Josey Scott's Saliva & Northern Echoes Concert Previews!!

As promised, let's wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews by looking at two very different shows coming up at high profile locales, so here's what you should know!

We'll start at The Machine Shop TOMORROW NIGHT, where Josey Scott's Saliva will make their local concert debut in a big outdoor concert! I am unsure if this is where The Yard is/was or not, organizers haven't made the distinction. Josey Scott's Saliva is the new alternate version of the platinum-selling Memphis, Tennessee hard rock band that is led by their original frontman, and who do not share any members with the original version of Saliva that played at Muddfest at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in 2019. Very much an L.A. Guns-type scenario here, but Josey is the original voice behind all of Saliva's biggest hits like "Click Click Boom", "Always", and "Ladies & Gentlemen", so it will be neat to see him in Sault Ontario tomorrow! Detroit hard rock quintet Sponge (of "Plowed" and "Molly" fame) will make their local debut as the co-headliners, and fans of radio alternative rock should enjoy their set!

Local support will include local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT in just their second local gig since they relaunched in Barrie in 2021 and changed their name from Jack Spades. Of course, their post-relaunch gig at last year's Northern Vibe Festival won't have been accessible to all, so their first show in city-limits since late 2019 should be worth noting! This will also be Spades GT's first local gig with new bassist James Roy Daley and since Jay Sarrazin moved to guitar. While a belated release party for their new album "Sewer City Radio" is coming next month in Barrie (more on the site soon), this is basically the de facto release party for local fans, so look for Spades GT's newest material during their set and presumably at the merch table! Local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek will return from the studio as this concert's opening band, so look for a fun batch of hard rock covers & originals from them!

Louisville, Kentucky post-grunge quartet Tantric were slated to play at tomorrow's concert as well, but they were forced to withdraw from the bill due to frontman Hugo Ferreira being currently unable to enter Canada. They were not replaced, but advance ticket prices were lowered in response. Originally advertised as being at The Rankin Arena before being moved downtown, tomorrow's concert is courtesy of Sault Michigan promoters Superior Entertainment in their post-pandemic return to concert booking, and their first show on this side of the border since hosting Dokken & Firehouse at what's now GFL Memorial Gardens in 2017. Sponsored by Rock 101, this all ages concert is advertised to kick off tomorrow at 6:00 PM, and the contingency plan of moving things indoors for bad weather shouldn't be an issue, with 9&10 News calling for partly cloudy weather in the mid-low 20s Celsius, albeit with a 10-20% chance of rain.

Tickets are on sale for $43.50 at this link, down from the $53.50 price when Tantric was still scheduled, and anyone who bought their tickets at that price point will be refunded $10. You can buy your tickets at the gate or at this link, and there will be food and drinks available on site. I hope this show does well, and given Saliva's track record for big hit radio singles in the early-mid 2000s, they should be very recognizable to many readers, especially as Josey Scott himself is touring with this version! Should be a fun time for fans of live rock music, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Josey Scott's Saliva live!

Finally for this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, let's jump ahead to SUNDAY NIGHT, where local musicians will join forces for Northern Echoes, the Sault Community Theatre Centre's second all-local musician showcase concert of the month! Answering questions about how these two linked events at the former Kiwanis Theatre with similar branding came together, this SooToday article by Chris Belsito from June 5th reveals that the shows are courtesy of a Re-engaging Audiences Fund for Professional Arts Presentation Organizations from the Ministry of Canadian Heritage towards stimulating live performance arts post-pandemic (source here). Good read that spotlights local artistic talent and the S.C.T.C. as a host venue therein! Unlike Soo Soundcheck two weeks ago, Northern Echoes will highlight covers-centric acts, including local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns and online page-less alternative/punk quintet Bookclub, in their fourth shared concert since the latter's debut.

Public promotion largely doesn't note the third act on Sunday, but the SooToday article confirms that Soo's Got Talent finalist Juliana Regan & ex-Id Iota bassist Blair St. John will play a joint set, as they have off and on together since 2021. Tickets for Sunday's all-ages, 6:30 PM concert run for $16 (adults), $12 (students & seniors 60+), or $8 (kids 12 and under), and there are plenty of great seats still available at this link, the Station Mall box office, or at the door. This should be a fun night for fans of eclectic live cover music, with The Stallyns and Bookclub bringing more of the rock edge, so keep a trip to White Pines in mind on Sunday, see above for more details, and here's The Wyld Stallyns live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Skid Row/Buckcherry, Northern Echoes, And Soo Soundcheck!!)

As promised, today's post is stacked, courtesy of three big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS across both sides of the border, so here's what you should know!

Local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich & indie/punk quartet The Northwest will hit up The Sault Community Theatre Centre for the first time each as part of a four band event on Saturday, June 10th! Entitled Soo Soundcheck (no known relation), this is one of two multi-band events taking place in June at the former Kiwanis Theatre that share very similar branding & support from the Canadian Heritage Fund & Case's Music (if these aren't promoted internally, I don't know who's putting them on). This will be Handsome Sandwich's first announced concert since their album release show at The Loft next Saturday, while The Northwest have yet to play on a local stage in 2023. This event will see them & indie rock quartet Man Feelings (Handsome Sandwich's openers next week) opening for sporadically seen progressive rock band Machines Dream.

Be advised that the image on the ticket sale page does not include The Northwest, and while Occam's Razor says it's an old listing, we'll let you know if they actually dropped out (the image above was from Machines Dream's Facebook page on Monday). An all ages event with doors opening at 6:00 PM, tickets are $16 for adults and $12 for students, seniors, and kids 12 and under, and you can buy them at this link (use the code s@undcheck2023 by Sunday to get $4 off of an adult ticket). Very intriguing idea, especially to use such a large theatre for an all-locals concert like this, talented as they all may be, so visit the above links for more details, but we're not done with the S.C.T.C. yet!

The other June show at White Pines' on-site theatre will see local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns and online page-less alternative/punk quintet Bookclub join forces again on Sunday, June 25th, this time in a concert dubbed Northern Echoes! Making their fourth joint appearance since Bookclub debuted last fall (with the Festival of Beer coming next for them next Saturday), Northern Echoes is suggested on the ticket sale page to be tribute band-centric, though if Bookclub and The Stallyns are taking on one-off tribute themes for the day or not, I couldn't tell you with certainty yet. This does call to mind J.D. Pearce's old Halloween parties, which leaned into one-off and temporarily renamed cover bands by the late 2010s, but again, I know nothing. At least one more band is teased to join this bill though, and we'll let you know when they are revealed, tribute/cover band-themed or not.

Ticket prices and start times are the same for Northern Echoes and Soo Soundcheck, but be advised that Northern Echoes has $8 admission for kids 12 and under, not $12 (no word on why there's a distinction). Click here to buy Northern Echoes tickets! Presumably, the S.C.T.C. box office at Station Mall can also hook you up for both. Something about these events leaves me thinking that there's more going on with them/the venue than current promotion is letting on, so stay tuned in that regard, but hopefully The Wyld Stallyns and Bookclub make use of the huge stage in mid-June, despite being a work/school night for many. Visit the above links for continuing updates on both concerts as they roll in!

Finally, here's that big new concert at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, as New Jersey glam metal quintet Skid Row and Anaheim hard rock quintet Buckcherry will join forces there on Saturday, October 28th! Both bands are no stranger to the Soo area, with headliners Skid Row last playing here in October of 2005, back when the late Johnny Solinger and Dave Gara were on vocals and drums. This time, Erik Gronwall and Rob Hammersmith have the honours, and Skid Row have been getting lots of positive renewed attention since Erik took the mic thanks to their new album "The Gang's All Here", so expect cuts from that disc and hit songs like "18 & Life", "I Remember You", and "Monkey Business" in their set this fall! Yes, Skid Row were also supposed to play at Runway Park in Sault Ontario in June 2008, in a cancelled show more famous now for the linked battle of the bands won by Sense of Truth (imagine if they reunited to open for this!)

Meanwhile, Buckcherry have played in our area at least four times since 2011, most recently at Soo Blaster in Sault Ontario in October 2021, at the Soo Kewadin in an outdoor gig with Pop Evil in 2019, and in The Dreammakers Theatre proper in 2012. While not a hair/glam band, Buckcherry have multiple songs with lyrics and themes that fit right in with Skid Row, and the contrast in sounds will appeal to a wide array of local rock fans! Expect Buckcherry hits like "Lit Up", "Sorry", and "Crazy Bitch" in their return set this fall, of course. Support will come by way of Philadelphia hair metal quartet Britny Fox, who Hair Scare fans may recall seeing at The Dreammakers Theatre way back in January 2009 when they opened for Great White. In the 14+ years since, only bassist Billy Childs remains, but hits like "Long Way To Love" & "Dream On" are to be expected!

Presented by Rock 101, tickets go on sale to the public on May 12th at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, and at the in-person box office. Tickets will start at $45, but the full price range is not out yet. Pre-sale codes will be available if you sign up at this link, and the pre-sale tickets become available on May 10th. This is an all ages event with an 8:00 PM start time. This should be a huge concert for hard rock and hair metal fans, and with this being the Halloween weekend, who knows what horrors await in six months! There's plenty of time to get amped up for this one, so visit the above links for complete details, and stay tuned for this month's CD review and more news and notes on the site very soon! Thanks everyone!