Mike Haggith's New Live Album Details, Plus New Headrush & Quite Frankly Videos!!

For our first news post of December 2025, we have some new videos and related updates from a selection of talented local bands, so here's what you should know on this snowy night!

To coincide with his second straight solo set at Toystock, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith did indeed release his and The Big Finish Band's new live album "Under A Moonlit Sky" yesterday! According to Mike's Facebook page, the album is available "EVERYWHERE", and by that, he means it's on the three major streaming services linked here as well as on Bandcamp, YouTube Music, and yes, even Boomplay, Qobuz, and Anghami. I'm not seeing Tidal, Napster, et al., so it's not truly "everywhere", but it's making the rounds! The album is on sale via iTunes for $9.99 and on Bandcamp for $10, though note that Mike hasn't updated Bandcamp yet to reflect the release yesterday, so the album is still technically only available for pre-order there, and only has the three advance singles available for free play. Until that's updated, go elsewhere to stream the album unless you're buying it. As a charitable tie-in beyond Toystock, Mike is donating money from streams of the live album to Christmas Cheer!

If you want to show your support for those in need, each Spotify stream will generate 15¢ until year's end, while $5 from purchases of "Under A Moonlit Sky" on Bandcamp will go to Christmas Cheer too, as will 10¢ per view of the full concert video when it goes live on YouTube (more on that in a bit). Recorded at Mike & crew's outdoor headlining concert at the Downtown Plaza on September 25th, the full album has 19 tracks, and in terms of the makeup, it has four songs from "All The Best In All You Do", three songs from "If Ever Comes The Day", two songs each from "Frequent Flyer" & "Bridges", The Din's "Missing", the band Haggith's mainstay "75", and Mike's two newest live songs "I Really Hope This Gets To You" & "No Love" (which aren't on any album yet). The other four tracks are the self explanatory "Guitar Adlib" and, as I suspected, three intro tracks, though all feature the band playing behind Mike's spoken word.

Note that Elly McWatters only provided backing vocals and tambourine for this concert/album (she hasn't been pictured playing guitar with The Big Finish Band all year). I'll hold comment on the album pending our review of "Under A Moonlit Sky" next year (now pencilled in for May, as I forgot about Handsome Sandwich's new album in blocking the album review schedule), but buy or stream it above, and as for the full concert video, Mike has shared a preview clip from that night to his Facebook page last week. High quality multi-camera footage and natural outdoor lighting sure help, but we'll have to see how the full show looks when uploaded. Check out the preview below!

We'll close this post with new live videos from classic/hard rock cover bands on the local bar circuit, starting with our first look at the revived Quite Frankly at a public concert! Uploaded to their Facebook page yesterday, this comes from their Beck's Bar debut on Saturday, and features a montage of clips from their sets that night, including covers of The Old Crow Medicine Show's "Wagon Wheel", Tom Petty's "You Wreck Me", Journey's "Any Way You Want It", Chris Stapleton's "Tennessee Whiskey", Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son", and Collective Soul's "Shine". Alas, some of the videos here were shot vertically, and the video editor again put everything into portrait orientation, which means that the horizontal videos are pillarboxed and tiny. Why not make the video in 16:9 and force the vertical videos to be letterboxed so everything is as big and full frame as you can get?

I'd rather see full songs than 13-ish seconds long clips, let alone the vertically framed ones, but Quite Frankly sound good from what we can hear, and they had a solid turnout (look at the dancers during the Chris Stapleton cover!) Note that guitarist Frank LaTassa sings lead on "Wagon Wheel" & "You Wreck Me", while frontwoman Haley Alopaeus is on lead vocals on the other songs. Not a bad first step for Quite Frankly 2.0 after their 15 year hiatus, so check everything out above and below!

Finally for today, here's some new videos from fellow local classic/hard rock cover veterans Headrush's concerts at The Esquire Club this past weekend! These were publically shared to the band's Facebook group over the weekend. Two were Journey covers filmed by attendee Audrey Marshall on Friday night, including the guys playing the opening of "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Stone In Love", while bassist John Amendola posted a video of them covering AC/DC's "Highway To Hell" on Saturday night, which he appears to have shot himself from the stage towards his bandmates and the crowd. Not the first time that we've seen this vantage point at The Esquire Club, but it's still not every day where you get a band's eye view like that! I'm no Journey fan, but everything sounds and looks good, with Headrush playing to a packed house and with good energy, so give all three videos a watch above and below! The AC/DC cover is embedded here because Audrey's aren't allowed to be embedded externally for one reason or another.

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Toystock XII!!)

The full lineup for the twelfth annual Toystock has been announced, so what should you know for this year? This annual Christmas Cheer benefit concert will return to The Grand Gardens at 1324 Great Northern Road on Sunday, November 30th for a ninth straight installment, and like in every year since 2012 (the two year pandemic hiatus aside), ten bands will again donate their time for a ten hour marathon of live music for the cause, with Christmas Cheer donations (toys, gift cards, gently used games/books, non-perishable food, new winter clothing, and/or cash) being the entry fee to come on out. Like in past years, there will be a mix of family entertainment and kids activities on site, as well as the Stuff-A-Bus, an appearance from Santa Claus, and more, while the bar will be open if you are so inclined. Visit the official Toystock website for further details on the non-musical side of this special event! Now, who all is playing at Toystock XII?

Five bands are returnees from past Toystocks, while there are five newcomers to the festivities, as listed on their website's music page. As usual, southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 are your headliners at 9:00 PM, having played every year besides 2013 (when frontman/organizer Greg Simpson instead played with other bands of his). It goes without saying, but kudos to Greg & Kerry for the work they do annually for Christmas Cheer by putting this huge show on! Co-headlining at 8:00 PM are a mystery band named The Reeves, who I have precisely zero information on. Does the name reference small township mayors, or the last name, or something else entirely? We'll let you know when we learn more! Though only listed as "MH", the 7:00 PM band is clearly Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band in their second straight Toystock, and Mike & Brandan's third if you count The Din's 2016 set, so don't bypass their original rock tunes then!

New local country cover band Elly McWatters & The Drifters (featuring multiple members of The Big Finish Band) will make their Toystock debut at 6:00 PM, as preceded by veteran cover quintet Out & Out Country at 5:00 PM. Notably, this will mark the return of drummer Ric Datson to Toystock for the first time since he left Bone Yard at the beginning of 2022, so while in different projects, it is cool to see him share a bill with Greg & Alex again! Indie rock quartet Jupiter Marvelous will also rock Toystock for the first time at 4:00 PM, preceded by hard rock quintet HeadF1rst (who played this event in 2023 before putting the 1 in their name) at 3:00 PM. Newer local cover rock quartet Separate Wayz (featuring Soundcheck alumni Terry Eaton, Jim Michaud, and Steven Flint plus singer Nicole Thibodeau) will make their Toystock debut at 2:00 PM, though we still don't know what they play and how similar they are.

Local punk trio Redundant (who have only played at Toystock since they returned from hiatus in 2023) will make their fourth appearance at this event at 1:00 PM, which will presumably also be their second show with their current bassist. No word on why we don't see them out there for other events anymore, but it's always good to have them back! Filling the annual slot for a band representing a local music store, online page-less blues rock quartet The Associates (comprised of Long & McQuade staffers) will return from last year to kick off Toystock XII at 12:00 PM. Bone Yard bassist Warren Reville will thusly bookend the festivities by playing in the first and last bands, so keep that in mind as well! Note also that two bands who played in both 2023 & 2024 are not back this year, namely pop rock cover quintet Bourbon Blue and the now-inactive indie rock band The Haze (née Skinbox).

Another stacked lineup of talented local musicians stepping up to the plate to help support Christmas Cheer and families in need over the holidays, so absolutely visit the above links for much more on everything that's going down at The Grand Gardens next month, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!

Toystock XI Concert Preview!!

Here's our extended preview of TOMORROW's eleventh annual Toystock, as ten bands will again rock The Grand Gardens on Great Northern Road in a ten hour span in support of Christmas Cheer! As has been the case annually since 2012 (a two year pandemic hiatus aside), Bone Yard 225 singer/drummer Greg Simpson is hosting this huge charity concert tomorrow via GS (née Maxx) Entertainment, with admission via donation of new toys, games, books, winter clothing, gift cards, or cash. With the Christmas season well and truly almost upon us, any aid that you can give needy families for the season is more than appreciated. Kudos to Greg for keeping Toystock going into its second decade, and here's hoping for a great turnout tomorrow! Bands aside, expect children's activities & crafts, visits from Santa Claus, an open bar, and more, so be sure to visit the official website for full non-musical details on Toystock XI tomorrow!

The lineup for this year's Toystock features ten bands in ten hours once again, all donating their time for the cause, including five returning bands from prior years. Headlining once again at 9:00 PM tomorrow are the aforementioned Bone Yard 225, in their ninth consecutive Toystock set and tenth total, both records. Greg, Alex, and Warren should end things strongly with their southern hard rock cover attack! Alt-rock quartet The Haze (née Skinbox) will co-headline tomorrow at 8:00 PM in their second straight year at Toystock, while Bone Yard bassist Warren Reville will pull double duty by playing with blues rock quartet The Associates, who you may remember seeing at Rotaryfest Stage 2 in July. This band is also filling the "music school/store representative" quota this year, as The Associates are entirely made up of staff & instructors from Long & McQuade, so if you go there for gear or lessons, they'll be extra familiar tomorrow night!

Veteran classic rock band Mid Life Crysis will surprisingly make their Toystock debut tomorrow in the 6:00 PM timeslot, while pop rock cover quartet Bourbon Blue will ride the momentum of this weekend's shows at Jay's when they play Toystock for a third straight year at 5:00 PM. Mark "DJ Dark Mark" Millington will make his Toystock debut as a scheduled performer at 4:00 PM, after working with Greg on on many different events for the past decade. I believe this is the first time that a DJ has been one of the "ten bands in ten hours", so it'll be interesting to see how Mark's set goes over to end the first half of the night! ! Local punk trio Redundant will play just their third show since the pandemic began when they play Toystock for a third time at 3:00 PM, last being seen at this event last year. Things have definitely slowed down in Redundant's camp, but hopefully this is a good sign for more from them to come in the year ahead!

Fresh off of rocking The Soo's Got Talent finals last night (results/recap forthcoming), Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band will play Toystock for the first time at 2:00 PM, Mike & Brandan's 2016 set with The Din acknowledged. It's always good to see Mike rocking a local stage, and hopefully this set is a big hit before he returns to Barrie! Toystock XI will open with two acoustic solo performers, including Soundcheck singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver in his second solo appearance at this event, playing a country set here in 2019 on the day that he debuted with the band (remember, Soundcheck proper are not playing this year). The day's program begins at 12:00 PM with local blues veteran Doug Cousineau, who has donated a guitar to be given away, but the "who" and "how" of this giveaway will be revealed tomorrow! Remember, Toystock is an ALL AGES event, so feel free to bring the kids for the music and entertainment!

It is wonderful to see Greg and crew hold Toystock once again, and while it is a long day, it's all for a great cause, as there are a lot of needy people and families in the Soo who could use help, both day-to-day and towards providing their loved ones with a great Christmas. If you can make it down with donations, you'll get a solid day of entertainment, so consider heading to The Grand Gardens for all of the action! Visit the above links for more details, here's Bone Yard 225 live, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Toystock XI!!)

The eleventh annual Toystock goes down on Sunday, November 24th, and the official lineup was just revealed yesterday on the event's Facebook page! Held annually since 2012 (with a pandemic hiatus in 2020 & 2021), Toystock is the annual Christmas Cheer benefit concert event spearheaded by veteran local musician Greg Simpson, where attendees donate new/gently used toys, cash, unused gift cards, and cold weather clothing items to see ten bands in ten hours, and it's become something of an unofficial winter Rotaryfest given its similar performers in many years! Of course, lots of family activities, visits from Santa & Mrs. Claus, open bar/restaurant, and more will be in effect as usual, so visit the official website for full and ongoing non-musical details. As has been the case since 2015, Toystock XI will be held at The Grand Gardens at The Grand Gardens at 1324 Great Northern Road, though this year, Toystock will take place before the American Thanksgiving.

Each year, ten local music acts donate their time to perform at Toystock, and the "ten bands in ten hours" conceit is back in full force, including five new acts and five returning ones, so who all is playing next month? As expected, the headliners at 9:00 PM are local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 in their record tenth appearance at Toystock (only missing 2013 when Greg played with other bands of his instead) and their first year since tacking "225" onto their name. Yes, we'll have more on their three shows this weekend on the site soon! Local alternative rock quartet The Haze (who played last year's Toystock under their original name Skinbox) will surprisingly get the co-headlining slot at 8:00 PM. Playing before them at 7:00 PM are The Associates, the online page-less blues quartet who you may have seen at Rotaryfest Stage 2 back in July, and who also feature Bone Yard bassist Warren Reville in their ranks, so Friday Night Blues-goers will approve!

It's worth noting that, while not named for Long & McQuade, the members of The Associates are all staff or instructors at the MacDonald Avenue music store, continuing an annual trend of Toystock booking a band comprised of students or staff of a local music store/school since 2013. Classic rock cover veterans Mid Life Crysis will (believe it or not) be making their Toystock debuts on the 24th at 6:00 PM, while pop rock cover standouts Bourbon Blue will make their third straight Toystock appearance at 5:00 PM. In a change of pace, Mark "DJ Dark Mark" Millington (who has worked with Greg/Maxx Entertainment in various events for the past decade) will mix some tunes in the 4:00 PM timeslot, and it'll be interesting to hear how he goes over next month! Local punk trio Redundant will play their first show since last year's Toystock (and third set at Toystock overall) at 3:00 PM.

No word on why Redundant have been so quiet in recent years, with this being just their third show of any kind since the pandemic began, but hopefully Justin, Andrew, and Rick have a great return (again) next month! Local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith and his Big Finish Band will make their Toystock debut at 2:00 PM, though Mike & Brandan played at this event back in 2016 with The Din. Good to see Mike booking another local date this year, and yes, we'll have more on The Soo's Got Talent soon! Acoustic acts will open the day at Toystock XI, including Soundcheck singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver (who also played solo country covers at Toystock in 2019) at 1:00 PM, and veteran local blues rock musician Doug Cousineau at 12:00 PM in his solo Toystock debut. Conspicuous by their absence this year are Soundcheck proper, ending a streak of five consecutive appearances at this event.

Toystock is, as always, an ALL AGES event with plenty of kid-friendly activities in store, so consider bringing the family to kick off the Christmas season right next month! It's great to see Greg and crew bringing Toystock back into its second decade, and hopefully they have another great turnout for attenance and for donations to Christmas Cheer to help those in need at a difficult time. Definitely visit the above links for more details on all of the action at The Grand Gardens next month, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Toystock X Concert Preview, Plus A New Video!!

Here is our extended preview of a major charity concert event returning TOMORROW, as Toystock returns for its tenth installment! Returning to The Grand Gardens on Great Northern Road for a seventh year and for its second year period since a 2020-2021 pandemic hiatus, this is an annual fundraiser concert for Christmas Cheer, with the conceit of 10 bands playing across 10 hours, all donating their time for the cause. Entry is via donation of new/gently used toys, non-perishable food items, or (if you prefer) cash, but there is no ticket/cover fee if you donate food or toys. At this time of year, helping families in need with donations to ensure that they have a happy and less stressful Christmas is a wonderful idea, so definitely give generously where possible if you're coming to Toystock X tomorrow! As usual, numerous family activities and non-musical entertainment can also be enjoyed during the day.

A children' play area, face painting, and more are to be expected to entertain the kids during this all ages event, and Santa Claus will be stopping by as well! Get full non-musical details at this link. Now to the music, and this year's headliners at 9:00 PM tomorrow are local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard in their third show in as many days and their record ninth Toystock set (only missing 2013). Frontman Greg Simpson promotes Toystock through his GS Entertainment (formerly [Choose] Maxx Entertainment) banner, and kudos to him for putting in so much work for Christmas Cheer and helping those in need since 2012! Bone Yard's southern fried classic and hard rock covers should end the evening with a bang, so stick around until the end to see them in action! Newer local pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue will co-headline Toystock X at 8:00 PM in their second year taking part in the festivities.

Bourbon Blue feature alumni of the inactive Soo Fighters, and while not as hard rock-focused as that tribute band, don't bypass them! One of two mystery debuting local rock bands will take the stage at 7:00 PM, named Headrush. Based on personal Facebook posts, I do know the bassist of this group, but I don't believe they've said anything publically about their lineup or sound, so I won't jump the gun in case they are intentionally waiting for showtime. Newer local rock quartet Skinbox (subgenres/set samples still not given online) will take to the stage at 6:00 PM, preceded by local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck at 5:00 PM in their fifth straight Toystock set, a record for a band not featuring event organizers in their lineup. Alas, drummer Glen Thomas will reportedly not be doing his annual drumkit giveaway this year, but don't miss their old school rock and country covers!

New local classic/hard rock quintet HeadFirst (not to be confused with the aforementioned Headrush) will take the stage at 4:00 PM in their third public concert set and first outside of Reggie's. With Raincourt and Them alumni in their talented young lineup, hopefully they make a good impression on attendees tomorrow! Reunited local punk trio Redundant will play their first concert set in two years tomorrow at 3:00 PM, which will also be their second Toystock set after first playing there in 2016. It's great to see Justin, Andrew, and Rick back on stage after way too long, and let's hope that this isn't a one-off return for them! The 2:00 PM band is tomorrow's other mystery debuting group, named Kickstart. In this case, I was told who'd be in the band via a Facebook e-mail, but again, their identities and sound are not publically posted at press time. Their lineup will be familiar to local rock music fans though!

We'll let you know more about Headrush and Kickstart after their sets and/or as things go public. A student band from Long & McQuade will continue the long string of music school student bands playing at Toystock, with their 1:00 PM set being the second straight here for Long & McQuade since they replaced Case's Music post-pandemic. Opening the festivities tomorrow afternoon is Wailing Aztecs alumna Kelly McGillivray in her solo debut at Toystock, but her old band The Algo Rhythms played here thrice from 2015-2018. All of this all ages action begins at noon tomorrow at The Grand Gardens, and attendance is FREE with a toy/food donation (unless you want to make a cash donation). This is a wonderful event for a great cause, so all credit goes to all of the organizers and bands donating their time to help those in need! See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of Bone Yard live!

Filmed at their one-nighter at Shooters Downstairs Lounge last night, this features Bone Yard pulling a two-for-one for Pink Floyd fans, namely covers of "Wish You Were Here" & "Young Lust". Greg does start the former playing acoustic guitar rather than drums, which did give a brief preview of their acoustic show at Gateway Casino tonight in that way. Vertical camera angle aside (which I can't be too shocked by anymore), this live-streamed video from their Facebook page is well shot with good angles of Greg, Alex, and Warren in action, and they do know their way around classic Floyd, so give these a watch below, and don't miss them at Toystock tomorrow night!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Toystock & HeadFirst), Plus A New Local Hard Rock Band!!

Things fell behind a bit due to out Halloween coverage and feature posts, so let's swing for the fences with a big post on this Wednesday evening, featuring LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this month concerning a major returning charity concert and the prior live debut of one of the bands playing that, but who are they? Read on to find out!

We have a new local hard rock band to add to our links, and they are HeadFirst! Launched via their Facebook page in July, they are a younger group featuring a mix of new and familiar faces, including singer/guitarist Red Jettison, former Raincourt guitarist Raine Rancourt, guitarist Liam Dinsmore, bassist Claire Jeffrey, and former Them/Kaepora Gaebora drummer Anthony Boudreau. According to Facebook, they are "inspired by the golden age of '60s, '70s, and '80s rock and roll", and they do seem to be leaning into that based on their attire at the private event in August that they played their first concert set at, However, in those LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, their true public debuts will come at Reggie's Place on Friday, November 10th & Saturday, November 11th, so head downtown to see what HeadFirst have to offer next week! These shows have 9:00 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges.

They have one more show announced for later this month, which we will touch on in a second. Our first video look at HeadFirst sees them covering Green Day's "When I Come Around" (not what I expected given their stated inspirations), which was bizarrely uploaded in a vertical aspect ratio despite being filmed horizontally, hence the huge pillarboxing. That aside, the multi-camera footage captures an enthusiastic performance, with Red showing early promise as a showman, and while I do want to see more challenging stuff with solos, this is a good teaser of what's to come from them! Check out more from HeadFirst above and below, and at the Facebook event page for next week's concerts!

Next up, HeadFirst's third announced public gig will be as part of the tenth annual Toystock charity concert on Sunday, November 26th! Returning to The Grand Gardens at 1324 Great Northern Road for a seventh straight installment (and second since their two year pandemic hiatus), this is the annual benefit event promoted by Bone Yard frontman Greg Simpson featuring ten bands donating their time to play across ten hours, family activities and kids entertainment, visits from Santa Claus, and admission via donations of toys, non-perishable food, or cash to Christmas Cheer. Always a wonderful cause to help kickstart the holiday season, and it's great to see Toystock hit the 10 year milestone! This year's ten bands in ten hours will be toplined once again at 9:00 PM by the aforementioned Bone Yard in their record ninth Toystock set (the only year they missed was 2013, in which Greg performed with Stiffler's Mom instead).

Pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue will return to Toystock for a second straight year as the co-headliners at 8:00 PM, immediately preceded at 7:00 PM by a mystery band named Headrush (yes, two bands named Head____ are playing Toystock this year). No idea whatsoever on who Headrush are and what they play, we will keep you posted when we hear more! Classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will play their fifth straight Toystock (the most for anyone other than Bone Yard) at 6:00 PM, with drummer Glen Thomas expected to do his drumkit giveaway after their set once again, so a young attendee will get quite a gift! Fresh off of their RSVP-only Halloween gig at The Art Hub, new local rock quartet Skinbox will make their Toystock debut at 5:00 PM, with the aforementioned HeadFirst playing at 4:00 PM. The band at 3:00 PM will surprisingly be a reunion of local punk trio Redundant!

Last seen at the Buckcherry concert at Soo Blaster in late 2021, this will be Redundant's second Toystock appearance after playing there in 2016. Some sort of revival plans had been teased since September, so this isn't entirely unexpected, but it will be great to see Justin, Andrew, and Rick back on stage after two years away, and they are back in our active band links! Another mystery band is scheduled at 2:00 PM named Kickstart, and like with Headrush, I don't know a thing about them (shades of Ravencore, now Far From Fine, in our initial coverage last year). We'll let you know when we hear anything on one/both bands! A student band from Long & McQuade will return for a second straight year at 1:00 PM, continuing Toystock's tradition of having a music student group on the bill since year #2 in 2013. Algo Rhythms/Wailing Aztecs alum Kelly McGillivray will open Toystock X with a set at 12:00 PM in her solo debut at this event.

Toystock X is an ALL AGES event with kids more than welcome to enjoy the music and activities on offer, and remember that admission is free with a toy or canned good donation to Christmas Cheer, though you may donate cash if you wish. Kudos to Greg for keeping Toystock going for 10 installments across 12 years, and hopefully everyone helps out needy families with lots of donations for the cause at month's end, while enjoying a varied array of live music! Visit the official Toystock website and the above links for more details on what to expect on the 26th, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everuone!

Toystock VII Fallout, News Coverage, And Videos!!

As you may know, the seventh annual Toystock charity concert went down this past Sunday at The Northern Grand Gardens, and it was another hit for both attendees and Christmas Cheer donations alike, so let's devote an entire post to fallout from that day! Among this year's news coverage was this SooToday article by Darren Taylor, which features quotes from co-organizer Kerry Simpson, details on the then-still-ongoing concert, and two photos each from The Algo Rhythms' and Case's Music students' sets, plus one of donated toys. Good promotion for Toystock VII, and hopefully it encouraged some late attendees to head down there! A linked photo album courtesy of attendee Sandi Wheeler also includes more photos from early in the day, though aside from a video of Brendan Hodgson's set, it's focused on the donations and vendors. Sault This Week's Allana Plaunt was also on hand for Toystock last week, covering the event and interviewing Kerry again for this Wednesday's front page story. It's a brief article with no large focus on the musicians, but again, the positive promotion is great to see!

Sault Online's Megan Pounder was also in attendance for this article on Toystock, and it's a longer piece with more reflections on the concert aspect, including remarks from Kerry's husband and co-organizer Greg Simpson, plus local radio DJ Jeff McNiece, who played on Sunday with The Jeff & Jeff Show. This article has a few minor spelling notes, but it's great to see some more in-depth local news coverage! There are a few photos there too, but again, not of the bands. And much to my surprise, CTV News Northern Ontario were also on hand, with journalist Lincoln Louttit filing this report in both video and text formats on Monday, so if you watched the MCTV News that day, this will be old hat! In this case, both the video piece and text article feature remarks from both Greg and Kerry, as well as three attending fans, while you do get brief footage of The Bearded Lounge and The Jeff & Jeff Show's opening sets. It's great to see CTV stop in to cover Toystock, it's proof the event is growing bigger and bigger!

Regarding videos, let's first touch on some clips of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck, courtesy of drummer Glen Thomas' YouTube channel on Wednesday! There are more clips on personal Facebook pages from Sunday night, not to mention more non-Toystock videos we haven't addressed yet on Glen's channel, but we'll focus on his two public Toystock videos today. One is of his annual drumkit giveaway to a lucky child in attendance, with two more being donated for the cause that night as well. Glen's been donating personally refurbished drumkits for Christmas Cheer over the past two decades, and it's great to see him continue giving back at this time of year, so give that video a look! As for Soundcheck proper, Glen shared this video of them playing a 13 minute-long medley, including versions of David Wilcox's "Riverboat Fantasy", Journey's "Don't Stop Believing", Metallica's "Enter Sandman", Boston's "Foreplay/Long Time", ...

...Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer", and Van Halen's "Jamie's Cryin'", before ending with a reprise of "Riverboat Fantasy". For reference, singer/guitarists Travis Sharpe and Terry Eaton split lead vocal duties on the individual songs (Travis did Journey, Boston, and Bon Jovi, Terry did the rest, and they did backing vocals for each other.) Despite some attendee heads getting in the way, Soundcheck sound in fine form here, and they handle these classic rock hits (with a dash of metal) with their usual professional yet lively manner! Give Soundcheck's Toystock medley a look below, and don't miss them at Reggie's West TONIGHT!

Finally for today, here's one more video from Toystock VII, courtesy of one more local news service that stopped by the event, namely Soo Profile Magazine! This follows the magazine's cover feature on Toystock co-organizer and Bone Yard/Bearded Lounge frontman Greg Simpson in their current issue, which goes into nice detail on his musical career and recent country work. Admittedly, I'd have liked to have seen a little more detail on his old hard rock bands Stiffler's Mom and That's Chester, but this is still a must read for fans of Greg's extensive musical resume in the Soo! As for that Toystock video, it's of local acoustic hard rock trio The Wyld Stallyns, as live streamed by attendee Marcy Catherine and shared to Soo Profile's Facebook page shortly thereafter.  The video features the Elements side project covering Prince's "Kiss" in a folksy acoustic style, but the focus of the video could arguably go to Mr. Bon Soo himself, who came to meet the kids in attendance on Sunday.

Everyone looks like they're having fun, and The Wyld Stallyns handle this somewhat out-of-left-field cover pretty well, so give this video a look below, stay tuned for more from The Wyld Stallyns soon, and look for copies of The Soo Profile Magazine at select local businesses!



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