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 ALERT (Bone Yard 225), Related News, And Toystock Lineup Updates!!

Before we get into this post, I wanted to profusely apologize for forgetting to preview Hornepayne classic/hard rock quartet Damage Case's concert at Soo Blaster on Saturday night in this weekend's concert previews. How that slipped me by, especially given the homecoming of bassist Will Tholberg, I'll never know, but note that 705Live Sound Co.'s Facebook post about the show from yesterday morning erroneously implies that the show was last night (it was 100% one night only on Saturday). Hopefully Will and crew had a great show, and that they come back our way in the near future! 

Local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will end 2025 by headlining the New Year's Eve party on Wednesday, December 31st at The Moose Lodge at 543 Trunk Road! Definitely an unexpected locale for "the dirty three", but The Moose Lodge has sporadically come up as a concert host for SMS purposes, most recently when Soundcheck played for Terry Eaton's Great Northern Opry induction in June 2023, and prior to that, in 2015. Curiously, Bone Yard have yet to publicize their involvement in this event on their own social media, but this is Toystock week, so they are definitely pre-occupied getting that rolling (more on that in a bit). This is a proper ticketed 19+ New Year's bash, complete with a cash bar, dinner, and more seasonal frivolities, so definitely keep tabs with the lodge for full details on how to ring in 2026 in style! As such, tickets run for $50 and you can buy them at the lodge or by contacting lodge535@shaw.ca.

Bone Yard proper take the stage at 9:00 PM, but doors open at 6:00 PM with dinner at 7:00 PM. This should be a fun event with all of the year-end frills you'd hope for (especially at that cost), so visit the above links for more on Bone Yard 225's last concert of the year! While we're on the subject, let's touch on some other recent Bone Yard updates while they've been taking a pre-Toystock break from the stage! As you may recall, a flash mob of over a dozen women dressed like Helen Roper from Three's Company showed up when the guys headlined at Reggie's Place last November, and the gang of Mrs. Ropers made their way to their Esquire Club show on November 8th! Your photo proof is on the left, courtesy of their Facebook page. What the end game of the Mrs. Ropers is, who's to say, but it's fun for classic sitcom fans! Two days later, they announced that their single "Fuck!" has been re-released on major streaming services with a new name.

Whether it will retain this name on their forthcoming CD, I don't know, but on Spotify and such, it's now called "The F Word", possibly in response to the title getting flagged for its blatant expletive. Nothing else has changed, but keep the new name in mind! A Facebook video that same day shows Greg Simpson playing a.... unique pair of drums, while this vertical video from five days later teases that they were "back at it", and based on the B.T.O. song as backing music, "takin' care of business". implying that they were recording in studio again. Later that day, guitarist Alex D'Ettore and bassist Warren Reville starred in this video where they teased that they "re-did something" while Greg was hunting, but they didn't want to send it yet because Greg was asleep at the time. I assume this relates to their album, but I'm sure we will see what they meant in due course!

Most other updates weren't directly related to new band activity, though embedded below is a video shot the night that the Mrs. Ropers brigade crashed their Reggie's show last year, and it features Greg and Alex trying out hula hoops at 2:00 AM after the show ended. Fun palate cleanser for sure, so give it a watch below, and stay tuned for more from your local 225!

We'll close today's post with clarifications (if not 100% ones) on the two mystery bands playing at the twelfth annual Christmas Cheer benefit concert Toystock at The Grand Gardens North on Sunday! On Thursday, organizers began sharing info on their Facebook page on "the 10 bands of Toystock" in scheduled performance order, which meant that Saturday's post was about the debuting Sunday & The Broken Hearts (the late replacements for Redundant). Toystock proper haven't said anything about band lineups yet, but the band is reportedly an "old-school rock & blues outfit" that plays "smoke-drenched blues, soul-soaked 70's R&B, and rock & roll" with "the spirit of the vinyl era". Shares of the post imply that Eight Seventies/Dark Eyed Junko singer/guitarist Jason Gasparetto will be leading this group, but we await fuller details. Likely not hard rock-leaning, but there should be lots of talent here! Now, how about The Reeves?

They won't get their "10 bands of Toystock" write-up until Friday, but personal Facebook postings suggest that The Reeves are successors to 2023-2024 Toystock performers The Haze (f.k.a. Skinbox), with singer/guitarists Steve Edwards (ex-Pixo Control) & Brad Irwin (ex-Gnaeus) now joined by bassist Adam Dawe and drummer Jeremy Ganuelas, who were the rhythm section of mid-2010s hard rock quartet Long Shot. The Haze were an indie/alternative rock band, so will The Reeves lean to that, or members' heavier past band work? We'll know more soon! Stay tuned for more on Toystock in our preview this weekend, and for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Damage Case & A Battle Of The Bands), Plus A New Full Concert Set Video!!

Before we dive into weekend concert previews, here's some more recent updates on the SMS, including a new video discovery of a newer band in concert, and two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know!

Local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith and his Big Finish Band will reportedly compete at the 705 Live Sound Co. Battle of the Bands at the Downtown Plaza on Thursday, September 25th! An official performer lineup has not yet been publicized, but Mike's Facebook page confirmed their involvement back in July. It's entirely possible that they'll be guest non-competition performers given the band's stature, but much of The Big Finish Band has battle experience pre-pandemic in groups like Haggith, The Din, and (as bassist Matt Fronzi knows well) Gnaeus, who won two local battles in a three week span in 2015. If Mike & crew are competing, they'll be among the favourites for sure! As of September 8th, organizers were still seeking bands to sign up to compete, so click here if you want to try to get in on this late. Bands must have 2+ members, all aged 16 or older, and bands must play three original songs (no covers) within a 15 minute timeslot. Unusually, the judging criteria and points system are given publically on the sign-up forms.

A $200 voucher awaits the winning band, and while that may not seem like a lot, this is year #1 for this battle, and we literally haven't had one in Sault Ontario in over eight years. We also await word on who the judges are, let alone a possible admission fee for attendees (this should be all ages), but this has a 7:00 PM start time, and I have no idea if there are provisions for inclement weather given the locale, covered stage acknowledged. I apologize for the lack of plugs for the battle in recent months, but with no lineup announcement yet, things have been relatively slow, so I wanted to say something while there was still some time. Visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more details!

Next up, Hornepayne classic/hard rock quartet Damage Case will make their local concert debut on Saturday, November 22nd at Soo Blaster! It's rare when we hear of a band from Hornepayne (4½ hours north of here) performing in Sault Ste. Marie, but Damage Case have the look and talent, and you can see them ripping through a nice selection of heavier-leaning rock covers on their Facebook page, so do give them a listen to see what they bring to the table! There will be a familiar face to some readers in this band, as former local metal guitarist Will Tholberg is Damage Case's bassist. We haven't covered him on here since his black metal project Abhorrent Forest fell inactive in the late 2010s, so whether you knew him from that work or his earlier bands like Despised Eyes and Death Rise, welcome Will back home in style in two months! Steve Lemieux (who I believe is another Hornepayne musician) will open this concert, so keep him in mind that night as well.

This all ages show takes place at 8:00 PM on November 22nd with a cover charge of $5, and there will be advance tickets on sale. Touring Ontario rock bands from points north or west are not commonly seen on stages here, so it will be neat to see how Damage Case go over in two months! Visit the above links for more details on this intriguing concert!

We'll close this post with an extended look at a band that we haven't had a lot to say about since their debut, namely newer local metal band The Sault Side Squad! As you may recall, the S.S.S. debuted at the all-local metal Crucifest replacement gig in Leeburn in July of last year, but after a year+ of support gigs, they still don't have an online page on social media. In case you need a refresher, their lineup includes former As It Stands singer and local rapper Justin "Nadj" Pregent, A Dire Setback/Big Finish Band guitarist Chris Nielsen, former Jack Spades/Sativa Rose guitarist Anthony Orazietti, Stoned To Deaf/The Haze bassist Jordan Wardlaw, and former Wyld Stallyns/Soldiers of Misfortune drummer Jonas Gasperas, who was Anthony's bandmate in Winkstinger. Unless you saw them live, that's as much as has been made public about this stacked supergroup, but a 45 minute full set video has now been linked publically, so what's to know there?

The video below is technically unlisted, but it was given on the official Facebook event page for the Broke & Hungry benefit concert at Beck's Bar in December as their link, so it's not a hidden secret anymore. This comes from their set opening for Cross Dog in the basement of Discover The Canvas Studio at 317 Wellington Street West (yes, a tattoo parlor) last October, and was filmed by former Honest Work/Nebraska Arms drummer Adam Sauve for his YouTube channel, though it is unlisted. The 45 minute set stats with covers of Pantera's "Cowboys From Hell" and Ozzy Osbourne's "Bark At The Moon", before we get an original whose title sounds like (but likely isn't) "My Personnel". Pantera fans get more love next via "Fucking Hostile", followed by another original, possibly named "Silence Is Golden". Another Pantera cover is played next, namely "I'm Broken", followed by The Deftones' "My Own Summer (Shove It)".

The set closed with one more original, which got an introduction but not an announced title. Why this video has been unlisted for almost a year, I don't know, but it's a strong sampling of what this talented quintet has up their sleeves! As It Stands comparisons will be inevitable given Justin's presence, but this band leans far more metal than hardcore (especially early-1990s Pantera), and they have the chops to tackle whatever they're thrown, and it'll be interesting to hear how they sound nowadays! Give the full Sault Side Squad (get it, it sounds like Suicide Squad?) video a watch below, and I wonder if Adam has more unlisted videos from this night?

That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison) & Labour Day Weekend Concert Previews!!

We have just one weekend left of the true summer season (equinoxes aside) before fall schedules begin and school re-opens, and in a weekend concert preview sense, we're going out quietly after last weekend's packed schedule required five posts to preview all scheduled hard rock and punk concerts in the area! Barring late notice confirmations that could still come, we only need one post this weekend, and there's no festivals or special charity events to take note of on this Labour Day long weekend. Here's what you should know in rough chronological order, starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS alongside two of them!

Joining his previously listed Mike Case Memorial Stage gig outside of The Trading Post TOMORROW NIGHT and his matinee on SATURDAY at Misty's Fifties, local classic/hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will conclude(?) his summer arrangements at both venues with concerts next month! Tym has since clarified that his run of outdoor shows at the Mike Case Stage will only run for two final Fridays in September (the 6th and 13th) before the seasonal stage beside the Big Moose Ice Cream Parlour closes for 2024, so despite initially listing shows after then, do not expect him there beyond Friday the 13th! However, the former Nostalgic Band frontman will be back at Misty's on Second Line West for every Saturday in September (the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th). Being indoors, there's no seasonality to worry about there, but Tym has not listed October dates there or hinted at an extended run, so we'll keep you posted if he does return there beyond next month!

Before those six dates, Tym will rock both venues with his classic and hard rock covers tomorrow & Saturday, so keep both in mind for your long weekend entertainment! None of the referenced shows have a cover charge, with Trading Post gigs being at 7:00 PM with no age limit, and Misty's Fifties matinees being at 4:00 PM and 19+. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy skies with 19° temperatures tomorrow evening, and the forecasted thunderstorms should dry up before 7:00. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here and here for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live last year!

Next up, we'll head to The Water Tower Pub for the first of two hard rock-leaning cover bands to play there this weekend (the venue never hosts the same band on consecutive nights), as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will set up shop there TOMORROW NIGHT for another "uncorked" concert! Fresh off of this year's Dragonfly Run on Sunday, tomorrow's one-nighter will see Bone Yard go acoustic for the first time since they last rocked the Great Northern Road nightclub last month, and will be their first of two straight unplugg.... sorry, "uncorked" gigs, preceding a Gateway Casino stop next week. Hopefully this proves to be another entertaining night of stripped down covers from Greg, Alex, and Warren, so keep their return in mind! This show is a 19+ affair with no cover charge and an 8:00 PM start time. It is worth noting that Bone Yard 225 have already confirmed that they'll back for Dragonfly Run III at The Grand Gardens next year as well!

We're way too soon to be listing 2025 concerts on the SMS, but this has been confirmed to return to The Grand Gardens on August 25th on the band's social media and on this YouTube highlight video of bikers leaving for the ARCH benefit rally on Sunday (as best as I can tell, the backing audio is not played by Bone Yard). The Dragonfly Run is a great event for a great cause, so fingers crossed that all goes smoothly for next year! For now, see above for more on their acoustic Water Tower Pub show tomorrow, and for a preview, here's your local 225 live!

As for the band playing at The Water Tower Pub on SATURDAY NIGHT, that would be local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck! Not counting 3/4ths of their lineup's guest turn with The Hoovers at the ARCH Run this past weekend, this will be Soundcheck's first concert since rocking Echo Bay last Friday, and their first show at The Water Tower Pub in two months. Unlike Bone Yard 225, Soundcheck's shows at the Great Northern Road venue are fully electric, so if that is your preference, head down to see the guys' entertaining blend of genres and covers at this familiar central locale on Saturday! Yes, we will have more on their upcoming Esquire Club gigs in a post on the site soon. Like with Bone Yard, the Soundcheck show on Saturday has an 8:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more on this one-nighter, and here's Soundcheck live!

Finally for this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, we'll head downtown to Shooters Downstairs Lounge, where local hard rock quintet HeadFirst are slated to return for one night only THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! While the band hasn't freshly plugged this show on social media in the last two months, it is listed on their summer season concert calendar from June, and will be their first show at the Dennis Street nightclub since dropping out of their planned August 17th show there. Assuming that their lack of promotion for Saturday's gig isn't a bad sign, hopefully their hard rocking originals and covers find a solid audience once again at Shooters this weekend! Also, just as minor clarification, the YouTube "Shorts" video of drummer Anthony Boudreau dancing at the ARCH Run in his work clothes was indeed to Bourbon Blue's cover of Men Without Hats' "The Safety Dance". They just dubbed in the original song to give it a wider reach.

Thanks to frontman Red Jettison for mentioning that to me, and even letting me see the raw video in Facebook Messenger! A one-nighter due to Shooters' Friday DJ nights this year, Saturday's HeadFirst concert has a 19+ age limit, no cover, and a likely 9:30 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's HeadFirst live (and yes, our review of "Head Trauma" will hit the site on Saturday!)

That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new news post 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 (Tym Morrison) Plus The Bone Yard 225 Concert Previews!!

As we end the month of May and enter June 2024, this weekend's hard rock concert previews straddle the transition from month to month. It's not a busy weekend compared to recent weeks, but due to a heap of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (two on SHORT NOTICE) concerning an artist playing this weekend, I have to break up this weekend's previews into two posts. As such, HeadFirst and Rhythm & Brews, plus any further late notice confirmations, will come up in our next post hitting the site either tonight or tomorrow morning, so stay tuned! Now, here's what you should know to start off this weekend (and beyond!)

Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison has announced a pile of upcoming concerts for the summer season, starting with returns to  The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post TOMORROW NIGHT and Misty's Fifties on SATURDAY! Apologies for the short notice on both of this weekend's shows, they were only announced on Monday via their respective official Facebook event pages linked here and here. As has become a tradition post-pandemic, Tym will bring his acoustic rock show back to The Mike Case Stage this summer now that it's open for the summer, but this year, the arrangement will see him play there every Friday at 7:00 PM through the end of September! No breaks or unbooked Fridays this year, so keep Tym's shows at 1332 Great Northern Road in mind before this stage closes for the year in four months! Of course, these shows are outdoors, and thusly, weather permitting.

As for Misty's Fifties, Tym had been booked to play there every second Saturday in recent months, with the last shows of that run scheduled to be on June 8th and 22nd, but clearly his shows at the Second Line West venue have went well, so his run there has been ramped up! Along with a short notice return THIS SATURDAY in what was originally an off day, he will also be playing at Misty's on June 15th, and will similarly return there (almost) weekly through at least the end of September! The only exception on the Misty's side of things is Saturday, July 6th, and while I believe I know why he's not playing that day, we await public confirmation. In terms of holidays, Tym will be pulling double duty on the Canada Day, Civic Holiday, and Labour Day long weekends via these shows. Lastly in terms of Tym's summer concert calendar, he will also return to The Dive Gastro Pub (née Low & Slow) for one night only on Thursday, July 4th!

That show is part of The Dive's new "Think It Over Thursday" series of rotating solo acoustic musicians, which Tym previously played in on May 9th, so keep his Queen Street East return in mind on the Fourth of July! No new Facebook event page was made for that show, it was just added to the May 9th one. For the sake of not overloading our concert calendar, I'll do what I did with Tym's past weekly arrangements and list these shows month by month. As such, only this weekend's and June's shows (plus his Dive show in July) are being listed for now, and I won't roll his weekly July-September gigs into the calendar until late the previous month. TOMORROW'S Mike Case Stage show (and beyond) are 7:00 PM events with no age limits or cover charges, SATURDAY'S Misty's concert (and the rest) are 4:00 PM matinees with no cover and 19+ age limits, and his Dive Gastro Pub show on July 4th is a 6:00 PM matinee.

Like three weeks ago, that should also be 19+ with no cover. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for 21° temperatures and mostly cloudy weather TOMORROW, so it should be a good night to check out Tym's classic and hard rock cover selection at The Trading Post! If you want cooler indoor temperatures this weekend, head to Misty's on SATURDAY, but in any event, visit the above links for more on Tym's packed summer concert calendar, and for a preview, here he is live! 

Next up, let's look at one more local band playing this weekend before we cover the rest in post #2, as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will take the stage TOMORROW NIGHT at The Water Tower Pub before heading downtown to Reggie's Place on SATURDAY NIGHT! This split weekend is due to The Water Tower Pub (where Bone Yard traditionally plays acoustic, or "uncorked") hosting different nightly bands, but I have not seen a social media reference to what band is playing there on Saturday. As such, Bone Yard 225 will plug their instruments in for a one-nighter at Reggie's on Saturday, so if you'd prefer to see them at this venue or in their electric splendour, you know where to go! For reference, HeadFirst (who have a one-nighter of their own at Shooters on Saturday) will fill in the Friday gap at Reggie's, and those previews will be in our next post.

You can take in Bone Yard 225's southern fried hard and classic rock covers (and select originals) tomorrow at The Water Tower Pub at 8:00 PM, while the Reggie's show on Saturday is at a normal 9:00 PM start time. Both shows are 19+ affairs with no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Bone Yard live!

That's all for now, but look for our HeadFirst and Rhythm & Brews concert previews (and more?) next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Nostalgic Band & Tym Morrison), Plus New Guitar Cover Videos!!

Here's another new post for your Friday morning reading, and it includes LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), and some new Van Halen-related guitar covers, so let's get things rolling!

Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will continue his summer series at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post for at least one more week TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only launched a Facebook event page for it early this morning. Like in his past seasonal runs at this venue, Tym only announced dates in advance up to August, with anything in September either announced on late notice or not at all, so TONIGHT's show being confirmed the day of is not shocking. The Mike Case Memorial Stage is definitely seasonal with a closing date in September, so this very well could be it for The Nostalgic Band's frontman there in 2023, but if he does happen to continue things there for another week, we'll let you know if at all possible. You can enjoy Tym's classic and hard rock cover selection TONIGHT at 7:00 PM with no age limits or cover charges.

Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for sunny/clear conditions at 13-14°, and while Tym has called off outdoor shows for being "too cold" due to warmer temperatures than this, the late announcement for what could be his 2023 finale bodes well for it going on, and note that sunset occurs midway through TONIGHT's concert, so the visuals will be increasingly unique! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, Tym's current classic metal cover trio The Nostalgic Band have announced a swath of upcoming concerts via three Facebook event pages covering multiple upcoming dates at three different local nightclubs through the end of the year! Tym, Dutch, and Chet will first return to Reggie's Place next weekend (Friday, September 15th & Saturday, September 16th) before returning there for another weekend on October 20th & 21st, so keep these in mind if you're up for seeing The Nostalgic Band at this Queen Street staple! The week prior, the guys will rock Shooters Downstairs Lounge for the first time (I believe) on Friday, October 13th, with a return booking on Friday, December 22nd (no word on possible seasonal ties for that one). These are both one-nighters, possibly confirming the extension of Shooters' Saturday DJ experiment, but we will keep you posted.

Finally, The Nostalgic Band will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for full weekends on November 3rd-4th and December 8th-9th, so if you'd prefer a west end date or two (or four), keep these gigs in mind! All of these shows are 19+ affairs with no cover charge, and all have 9:30 PM start times except at Shooters (9:00 PM). Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here, here, and here for more details!

We'll close today with some new videos, including a rare sight: local hard rock solo musician Mike McCleary performing on camera! Before that however, Mike has kept fans updated as to his recent quiet activity on his Facebook page over the summer. In July, he noted that he suffered a spinal injury and a separate "pretty significant health scare" that left him unable to play guitar for a few months, but he was able to play again at the time. For future plans, Mike hinted that he may make more instrumental music following how his "Fallout From Midnight Tides" EP turned out, while he is also open to collaborating with other artists. He was honest in noting that he has anxiety about performing live, hence why he isn't in a band and rarely performs concerts, but he is working to improve that. Last month, Mike reiterated that there's no timeline on his next material, and explained some of his issues with past songs of his.

He feels that many of his old songs were rushed and he was unhappy with the final product, which may explain why the vast majority of his back catalog was de-listed from streaming services. It sounds like he wants to take his time to make really good music by his standards, so hopefully things progress naturally! As for the video, it features him covering Van Halen's "Panama", and while he doesn't show much expression while playing, he lampshaded why in the description. Solidly done cover that shows off Mike's guitar abilities, and it's good to see that he's back playing guitar again, so give it a look below!

Finally for today, here's one more Eddie Van Halen guitar cover for you, this time his solo from Michael Jackson's "Beat It", courtesy of Silent 9 guitarist Ryan Robb! This was shared from his personal Facebook page to the band's Facebook page on Saturday, and if (like me) you were unfamiliar with Ryan from prior local bands, this will help show how he got the gig with Silent 9, as the solo is very well done! His shirt (which says "Good things are coming") could be a good omen for their headlining debut at The Water Tower Pub tomorrow night, but give his "Beat It" solo cover a look below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & Tym Morrison) & Most Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

Before we begin this weekend's concert previews, just a reminder that Sunday's Tantric-headlined concert with Tarnished, Heavy Lies The Crown, and others is in Gould City (90 minutes west of Sault Michigan) and thusly out of our coverage range. It'll be a huge show by non-Kewadin standards in the E.U.P., so keep it mind if you live out west or are up for a road trip! Now, let's start off our Labour Day weekend concert previews in Sault Ontario (Ripcordz aside, check back by tomorrow morning) with some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Nostalgic Band frontman Tym Morrison's weekly summer series at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post will indeed continue for at least one more week when he returns there TOMORROW EVENING! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard about TOMORROW'S booking via SooToday's events calendar, as the Facebook event page for his summer 2023 run there did not list anything past August. This is par for the course when it comes to Tym's past Mike Case Stage runs, where he'd only advertise shows in actual summer months, yet still play there for a week or two into September despite not being on his Facebook promotions. Perhaps September bookings are late additions? Assuming that last week's show wasn't called off for rain (he never announced as much on Facebook), TOMORROW'S Trading Post gig will be his eighth of this series, perhaps the final if none more get added.

As best as I can tell, The Nostalgic Band are not playing anywhere this weekend. TOMORROW'S solo acoustic concert has a 7:00 PM start time, no age limit, and no cover charge, while 9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy weather of  21-22°. We'll let you know if Tym's back at The Trading Post next week or not, but visit the above links for more on TOMORROW'S show there, and here's Tym playing some classic and hard rock covers live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for traditional concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page yesterday, and neither the band nor venue's Facebook pages have publically acknowledged them at press time. Regardless, Soundcheck are virtually running the place this week, as their usual jam night hosting duties take place tonight as usual (remember, we don't count jam nights as fully fledged "concerts" due to their unpredictability), while singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver was the Wing Wednesday headliner at Jay's yesterday via an acoustic country set. Despite the late notice, hopefully Soundcheck's fully fledged concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY help ring September in nicely!

As usual, these shows (Soundcheck's first non-jam night gigs there in almost a month) have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details on TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT's shows at the former Reggie's West, and here's Soundcheck live!

Now let's tackle a couple of shows that did have advance notice, starting with a road trip to St. Ignace, Michigan, where Traverse City classic metal trio Peril are advertised to play at American Legion Memorial Park as part of the town's Music By The Bay summer concert series TONIGHT! While advertised on Peril's concert calendar for this & last month as seen here, and listed on the concert series schedule linked here, take this concert with a grain of salt, as Peril haven't promoted it anew on their Facebook page despite plugging shows prior and since with new pictures and whatnot. Assuming that tonight's show is still on, it marks a very rare E.U.P. gig for Jeff and crew at a non-Kewadin venue, let alone an outdoor one on a Thursday, so if you want to check out their old school range of heavy covers, keep tonight's show in mind! 9&10 News is calling for sunny temperatures at 64-65°.

If things are still on for Peril tonight, then expect a 7:00 PM start time, no age limit, and no cover charge, much like Tym Morrison in Sault Ontario tomorrow. If Peril aren't playing tonight, you can next see them in the E.U.P. at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino in two weeks. See above for more details, and here's Peril live!

Finally for today's previews, let's head back to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! This will be Generations' first date since the block party on Queen Street East earlier this month, and will be their second gig with new guitarist Tony Kajnar, third if you could his guest appearance with them in July (also at The Water Tower Pub). With a couple of weeks to rehearse and get ready, hopefully Generations keep the classic and hard rock good times going as they head to this popular central venue tomorrow! Remember, The Water Tower Pub traditionally hosts separate acts on Fridays and Saturdays, though I have not heard at press time who is playing there on Saturday. Tomorrow's show has an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and here's Generations live at the block party earlier this month!

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