LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906, Tarnished, And The Nameless) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

An extremely eventful and busy weekend of hard rock concerts is in store for the Twin Saults and area this weekend, so much so that I might have to break our previews into three posts! For now, this post is 100% devoted to Sault Michigan and the E.U.P., including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, two on SHORT NOTICE, so here's what you should know to start the weekend!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, I was aware of these shows for a few weeks now after being announced on Kewadin's entertainment page, but they got lost in the shuffle in a very busy month (not helped by the glut of new-to-the-EUP touring bands playing there this summer that I covered initially). Last seen at the Soo Kewadin in May when they were late replacements for The Louie Longoria Band, these will be another good chance to see Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron's 1980s-leaning hard rock covers all weekend long, so don't miss out if this is up your alley! No word on if SATURDAY'S booking is why their sister band Crush aren't defending their title at the second annual Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands in Brimley or not though.

As usual for Kewadin lounges, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows are 21+ affairs at 9:00 PM with no announced cover charges.  If you can't make their next two shows in St. Ignace, then don't miss out on Tarnished here TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are live!

Next up, let's head to Rudyard, Michigan, where Sault Ste. Marie blues/hard rock cover quintet Project 906 will return to Huck's Pub & Grill TOMORROW NIGHT, but in a new confirmation, they will also return to the annual Government Bay Barge Bash in nearby Cedarville on Saturday, August 1st! The #summerof906 marches on first tomorrow with a show timed with the annual Summerfest in Rudyard, and while this isn't an official Summerfest event, there should be a good crowd at the former Joe's Bar for Project 906 (or "906 Band", as it were) rocking out tomorrow! This is a one-nighter due to or resulting in Saturday's Private Drive concert, and it goes down at 8:00 PM on Friday with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. While we're on the subject, let's discuss the aforementioned Government Bay Barge Bash one week from Saturday, which will again see Project 906 in Cedarville for quite a unique outdoor concert on the local summer calendar!

Billy, Joe, Dustin, Jason, and Brian have played this event many times, which is quite literally named, as the bash takes place on a barge in the water off the coast of Government Island near Bumpas on East Hodeck Street in Cedarville, and attendees are more than welcome to swim or boat over to the stage! 906 and Cedarville classic rock veterans Shipheads On Shore are both returning from last year's Barge Bash, while The Haske Brothers (formerly of Oddfellow fame) will replace The Mark Bowen Band as the third band this year, though of course, Jason Haske was in Mark's band last year. Project 906 are this year's headliners, with their set likely beginning on August 1st at around 5:00 PM, with the Shipheads playing a mid-afternoon set likely around 2:30 PM or so, and The Haske Brothers kicking things off at 12:00 PM  This is a fun event for those in and around the Les Cheneaux Islands, so keep it in mind, especially if you love being out on/in the water!

The Barge Bash is a FREE & ALL AGES event, and remember to please drink responsibly if you are so inclined here, especially given the nature of the concert being literally held on the bay. Visit the above links for more details on the Barge Bash and tomorrow's Huck's show in Rudyard, with lots of hard rocking covers in store from this talented local band at both events, and for a preview, here's Project 906 live! 

Finally for this preview post, we'll head back to Kewadin Casino in Sault Ste. Marie, where local hard rock cover quartet The Nameless will serve as the musical entertainment at the third annual American Legion Riders' Hell To Paradise motorcycle rally on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for erroneously noting when this was first announced that they'd be at The Rapids Lounge (Tarnished are there, obviously), the band has since confirmed that they'll actually be playing in The Dreammakers Theatre, so the ending banquet will be well staged! The two-day Hell To Paradise rally will see bikers drive north from Stockbridge to the Soo (15 minutes west of Hell & an hour+ east of Paradise respectively) to support awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health, as those battling depression can feel lost between Hell and Paradise. Click here for full details and how you can support the cause!

The Nameless will be rocking out after a buffet dinner and awards ceremony, and as best as I can tell, you do not have to pay a dedicated admission fee or buy dinner to see the concert, which will be 21+ at 8:00 PM. If you'd rather see them in normal concert confines, Kewadin's entertainment page confirms that their previously teased Kewadin dates (lounge then unclear) will indeed be at The Rapids Lounge on Friday, August 28th & Saturday, August 29th, so consider those LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS too! Same ground rules as Tarnished this weekend. Visit the above links for more on Josh, the Mikes, and Jamie's Kewadin gigs of any scale ahead, and for a preview of the Hell To Paradise afterparty, here are The Nameless live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for previews of Sault Ontario concerts and the Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dodge This, Project 906, Curtis McKenzie, And Generations!!)

The weekend concert preview train rolls along on this Civic Holiday long weekend, but in a stroke of luck(?), ALL of the concerts in preview post #2 were publically announced on short notice by the featured bands. Not ideal, but it does add to a busy calendar, especially as all take place TOMORROW! Tym Morrison's previously announced matinee gig tomorrow at Misty's Fifties will follow in a separate post. Here's what you should know!

Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quintet Project 906 will return to the annual Government Bay Barge Bash in nearby Cedarville TOMORROW! Apologies for the short notice, the guys first announced their involvement in this year's festivities via their Facebook page on Tuesday, but the lineup has been public since late June via the official Facebook event page. A very unique component to the local concert calendar every August, the Barge Bash literally sees bands performing on a floating barge off the coast of Government Island (near Bumpas at 74 East Hodeck Street) in Cedarville, which leads to some great optics as attendees can literally swim or boat to the concert proper! The band lineup TOMORROW is identical to 2024 save for the now-inactive Dirty Musky, with 906 joined by Cedarville classic rock veterans Shipheads On Shore and pop rock mainstays The Mark Bowen Band.

Oddfellow alum Jason Haske and Project 906 hand drummer Brian Duford will join Mark's band for the occasion, which will be cool! Mark and crew open the FREE & ALL AGES festivities at 12:00 PM, with S.O.S. playing at 2:00 PM, and Project 906 get the headlining honours TOMORROW at 4:00 PM. 9&10 News is calling for clear skies TOMORROW with temperatures of 71-75° Fahrenheit (22-24° Celsius), so cooler than last year, but the forest fire-induced air quality advisories are still very much in effect. Hopefully everyone has a great time off Government Island for the twelfth annual Barge Bash TOMORROW, so see above for more details, and here's Project 906 live!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario, where Beck's Bar has another SMS-friendly double header TOMORROW, starting with a matinee concert from former Haggith/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via Beck's Facebook page on Tuesday, where they announced their complete live entertainment schedule for this weekend. Just two weeks removed from his last unplugged gig at the former Vibe Lounge, hopefully Curt's latest west end concert is a hit TOMORROW, so be at Beck's early for all of his entertaining alternative and hard rock covers! Like normal, this is a 3:00 PM matinee with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on Curtis' Beck's matinee TOMORROW, and for a preview, here he is live!

As for the Saturday night band at Beck's Bar TOMORROW NIGHT, it's an acoustic double-header there, as unplugged classic/hard rock cover trio Dodge This will kick off the month there for the nightcap! Apologies again for the short notice, this show was also only announced in Beck's weekend schedule post on Facebook on Tuesday (though note that the band hasn't publically advertised a show on their own Facebook page in almost two months). Unless we missed something, this will be Jason & the July brothers' first publically advertised concert since rocking The Dive early last month. This should be a fun night of rocking covers from this veteran group, so don't miss out on the unplugged action at Beck's TOMORROW at 9:00 PM! Remember, Curtis McKenzie isn't "opening" for Dodge This, they are two separate & full shows on the same day, with Dodge This also having no cover and a 19+ age limit.

It's worth noting too that former Re:Born frontwoman Elly McWatters is playing the Sunday matinee at Beck's, as part of her recent push into more concerts as a solo headliner, including some with a full band (The Drifters) featuring Soundcheck alumni and bandmates of hers from Mike Haggith's Big Finish Band. To my understanding, Elly's modern solo sets lean towards country, but she is a very talented singer, so keep her in mind as well! Visit the above links for more on Dodge This' Beck's show TOMORROW NIGHT, and for a preview, here they are live there!

Finally for this short notice spree, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Once again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show via their Facebook group by drummer Tony Santoro on Sunday (the venue has not publicized a monthly concert calendar on social media since June). In that same post, they confirmed that they will return to Reggie's Place (where they played this past weekend) once again on Friday, August 15th & Saturday, August 16th, so fans of their classic cover array will want to keep those dates in mind. Hopefully things go well TOMORROW at The Water Tower Pub, let alone the Reggie's shows in two weeks! Remember, the Great Northern Road nightclub hosts different nightly acts, with tonight's band there being veteran classic rock band Flashback.

TOMORROW'S Water Tower concert is at 8:00 PM, the Reggie's ones ahead are at 9:30 PM, and these are all 19+ engagements with no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Generations live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison) & Project 906 Concert Previews!!

After a pair of very busy weekends for local hard rock and metal fans in the Twin Saults, things are slightly less hectic to kick off August 2024, as I'll only need two posts to cover this weekend's heavier concerts! To spread things out, I'll hold our previews of this weekend's Tarnished, Half Past, and Curtis McKenzie shows for our next news post hitting the site hopefully by tomorrow. Now, here's what you should know on both sides of the border, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, some on SHORT NOTICE! (Updated at 1:07 PM)

Local classic/hard rock cover singer/guitarist Tym Morrison has another full month of acoustic solo concerts ahead at his usual seasonal haunts, starting with a show at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post TOMORROW NIGHT and a matinee at Misty's Fifties on SATURDAY! Apologies for the short notice on this weekend's non-Dive shows, I should have rolled in all of his August dates on the site last month. While we're on the subject, the former Caveman Morrison frontman will bring his unplugged classic and hard rock covers back to The Trading Post (weather permitting) on Friday, August 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th, while west end fans will be able to see him on Saturday, August 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st at Misty's! Remember that he only plays at the former venue seasonally, and that arrangement ends for 2024 late next month.

Yes, this weekend's shows fall on the Civic Holiday long weekend for many readers, while the August 30th-31st shows are on the Labour Day long weekend, so if you get either Monday off, keep the scheduling in mind! Note that Tym was originally scheduled to play a "Think It Over Thursday" concert at The Dive Gastro Pub tonight as well, but it was cancelled due to illness, as per the venue's Facebook page earlier today. No word on if Tym's health will impede TOMORROW or SATURDAY's shows, but we'll let you know if we hear anything, and hopefully he feels better soon! TOMORROW'S and this month's Mike Case Stage shows also begin at 7:00, and SATURDAY'S and this month's Misty's matinees are at 4:00 PM. None have a cover charge, and the Misty's Fifties show is presumed to be 19+. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for sunny skies TOMORROW with temperatures hovering around 25°.

The forecast implies that we're coming out of the humid snap that has hit the Soo hard this week, but it'll still be a warm one for fans seeing Tym out on Great Northern Road TOMORROW, so stay cool and hydrated where possible! Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here and here for more details on all of Tym's August concerts, and here he is live!

Next up, let's head to Sault Michigan for some live hard rock concerts this weekend, starting with local hard/blues rock quartet Project 906, who have a busy weekend ahead via two outdoor concerts in the E.U.P.! The guys will first head to Pickford TOMORROW NIGHT for an outdoor set at this year's Pickford Hay Days, taking place this week throughout the town, but 906 will be performing at Pickford Township Park at 287 Harold Street #279. Food trucks will be on hand thanks to the Hay Days festival, but there will be a more poignant cause to support as well. Guitarist Joe Jenkins' wife Mary Jo has been diagnosed with breast cancer, and while tomorrow's concert is free, the band is raising money to help support Mary Jo and the family at this difficult time. The Curbside Cravings food truck at Hay Days will also be donating some proceeds to Mary Jo tomorrow.

Having lost my mother to ovarian cancer, I can definitely relate to what Mary Jo and the Jenkins & Croft families are going through right now, so our best support and wishes go out to her during this fight! You can enjoy Project 906's hard rocking covers tomorrow night at 7:00 PM with no cover charge or age limit, and weather is expected to be similar to Tym Morrison's Sault Ontario show TOMORROW, with sunny-clear weather at 73-80° Fahrenheit (23-27° Celsius). Visit Hay Days' Facebook page for full details on remaining festival events and the official Facebook event page for more on 906's show proper! That's not all for the #summerof906 this weekend though, as Billy, Joe, Dustin, and Jason(?) will also head to Cedarville for another special outdoor concert on SATURDAY when they join three other bands for this year's Government Bay Barge Bash, literally playing on a barge on the water off the coast of the Les Cheneaux Islands!

Project 906 will literally be rocking Lake Huron just off the coast of Government Island (near Bumpas at 74 East Hodeck Street) as the second of four bands on Saturday, joining Sugar Island rock quartet Dirty Musky (more on them soon) at 6:00 PM, Cedarville classic rock veterans Shipheads On Shore at 4:00 PM, and veteran pop rockers The Mark Bowen Band at 12:00 PM (906 are at 2:00 PM). For the record, the Barge Bash is not openly tied to any charitable drives for Mary Jo, but I doubt they'd turn away any support there. There's no age limit or cover charge for the Barge Bash, but as it's being held on the water, attendees with boats or a love of the beach/swimming will obviously benefit. As this is outdoors, the current weather forecast is calling for a high of 84° Fahrenheit (29° Celsius) with sunny-clear weather, so very similar to tomorrow in Pickford. If you love the warm summer weather, it should be ideal waterfront conditions then!

Whether you'd prefer to see Project 906 on terra firma in Pickford or in Government Bay surrounded by water and boats, you have some very appealing outdoor options this weekend! Visit the above links for complete details on both of their shows ahead, and for a preview, here they are live!

That's all for now, but we'll wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906!!)

Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 have announced their summer concert slate via their Facebook page, which is the sole topic today! No word on where they've been since their last date in February, but they have multiple dates around the E.U.P. scheduled in July and August, while also announcing solo dates from frontman Billy Bernier in Mackinac Island (which is outside of our coverage range) and at The Islander Bar in Hessel tomorrow night. I'm not sure if Billy's solo show is basically Project 906 unplugged or if he explores less hard rock in his sets, so I won't cover that show on here just in case, but keep it in mind if you're in Hessel! If you want to see the full splendour with Joe, Dustin, and Jason too, they have two private bookings next month, but their first public date in five months will see them rock the aforementioned Islander Bar on Friday, July 5th with a return planned for Saturday, August 10th!

The former show is a normal affair, but the latter will be a special matinee set during the Les Cheneaux Islands Antique Wooden Boat Show, an event that 906 did play last year as well, albeit at a normal nighttime timeslot then. It's too soon yet to know what possible changes could be in store on August 10th, but last year, The Islander Bar had four nights of live music from different nightly acts the week of the boat show. Stay tuned for any updates! On Saturday, July 13th, Project 906 will return to The Well Diggers Watering Hole & Feed Lot in nearby Kinross for an outdoor concert, and their first show at this venue since last summer. Should be a good time in a relatively unique setting, so keep their Well Diggers return in mind also! Then on Friday, July 26th, the guys will return to the Soo for a concert at The Merchant's Bar alongside "special guests" The City Lines, so who are they?

As best as I can tell, 906 are actually opening for The City Lines, a power pop trio from Ann Arbor whose frontman is Sault Ste. Marie native and Sault Tribe member Patrick Deneau. Not the heaviest band going, but fans of indie rock and midwest emo (let alone more recent material by The Northwest) will take to The City Lines, and it's cool to see Patrick play a show at home like this, let alone the rare sight of Project 906 opening for a touring band! Moving ahead to August for another festival set, Project 906 will make their debut at Pickford Hay Days on Friday, August 2nd, and while they didn't specify the locale beyond saying that it'd be outdoors, the festival's Facebook event page confirms that they're playing at Pickford Township Park (no word on extra bands). Click here for full non-musical details on Hay Days, but food trucks will be nearby for festival and/or concert attendees, and you are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.

The last of the newly announced Project 906 shows will see them play in Cedarville on Saturday, August 3rd for this year's tenth annual Government Bay Barge Bash, which I am pretty sure is returning to its literal location on a floating barge in Government Bay in front of Bumpas at 74 East Hodeck Street. Promotion for this year's Barge Bash has not begun that I've seen, but this event has featured multiple bands in recent years, and how unique is it to see bands playing literally on the water? Note that one of the bands that played last year's Barge Bash (which didn't have known-to-me hard rock bands at the time) was Dirty Musky, a new band featuring 415E alumni Dave Menard and Brett Blackwood alongside Brett's dad Fran (of Clownsack fame). Despite that lineup, Dirty Musky have given no indication of their set/sound on social media, so I won't rush them into our coverage, but keep them in mind!

Most of these shows have 8:00 PM start times, but the Pickford show is at 7:00 PM, the Cedarville show is to be announced (remember, multiple bands play that), and the Hessel boat show gig in August is a 4:00 PM matinee. The Islander Bar, Well Diggers, and Merch shows are all 21+ while the rest are all ages, and while none have a stated cover charge, do inquire within as far as the annual festivals go. It's great to see Project 906 back (even without Strongs Tavern returns booked, surprisingly), so look for their hard rocking cover slate at multiple E.U.P. venues in the coming months, and stay tuned for more news on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Tarnished Concert Previews, Spades GT Updates, And More!!

As promised, the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews are in today's post, with a relatively quiet weekend in the area compared to what July had in store this year! After our E.U.P. show previews, we have some updates from other local bands, so here's what you should know!

Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished have a double header in store for fans in nearby Cedarville TOMORROW, starting with their outdoor set at this year's Government Bay Barge Bash, followed by a typical nighttime concert that evening at Snows Bar & Grill! The former event is the annual (2020 aside) concert festival currently held outside Bumpas at 74 East Hodeck Street, where bands will literally be playing on a barge floating in Government Bay! Unlike prior years for the Barge Bash in both Cedarville and Hessel, there will be four bands playing tomorrow, with Tarnished and fellow local hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews (in a rare multi-band event for them) joined by local country cover trio The Three Mile Band and The Bowen/Haske Band, who are the current incarnation of local musician Mark Bowen's pop rock cover band (possibly best known as Paradise Excuse).

Click here for full non-musical details on the Government Bay Barge Bash. This event appears to be free and all ages (boaters welcome!), with festivities starting at 12:00 PM. Tarnished have confirmed that they will be playing on the North Shore Dock Barge at 1:30 PM, with Rhythm & Brews appearing to the be the closing band at 5:30 PM (their set ends at 8:00 PM). If this image's band order gives anything away, then The Three Mile Band will open the bash, with The Bowen/Haske Band playing likely at around 2:00 PM. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for cloudy weather all day in Cedarville (an hour south of the Soo) with temperatures from 77-80° Fahrenheit. As for Tarnished's return to Snows (at 1187 Park Avenue) tomorrow night, that'll be an indoor respite under more standard conditions for their hard rocking originals and covers, so if you missed them three weeks ago, here's your chance for an encore!

The Snows concert takes place at 8:00 PM tomorrow, it does not have an announced cover charge, and it is definitely a 21+ event (if that's a concern, the Barge Bash is in the same town!) Should be a packed day of music for Cedarville-area concert goers and Tarnished, with both they and Rhythm & Brews sure to deliver the hard rock goods, so definitely visit the above links for more on both events, and here's Tarnished live!

Next up, here's the latest from Sault Ontario/Barrie crossover thrash quartet Spades GT, so what have they been up to as of late? In terms of live dates, the former Jack Spades have at least three ahead where they're opening for Toronto metal pioneers Anvil, including a show in Brampton on September 16th, but before then, they will open for Anvil in North Bay and Sudbury on August 24th & 25th as both bands are en route to the Soo area for shows that weekend! Of course, Anvil return to Soo Blaster on Saturday the 27th, but Spades will miss out on the Timmins show on the 26th, presumably due to their commitments at the Northern Vibe Festival in Ophir that weekend, where frontman J.D. Pearce is curating the Forest Stage again, and where the band proper are playing in their first local date post-relaunch. Spades GT have not (yet?) said that they're opening for Anvil locally, which could be a sign that their Northern Vibe set is the same night.

Like last year, organizers have not revealed a daily band schedule for the festival, we will keep you posted if one surfaces. Video-wise, drummer Tyler "Jeeb" Reiner (Anvil drummer Robb Reiner's son) was featured last week in the clip embedded below, where he shows off some Daddario ProMark drumsticks that he was sent as a sample. No scoops relating to the band as a whole, but good promotion for the company, and the sticks should hopefully come in handy! Deceivingly deep voice for Tyler too, but the video was posted at 6:54 AM. Give it a watch below, and see above for more!

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:

 

• The Gutter Creek-headlined concert on Thursday, September 1st has been moved from The Rockstar Bar to the aforementioned Soo Blaster, as per this new Facebook event page. A reason for the venue change was not announced, but note that The Rockstar Bar has not advertised any concert dates since May, with Bone Yard's June 11th show there being cancelled outright. Hopefully things are okay at The Algonquin Hotel, but fingers crossed Gutter Creek (featuring the Soo's own Matt Hanchuck) deliver a solid show at this bigger downtown venue! No word yet on admission fees.
• St. Ignace, Michigan metalcore band Heavy Lies The Crown will be without new rhythm guitarist Christian Thanasiu for their set opening for Nagazi in Battle Creek tonight due to an unspecified illness, as per their Facebook page. The band are jokingly asking attendees for "get well soon" cards, so keep that in mind if you happen to be in the area! As best as I can gather, this show will go forward with H.L.T.C. as a four-piece, which is nothing new for them, as their initial dates had just Ted on guitar. We'll have more from Heavy Lies The Crown soon!
• Sault Ontario/Thompson, Manitoba alternative/hard rock musician Mike Haggith will take a road trip to Flin Flon, Manitoba for a rare in-province date outside of Thompson tomorrow night! Mike will be the fourth-to-last act tomorrow on the Museum Stage at their annual Blueberry Jam concert festival, so click here for full details if you're so inclined. Best of luck to Mike in Flin Flon tomorrow, and hopefully someone's got a camera rolling!
   

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