LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & Dos Amigos), A Concert Cancellation, And Related Updates!!

Before we get into this weekend's concert previews, just a heads up that tonight's Angelmaker-headlined concert at Blaster Powerhouse has been cancelled. Local promoters Heavy North Entertainment finally confirmed on Tuesday that it wasn't taking place, though Angelmaker quietly dropped the show from their tour routing at some point between July 15th and 31st, and H.N.E. hadn't promoted it on social media since July 8th. As well, tickets never went on sale for the local date, and the search for local opening bands had no public follow-through. A reason for the cancellation wasn't announced, but note that Heavy North Entertainment haven't hosted a concert since late last year, though company head Tyler St. Amour has played occasional solo concerts in recent months. It is worth noting that North Carolina deathcore band Larcenia Roe were tapped to replace Disfiguring The Goddess on tour, which was quietly confirmed in the local advertising. 

The cancellation is very unfortunate, especially as local promotion was hyping this as "the ultimate metal concert", but the lack of postings about the show for over a month was a tell that something was up, and even with no tickets to refund, Heavy North should have announced the cancellation well sooner than they did. Hopefully nothing too serious happened with Tyler or the bands, and that Angelmaker, Ingested, and Larcenia Roe try again here down the road, as deathcore fans were interested in coming out!

This post otherwise dives into the first half of this weekend's concert previews, and we'll look at this weekend's Stones & Crows, Peril, Tarnished, and Viscera shows in our next preview post due to this being a busier stretch. Today's all involve LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly SHORT NOTICE ones, and we'll start at Northern Superior Brewing Co., where local acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will play at their on-site Tap Room TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed this show via their Instagram-only schedule poster last week, and Northern Superior have not corroborated this booking on their own social media at press time. No major frills or tie-ins that I am aware of TOMORROW, but fresh off of their Canopy gig with BookcluB at the Downtown Street Party tonight, hopefully Mikey & Dustin deliver some solid unplugged punk favourites in the Tap Room!

Note that I am well aware that Northern Superior are teasing the return of Wolf Fest at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on Saturday, September 12th, complete with a promotional video featuring Trish Rainone in character as Jan from Jan's Not Movin!, but we await an official announcement of the lineup and other events in three weeks. TOMORROW'S Dos Amigos concert is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge, and if you can't make it, they have three shows in three days next week. See above for more details, and here's Dustin & Mikey live at The Tap Room!

Finally, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will rock Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, and they'll also return to The Water Tower Pub on Friday, August 28th! Again, apologies for the short notice on TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S concerts, they were first announced via this AI-generated events calendar for this week on Jay's Facebook page (Soundcheck have not posted on their own Facebook page since early May). While ostensibly a normal weekend now that the guys are back from their Chapleau road trip, this weekend's shows come fresh off of the news that they are parting ways with bassist Jim Michaud (a.k.a. "Jimmy Sweetz"). The news was revealed on their sister band Separate Wayz' Facebook page on Tuesday, where their singer Nicole Thibodeau confirmed that Jim is amicably retiring from both groups, and "band line up announcements for both bands (are) coming soon". 

Best known for his near two-decade run as Obsession's bassist, Jim replaced Paul Belair in Soundcheck at the beginning of 2023, and he had been a constant presence in Terry Eaton's plugged in cover rock bands ever since, including Separate Wayz and the short-lived Guilty Party. What's unclear is who is playing bass at Jay's TOMORROW & SATURDAY... is Jim hanging on short term? Will they debut the new bassist this weekend? Will there be a temporary fill-in, or even no bassist? Regardless, hopefully Jim enjoys time away from the live grind, and if he is definitely retiring from bands, he will be missed! For the record, next week's Water Tower Pub show was announced via that venue's August concert calendar, and it is a one-nighter as usual there (Bone Yard 225 go "uncorked" there next Saturday). These are all branded as Soundcheck-only gigs and not "epic crossovers", but of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that Nicole won't pop in.

Terry, Travis, Johnny, and ?????'s Jay's Piston Broke Pub shows are at 9:30 PM, next Friday's Water Tower Pub concert is at 8:00 PM, and all are 19+ with no cover (though I somehow doubt that Soundcheck all wear fedoras and look alike nowadays, based on Jay's AI poster). Visit the above links for more on all three new Soundcheck dates (TOMORROW & SATURDAY included), best of luck to Jim in the future, and here's Soundcheck live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews either tonight or early tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Customer Service & Dos Amigos), The Krash Concert Preview, And More!!

Keeping our ongoing efforts to clear this backlog out, here's another news post on this Saturday night, which also finishes up this weekend's hard rock/punk concert previews and looks at some recent assorted updates, but let's kick things off with two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will return to Thomson Farms Cider & Winery for one night only on Thursday, August 27th! Their second and presumably final show at the 4057 Third Line West farm/winery for the season, and one of a number of Thursday-only musical acts to play there for 2026, this show was first announced earlier this week via this Instagram-only poster for Dos Amigos' late-August dates (we'll address their now-short notice Tap Room gig on Friday when we get to our next weekend concert previews). In fact, the Thomson Farms show will kick off a busy summer-ending weekend for Mikey & Dustin, who will also play previously announced shows at The Whisky Barrel the next day and at the first annual Prince Fest on Saturday the 29th, so if you like the BookcluB sister band's unplugged covers, keep all three shows in mind! As usual, Thomson Farms concerts are on their patio.

It's worth noting too that Dos Amigos members teased in Facebook "Stories" that they played a gig on a Miss Marie Lock Tour boat on August 9th. While live music has been ticking upwards on Miss Marie tours for special events, as best as I can tell from decorations in photos shared in the "Stories", this was a private event. It would be interesting to cover some proper concerts on the Soo Locks tour boats though! The outdoor Thomson Farms show on Thursday the 27th will be at 6:00 PM with no age limit or announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, here's another newly-announced concert from local promoters Underground Events SSM, this time on Saturday, October 24th at Blaster Powerhouse, as Halifax pop punk/emo quartet Customer Service will make their local debut here that night! A newer alt-rock group with a nostalgic sound for fans of 2000s mainstream emo and punk with some suitable song names to match, hopefully Customer Service pull a solid crowd in two months' time! Local openers will include ska punk quartet ASDP (led by promoter Mikhal "Cha" Muto), hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe (who the Facebook event page describes as "pop? punk" but I wouldn't necessarily agree), and lo-fi/anti-folk singer/guitarist Shae Tull, who will be known on both sides of the border now thanks to her varied regional concert appearances. While the show is a week before Halloween, costumes are encouraged, so keep that angle in mind!

All of the action at the former Soo Blaster has a 7:30 PM door-opening time, advance tickets will cost $20 through the local openers or at The Rad Zone (the door charge will jump to $30), and there is no age limit as usual. Sounds like a fun time for punk fans in particular, and a suitable attraction for the Halloween season to come, so see above for more on this concert!

While we're on the subject re: Underground Events SSM-promoted concerts at Blaster Powerhouse featuring ASDP, there's one taking place TOMORROW NIGHT to cap off this weekend's hard rock concert previews, to be headlined by Saskatoon "D-beat hardcore punk" band Krash! The first band from Saskatchewan that Mikhal has brought in for a concert, Krash's name is apt given their aggressive and raw brand of hardcore punk and noise rock, so they should brutalize Blaster Powerhouse tomorrow! The aforementioned ASDP will be joined as local openers by local death metal quartet Eden Plague, as the former Bear Hunters continue their local resurgence, though they revealed on their Facebook page that this will be their last show of the year before "shifting all gears to our debut LP (as Eden Plague), although we may have something big in October". What do they mean? We'll know soon!

Note that their one new original song is actually named "Primogenesis", not "Primal Genesis" as I heard at Rotaryfest. My bad, but the two sound near identical! Tomorrow's concert (which ASDP may be closing if you believe the band order on the poster) is also all ages, tickets cost just $10 in advance through the local openers and/or The Rad Zone (the door charge jumps to $15), and bands start at 7:00 PM with an expected early ending time given that this is a work/school night. Visit the official Facebook event page for more on what should be an entertaining night out of mixed genre action for metal and punk fans, and here's Krash live!

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 event name:

 

• A mystery band named Needhealer have been added to the Viscera-headlined concert at Three One Three On Ashmun this coming Saturday, as per Viscera's Instagram page on Thursday. I can't find anything concrete on who Needhealer are, where they're from, and/or what they play, but unless nothing comes out next week, you can be the first to find out at the former Back Door on Saturday! Stay tuned for more in our next weekend concert previews regardless!
• After holding the successful SOOpfest acoustic charity concert at a private Sault Ontario locale on July 24th, the aforementioned Underground Events SSM are looking into hosting a sequel to that event on Saturday, September 19th, presumably at the same place. Last month's SOOPfest featured an acoustic ASDP set, rappers Fvcksxvad, uncredited guests, and an open mic block. In the event that it has a stated location or an "ask a punk" angle, keep it in mind, especially given the presumably returning charitable aims, and click here to inquire about performing!
• A review of last month's Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing was the lead article in last week's issue of the St. Joseph Island publication Island Clippings, which you can read online at this link. While most fallout from this year touched on the festival in general or the Friday program, Island Clippings' reporter praised Wide Mouth Mason's Saturday co-headlining set for harnessing a high crowd energy. It's a good write up on the biggest points of the Centennial Grounds music festival, so give it a read above!

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a single-band post about upcoming concerts from them next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Prince Fest), The Next LSSU Battle Of The Bands, And New Videos!!

In what will be a productive day re: knocking items off of our backlog that began building up last month, we have another packed news post today, including new videos from two bands seen on stage together earlier this month, initial details on a returning annual battle of the bands, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for a new regional festival. Here's what you should know on this warm Tuesday evening!

A debuting summer concert festival in Prince Township (20 minutes west of the Soo) named Prince Fest goes down on Saturday, August 29th, and it will be headlined by Toronto-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer! While this is being co-promoted by DeMarco's Boots & Saddles Roadhouse at 2667 Second Line West, Prince Fest will be an outdoor event in the adjacent baseball field at the corner of Second Line and Airport Road. Along with live music, advertising so far (the AI-generated posters linked here & here) indicates that there will also be local food and craft vendors, a beer garden, children's activities, at least one food truck, an on-site barbecue, a baseball tournament, and 3-on-3 basketball. More updates are sure to follow! Destroyer are by far the best known touring Kiss tribute to Sault Ste. Marie fans, having played here at least 6 times in the last 15 years, most recently at the former Soo Blaster in October 2023.

Good to see their faithful take on the Kiss back catalogue here again, if a little further west than you may expect! Local support will come by way of acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos and country rock solo musician Mike Robitaille, who has frequently played at the Boots & Saddles. Prince Fest is expected to run from 12:00-7:00 PM, it is absolutely all ages, and I have not seen any reference to a cover charge or ticket fee. 705Live Sound Co. will be on hand here too. Why not add one more community festival before the summer ends, and it's neat that one is happening so far west, so hopefully Prince Fest is a big hit at month's end! Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, get ready, as the fourth annual Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands returns to Sault Michigan on Thursday, October 22nd! Now, the official advertising on LSSU's Arts Center's page erroneously lists this as the third annual battle there, even though this is 100% year 4 (The Sole Aggressors won in 2023, Molly & The Other Guys won in 2024, and The Dynamic Duo won last year), so hopefully that gets fixed in time for the Facebook promotion to begin. Thanks to generous sponsorship, this year's LSSU Battle will have the biggest prize purse yet, as after three years of $150 and $50 gift cards for first & second place, there will be prizes of $1,000, $500, and $250 for first-third place! If the same as the last two years, judges (primarily made up of LSSU faculty) will assess the competitors, who will each have 15 minute sets to compete this fall. The past three LSSU battles had six or seven acts apiece, though 2024 was once slated to have eight.

Video auditions are now being submitted at this link, and while last year's battle curiously only had solo artists and duos, the raised cash prizes should ensure a wider swath of artist submissions. We'll let you know when the official competitor lineup is announced, but could The Dynamic Duo attempt to repeat as champions where the prior winners didn't? Admission for general attendees will be $10 USD ($5 for kids 10 and under), and yes, this is a Thursday nighter, as the previous three LSSU Battles also were. Two EUP battles of the bands in a three month span with $1,000 top prizes ain't a raw deal, so visit the above links for more details, and click here to buy tickets!

We'll head back to Sault Ontario for the back half of today's post to look at some new videos, starting with the first 2026 concert videos from local space/hard rock duo The Spaceship Opening! On August 1st, Andrew and Ralph played their first show of the year when they opened for 5 Dollar Bribe at a multi-local band concert at Blaster Powerhouse, and they shared photos from it the next day to their Facebook page. While they teased that "videos (are coming) soon", only one has followed since, a video shot by an attendee named Kayla of them playing "a little ET cover". Whether they mean ET: The Extra Terrestrial or not, I can't identify the 22 seconds of music being played here, but the chugging riff sounds good, and being a duo, they are better framed for the vertical dimensions! I'd still have zoomed in a bit more though. Give this a look below, and hopefully The Spaceship Opening have more videos soon!

Finally for today, let's look at some new videos from the aforementioned 5 Dollar Bribe, who spent some time posting some non-concert videos to their Facebook page in late July and into this month that largely call to mind their pre-debut viral/comedy uploads on Instagram. To promote the aforementioned August 1st concert at the former Soo Blaster, drummer Chase Chapman starred in this video from July 28th where he demoed a kickflip, and had some help from "Jimbo Jenkins". Watch the video to find out who "Jimbo" is! Another video followed two days later that started with an attempted cover of the intro of Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O Mine" before abruptly phasing to waking up in a field where Jayce and Tyler were, and beyond plugging the Soo Blaster show, I'll let you decipher what happened next! The day of the show, they posted an episode of "Dwayne's World" (one guess as to what they're parodying) where Chase was a guest of Dwayne and Garth(?) to promote the band and concert. 

Always good to see homages to classic SNL, even if needlessly letterboxed into vertical dimensions despite being a square video! Lastly, on July 31st, they covered At The Drive-In's "Patterns Against User" with Jayce on lead vocals, though for one reason or another, I can't embed it here. The level of covers that 5 Dollar Bribe will source from is always impressive, especially for their age, and they have a good tight sound on this post-hardcore deep cut, even if the video quality itself is fairly blurry. As it's apparently unembeddable, here's the "Dwayne's World" video, but give all of 5 Dollar Bribe's new uploads a watch at the above links!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Greg Simpson & Dos Amigos) And The ARCH Run Concert Preview!!

Today's post got somewhat rushed and altered thanks to not one, but two SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for TONIGHT, so those lead off today along with our preview of a returning charity concert on Saturday, so here's what you should know as our weekend concert previews roll on!

Local acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will make their apparent debut at Thomson Farms Cider & Winery for an outdoor patio concert TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced via this AI generated poster on the winery's Facebook page last night, and it appears to have been relatively late notice in conception, as it's not on the band's summer concert calendar from Instagram on July 3rd. The 4057 Third Line West winery has been hosting occasional live unplugged musicians for Thursday evening concerts this summer, and it makes sense that Dos Amigos would step in for at least one of them, as singer/guitarists Mikey Hawdon and Dustin Jones played at Thomson Farms' teddy bear picnic in June 2024 and 2025 with BookcluB (such an event did not happen last month). Despite the late notice, hopefully there's a decent turnout TONIGHT for Dos Amigos' acoustic punk covers!

Thomson Farms are also hyping up having appetizers on sale, as well as seven different kinds of cider, so keep that in mind if that's your thing! This concert takes place TONIGHT from 6:00-9:00 PM with a presumed 19+ age limit given the winery aspect, and no announced cover charge. As this is on the patio, 9&10 News is calling or partly cloudy to clear skies TONIGHT with 22-23° temperatures. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Dos Amigos live (albeit indoors!)

Next up, Bone Yard 225 frontman Greg Simpson will bring his "Ranting Rockstar" solo show back to The Dive Gastro Pub for a "Think It Over Thursday" concert TONIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, Greg only announced the show via his personal Facebook page yesterday (he doesn't have a public page for his solo concerts that I am aware of), and while The Dive did finally confirm the booking on their Facebook page this afternoon, that's more than many of their concert bookings have gotten in recent months. TONIGHT's concert will be indoors in "The Naughty Corner", and if you're familiar with Bone Yard's "uncorked" gigs (let alone The Bearded Lounge), expect more of the same, just with Greg alone, though note that Soundcheck's Travis Sharpe has guested with him at the former Low & Slow before, and is a credited guest for Greg's set at the Maddy's Mighty Mutts family fun day in two weeks. Be there TONIGHT to see if he shows up again!

In case you're curious, Bone Yard 225 are playing at a stag & doe on Saturday night, which is listed on their website's calendar, but with rare exceptions, I don't cover stags & does as "concerts" here (even if ticketed) due to their hyper-personal nature. They'll next play proper public concerts next weekend at Beck's Bar, but TONIGHT'S "Ranting Rockstar" show is at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details! The only public videos of Greg's solo dates that I can find are via The Dive, which now content matches their videos' audio as being their own, so embedding videos from their Facebook page now doesn't work.

Finally for weekend concert preview post #2 is an event that thankfully had lots of advance notice, namely the third annual ARCH Run takes place on SATURDAY outside of Jay's Piston Broke Pub! After last year's ARCH Run bizarrely never had a public schedule release, we now know exactly which bands will be rocking out to support the Algoma Regional Community Hospice as bikers make their annual rally through Sault Ste. Marie. Of course, if you want to pledge donations to ARCH or ride in the rally proper, or get details on the draw for a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle, click here. Numerous vendors will also be on site on this closed section of Korah Road for all of today's action! And just to clear up any confusion, this is the only ARCH motorcycle rally/concert this year, as the Dragonfly Run (which the ARCH Run splintered off from in 2024) ended last month, and click here for more on that decision from their organizers. 

Musically speaking, there will be a nightcap inside Jay's once again, this time by country rock cover band Elly McWatters & The Drifters at 9:30 PM, but outdoors, your headliners are young local hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe, another high profile set or them as they continue building their local name and reputation! Country cover veterans (and 2024 ARCH Run performers) Tex Riviera & The Ride will take the stage at 7:00 PM, preceded by newer classic rock cover quartet Doo & The Boyos at 6:00 PM (if there will be a Stones At The Alter sidequest then, it's not in the advertising). New local alt-hard rock band Riverside Stasis will play their third public concert set (and penultimate gig with rhythm guitarist Liam Dinsmore) at 5:00 PM, while 1960s-themed classic rock band Whiskey Hippy are on at 4:00 PM. Prolific local drummer Chris Johns will hop on guitar for a reunion of his early 1990s local band The Korner Monsters at 3:00 PM.

If you're friends of his on Facebook, head there to see archival video of this band, and it will be interesting to hear how they go over on Saturday, or if this leads to more concerts! Chris will joined by singer/guitarist Rusty Barrel, bassist Dave Konkin, and drummer Jim Edwards, and they will be playing 1980s-1990s alt rock covers. Your openers are local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith and his Big Finish Band in his first proper advertised local date of 2026, and of course, most of his band will be playing at night's end with Elly & The Drifters, so they have a big day ahead! While donations and pledges are encouraged, attending the ARCH Run and the indoor nightcap is free, and the outdoor festivities are all ages. In terms of the weather, 9&10 News is currently calling for overcast to mostly cloudy skies with a high of 23°, and as of the current forecast, the rain expected on Saturday morning should be done prior to Mike's opening set. 

Supporting ARCH and the work they do for those dealing with cancer is always a wonderful reason to come out for events like this and help out, and kudos to everyone for donating their time! While it is unfortunate that the Dragonfly Run isn't back this year, I am very glad that there is still an outdoor concert festival and motorcycle rally to raise money for ARCH, and hopefully there's a great turnout on Saturday, especially with the comfortable temperatures hopefully continuing! Visit the above links for more on ARCH Run III, and here's 5 Dollar Bribe live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned next for our Go North Music Festival and Sandman previews, and the Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands and Sunday's all-local Blaster concert are also in queue! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Viscera), The Second Downtown Street Party Preview, And More!!

Here's a new news post on this Wednesday morning, which includes a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month and a clarification on what's airing on one of our two local rock radio stations, while this post also serves as a bit of a soft launch for the busiest weekend of the year around these parts via a preview of a big outdoor concert tomorrow night. Let's get things rolling!

Sault Michigan hardcore punk trio Viscera will play their next local gig on Saturday, August 22nd at Three One Three On Ashmun! Announced via their Instagram page on Monday as part of this concert calendar (also confirming a new return to Marquette on August 1st), the local date will see Viscera headline at the former Back Door, in what is being branded as from "Soo Tang Records". Is that Viscera's own in-house promotion agency, and is Soo Tang for the children? Viscera made their local debut at Three One Three in March, and for their encore there, they are looking for support bands, so if you're interested in hopping on this bill, message their Facebook page or above for more information! This concert takes place at 7:00 PM, it is presumably 21+, and while admission fees aren't given yet, the March show there (which featured Marquette metal band PonyWorm) cost $10 in advance & $15 at the door.

While we're on the subject, Viscera released their first ever music video to their new YouTube channel on June 6th! Their first studio original song since adding bassist Chris Lovins to their ranks, this is entitled "Chinga La Migra" (Spanish for "Fuck Immigration"), which sets the tone for a politically charged anti-ICE music video, though it's more of a lyric video, as you don't see Bob, Chris, or Mitchell on camera. In your face with strong opinions that will especially resonate with many Yoopers, and it leans into hardcore punk well, though the slower, more melodic choruses kinda stunt the momentum. Give it a watch/listen below, and stay tuned for more from Viscera and their Three One Three show next month soon!

Next up, here's our preview of TOMORROW'S second Downtown Street Party in Sault Ontario for 2026! As these move west along Queen Street East, Street Party #2 takes place on a closed block of Queen from Brock Street to Elgin Street (the former RBC to the courthouse), but as this stretch is adjacent to to the Downtown Plaza, there will be more going on during the festivities. Local vendors will be on site, along with beverage gardens, food for sale, kids activities and games (in a proper Kids Zone, no less), and numerous Queen Street businesses will be open en route. The Downtown Plaza will play host to Nicole Does Trivia at 7:00 PM, followed by a free screening of Jaws 1 at 9:30 PM, and of course, this all happens concurrently with day #1 of Rotaryfest at nearby Clergue Park. Visit You Belong SSM's Facebook page for complete details on the non-musical portions of the second Downtown Street Party!

Like with last month's inaugural party since the City took over booking these from the former Downtown Association, there will be bands on two "stages", one at Brock Street, but the other will be at the turnoff for March Street (near The Queen's Tarts) rather than Elgin. Not as a far of a walk that way! The Brock Street Stage will play host to this event's likely only SMS-amenable act, namely acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos, who claimed on their own social media to be playing at 8:15 PM. The apparent headliners there are classic rock trio Flathead Ford (who said that they'd be on at 9:30 PM), and You Belong SSM have curiously not said who the third/opening act will be, referring instead to "more hometown heroes" and "so much more". We'll let you know if anyone is clarified! As for the March Street Stage, local country musician Brendan Hodgson is headlining there at 9:30 PM.

Classic country band The Stumpy Coldwater Trio gave their start time as 7:00 PM, leaving Rusty McCarthy (now alongside his regular partner Maja Bannerman) to likely be playing in the 8:00 PM hour. Remember, this is not an official Rotaryfest event, but as there's no Stage 2 bill tomorrow, the shoe kinda fits, even if this isn't on the same block of Queen as the Second Stage used to be held on! Downtown Street Party #2 is FREE & ALL AGES with a 6:30 PM start time, and 9&10 News is calling for mostly-partly cloudy skies tomorrow with no chance of rain, and temperatures ranging from 17-21°. Should be a fun time for all, with a dash of punk to boot, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Dos Amigos live!

Finally, I wanted to follow up on a brief note from last month where I mentioned that 104.3 The Fox and their sister Rogers Radio rock stations in Kingston and Northern Ontario have stopped airing the Winnipeg-based Sunday Night Vinyl Series, let alone on-air theme weeks. Based on what I have heard listening to 104.3 FM in recent months, as well as listings on the station websites and lack of promotion therein, it looks like Rogers have quietly dropped three more scheduled programs from the air no later than January. These include the Classic Rock Lunch with Lew McDonald (weekdays at noon), This Week In Rock with Adam Kane (Saturdays at 11:00 AM & 6:00 PM), and The Church Of Rock with Cosmo Grant (Sundays at 9:00 AM). All of the above hosts (including Howard Mandshein of the Sunday Night Vinyl Series) remain as on-air talent with Rogers rock stations, and Lew is still our afternoon DJ.

This leaves just the two zoo crew shows (Brock & Dalby and Biggs & Barr), individual DJ blocks, and Classic Rock Sundays as the only regularly scheduled programs on 104.3 The Fox, though if you miss Howard, Adam, and Cosmo, you can still hear them on Seekr via 92.1 CITI in Winnipeg or CHEZ 106.1 in Ottawa. Losing these shows is clearly a Rogers call and not the Soo's fault, and I haven't seen a public statement as to why these shows all ended at around the same time, but variety of the spice of life, and I do hope that Rogers try again with new scheduled programming in the future! That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Downtown Street Party #2), A New Album Release, And Much More!!

Here's another packed news post to check out on this Tuesday night, which features a newly released album from some familiar faces, clarification on private events, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT concerning a community event next week, so here's what you should know!

Local acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will be the only SMS-amenable band playing at this year's second Downtown Street Party on Queen Street East on Thursday, July 16th!  This will come three weeks after the first Downtown Street Party of 2026, and with these monthly events progressively moving west, next week's will take place on a closed section of Queen from Brock Street to Elgin Street (basically from the former BMO building to the courthouse). Like last month's street party and the two to come, there will be vendors, family activities & games, beverage gardens, and deals and events at Queen Street businesses open along this stretch. As the Downtown Plaza is facing this block, there will be events there too, including live trivia and a screening of the first Jaws movie. Click here for full details on what to expect in a non-musical sense! Now, who all is performing next Thursday?

As was the case for street party #1, there will be two distinct music stages on/near Brock & Elgin respectively, but as of the most recent public promotion from You Belong SSM, they haven't firmly specified who is playing where. Five acts are confirmed, and Dos Amigos confirmed in this poster for their remaining summer dates (more on those in this weekend's concert previews) that they'll be playing at the Brock Street Stage at 8:15 PM. Classic country band The Stumpy Coldwater Trio confirmed on Spaces that they'd be on the "Spring Street Stage" (the same block, in any event) at 7:00 PM, while classic rock trio Flathead Ford will perform at 9:30 PM, stage unclear. Veteran local/Toronto blues musician Rusty McCarthy and country musician Brendan Hodgson will also perform during next week, and at least one more act is implied (note that the June street party had three acts on each stage).

What is unsaid here is that this street party coincides with the opening day of Rotaryfest, so downtown will be hopping, and as Stage 2 doesn't operate on Thursdays anymore, could you call the street party the de facto Second Stage for night #1? Not the right block of Queen from where Stage 2 used to be, but still! Next Thursday's festivities take place from 6:30-11:00 PM, and it is absolutely a FREE & ALL AGES event. Sounds like another fun time for the whole family, with a dash of punk from Dos Amigos, so visit the above links for more details on one part of a stacked Thursday in the Soo!

Next up, I wanted to acknowledge a recent private house party concert (and another to come) that got some attention on social media. With some exceptions, I don't tend to cover private concerts here (let alone give the address publically) out of deference and respect to the location, often someone's home. On occasion though, you'll see a show advertised that, while not containing a public address, is definitely marketed publically, which was the case this past Thursday when Underground Events SSM brought Nanaimo, British Columbia pop punk quartet Danger Box back for a "Not A Canada Day Show", two weeks before they swing back through here opening for The Ripcordz at Beck's next Saturday. The garage concert also featured Duncan, B.C. alt-punk band Red Lenses (who aren't playing at the Ripcordz show) and locals A.S.D.P. and 5 Dollar Bribe. If you wanted the address, you had to "ask a punk"!

That general rule will apply to Underground Events SSM's next private gig on Friday, July 24th (I cannot 100% confirm if it will be at the exact same locale), but despite being private, it is actually a benefit gig. Entitled "SOOpfest", it will feature a special acoustic set from A.S.D.P. plus rap group Fvksxvad, unspecified guests, and a freestyle/open jam block. Alongside a backyard barbecue, admission is by donation, either cash for the Ken Brown Recovery Home and the $onny Vybe$ memorial or food for the Soup Kitchen. Despite the private trappings, these are three wonderful causes, so see above for more details, and I do hope last week's Danger Box show was a hit! "Ask a punk" for SOOpfest location details later this month!

Finally for today, here's a surprise new album release, as veteran local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage put out their 72nd studio album yesterday via their Bandcamp page! In their first release in almost a year, this is entitled "No Neutrals Allowed: Double Live In Japan At The Boobikhan", which is not the first time that they have released a faux live album purporting to be from a far flung locale. If released physically, this would indeed be a double album, and it's oriented as such, as the first half of the 39 track album is comprised of re-recordings from their lengthy back catalogue (presumably as if they were performed live) with nineteen new songs in the second half. "No Neutrals Allowed" is dedicated to original SKR bassist Dennis Becker (brother of Paul & Dirk), who lost his battle with cancer in September 2024, and as "Ned", he was represented in their "Waerlogas Sagas I" concept album from that same year.

Performer credits for "No Neutrals Allowed" weren't given in text, but ex-bassist Brian Cattapan (Paul's son-in-law) was Photoshopped into the cover artwork sitting behind Dirk on the Boobikhan stage, implying that he guested on at least one song here. If true, it's good to see him working with the masters of the crash again! This album is on sale on Bandcamp for $15 and can be streamed for free there as well, though with our massive backlog of new album releases still to review, this won't be up until early 2027. It is great to see the Beckers, Shane, and Tony back with another huge array of new music, so check everything out above, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dos Amigos, Stones & Crows, And Riverside Stasis), Concert Previews, And More!!

Before we begin this weekend's concert previews, I wanted to apologize for missing Bone Yard 225 frontman Greg Simpson's solo gig at The Dive Gastro Pub this past Thursday for coverage on here. Alas, the venue never confirmed the show publically on their Facebook page, and while "the ranting rockstar" did plug it on short notice on his personal Facebook page, he doesn't have a public social media page to promote solo gigs with. Hopefully the concert was a hit, and we'll let you know when we hear more from him and/or Bone Yard! Now, let's dive into most of this weekend's hard rock concert previews, with the Wheelhouse and T.N.T. shows coming in our next news post!

New local alt-hard rock quintet Riverside Stasis will be among TOMORROW'S music lineup at the Poutine Feast at the Downtown Plaza! Apologies for the short notice, frontwoman Tea Emlaw first announced that they'd be playing via her solo Facebook page on Sunday, and You Belong SSM has yet to reveal the full schedule for TOMORROW (they only revealed today's all solo acoustic lineup this morning). Fresh off of their debut set at Blaster Powerhouse this past weekend, this will be your second chance to see this new band live and your first at an outdoor event. Day #3 is expected to have live music from 4:15 PM onward, and Riverside Stasis are expected to hit the stage at around 6:00 PM, and the only other confirmed act that I'm aware of is country musician Jeffrey Wright at 7:15 PM. Apologies for erroneously plugging TOMORROW's program as the Kids Day when this post initially went live, that is actually the Saturday, July 4th theme.

This is FREE & ALL AGES as usual, and 9&10 News is calling for 22-28° temperatures TOMORROW with clouds receding into the afternoon (please be prepared for the hot & humid conditions). Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video from Riverside Stasis' Facebook page of them covering Kings Of Leon's "Sex On Fire" at the former Soo Blaster on Saturday! Filmed by Drifters frontwoman Elly McWatters from the front row, she got some really nice close-up visuals of the band, harmed only by being just 90 seconds long and vertical (though she does focus on everyone individually). Not my favourite song in the world (at least it's not "Dance Monkey"), but it's well performed, so check it out below!

Next up, local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos will return to The Whisky Barrel for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the venue only announced this show on their Facebook page on Monday, and the band only publically acknowledged the booking in an Instagram "Story", as far as I can tell. Fresh off of their own Poutine Feast gig on Canada Day, it's good to see Mikey & Dustin bringing their unplugged cover project to the stage a little more frequently this summer, and hopefully there's a good turnout at the Gore Street pub TOMORROW for their fan favourite punk covers! Yes, I am aware of their sister band Bookclub's gig next week during the downtown Summer Concert Series, stay tuned for a preview of that in a news post by Monday. TOMORROW'S Whisky Barrel show (their first there in almost three months) is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Dos Amigos live!

Also this weekend, new local blues/hard rock trio Stones & Crows will play their second public concert TOMORROW NIGHT at Beck's Bar! Apologies again for the short notice, the venue only announced this show on their Facebook page on Monday as part of their usual weekly entertainment schedule reveal there (though be advised that Stones & Crows haven't posted on their Facebook page in any way in over two weeks). Originally, Beck's was supposed to have DJ Dark Mark spinning tunes TOMORROW, but a "communication breakdown" led them to look elsewhere for Friday entertainment, and they opted to bring back Stones & Crows just one week after Spencer, Nicholas, and Anthony (er, Bukky, Nikki, and Tony) made their live debut at the same locale. Hopefully things go well for their Beck's encore, and seeing as Anthony is drumming with Riverside Stasis TOMORROW at Poutine Feast as well, he's definitely got a long night ahead!

Like last week, TOMORROW'S Stones & Crows show is at 9:00 PM with no cover and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's our first public video of the Electric Church successors live, as per Beck's Facebook page! The video sees the guys covering Eric Clapton's "Cocaine", and while something sounds a little out of tune, the guys have a good sound going so far, as you'd hope with this lineup! Alas, the video is vertical, only 44 seconds long, and has the band's name slapped on top in post-production, so while you can see them without those restrictions TOMORROW NIGHT at Beck's, give their first video a watch below! 

Finally for today, here's a show that did get advance notice, as former Project 421/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will return to the aforementioned Dive Gastro Pub for one night only on SATURDAY! Originally announced back in May on his Facebook page, this will be Curt's first gig at the former Low & Slow since a "Think It Over Thursday" date in April, with an interim gig there on June 13th being called off after The Dive double booked Curtis with another artist. While The Dive has not corroborated this booking on their Facebook page either (I have no idea why they've been so inconsistent for advertising live musicians lately), hopefully Curt has a strong turnout downtown for his alternative and hard rock covers! Saturday concerts this summer at The Dive are "Patio Play" gigs where possible, and 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy skies that night with temperatures in the 20° range, and rain is unlikely.

The show is at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge, and while the heat wave is still ongoing, it looks to be more comfortable than some nights have been on Saturday, so consider stopping by The Dive if you want some live unplugged rock! See the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Curtis live a few years back!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Wheelhouse and T.N.T. previews (and more?) next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Poutine Feast), New Videos, And Hails Updates!!

Before we kick off our likely last news post of June 2026, just a heads up that Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover band Tarnished had to cancel their St. Ignace Car Show matinee gig on Saturday, as per their Facebook page 22 minutes prior to showtime. A reason wasn't given, but Alex & Josh still played their acoustic Bay Mills gig that night, so Chris and/or Ron being unavailable could explain things. Disappointing given the timing, but Tarnished will return to St. Ignace for an outdoor Music By The Bay concert on September 5th! Now, here's a Canada Day SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and more recent news and notes from the last little while!

Local punk/alternative cover sextet BookcluB and their sister acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will reportedly both be among the lineup on WEDNESDAY at The Downtown Plaza as part of the opening Canada Day program for this year's Poutine Feast! Apologies for the short notice, we only caught lineup details for this year in the batch post promoting the touring poutine festival on Facebook (only the paid advertisement version lists any scheduled musical performers, not the static promotional images shared as permanent posts). After 2025 had a reduced music lineup that was never announced on social media, we at least know some of the 2026 performers, with BookcluB and Dos Amigos (neither of which have corroborated the Poutine Feast advertising) joining new local southern/indie rock quartet Eli Russell & The River Fools and classic rock veterans RPM on WEDNESDAY.

Also teased are "...and more!", but who they are isn't known, let alone the timeslots, or the entire Thursday music lineup beyond Jay Case, but we will touch on the Friday program in our next weekend concert previews. Expect games, family entertainment, other vendors, and of course, lots of touring poutine food trucks on WEDNESDAY through Sunday at the plaza, so click here for full details on the daily themes! Poutine Feast is on daily from 11:00 AM-9:00 PM, this is absolutely FREE & ALL AGES (food purchases aside), and 9&10 News is calling for partly-mostly cloudy skies, with temperatures ranging from 25-30°, so prepare accordingly for the heat. Visit the above links for more details, and here's BookcluB live at the plaza!

Next up, here's the first public video that I can actually embed here (not a "Story") from local ska punk/"crackrocksteady" quartet A.S.D.P. in concert! The band still doesn't have a formal social media page outside of Bandcamp, but this was uploaded to drummer "Just" Ralph Barber's personal Facebook page yesterday, and then publically shared to frontman Mikhal Muto's promotion agency Underground Events SSM's Facebook page. This comes from the all-local concert that they headlined at Blaster Powerhouse this past Saturday, and this may not be representative of Adam Smith Death Parade's general sound for two reasons. One is that it's not a ska punk song (rather a cover of Pennywise's "Bro Hymn"), but also because this doesn't just have Mikhal, Tucker, William, and Ralph on stage. No, everyone is on stage, from members of other bands that night (Chris Nielsen and Spencer MacGillivray among them) to other fans and friends.

If you know anything about "Bro Hymn", the community aspect adds a lot, and it's great to see everyone having a blast in what I can only assume is the last song of the night! The attendee who filmed this (I recognize him but don't know his name off hand) unfortunately shot this vertically and only for a minute, but it's a fun watch, and I wonder who brought the balloons? Check it out below, and hopefully some more public videos of A.S.D.P. surface, even without a Facebook page of their own!

Also today, here's the latest from Mikhal's old hardcore punk band Hails, who announced the addition of With Gunfire/ex-Jack Spades guitarist Anthony Orazietti to their lineup on June 3rd, replacing Carmen Muto (Mikhal's cousin). A reason for the switch was not publically announced, but Carmen didn't immediately leave when Mikhal did at the end of 2025, and he has since been confirmed as the new lead guitarist of the aforementioned BookcluB, so follow them for his next live outings. Anthony is a talented and underrated shredder, so hopefully he bolsters the ranks well with Brent & Keegan going forward! While Ha!ls' first local date of the year and with Anthony will be at the Ripcordz concert at Beck's Bar on July 18th, they will actually debut the new lineup on Friday, July 10th at the conveniently named Dock Ellis sports bar in Toronto, which will be a headlining date alongside three bands from the GTA.

Hails are a ripping live act that fans of Brent's past work as a frontman will take to with ease, and it's great to see that their six month+ break from the stage is winding down, so if you won't be in Toronto in two weeks for the new lineup's soft launch, don't miss out on the new Ha!ls lineup with The Ripcordz the following week (on Rotaryfest Saturday, even!)

Finally for today, here's some updates from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9! The band is in the midst of their annual summer break from nightclub concerts, instead focusing on festivals and private events, but even given that, this is a quiet stretch for them, as their only public booking in Sault Ste. Marie until the fall was at Throttle Fest at Runway Park on Saturday, June 20th. If you want to get a glimpse of how the set at the outdoor motorcross/mud drag event looked, then here's a (sadly) vertical clip of Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve covering Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" late in the concert, as per their Facebook page the following day. Silent 9 were playing on a flatbed trailer at Runway Park, and there was an active crowd rocking out at this point in the night, if perhaps with a few bugs. The video is only 20 seconds long, but what we hear is well performed!

Note that the thumbnail image is from much earlier in the set for one reason or another (the video was 100% shot at nighttime), and as such, I do think that the stage lighting on the trailer made Silent 9 look too purple, especially in contrast to the outdoorsy locale, but you shouldn't be expecting Bell Border Jam II either. The description of the video does imply that Silent 9 will be back for Throttle Fest II next year, but with no Rotaryfest or Giovanni's sets this month (or anywhere else), local fans won't be able to see Silent 9 again at a public event until September, unless you wanna drive to Thessalon or White River. Give this new video clip a watch below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news, updates, and concert previews as we enter the month of July! Thanks everyone!