scoundrels (featuring Shit Liver and Handsome Sandwich alumni), and local rapper Mike "Mic Swiff" Sylvester. This is a 19+ event which starts at 8:00 PM tomorrow.

Note that Twitchy T. Tantrum has a scheduled live-stream for this concert on YouTube, suggesting that it may be played live there for remote and belated viewing, but I haven't seen any firm confirmation of that elsewhere. Keep tabs on that link just in case though!  There's a little something for multiple tastes at Beck's tomorrow, and it will be nice to support the Soup Kitchen just before Christmas in the process, so don't bypass this concert in your weekend plans! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Ha!ls live!

Finally for this preview post, it's our first ever preview of a heavier concert at The Full Throttle Saloon (well, at least since the former Primavera Hall rebranded), as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will set up shop at the Wellington Street West venue TOMORROW NIGHT! This one-nighter will see Greg, Alex, and Warren give Steelton a run for its money, and hopefully things go well there so they can bring their high-octane slate of covers and their originals to a new venue and audience more regularly in 2026! With just their ticketed Moose Lodge show on New Year's Eve ahead, Boneheads will have just this show left for the year in terms of normal nightclub gigs, and it's a normal one for them aside from the locale (9:30 PM start time, 19+ age limit, no cover). Note that the Full Throttle Saloon doesn't host bands on Saturdays at all, and is only open to the public from 12:00-4:00 PM that day (reserved seating after 4:00).

For more details on your local 225's concert tomorrow at the Full Throttle Saloon, the venue's menu options and specials, and more, visit the above links, and for a preview, here's "the dirty three" live! 

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