LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) & Other Indoor Weekend Concert Previews!!

With Rotaryfest's remaining music schedule still very much up in the air (no pun intended), it may be worth noting that there are other concerts locally over the next two days, and indoor ones at that, so if you want to see some live music on what's supposed to be a busy weekend, you have alternatives! The focus around here is always on metal, hard rock, and punk concerts, but I thought that it's appropriate to mention other known concerts in Sault Ontario tomorrow and Saturday before we dive in to regular previews. Country cover veterans Tex Riviera & The Ride are playing at Jay's Piston Broke Pub tonight & tomorrow night, DJ Dark Mark will be spinning tunes at Beck's Bar tonight only, Juliana Regan & Convergence guitarist Jacob Valois will play a joint acoustic gig on Saturday at The Whisky Barrel, and a reunion of classic rock veterans Pegasus is slated for tonight at The Water Tower Pub. Consider these as possible alternatives if you're in the market!

Now to heavier concerts, and we'll start those previews with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, as local classic/hard rock cover band Soundcheck will reportedly rock Reggie's Place TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we only learned of the gigs via confirmation by Separate Wayz singer Nicole Thibodeau in a comment on this post from the Sault Live Music Gig Announcements Facebook page. At press time, neither Soundcheck (nor their sister band Separate Wayz) have publically corroborated these bookings on social media, with Soundcheck not updating their Facebook page since May, and Reggie's hasn't confirmed them publically online either. Based on shares of this photo, these appear to strictly be Soundcheck gigs and not "epic crossovers", as Nicole reportedly isn't singing on a local stage again until the fall, but kudos to her for at least mentioning these bookings!

Note that recent live photos and videos of Separate Wayz appear to show a synth player in the back of the stage, but I have not seen a firm public confirmation of his identity on social media, let alone if he has joined one/both bands full time. Regardless, singer/guitarist Travis Sharpe should be back TONIGHT and TOMORROW after missing the Separate Wayz-branded concerts at Jay's last week (which weren't promoted as "epic crossovers" anyway). TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S Reggie's concerts are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover. While Soundcheck haven't played Rotaryfest in two years, you can still rock out with them this weekend, so see above for more details, and here they are live!

Next up, here's quite the nightcap TOMORROW NIGHT regardless of if Rotaryfest proceeds with music or not, as Montreal hardcore punk legends The Ripcordz will return to the Soo that night as headliners at Beck's Bar! While technically their first local stop since they rocked The Distraction in August 2024, it's not for a lack of trying, as their planned return there last year was cancelled during the openers' sets due to police stopping the show after reported fire code violations (The Distraction has been closed ever since). Paul Gott and crew love touring here, and local fans give them great receptions time and time again, so kudos to Beck's for bringing The Ripcordz back for what should be a ferocious night of punk, especially indoors and within the fire code! Nanaimo, British Columbia pop punk quartet Danger Box (as seen at The Distraction in May 2025 and at a private event here last month) will help set the tone as openers tomorrow night, while the local openers are crossover thrash trio Hails in their first local gig of the year.

Unless you saw them in Toronto last week, this will be your first chance to see Ha!ls with With Gunfire guitarist Anthony Orazietti in place of the Muto cousins, and what a way for him to debut in city limits! This concert has a $10 cover charge (first come first serve, this is expected to draw well, Rotaryfest or not), a 19+ age limit, and a 9:00 PM start time. If Stage 1 takes place as scheduled, Hails (who played Stage 2 last year) will take the stage during Zed's featured set at Clergue Park, with The Sidekicks still to come there. Hardcore punk fans won't want to miss out on all of the action in the west end tomorrow night, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Ripcordz live!

Finally for known hard rock concerts this weekend, we'll head to Michigan, where London, England post-grunge/hard rock quartet Bush (a.k.a. BushX for Canadians of a certain vintage) will make their local debut TOMORROW NIGHT with an outdoor concert at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! Long-time rock radio staples thanks to hit songs like "Everything Zen", "The Chemicals Between Us", and "Mouth", Bush were among the most prominent rock bands of the 1990s, and while I was admittedly never their biggest fan, this show should be a good time for fans, especially if air conditions improve! As of this writing, Kewadin Casino have not said anything about possible air quality provisions on social media, but the air quality index is high an hour south of here too, so follow Kewadin's website and so forth if you are at all concerned. Planned openers Candlebox (of "Far Behind" fame) can relate, as this has hit them here before when they last planned to play in the E.U.P..

The Seattle grunge/alternative veterans were supposed to headline at the Soo Kewadin in April 2020 before the first pandemic lockdown scuttled that gig, so hopefully something similar doesn't recur! Presented by Northern Michigan's Rock 105 & 95.5 and Classic Rock: The Bear, this show is nearly sold out, with limited tickets still available in the right section for $106 USD and the general admission lawn area for $96 at this link, in person, or at 1-800-KEWADIN. The show starts at 7:00 PM, it is definitely all ages, and 9&10 News is calling for clear skies with temperatures around 67-72° (low 20s Celsius), smoke risk aside. If all goes well, this should be a huge concert for 1990s rock fans, so see above for more details, and here's Bush live!

That's all for now, but between air quality reports, the possibility of further adjustments to Rotaryfest (let alone Bush), and other news and notes, we're not sitting idle despite this weekend's concert previews seemingly being done, so stay tuned for more on the SMS shortly! Thanks everyone!

Bone Yard 225 Updates & A Tym Morrison Concert Preview!!

For our first post of what will be a busy work week at the SMS, here's a pre-Rotaryfest mid-week preview and the latest updates from a prominent veteran band both here and abroad!

We'll start with a mid-week concert preview before the Rotaryfest crush begins, as prolific local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison will return to The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post for his third weekly concert there of his current summer arrangement TOMORROW EVENING! While not a Rotaryfest performer on record (odd that he's never played to my knowledge), this could be an appetizer for fans of rock covers to see some live music outdoors before the action begins downtown, and hopefully Tym has a solid block of rock favourites in store for fans way up Great Northern Road! Like the last two weeks, tomorrow's show is expected to run from 6:30-8:30 PM with no age limits or cover charges. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for cloudy skies and temperatures hovering around 21°, so similar to last week, but with no likelihood of rain. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, let's take a look at the latest updates from local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, so what's new from their camp? When we last saw them on a local stage, they performed not one, but two concerts in one day (one "uncorked", one fully electric) at Beck's Bar for the Biker Rights Organization's annual Shoot & Scoot on Saturday, June 27th, and a live-streamed video from the former set made its way to their Facebook page, though note that it was not playing for me on a desktop browser (it worked fine on a cell phone though). The video sees the guys covering The Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See" (with an amusing "Drift Away" interlude late), and the video notably does not feature bassist Warren Reville. No idea if he was absent for all/part of the acoustic block or just sat out this song, but with him not there, this video is effectively a Bearded Lounge reunion. It's a solid unplu... sorry, uncorked rendition while it lasts, and familiar for long-time fans!

Despite being shot vertically, Greg & Alex are steadily captured in frame, which is nice! Due to Facebook's current regulations for live-streamed videos, the "Can't You See" cover will vanish from Bone Yard's Facebook page in around two weeks unless re-uploaded or converted, so click here to watch it while you can! More of singer/drummer Greg Simpson's "ranting rockstar" videos from his personal Facebook page were shared in the following days, including this one the next day where he reflected on the "huge success" of their double booking the previous day, including a full house for the nightcap. July will see your local 225 exclusively play private or out of town events, starting with a Canada Day gig in Chapleau (3½ hours north of here) on July 1st, as teased in this "ranting rockstar" video, and this one where Greg shows off their hotel rooms for the night. They called it "a fantastic show for a fantastic crowd", so it's good to see that the trip went well!

"The Dirty Three" played their next gig 50 minutes southeast of here in Johnson Township (outside of Desbarats) on Saturday, July 4th, which was a private event at the Caribou Log Cabin Resorts there, hence why we didn't cover it on the SMS. Greg even apologized for the lack of media in this video, saying that "certain private parties should stay private", but things went well! For a second straight year, Bone Yard packed their things to play in Greg's hometown of Kirkland Lake (7½ hours northeast of here!) this past Saturday, once again headlining the Stéphane Léveillé Memorial Poker Run motorcycle rally, a.k.a. the Leave No One Behind Ride for Veterans. Before heading home, Greg did another radio interview with CJKL 101.5 there (as per this "Ranting Rockstar" video), but as best as I can tell, the band has not posted that for on-demand streaming like they did last year. There is a video from the Kirkland Lake concert to check out though, so what's to see?

Sadly live-streamed (so you likely have until around August 11th to watch it), this comes from the Facebook page of the Royal Canadian Legion there, which is where the show took place this year and last. This sees Greg, Alex, and Warren covering The 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up?", which remains a mystifying cover choice for me, regardless of which rock band does it (I know it has been funny and a crowd pleaser, but the joke got old for me years and years ago). Well performed in spite of that, let alone the vertical camera angle, so give it a look below while you can! Bone Yard 225's next public show (aside from a private stag & doe set in two weeks) will be at Beck's on August 1st, and they are not playing Rotaryfest again this year.

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Even Flow, BookcluB, And Tym Morrison) & The M1 Concert Preview!!

An unusually busy Tuesday & Wednesday lie ahead in terms of hard rock/punk concerts in Sault Ontario, so today's post mostly focuses on them, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (two on SHORT NOTICE), so here's what you should know for this week and beyond!

Local punk/alternative cover sextet BookcluB have announced a new concert slate that kicks off TOMORROW NIGHT as the second band at this year's Summer Concert Series at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion! Apologies for the short notice, the full band schedule was only announced on social media on Thursday. Following an Elvis Presley tribute on Saturday, BookcluB (replacing Mid Life Crysis for unannounced reasons, source here) will kick off the usual Tuesday/Thursday evening schedule for this annual City of Sault Ste. Marie-booked concert series running through mid-August, and hopefully there's a good turnout under the big tent TOMORROW for this talented group and their often unexpected covers! The photo used by the City for official promotion is old, remember that ex-Hails guitarist Carmen Muto has replaced Brandon Ruch. TOMORROW's concert is FREE and all ages from 7:00-9:00 PM, as standard in this series.

9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy skies tomorrow (tent acknowledged) with temperatures of 26-27°, so please prepare for the warm and humid conditions even at this later point. The rest of BookcluB's summer calendar was (oddly) only announced via their Instagram page, and it includes their already-known Rotaryfest Stage 1 set next Saturday, plus shows coinciding with Downtown Street Party #3 and the returning Wolf Fest, so I'll hold comment on them pending full announcements from organizers. See above for more details, and here's BookcluB live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison has announced his annual return to The Mike Case Memorial Stage beside The Trading Post for another regular concert arrangement, and it actually began this past Wednesday, continuing THIS WEDNESDAY and running every Wednesday through mid-September! Apologies for missing Tym's Canada Day gig and for the short notice on show #2 THIS WEDNESDAY, I only heard about his return to the Mike Case Stage yesterday via his batch Facebook event page for this residency. Tym is a regular summer sight at the outdoor 1332 Great Northern Road stage beside the Big Moose Ice Cream Parlour, but this year, he is scheduled every Wednesday like clockwork for 2½ months, a schedule that is obviously weather permitting. As we usually do when Tym announces a glut of regularly scheduled shows at one venue at once, we'll go month by month for our calendar.

As such, his July 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th shows are all now listed, and we'll roll the August ones in later in the month. WEDNESDAY'S concert (as well as the rest of them, and last week's) runs from 6:30-8:30 PM with no age limit or cover charge. Be advised that 9&10 News is currently calling for a 60% chance of rain from 6-7:00 PM on WEDNESDAY at the tail end of likely rain from the morning onwards, so check with Tym and/or follow your preferred weather forecast if you are at all concerned (temperatures are projected to be 21°). Visit the above links for more details, apologies again for missing show #1 last week, and here's Tym live!

Before we wrap up this batch of mid-week concert previews, here's one more new show for the aforementioned Roberta Bondar Pavilion's Summer Concert Series, and in the only other scheduled show that crosses our genre radar, newer local Pearl Jam tribute band Even Flow will take the stage there on Tuesday, July 28th! Last seen at Downtown Street Party #1, this concert gives the Summer Concert Series an unusually grungy and alt-edged collection of covers from this talented supergroup, and if you've seen Rob, Steve, Cameron, Mike, and Derek in concert since their debut last fall, you know they have a good handle on Pearl Jam classics, including many cuts that aren't among the usual FM radio suspects! Of course, I do hope that the recent heatwave breaks well before this Tuesday evening concert at month's end, which is the fifth of eleven in the Summer Concert Series for 2026, so fingers crossed that it is cooler out!

Like with BookcluB there TOMORROW NIGHT, the Even Flow concert in three weeks is a FREE & all ages concert from 7:00-9:00 PM, and potential rain shouldn't screw things up given the tent. Visit the above links for more on Even Flow's next headlining date! 

Finally for today, we'll travel back to this week, as there's one more mid-week show to preview, albeit one that had lots of advance notice, as Calgary-based Motorhead tribute band M1 will play their second local concert on WEDNESDAY NIGHT at Beck's Bar! Fans of the British rock legends will remember seeing M1 debut here exactly 52 weeks prior to their return on Wednesday, and while this being mid-week again isn't ideal for many, at least it's not a school night for most! M1 don't exactly look like Motorhead, but they pay strong homage to Lemmy and crew with their take on their classic back catalog, so look for a fun night of gravelly vocals and fast rock & roll in their local encore! Like last year, they're easing into the metal ahead with an acoustic singer/guitarist as opener, with recent Dive Gastro Pub regular and Soo's Got Talent alum Arin Karki leading off on Wednesday.

Myself, I'd have a proper electric band to set the tone, but Arin does cover the occasional hard rock song, and hopefully he leaves a good impression beforehand! While last year's show had no cover, this year's will cost $5 at the door, which still beats what Crazy Babies cost! Arin leads off the night at 7:00 PM, and this is a 19+ concert as usual. Visit the above links for more on what should be a fun concert for Motorhead fans, and here's M1 live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (T.N.T. & Tarnished), The Wheelhouse Concert Preview, And More!!

Before we get into today's post, just two updates regarding this weekend's concert previews. First, while I'm not covering the shows here because the band never really crossed our genre radar, classic rock cover band Jus' Chillin are reuniting to play at Reggie's Place this weekend, as per members' personal Facebook postings. Jus' Chillin folded in the spring of 2023 so they could form Generations alongside ex-Obsession singer Valerie Powley, so this would imply that Valerie is unavailable this weekend, hence Pierre and Tony bringing the old band back for a couple of nights. Hopefully the shows go well! As for TONIGHT'S Poutine Feast lineup at the Downtown Plaza, the previously advertised Riverside Stasis and Jeffrey Wright were joined by classic rock cover veterans Encore and Riverside Stasis bassist Rob Speers, who has played live often as an acoustic solo singer/guitarist since The Wyld Stallyns disbanded in mid-2024.

Our source for the full lineup is You Belong SSM's Facebook page, and it remains to be seen if their will be an advertised live music program during Kids Day tomorrow (Canada/Morocco World Cup game acknowledged), but Sunday's final day seems unlikely given that there will be a marathon of Disney/Pixar movies on the big screen. Whether you're going for poutine, live music, or both, have fun downtown this weekend, and stay cool and hydrated! Now, here's the rest of this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Sault Michigan classic/hard rock quartet Tarnished will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino for Fourth Of July weekend concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows have been advertised on Kewadin's entertainment page in recent weeks, and while I've got to get better at covering shows listed there, the band only acknowledged the shows on their Facebook page earlier today. TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S shows are kinda sorta makeup dates for Tarnished in terms of St. Ignace at large, as they dropped out of their planned outdoor car show gig this past Saturday for unannounced reasons. It's good to see the full band back in action a week later, and if you're one to dodge summer heat & humidity, you won't mind TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S shows being indoors! You may want to duck out to see fireworks TOMORROW though.

Note that Tarnished will make the 2 hour drive west to Manistique on Sunday to play at the grand opening of The Hive Commons there, and while this AI-generated poster only directly reflects on the tour date, note that the Manistique show will be 1980s themed and will feature a set mostly (if not entirely) themed around 1980s rock covers, so will that focus bleed into the St. Ignace shows TONIGHT & TOMORROW? The local dates are 21+ affairs with no cover and 9:00 PM start times. Stay tuned for more from Tarnished next week, and here they are live!

Next up, newer Sault Ontario acoustic classic/hard rock duo T.N.T. (Travis Sharpe & Terry Eaton) will return to Beck's Bar for a matinee concert on SUNDAY! Again, apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced via the venue's weekly Monday entertainment schedule drop on their Facebook page, and I don't believe Trav(is) or Terry have launched a social media or band page yet to reflect their duo outings. Fans last saw the Soundcheck side project at Beck's in late May, and while I don't see this always promoted as taking place during SUNDAY matinees there, Beck's hosts weekly euchre tournaments on that day of the week, so if you play euchre, you'll get some live hard and classic rock covers with your card gaming! Terry & Travis will rock the stage on SUNDAY at 3:00 PM (karaoke is the nightcap there as usual), with a 19+ age limit and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and we will let you know if any public videos of T.N.T. surface online!

Lastly for known hard rock concert previews this weekend, here's a show that had lots of advance notice, as revived local classic/hard rock cover trio Wheelhouse will play their second show since coming back TOMORROW NIGHT at the aforementioned Beck's Bar! The group from former Stiffler's Mom bandmates Michael Davies & Jon Ferguson (now plus Eden Plague/Golden Scoundrels drummer Johnny Belanger) made their relaunch at Beck's on May 15th, and they quickly announced plans to play a Fourth of July gig at the former Vibe Lounge. As revealed on Johnny's personal Facebook page at the time, this poster for the concert was lovingly drawn with pencil crayons rather than using generative AI, which I appreciate! The band's own prior usage of AI to make their initial Facebook photos though, I'll let you assess that at your leisure. Videos and "Stories" of Wheelhouse so far point to a fun live band with heavy covers, so don't miss out!

The matinee performer tomorrow is former Thin Ice frontman Nathan Albidone with a solo country set, though remember, he has a full 4 hour block from 3:00-7:00 PM and isn't "opening" for Wheelhouse, who take the stage tomorrow night at 9:00 PM. This is also a 19+ event and it has no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on Wheelhouse's second show of the year, and here they are live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! 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!

Saturday Hard Rock/Punk Concert Previews, Plus New Live Videos!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for not being able to get About:Blank's late notice Art In The Park acoustic matinee set at Moloney's Alley today into a regular post, but alas, they only announced their involvement on their Facebook page this morning, and they were not on the AI poster promoting the music lineup there. I'd have happily covered it here had it had been announced even yesterday, but I did get the word out on our Facebook page, at least. From here, we leave Sault Michigan to cap off this weekend's hard rock concert previews in Sault Ontario, including new videos from two of the bands in question, so here's what you should know!

We'll pick things back up at Beck's Bar TOMORROW NIGHT, and while Stones & Crows are debuting there tonight, Saturday belongs to Bone Yard 225, as the southern hard rock trio are playing a standard 9:00 PM nightcap concert and doubling up by going "uncorked" in the 3:00-7:00 PM matinee timeslot as well! The extended eight hour concert (with two hour gap) is so they can be the musical entertainment at the Biker Rights Organization's annual Shoot & Scoot motorcycle rally, which starts at the newer A&W on Great Northern Road and ends at Beck's (relocating from The Moose Lodge this year). Also at Beck's, attendees can expect a barbecue and concert action from "the dirty three", but visit the above links for what to expect at the rally, which does involve some field target shooting en route! Bone Yard have long been supporters of motorcycle riding and the B.R.O., and hopefully there's a good crowd for acoustic show #1 and plugged-in show #2!

Greg, Alex, and Warren's marathon day will have no cover charge for general attendees, and this is a 19+ event. Just two weeks removed from their last Beck's stop (which was their first electric gig in three months), hopefully things go smoothly for their southern fried hard rock originals and covers tomorrow, and that they use the 7:00-9:00 break wisely before recorking! Visit the above links for more details on your local 225's double concert and/or the Shoot & Scoot, and for a preview, here's a brand new live-streamed video of them live at the Queen Street Cruise last week! This comes from the outdoor waterfront portion of their Saturday gig during the car show (placed again near Montana's), and it features the guys covering Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music". It's a lively cover played in nice weather conditions, but the video is vertical, and it comes in midway through the first chorus.

Unfortunately, the band representative shot this video as a live-stream for their Facebook page, not a standard video, so as per Facebook's current guidelines, it will vanish from Facebook around July 20th unless they convert it to a regular video or re-upload it.  Give it a watch (while you can?) below, and click here for Greg's own highlight/behind the scenes video from the Cruise proper! No music there, but all of the band make appearances.

Next up, an intriguing package of newer and not-as-frequently seen local bands will join forces at Blaster Powerhouse TOMORROW NIGHT thanks to Underground Events SSM! Ska punk quartet A.S.D.P. (led by promoter Mikhal Muto) will play a rare headlining set tomorrow at the former Soo Blaster, while local metal trio The BAG will return to the site of their album release party in their first show since then tomorrow as the co-headliners, returning the favour after A.S.D.P. opened for them in April. Local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will end a 15 month stage hiatus when they take the stage tomorrow themselves, and it's great to see them back after way too long! Opening tomorrow is the live debut of Riverside Stasis, the new band from Handsome Sandwich, Raincourt, HeadFirst, Jack Spades, and Stones & Crows alumni. The talent is certainly there, but how will things go for their first live concert set?

Admission is $15 via advance tickets from the performers or at The Rad Zone, but the price will jump to $20 at the door. This is an all ages event that will begin tomorrow night at 8:00 PM. Definitely a solid lineup of newer and established local talent that hard rock and punk fans won't want to bypass, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and in lieu of a publically embeddable video of A.S.D.P. (remember, their social media presence is slight), here's The BAG live at the same venue!

Finally for known hard rock concerts this weekend, we'll head north to The Water Tower Pub, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will take the stage for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen at Minelli's 75th anniversary festival this past weekend, this will effectively be a rescheduling of their cancelled April 18th show at The Water Tower Pub due to an unspecified family emergency. Exactly 10 weeks later, they're back, and hopefully there's lots of fun classic and hard rock favourites from Valerie, Joe, Pierre, and Tony once again! I do not know who is playing at this venue tonight, but tomorrow's show will be at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. For a preview, we have some brand new videos of Generations live outside of The Marconi Hall for the Minelli's festival! Shared to the band's Facebook group in a batch post, the videos were shot by drummer Tony Santoro's wife Dawn.

She filmed them covering John Mellencamp's "Authority Song", Brandi Carlile's "The Story", Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", Bryan Adams' "Summer Of '69", and as embedded below, Nazareth's "Turn On Your Reciever". All have Valerie Powley on lead vocals except "Authority Song", which had Tony singing. While the videos are sadly all vertical (you don't have to accentuate the pavement like that when people aren't even standing there), the performances are sound, and this looks like a well staged event fitting a 75th anniversary! Visit the above links to see all of Dawn's videos, and turn on your receiver so you can check out the cover below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished) Plus The Peril And Stones & Crows Concert Previews!!

This packed slate of hard rock concert previews marches on with a second Thursday post, this time looking at SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS in the E.U.P., more Michigan concert action related to a big ongoing event this weekend, and a Sault Ontario debut concert, but let's head to Mackinac County to kick things off! Our previews of announced hard rock shows in Sault Ontario on Saturday will be in our next post.

Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover band Tarnished will return to St. Ignace for a second straight year of St. Ignace Car Show-timed live music on SATURDAY! Apologies for the short notice, these two(!) shows were first announced on the band's Facebook page. Last year, Tarnished played at The Driftwood Sports Bar during this annual event, but they will actually be playing two shows elsewhere, and they appear to be linked to the car show proper for show #1, a matinee gig from 2:00-5:00 PM outdoors at McGregor Lot, a parking lot behind the former Shell station at 200 South State Street (some vendors from the car show will be set up there, but the actual car show is spread out through town). After things wrap up in St. Ignace, Alex & Josh will disembark from Chris and Ron, taking the 45 minute drive north to Brimley for a rare acoustic duo concert at Bay Mills Resort & Casino that night!

This show will reportedly be in the "Lakeside Lounge", which has been given as the name for their location of their concerts and karaoke nights this month rather than the Back Bay Grill & Games. "Your perfect up north retreat" finished renovations and expansions in January, and it does seem like they're shifting concerts to the new lounge (all of which have been acoustic, for what it's worth) at least for the summer. Hopefully things go well for half of Tarnished there on SATURDAY NIGHT! The Lakeside Lounge show in Brimley is a 21+ affair at 8:00 PM, the car show matinee in St. Ignace is all ages, and neither has an announced cover charge, though click here for full details on what to expect at the car show. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for sunny skies and temperatures hovering around 74° (23° Celsius), so for an outdoor concert, you can't ask for much nicer summer weather than that!

I wish Tarnished had announced their two gigs on SATURDAY with more advance notice, especially with the hype around the St. Ignace Car Show's 50th anniversary, but hopefully this talented hard rock group (in full form in the afternoon or unplugged in Brimley) have a solid pair of concerts with attendances to match! Visit the above links for more details on both, and for a preview, here's Tarnished live and unplugged a few years ago!

Next up, there's one more familiar hard rock cover band rocking the St. Ignace Car Show weekend, as Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at their Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Peril haven't hyped up the car show angle in their own promotion, but Jeff, Howard, and Brooks landed two key timeslots at the casino, as Kewadin hosted and sponsored the cruise night tonight and will be hosting the after-party on Saturday, so it is somewhat of a hub for official events outside of showing/driving the classic cars. If you're not into the car show or would prefer to stay closer to the Soo, they'll be back at The Rapids Lounge in two weeks, but Peril should get a sizable crowd for both of this weekend's gigs, and hopefully their hard hitting and crowd friendly covers go over as well as ever! These are 21+ shows at 9:00 PM with no cover. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Peril live!

Finally for weekend concert preview post #2, we'll head north to Sault Ontario, where new local southern hard rock trio Stones & Crows will make their live concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT at Beck's Bar! This new band features Jupiter Marvelous guitarist/ex-Electric Church frontman Spencer Pine (a.k.a. "Bukky VanZant"), Floor Between Us bassist Nicholas Gingras ("Nikki Crow"), and Riverside Stasis/ex-HeadFirst drummer Anthony Boudreau ("Tony Stone"), which is definitely a promising lineup! Stones & Crows have not yet posted public media of them performing in any capacity, but they claim to "hit with a modern hard rock sound rooted in blues & grit", which sure sounds like an extension of Electric Church to me, and it will be good to see Spencer fronting a live band again! Remember, when Beck's does book live bands on Fridays, it's never the band playing the Saturday nightcap, and we'll preview Bone Yard 225's show there on Saturday in our next post.

Just to clarify something, I am aware that Spencer is the owner of local internet radio network Tomahawk 141, and I'd love to talk about it on here, but since I belatedly discovered it (when Stones & Crows launched), the rock/blues station has never worked for me. If Spencer gets it back online, I'll let you know! Tomorrow's Beck's concert will see them "rock the night" and "all night long" (assuming that the night only runs from 9:00 PM-1:00 AM), this is a 19+ event, and there's no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for our Bone Yard, Generations, and A.S.D.P. previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Hellrager & Krash), A New Local Band, And More News & Notes!!

Another packed news post is ready to check out for this Tuesday night, and it includes some recent shorter updates, two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this summer with a common band, and first, a new addition to our links & coverage, so here's what you should know!

We have a new-ish local band to add to our active links, and they are local alt-rock quartet The Reeves! You may recognize this band from their debut set at Toystock in November, but at the time, I wasn't sure of their general sound, aside from what their predecessor bands played. The Reeves are basically the successors to 2023-2025 alternative band The Haze (f.k.a. Skinbox), with singer/guitarist/synth player Brad Irwin (ex-Gnaeus) and guitarist Steve Edwards (ex-Pixo Control/Vol.) returning from that group. The rhythm section here is filled out by former Long Shot bandmates Adam Dawe and Jeremy Ganuelas on bass and drums, and it is good to see them back in a new project! While sound descriptions of Skinbox/The Haze pointed to them playing alternative/indie rock and Arctic Monkeys covers, the write-up on Rotaryfest's website says that The Reeves "combine elements of hard rock/blues and other genres to create their own unique vibe".

No word on if the name is an allusion to small town mayors, celebrities named Reeve/Reeves, or some other reference, but their second public concert will see them as the first scheduled band at Rotaryfest Stage 2 on Saturday, July 18th, and their set will reportedly feature "a collection of songs that will become their debut EP". No media of The Reeves is publically streamable yet, but this is a talented group on paper, and they do have descriptions pointing to a heavier sound than The Haze/Skinbox had, though be advised that Steve or Brad took down The Haze's social media pages when that band broke up. Stay tuned for more from them when things go public!

Next up, relaunched local death metal quartet Eden Plague have announced two upcoming indoor concerts that they'll be rocking out at, so besides Rotaryfest, when can you see the former Bear Hunters next? The first of the two will be on Tuesday, July 28th, when they make their debut appearance at Beck's Bar, and the headliners will be Cornwall hardcore metal band Hellrager in their first regional concert since playing at the Northern Vibe Festival in 2023! That's not for a lack of trying, as they dropped out of the last two Northern Vibes, but it will be good to see Hellrager in city limits for a change! Nice punishing sound that is reminiscent of bands like Clutch and Motorhead, and remember that guitarist Jay "Beard" Sarrazin was a member of Spades GT from 2022-2023 (playing with them at Northern Vibe 2022 as a fill-in bassist). He previously came to the Soo with his old band Caym twice in the mid-2010s.

Joining Eden Plague as openers are local metal quintet With Gunfire (the former Sault Side Squad) in their first concert of 2026 and first since finally launching their own Facebook page. Hopefully their recent break has been fruitful towards their promising original slate! Promoted by Eden Plague drummer Johnny Belanger, this stop on Hellrager's Jurassic Punk tour will have a 19+ age limit, no cover charge(!), and an early runtime of 6:00-10:00 PM, which is just as well given that it's a work/school night. This should be a fun one for metalheads across the board, with lots of familiar faces, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

The other new Eden Plague show ahead will be at Blaster Powerhouse on Sunday, August 16th, and apologies for the almost month-long delay in this making the site. Compared to the metal show three weeks prior, this is more of a genre hybrid event as put on by promoters Underground Events SSM, and it will be headlined by Saskatoon "D-beat hardcore punk" band Krash in their local debut. If you like down and dirty hardcore punk with aggressive vocals, Krash will deliver the goods, and they should take names when they rock the former Soo Blaster in two months! Note that the Facebook event page claim that "we're getting our first Saskatchewan band in the Sault!" clearly only refers to Underground Events SSM bookings, as The Sheepdogs played here in April, among other bands from there in the past. Promoter Mikhal Muto's ska punk/"crackrocksteady" band A.S.D.P. are slotted ahead of Eden Plague in the band order here, and may be the last band if you believe the poster.

While not a hardcore punk act, it's only natural that Adam Smith Death Parade get in on this one! A 7:00 PM start time is advertised on the Facebook event page for this all ages concert, and tickets cost $10 in advance (I presume at the venue and through the local openers, as I haven't seen an online ticket sale page). The door charge will jump to $15, and given that this too is on a work/school night, Mikhal pledged that the show will end early due to that. Add another intriguing concert to the pile for your summer plans, just don't krash when driving to Blaster! Visit the above links for more details on both upcoming Eden Plague shows!

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 show name:

 

• While not yet confirmed by name within the band's slim social media presence, it looks like former One Shot guitarist Tucker Lidstone has joined the aforementioned A.S.D.P., making them a quartet. Tucker had previously performed at common folk punk-leaning events with frontman Mikhal Muto, and has been pictured in recent photos with the band, including at the Write-Ups show at The Speak Easy in May (source here). No word on if he is the guest guitarist "Keagles" from their debut album "Atom Bombs & Lemonade", but hopefully Tucker is a solid addition to their live roster! 
• Remember when a mystery act named "Benny's Acoustic Thing" was booked to open the Saturday bill at The Northern Vibe Festival last year? Well, that was supposed to be Ben "Boom" Poitras, the singer/bassist for the aforementioned Hellrager, but he and the band both dropped out of last year's festival after the heavy rainstorm severely damaged the Forest Stage overnight. It would have been interesting to hear how his acoustic thing sounded, but alas, blame Mother Nature! Thanks to former Forest Stage curator J.D. Pearce for confirming who Benny was.
• This is old news now, but it looks like the Sunday Night Vinyl Series ended on 104.3 The Fox and their sister Rogers Radio rock stations at the end of 2025, as did the conceit of on-air theme weeks (which always tied in with that week's album of choice). The 8:00 PM series featured Howard Mandshein from 92.1 CITI in Winnipeg spinning a classic rock album from front to back while discussing its backstory and legacy. While inconsistent depending on musical preferences, the Sunday Night Vinyl Series was an informative listen during The Fox's first year! I would have liked to seen newer bands/albums selected though, as well as more Canadian content.

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!