LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Double Down & Tarnished), Weekend Concert Previews, And New Videos!!

Before we begin this preview post, I wanted to apologize for a show missed in last week's previews, as local alternative/punk cover supergroup BookcluB played at The Kiln at Searchmont Resort this past Saturday night. Both the band and resort only publically announced the show via their respective Facebook pages earlier that day, with BookcluB only giving fans five hours notice to make the trek to Searchmont. I'm sorry for missing this one, I'd have happily covered it had it even had a day's notice, but hopefully Mikey, Dustin, and crew had a blast for fans and skiiers alike on Saturday!

Today's first weekend concert preview post otherwise looks at most of this weekend's hard rock-leaning slate, but due to the amount of announced shows, we'll hold Saturday's Viscera show for tomorrow's post. As far as I'm aware, none of the hard rock-hosting venues this weekend are advertising early St. Patrick's Day festivities. Most of today's previews concern SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, and we'll start in Sault Michigan, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished will play their first show of 2026 TOMORROW NIGHT at The Merchants Bar! Apologies for the short notice, the band first announced this show via their Facebook page yesterday, and as always, The Merch doesn't promote bands playing there by name on social media. The guys were last seen on stage at the local Kewadin Casino in December.

This will be Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron's first stop at The Merch since late November, and hopefully there's a solid turnout! A one-nighter as usual at the 108 West Spruce Street nightclub, TOMORROW'S concert goes down at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge, and if you believe Tarnished's own promotion, "it's going to be a BLAST" (they capitalized it, not me!). Visit the above links for more on the hard rocking cover action ahead, and for a preview, here's Tarnished live at The Merch!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will set up shop at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band first confirmed this weekend's bookings on their Facebook page on Monday, and the venue has not corroborated them on social media. Marking their first gigs at the former Roosevelt Hotel for this new year, fans last saw Double Down elsewhere in the west end this past Saturday at Beck's Bar, where they welcomed back guest singer Jack "Jacklyn Hyde" Alisat for at least one song. Unlike that gig, however, the band are 100% publically advertising that Jack is back in some capacity TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, so if you want to catch the original Quite Frankly frontwoman on stage with a full band again, you have at least two more chances in the west end this weekend!

Double Down's brand of rocking cover action can be enjoyed TOMORROW & SATURDAY at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of Double Down with Jack at Beck's on Saturday! Filmed by RPM drummer Joseph Bertrand and uploaded to the band's Facebook page, this cover of AC/DC's "Shoot To Thrill" really shows off her vocal range nicely, and you'd never guess she was just a guest here! I wish Joseph had zoomed in more from where he was in Beck's, but at least this is horizontal. Give it a watch below, and get more from Double Down & Jack TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Jay's!

Moving to shows that did get advance notice, we'll next head to The Machine Shop, as Great Britain-based Queen tribute band Majesty: A Tribute To Queen will make their local concert debut TONIGHT! While local fans will be no stranger to Australia's Queen: It's A Kinda Magic's periodic concerts at the S.C.T.C., this concert will deliver an alternate British take on Freddie, Brian, John, and Roger's classic singles and stage show. Whether you prefer the performance quality and attention to detail of It's A Kinda Magic or not is subjective, but Majesty are the real deal, and if you love Queen, they'll deliver the classic rock goods tonight from across Queen's run! I have not seen any reference to an opening band. The second of three major hard rock concerts at The Machine Shop in a sub-2 month span (following The Trews and preceding Pop Evil), this is an all ages event taking place tonight at 8:00 PM.

Tickets remain on sale at this link, at the Community Box Office at Station Mall, or at the door tomorrow, and tickets run for $45 (seated) or $40 (standing). Despite this structure, this is a general admission event, so first come first serve for the best spots. This should be a fun concert, so consider coming out if you can swing it on a work/school night! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Majesty live!

Finally for this preview post, we'll head back to the west end, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will rock Beck's Bar for the first time on SATURDAY NIGHT! It is surprising that this is their debut at the former Vibe Lounge, but remember that they had been prioritizing private and community events over the winter, only just playing their first nightclub gigs of 2026 this past weekend at The Esquire Club. This talented foursome should have a lot of fun rocking covers in store for fans on Saturday, so keep this one in mind! This is a one-nighter as is usual at Beck's (DJ Dark Mark is spinning tunes tomorrow), while the 3:00 PM Saturday matinee timeslot this week belongs to new local country rock duo Danielle Roberts & Brad Collar. Of course, they aren't "opening" for Silent 9, they and the band each have 4 hour timeslots spaced 2 hours apart, but you can hang out to see both if you like.

Silent 9 are up at Beck's on Saturday at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video from the band's Facebook page of them at The Esquire Club this past weekend! The band rarely uploads videos of full songs, so you only get 34 seconds of Silent 9's cover of Cher's "Believe" (featuring many front row fans as their "new backup singers") here, but at least the video is horizontal and filmed from a really close angle. Jess is completely at ease here, and everyone's having fun, so while not the most "rock" cover in their setlist, it's a fun rendition! Give it a watch below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the Viscera preview and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile: Gates Of Winter

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, and for a second straight month, I have randomly drawn a very prominent local metal band whose name is Ga___ Of ______! I don't plan stuff like this, but it does give us another high profile local band of the past who accomplished a lot in their run, so here's what you should know on them!

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Gates Of Winter

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Progressive/Death Metal

Lineup: (Members not in their last full lineup are in italics. This doesn't include session drummer Jon Morrison, who recorded during the "Perihelion" sessions but never joined the band)

Lee Thomas Maines, vocals/guitar
Bryan Belleau (Melinda, iT), guitar
Steven Angelo Furgiuele, bass
Brian Holmes (Machines Dream), keyboard
David Gold (Woods of Ypres), drums

James Chiverelli (Kalle Mattson), drums
Kevin Overton (RedD Monkey, Smeltzer), drums
Jonathan Harvey (Chronic Demonic), drums

Audio/Video: Gates of Winter released a self-titled demo EP in 2005, but it is not available on streaming services, and was basically disowned by the band due to its recording quality, their musical evolution, and the usage of programmed drums. They more famously put out their sole full-length album "Lux Aeterna" in 2008, which is on major streaming services today. A studio copy of their non-album single "Torment" exists but is not currently online. Songs and teasers from their unreleased EP "Perihelion" were sporadically posted in the 2010s, but as Gates Of Winter perfected the material and became heavier & more technical, they often took these files down, and also limited video uploads from their 2000s run as a live act despite a lot of well shot and recorded live videos existing from the era. Their YouTube channel does host select videos from back then, including this one of them playing "Winter Flight" at one of their final gigs at The Grand Theater in 2008!

Info/Analysis: Launching in 2003 and becoming the biggest homegrown metal band of the mid-late 2000s, Gates of Winter were mainstays of local concerts for the next four years, including headlining the first two Second Stages at Rotaryfest and sharing the stage here and afar with notable bands like Quo Vadis, Wolven Ancestry, and Fuck The Facts, along with headlining many shows at venues from The Oddfellows Hall to LopLops to Algoma University. Harbouring a stable lineup aside from their drummer position, the band played their last three local gigs after putting out "Lux Aeterna", all at The Grand Theater in mid-late 2008. Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold joined behind the kit that year, also adding his new bandmates to Woods' lineup. The "Gates of Ypres" era ended for both bands by early 2009, with Gates of Winter going on a year's hiatus, before returning (sans any drummer) in 2010 as a studio-only project.

 

With Bryan and Steve moving out west, and Brian eventually leaving the band outright, the now three-piece Gates of Winter pushed forward on their follow-up album "Perihelion", but updates on the album (later EP) got more and more sporadic, and the band last updated social media with new activity in 2019. Gates of Winter were the first local headlining band that I ever saw in concert back in early 2005, and they always impressed with their intricate and dark brand of metal that called to mind bands like Katatonia and Amorphis in their original run. Extremely talented group of guys that always operated very professionally and with a drive to improve musically, and it's a shame that the "Perhelion" sessions never reached a public finish line, as they were cranking up their progressive and death metal bonafides on the teased material. Hopefully Lee, Bryan, and Steve resurface when the time is right, they have been missed!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series, our latest randomly selected band of the past will be hard rock quartet Sailor's Tongue, so look for that profile on or around April 10th! That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and more on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!

Heavy Lies The Crown Updates From January-February 2026!!

It's time to dive back into the world of St. Ignace metalcore band Heavy Lies The Crown in today's post, so what have they been up to since we left off with them? On January 27th, frontman Brandon West starred in this vertical update video where he remarked on how good their streaming numbers have beenc, and promoted the then-impending release of their new EP "Notions" on Friday, January 30th. He also further elaborated on why guitarist/drummer Kaycee Mason and bassist Christian Cook left the band, primarily citing their distance (both currently live in the Lower Peninsula) as impairing their availability for gigs and rehearsals, let alone upgrading their concert setup and staging with a full band reliably present to practice, though creative differences were also cited. The video ends with Brandon teasing their March tour run in Southeast Michigan and plans to put out new band merchandise.

Bookending that update video were two rehearsal clips featuring guitarist Jaxon Massaway and drummer Blaze Beairl in a lighting-overpowered room, but the first video runs for just six seconds and the second, while 5x the length, feels like filler between songs (regardless, both are vertical). I assume Brandon filmed those, and he starred in another update video from his vehicle on January 28th, where he optimistically talked about the band's progress as of late, including their planned online store, their higher streaming hits, their shift in goals, and the EP release two days from then. Brandon also addresses H.L.T.C.'s bassist position, where he notes that while the plan at the time was still to have Rob Vandewiele from Detroit's Nothing After This to fill in for concerts, he noted that there was a local bassist that they were going to try out that weekend. Good updates across the board, so give these videos a watch above & below!

As promised, Heavy Lies The Crown released their new EP "Notions" to major streaming services on January 30th, so what should you know there? Featuring artwork designed by Christian before his departure, the EP is credited to the North Shore Audio imprint, and while full performer credits aren't given, Brandon produced and Jaxon mixed/engineered the material. The five-song EP compiles most of the band's one-off singles released since mid-2024, with the exception of "These Walls". I haven't seen a reason as to why the song was omitted, but the band had begun work on "These Walls" in 2020 or 2021, and it was co-written by ex-guitarist Nathan Switzer, who finished his parts before he left the band in August 2024, so his involvement and/or the band's sonic evolution may explain things. All of the usual mainstream streaming sites host "Notions", but can you actually buy the EP anywhere?

Yes, you can buy it on mp3 format via iTunes for $4.95, so consider doing so to support the guys extra! "Notions" is absolutely up for a review on the SMS, but we are in a massive backlog for new album releases, and as Handsome Sandwich, The Realignment Project, Pillory, Viscera, Mike Haggith, and A.S.D.P. all put out albums for sale prior, Heavy Lies The Crown are currently slotted in for September. It's coming, but we were blessed with a lot of local metal, hard rock, and punk albums in mid-late 2025! Give the opening/title track a listen below, and hear more from "Notions" above!

Entering a new month, Brandon starred in another vertical update video on February 7th where he teased "sharing some news here soon about an upcoming change for (the band) that's pretty big (and) pretty awesome", while also promising "new photos, new merch, new everything". The "upcoming change" appears to be the teased bassist that they were trying out shortly after the EP release, and he was unveiled in photos posted to their Facebook page on February 16th. His name on Facebook is given as Bubba Hillz, but I haven't seen the band credit him by name in any posts or tags yet. Regardless, before he moved up here, Bubba played bass in the South Florida deathcore band Tracheotomy in the early 2020s, and if he is accurately credited, he performed as "Jay Jealousy" on their debut singles in 2021. Hopefully we get clarification for his name/credits from the band soon!

There is media online featuring Bubba/Jay, not to mention his songs with Tracheotomy, and he has the skill set to fit in with Brandon, Christian, and Blaze, so we'll look at their first videos with him when we next look at Heavy Lies The Crown on the SMS later this month! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906, Unfortunate Sun, And Double Down), And New Videos!!

As promised, let's round up the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews along with some new live videos, so here's what you should know (mostly from Sault Michigan), starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly SHORT NOTICE ones!

Local hard rock cover quartet Unfortunate Sun will return to The Merchants Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show on their Facebook page on Tuesday (The Merch never acknowledged it on social media, as usual). You'd think that Unfortunate Sun would have given this more of a push, as TOMORROW'S concert will actually be their final gig with singer Skip Parish, who is retiring from the band for unannounced reasons. This is the second lineup departure in under two months for Unfortunate Sun, following bassist Tony Rogers' exit in January, with the band playing just three gigs with new bassist Brett Blackwood in the fold before announcing that Skip is leaving too. From their predecessors Fake Chow to today, Skip has been a strong presence on vocals, and hopefully TOMORROW's show is a fitting sendoff!

In their post announcing Skip's departure, they said that Jody, Jason, and Brett are "not going anywhere" and to "stay tuned for the next chapter". We'll let you know when more on their further plans is announced! Everything goes down TOMORROW at The Merch at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Unfortunate Sun live!

Next up, local blues/hard rock cover quintet Project 906 will return to Hulbert Happy Hour in Hulbert Township for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT themselves! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band also only announced this show on their Facebook page on Tuesday (and given the weather forecast, you may not want to bring an AI-generated snowmombile to the bar for it). Last seen at Hulbert Happy Hour five months ago during a poker run, TOMORROW'S show will be their first anywhere since rocking The Strongs Tavern last week. Of course, drummer Jason VanLuven is playing in the Soo TOMORROW with Unfortunate Sun, who get priority when the two bands have conflicting dates, but 906 have not announced whether there will be a guest fill-in drummer or not (but they have played shows with hand drummer Brian Duford as the sole percussionist in the past, so they won't be out of luck regardless).

You can enjoy Project 906's hard rocking cover slate TOMORROW at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. See the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of the guys at The Strongs Tavern in Eckerman last week/month! This clip from their Facebook page sees the guys covering the end of Guns N' Roses' "Paradise City", which really tests Billy's vocal range, but he hangs in there well! Alas, this video is A. partial, B. very blue (blame the tavern's lighting), and C. vertical (oh so much ceiling here), but it's a fun performance for what we do get, so give it a watch below, and don't miss the Hulbert action TOMORROW NIGHT!

In one more show announcement, let's take a brief detour to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will return to The Water Tower Pub on Saturday, March 28th! This show was announced via the venue's March concert calendar, and Separate Wayz TONIGHT aside, is the only new hard rock-leaning show revealed thusly. The pub didn't post a monthly calendar online last month, and January's seemed extremely rushed, so it's good to see the Great Northern Road nightclub putting the regular one up for March! Joel, Beej, Dan, and Ric will rock out at month's end with no cover, a 19+ age limit, and an 8:00 PM start time, and as the venue hosts different nightly bands, classic/pop rock veterans Encore are playing there on Friday the 27th. Visit the above links for more details, and while we're on the subject, here's a newly uploaded video from Double Down's Facebook page of them live with a special guest!

As you may recall, Double Down welcomed former Quite Frankly singer Jack "Jacklyn Hyde" Alisat as a guest for a handful of gigs last summer, including a Beck's Bar date that I don't believe the band ever officially confirmed she would be singing at. While the video description alluded to Cher, the video itself actually sees Double Down and Jack covering Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams' "Get Lucky", which is a surprisingly modern and poppy cover for them. The extremely dark foreground lighting isn't ideal, but at least this was filmed horizontally, and it's a fun cover with strong vocals, so give it a watch below, and don't miss the guys back at Beck's tomorrow night!

Finally for today, let's head back to Sault Michigan for some new videos from a band who isn't playing live this weekend, namely hard rock quartet The Nameless! On January 4th, the band shared videos from drummer Jamie Costner's personal Facebook page of them at a private event the previous day, where they were filmed on a stationary camera covering Blur's "Song 2", The Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Otherside", the end of Guns N' Roses' "It's So Easy" (with bassist Mike East on vocals), Chevelle's "Vitamin R (Leading Us Along)", and as embedded below, Papa Roach's "Last Resort". Most of the videos are incomplete, and alas, all five were shot vertically, but things were framed as well as they could have been given that, even though Josh is largely blocking Jamie from view. Solid work all around, and they should use Mike's vocals more, as we don't hear him leading songs often, just the end of "It's So Easy" a couple of times on video. Give these a watch above & below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Silent 9, Generations, And Separate Wayz) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

In what's shaping up to be a mild and rainy weekend, let's dive into this weekend's Sault Ontario hard rock concert previews, mostly including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS! Due to the amount and that it's on the other side of the border, I'll hold our preview of Saturday's Unfortunate Sun concert for tomorrow's post. Here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Separate Wayz will return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show on their Facebook page yesterday, and the venue has not posted a March concert calendar on social media at press time. Last seen in their joint "epic crossover" matinee with sister band Soundcheck at The Tap Room two weeks ago, this will see Separate Wayz return to the site of their live concert debut from February of last year. As you may recall, singer Nicole Thibodeau had to drop out of the band's scheduled Esquire Club concerts last week due to illness (Travis filled in for her in what became a Soundcheck weekend), so hopefully she is 100% and ready to rock with the guys TOMORROW! As usual for The Water Tower Pub, they don't book the same band on consecutive nights, and the Saturday night headliners there will be Tex Riviera & The Ride.

Separate Wayz won't be idle on Saturday though, as for a second straight year, they will be headlining the dance party after the annual Wawa Ice Fishing Derby that night (Soundcheck have done so in the past too). Wawa is 2½ hours north of here, but if you're up there or are up for a road trip, keep this gig in mind, and click here for details! As for TOMORROW'S Water Tower Pub concert, it's an 8:00 PM event as usual with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here they are live!

Next up, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will set up shop at The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, and will also return there on Friday, May 22nd and Saturday, May 23rd! Again, apologies for the short notice on this weekend's dates, we only just heard about them via the band's Facebook page this past Saturday, and The Esquire Club has seemingly transitioned to plugging shows week by week on Facebook rather than a half year schedule like in the past. It is worth noting that both TOMORROW & SATURDAY's shows and the May dates are recent additions to Silent 9's website's concert calendar, and were not among the 2026 dates listed there at the start of the year. After focusing on private events for most of the winter and Bon Soo last month, this weekend's dates will be Silent 9's first traditional bar concerts of the year, and they should have lots of fun rocking covers in store for west end fans TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT!

Despite the proximity to May 24th, their shows in May are not on the Victoria Day long weekend, which is the week prior this year. All four shows are 19+ affairs at 9:30 PM with no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video from Silent 9's Facebook page from their Bon Soo-opening concert at The Machine Shop! This 33 second clip sees Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve covering Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", albeit in two chunks, and alas, shot vertically (look at all that needlessly empty space above the stage!) Length and orientation aside, they sound good here, and Jess' voice sounds strong for what is included, so check this video out below, and don't miss out this weekend!

Also newly announced for this weekend, one more female-fronted classic/hard rock cover quartet will take the stage on SATURDAY NIGHT, as Generations will return to Gateway Casino! Apologies again for the short notice, the band first announced this show on their Facebook group on Monday. This will be Generations' first gig at the downtown Sault Ontario casino this year, and it will also be their first show there with new guitarist Joe Miller, (their most recent Gateway gig in October featured fill-in guitarist Michael Yurich). Hopefully there's a sizable crowd at the casino on SATURDAY for Generations' tried and tested classic and hard rock hits! As usual for shows there, this one-nighter is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on SATURDAY's concert action, and for a preview, here they are live last month!

Finally for this preview post, we'll look at a show that did get advance notice earlier than the past week, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will return to Beck's Bar for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen at The Water Tower Pub two weeks ago, this will be Double Down's second Beck's gig of 2026 and their first since last summer with bassist Dan Beaupre (not pictured, unless their AI prompt was really vague). No word on if there will be multiple guest appearances like fans saw last time, but there should be a solid array of hard rocking covers in store on Saturday from the Syrettes, Dan, and Ric for fans in the west end! Beck's is hosting live music tomorrow too, but like The Water Tower Pub, they don't double up on Fridays and Saturdays, so tomorrow's band is new local blues rock act Sunday & The Broken Hearts, who you may recall from last year's Toystock.

As for the matinee performer on Saturday, the 3:00 PM slot then goes to 2024 Soo's Got Talent semifinalist Arin Karki, who you may know as a frequent performer at The Dive Gastro Pub. Remember, Arin isn't "opening" for Double Down, he and the band have separate 4 hour timeslots spaced 2 hours apart, but you can hang out to see both if you like. Double Down are up at 9:00 PM on Saturday with no cover charge and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Double Down live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Unfortunate Sun preview and more next! Thanks everyone!

R.I.P. Dale Corcoran (1966-2026)

I'd like to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of veteran local musician Dale Corcoran, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 59. His obituary is now up on SooToday, where it does not give details on services, but a "special musical gathering will take place at a later date", and in lieu of flowers, his family would appreciate memorial donations to a charity of your choice. Dale is survived by his wife Clare and his brother Phillip among other extended family, and he was predeceased by his daughter Krista-Lin. A native of Sackville, New Brunswick who was raised in the Soo, Dale will be familiar to local music fans of the 1980s from his work in hard rock/metal bands like Riggy Zomba, Vandyl, Dirty World, and Uncle Fester, along with later country-leaning bands like Tommy Gun, The Southern Guns, and The Hillbilly Heartbreakers, who evolved into what is today Tex Riviera & The Ride.

Dale also performed in Victim out of Sudbury, had a run as an Elvis Presley impersonator, and later worked and performed across Canada and internationally, later settling in Norwich, England with his wife. He most recently performed with the British pop rock band Paper Lace, who had a #1 single in 1974 with "The Night Chicago Died", and he toured with them in Australia in 2024. Dale's run in the local scene ended when I was still years away from following local bands, but he was a very talented musician and kind person by all accounts, and his far-flung music career has led to strong tributes here and afar from those who knew and worked with him. Understandably, media from his local band work is limited today, but his old Dirty World/Southern Guns bandmate Glen Thomas has posted a handful of videos on YouTube, including this C.C.R. cover by Dirty World.

This isn't a hard rock or metal performance, but I'll embed this brand new full-set video that Glen uploaded from a Southern Guns show that they played back in 1994 at the former(?) Princess Theater, where they were joined by the late Brent Blair (vocals/guitar), Terry Maich (bass), and Doug MacMillan (keyboard). While not getting much heavier than Steve Earle for cover choices, Dale does throw in some rock musician impressions between songs here, and the talent is very clear, even if the VHS quality is mixed by 2026 standards. Hopefully some more audio and video from his local career surfaces, as I'd be eager to hear and see more of his work. R.I.P. Dale!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Cory Marks), A New Addition To Our Band Links, And More Updates!!

Let's catch up on some Sault Ontario odds and ends on this Tuesday night, including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, promotion for another upcoming show, and some other updates, but leading off, here's a long overdue addition to our band links & full coverage!

We have a new-ish band to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they are the no-longer-online-pageless The Spaceship Opening! Despite debuting on stage in September 2024, they only launched a social media presence (their new Facebook page) over the weekend. Described in promotion for past gigs as "east end rock & roll" and "space rock", The Spaceship Opening are a two-man-band featuring former Redundant/Fitswitch bassist Andrew MacDonald alongside A.S.D.P. drummer Ralph Barber, and in videos publically shared so far, neither sings at all. Over the past 18 months, you may recall seeing The Spaceship Opening sharing the stage with touring acts like The Space Wizards and Greg Rekus & The Inside Job, while they also opened for Mike Haggith's "Under A Moonlit Sky" show last fall, and most recently played at the "Not A Leap Year Party" concert in "Mellow D's Basement" on Saturday, alongside other public and private events.

Two videos are on their Facebook page, one being this short and black-and-white clip from an unspecified venue, while embedded below is four minutes of them playing at the still-closed Distraction last year, and while this one is in colour, it was shot vertically. Unless you've seen them live already, their early descriptors didn't give their sound away, and they have way more of an AlgomA-esque sludge/doom essence than I would have assumed. If you were expecting The Spaceship Opening to be similar to Andrew's past local bands, you may be surprised! Distorted and low (if not all that spacey), I can see why they've attracted fans with their minimalist rock compositions so far, so check things out from them above and below!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as North Bay country/hard rock musician Cory Marks will return to The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center on Thursday, June 11th! The fourth time in as many years that Cory has performed a local date, this appears to be a full band show with a proper promotional push, unlike his most recent local gig (also at the Bushplane Museum), when he headlined the Hope Air Day charity event this past June with a solo acoustic performance that we didn't hear about until it was short notice. The Bushplane Museum is hyping this up by saying that "for the first time ever, we’re turning the hangar into a full-blown concert venue", and while multiple shows have taken place there in the past, they've tended to be all-local or supplemental to other events. Hopefully this show is a huge hit for Cory and the venue alike, so that more similarly scaled concerts can be considered!

No word on possible openers, but Silent 9 opened at Cory's Machine Shop shows in 2023 and 2024, and Matthew James opened last year's unplugged Hope Air Day concert. Doors open for this "hangar party" at 5:00 PM, there is no announced age limit, and tickets run for $40 (up fro $35 from Cory's last full-band show here) at this link, and $100 VIP passes are also available. Cory's hard rock and country crossover sound continues to garner fans and chart success, and fingers crossed that his fourth local concert is a smash this summer! Visit the above links for more details!

Also today, here's the first Facebook update from local progressive metal band Convergence in almost three months! Well, that's discounting "Stories", you may have seen one where "Johnny Cash" endorsed them, but they did not opt to separately upload that "Story" as its own video. The video below from Sunday features guitarist Jake Valois hyping their first show of the year, when they will be among the openers for Nashville death metal band Demon King and other touring groups at Soo Blaster on March 24th (three weeks from today!). Amusingly, Jake puts footage of the mobile video game Subway Surfers in an inset picture-in-picture window to try and discourage people from scrolling away, assuming you're watching the video on a vertical cell phone orientation, which may explain the captions. As the show is all ages, Jake suggests that the whole family come out to "Soo Blasters", even your grandma!

Tickets are on sale through the band for $15, and if you message him to get yours, he will make sure he gets it to you, so how simple is that? It's good to see some new shareable content from Convergence, and with their planned new album still in the works, hopefully 2026 proves to be a stacked year for them! Check out the new video below, and stay tuned for more from them!

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

 

• We don't cover open mic/jam nights as "concerts" here due to their in-built unpredictability, and even if the host crosses our radar, there's no guarantee that they'll perform if it's busy. That said, I did at least want to mention that local party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty are actually hosting Piecing It Together Shows' weekly jam night tonight at their seasonal pop-up locale at 331-A Wellington Street West, as per their Facebook page. The former Dryer Fire haven't booked formal concerts with SMS-amenable acts over their winter season, but hopefully Paul, Amanda, and Mikhal have a good turnout for tonight's open mic night!
• Winnipeg folk punk musician Greg Rekus (who fronted The Inside Job here twice in the past two years) has been added as a surprise opener for The BAG's album release party at Soo Blaster on April 18th, as per Underground Events SSM's Facebook page last week. This may seem odd for a metal concert with a local headliner, but promoter Mikhal Muto is an ardent folk punk fan, so I assume this was just good timing to get Greg a local booking when he'd be coming through on a spring tour run. Plus, this show already has a diverse lineup, as Mikhal's new ska punk band A.S.D.P. are also opening. Hopefully Greg sets things off on the right foot next month!
• In their own poster for new local Pearl Jam tribute band Even Flow's concert there on March 27th, Soo Blaster alternately list the venue name for the show as "SooBlaster / Blaster Power" and "Blaster Power House". I don't know if this is portending anything about a name change for the building/stage, but the Queen Street East entertainment complex has recently opened bowling lanes, laser tag, and arcade upgrades. Of course, the concert stage there had been branded as the Soo Lounge since opening in 2019, but if anything is clarified further, we'll let you know!

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS in due course! Thanks everyone!