LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Generations & Headrush) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

For this final batch of hard rock weekend concert previews of May 2026 (and arguably, the spring), we have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to lead off, along with a pair of other new show for next month, so here's what you should know on this sunny Thursday!

Local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band first announced the gigs via their Facebook event page on Monday, and alas, the venue has opted not to post an early 2026 concert calendar on social media this year, instead plugging bands week by week. Last seen opening for Crazy Babies at The Full Throttle Saloon three weeks ago, fans last saw the Johns, Wes, Gino, and Frank at The Esquire Club early last month. Headrush (no space) will definitely be live and loud TOMORROW & SATURDAY with their 1980s-leaning cover rock slate, so if you want to "come out & dance, party, and get your freak on", you know where to be! In their last shows before their incoming summer slate, TOMORROW & SATURDAY's gigs are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges.

Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new jam session video from Headrush's Facebook group! Uploaded by bassist John Amendola, the video sees them covering Triumph's classic single "Lay It On The Line", and given how well Triumph went over in their concert here last month, it's good timing to cover them, especially when they handle the song this well! John Anderson hits the necessary notes on vocals too, but will you see it TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY? Be at The Esquire Club to find out!

Next up, let's jump ahead a tiny bit, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to the stage for shows at Gateway Casino on Saturday, June 6th and at The Water Tower Pub on Saturday, June 27th! Generations are in the late stages of a two month break, partly due to an unspecified family emergency for Valerie or Joe, having last taken the stage at Searchmont last month for their Snowcross weekend. Fans last saw this talented veteran quartet rocking Gateway Casino in early March, while the June 27th Water Tower Pub show will effectively be a rescheduling of their cancelled April 18th concert there (they last successfully played at this venue in February). Good to see the Jus' Chillin successors back at it, and keep both of their one-night-only shows in mind for your concert planning next month! Both shows are at 9:00 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details!

Back to weekend concert previews now, and we'll head south to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino next, as Munising, Michigan classic/hard rock cover quintet The Sky Pilots will make their way back east TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Fronted by former Electric Motor Fish/Swayze Train singer Melissa Strand, this weekend's shows will be The Sky Pilots' first in the EUP since they rocked The Rapids Lounge at the Soo Kewadin in March, and their first at the St. Ignace branch since November of last year. It's good to see Melissa back in our area with her entertaining current project, and fans can expect "live music, classic rock, and 90s hits" all weekend, so keep these May-ending shows in mind! As usual for Kewadin lounge gigs, tomorrow and Saturday's previously announced concerts are at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's The Sky Pilots live in their hometown!

Finally for this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for veteran local singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's return to Misty's Fifties for a matinee concert on SATURDAY! Fresh off of his Dive Gastro Pub show last week (which was 100% a "Patio Play" gig), this Saturday's concert is the last at the Second Line West nightclub advertised by Tym in his batch Facebook event page covering shows there, and it remains to be seen when/if he will announce summer dates at Misty's. He will definitely have shows elsewhere this summer, but just in case, consider a run to Misty's Fifties on Saturday to enjoy his well produced classic and hard rock covers! As usual for Tym's shows here, this is a 3:00 PM matinee concert with a presumed 19+ age limit and no cover charge. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

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

B.A. Johnston & Silent 9 Concert Previews, Plus Early Details On WestFest II!!

Let's wrap up this weekend's known and public hard rock concert previews with what's going down at a popular west end venue, as well as early details on a returning summer concert festival still looking for bands!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will cap off their spring calendar with shows at The Esquire Club TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! As usual, the band will not play any public nightclub gigs over the summer, instead focusing on special events, festivals, and private bookings, so if you want to rock out with Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve again before their focus shifts for the season, head to the west end this weekend! While there was some confusion as to if Silent 9 would even be playing at The Esquire Club tomorrow given the B.A. Johnston booking (more on that in a second), it has been confirmed in recent promotion that Silent 9 are still playing tomorrow, just with a later start time. Tonight's show starts at 9:00 PM as normal, tomorrow's will kick off at 10:00 PM, and regardless, both gigs are 19+ with no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details on Silent 9's classic and hard rock cover action this weekend, and here they are live!

Next up, Hamilton outsider folk/acoustic punk troubador B.A. Johnston will make his own return to the Soo TOMORROW NIGHT at the aforementioned Esquire Club! A well travelled, eclectic, and proudly Canadian musician, B.A. is known for frequently playing here, always at different venues than the last (including at Venue on Queen Street East last year), so him finally landing on The Esquire Club isn't that surprising, even though that venue isn't historically known for booking touring artists. This time though, B.A. seems like the supplement rather than the headliner, as he is playing a one hour set at 9:00 PM before Silent 9 take the stage, and the venue is treating these as separate concerts back to back. Hopefully B.A. crams his hour full of his freewheeling unplugged punk classics, and do give his videos a watch for a better glimpse of what he brings to the table! Maybe he'll even play on top of a car again?

As with Silent 9 (the de facto headliners, you could say), this is a 19+ concert with no announced cover. See above for more details, but rest assured, you'll wanna be there to see what he sings about and who he plays off of in the audience! For a preview, here's B.A. Johnston live!

Also today, you may have heard that WestFest is coming back this summer, so what should you know there? The West Village Revitalization Project launched this event in July of last year at Anna Marinelli Park at 169 James Street as part of their efforts to renew and better the west end of downtown Sault Ste. Marie (Jamestown & Steelton), and last year's WestFest featured family entertainment, vendors, a beer garden, and yes, live music from local artists. WestFest II returns a little later in the year for 2026 (on Saturday, August 8th), and while a lineup announcement is not out yet, organizers are planning to host a talent show to find at least one additional act! On May 14th, the West Village Renewed Facebook page announced that they were looking for "up-and-coming, undiscovered" local musicians to apply for a chance to compete for an opening slot at Beck's Bar on Saturday, June 6th.

I do apologize for the week+ delay on our end, but there is still time, so if your band is interested in a slot at this returning outdoor summer concert festival, contact organizers at the above links for more details by Wednesday! This definitely smells more like a battle of the bands than a "talent show", but perhaps the verbiage is intentional to leave things open to solo artists without compromising (note that Matthew James was the only solo artist on last year's bill). An online application form for the competition is now online, confirming that organizers want artists "ready to bring energy, originality, and a strong live performance", and "selected finalists" will be picked to compete on the 6th in front of a judges panel and "a community audience" (no word on if a fan vote will play into the selections). Only one winner is mentioned there, and while they will be featured in WestFest promotions, I don't know if any other prizes will be awarded.

Just as a point of reference, last year's WestFest had seven acts (including headliners Handsome Sandwich in their final Sault Ste. Marie concert), and all but one were recent performers on Rotaryfest Stage 2, though I hope that doesn't pigeonhole the artist registrations. No word on if they're waiting for the battle to announce the remaining lineup or not, but it will be interesting to see who all is heading west (well, west in the downtown) for year #2! Visit the above links for more details on WestFest 2026 and the talent show applications, and that's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) & Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews!!

For our last post of April 2026, let's look at most of this weekend's hard rock concert previews! Due to the amount (though we have seen busier weekends), I'll hold our preview of Saturday night's Bimbo-headlined concert in Sault Michigan for tomorrow's news post. Now, here's what you should know in Sault Ontario this weekend in a hard rock/punk context, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover sister bands Soundcheck and Separate Wayz will join forces for another "epic crossover" weekend, this time at The Esquire Club TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via Separate Wayz' Facebook page on Tuesday, though note that the venue has not corroborated the bookings on social media. Marking their first joint appearance together since rocking Beck's Bar a month ago, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows will be Soundcheck's first at this Second Line West staple since they played there in February, albeit with no crossover, as Separate Ways singer Nicole Thibodeau was ill that weekend (the shows were originally planned for solely Separate Wayz, but Travis bailed them out on short notice for Soundcheck gigs instead). Of course, remember that the two bands have a 75% identical lineup, just swap Travis for Nicole.

Good to see Terry, Jim, Johnny, and both singers together again for what should be a stacked pair of classic and hard rock shows, so keep both in mind TOMORROW & SATURDAY! Both are 9:30 PM affairs at 9:30 PM with no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, here's some shows that did have advance notice before Tuesday, starting with a rare punk concert at The Speak Easy at Algoma University, where Flint, Michigan-based ska punk band The Write-Ups will make their local concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT! A spiritual successor to the Quit It! concert at the same venue last fall (if with much better promotion), The Write-Ups have the ska bonafides (including a horn section) and socially charged lyrics to go along with a fun and bouncy brand of punk rock that subgenre fans should easily take to tomorrow, so welcome them north of the border in style! Fittingly, newer local ska punk trio A.S.D.P. will be the local openers in their debut at Algoma University's campus pub, and expect their own original cuts to set the mood right! This is the newest promoted concert from A.S.D.P. frontman Mikhal Muto's agency Underground Events SSM.

This stop on The Write-Ups' "Up North Weekender" is an all ages concert (yes, The Speak Easy is licensed), doors open at 7:00 PM, and admission is $15 for general attendees and $10 for current Algoma University students with valid student ID. If you love ska punk, you don't want to miss out on this one, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here are The Write-Ups live late last year!

Also this weekend, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly will return to Beck's Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of their debut at Gateway Casino last week, this will be Linsaey, Frank, Harley, and Joe's first stop at the Goulais Avenue nightclub of 2026, having played one of their first post-reunion gigs there in November. The band promises "another night of great energy & your favourite hits", and who am I to doubt that kind of claim? Their blend of accessible but often heavy covers can be seen at the former Vibe Lounge tomorrow at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. In the increasingly frequent cases where Beck's hosts a band on Fridays rather than a DJ, they don't double up a band on both nights, so Saturday night's band there are classic rock trio The Sidekicks. Visit the above links for more on tomorrow's concert, and here's Quite Frankly live!

Finally for this preview post, prolific local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Misty's Fifties for his second matinee concert there of the spring on SATURDAY! After ending his 2+ month break from concerts at this Second Line West pub in mid-April, this will be the first of three May matinee concerts at Misty's for Tym, so if you're up for a few hours of unplugged rock covers from this veteran talent, then head west on Saturday! Tym will be back every other week for the rest of the month, and we await a public announcement of his schedule at Misty's (and elsewhere) for the summer and beyond. This Saturday matinee concert goes down at 4:00 PM with a presumed 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. It's great to see Tym back on a more normal schedule after his finger healed up, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here he is live! 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Stones & Crows), A New Local Band, And The Headrush Concert Preview!!

As promised, we're wrapping up this weekend's hard rock concert previews tonight on the SMS, along with featuring new videos of the band in question, but leading off, we have a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and the first public info on the new band involved, so here's what you should know!

We have a new local blues/hard rock band to add to our active band links, and they are Stones & Crows! This is the new project from former Electric Church frontman Spencer Pine, and if you liked that project, you may not have to seek them out to like their Facebook page, as Spencer just renamed the Electric Church Facebook page to repurpose it for the new band. This isn't common for local bands to do, but Generations did that with Jus' Chillin's Facebook group. I'll probably leave Electric Church (who broke up in 2018) in our inactive links with the same URL though, because the page has a double purpose now! Spencer is joined here by Floor Between Us bassist Nicholas Gingras and former HeadFirst/Them drummer Anthony Boudreau, with all three being given a stage name on social media (Spencer is "Bukky VanZant", Nicholas is "Nikki Crow", and Anthony is "Tony Stone").

Their lineup may not be complete, as according to this Musicians Wanted Facebook group posting from April 16th, S&C are looking for a keyboardist "who can bring that vintage feel to the... keys that sit right in the pocket to add depth to heavy blues grooves". Applicants must be aged 20-35, consistent and on-time, able to improvise and learn songs quickly, have their own setup, and have "feel, tone, and stage presence". Auditions can be in person at their jam space or online. Keyboards in local rock bands aren't exceedingly common, so hopefully they can find the right person, and contact the guys above if you're interested! In that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, Stones & Crows will make their live debut on Friday, June 26th at Beck's Bar, which was announced in this jokey Facebook video featuring the guys sitting on a couch. No word on why this horizontal video was needlessly letterboxed into vertical "Reel" dimensions though, making it tiny.

The concert will be a 19+ affair at 9:00 PM with no announced cover. Based on early sound descriptions, Stones & Crows do sound like successors to Electric Church, with "a modern hard rock sound rooted in blues & grit" and artists like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan cited as being covered along with planned originals. Then as now, they'll stand out locally, so stay tuned for more from Stones & Crows soon, keep their debut show in two months in mind, and give their first video a look below!

Next up, here's the last of this weekend's hard rock concert previews, as local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will return to The Full Throttle Saloon for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen at this venue in late March, tomorrow's concert coincides with a "rabbit party" at the former Primavera Hall, literally meaning that they're serving roasted rabbit on the dinner menu tomorrow, so keep that in mind if that interests you! This will be Headrush's last Full Throttle gig before they open for Ozzy Osbourne tribute band The Crazy Babies there on May 9th, and if you didn't hear about the admission fees for that show, tickets cost $70 at the venue or at this link, and reportedly, there will be no admission at the door, which alone is unusual for a local concert. I won't pass judgment on how the venue/band landed on that price, but I hope that the concert draws as well as they're hoping!

Tomorrow's headlining concert is at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's some brand new videos of Headrush live at The Esquire Club two weeks ago! Bassist John Amendola shared three clips from attendee and local music supporter Audrey Marshall's personal Facebook page to the band's Facebook group, with Audrey filming the guys covering Triumph's "Lay It On The Line", Tommy Tutone's "867-5309/Jenny", and as embedded below, AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie", which is the only one of the three to exceed one (or two) minutes in length. The Tommy Tutone cover notably features Soundcheck/Half Past drummer Johnny Amendola (John's son and ex-bandmate) sitting in for Gino Pulente behind the kit. That video happens to be vertical, alas, but Audrey did seem to focus on Johnny primarily for it.

He fits in well with his dad and gang on that cover, as you'd expect! The other two covers see Headrush in heavier territory (and timely in the case of Triumph) and doing a solid job on them, with John Anderson's voice suiting early AC/DC well in particular, so give everything a watch above and below, and don't miss Headrush tomorrow in Steelton!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Crush & Headrush) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

(Updated at 10:45 PM) Another quiet weekend for hard rock concerts in the Twin Saults is upon us, so we can fit almost everything in this post with the exception of Sunday's Pop Evil concert, which will absolutely be in our next news post. As always, we'll start with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know on this Thursday night, along with new videos from two of the bands in question!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to The Kiln at Searchmont Resort for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced by drummer Tony Santoro on the band's Facebook group this past Friday. While the band connection isn't reflected in Searchmont's recent postings, TOMORROW'S show is well timed, as Generations are playing at the resort during the final weekend (the "season ender bender", if you will) of the C.S.R.A. Snowcross Championships, and Searchmont is getting a festival to go along with the snowmobile racing ahead, including DJs, pig roasts, and vendors from TOMORROW through Sunday, so click here to see what all is taking place! There will be different musical acts at The Kiln on Saturday night and in an 11:00 AM-5:00 PM Sunday matinee timeslot, but I don't know who is playing on those days.

If you want to see Valerie, Joe, Pierre, and Tony's old school rock covers at Searchmont, they'll take the stage tomorrow at The Kiln from 8:00-11:00 PM with no announced age limits, and while there are ticketing fees to see Snowcross races, I don't believe you have to pay to just see Generations live. I admittedly don't get too engrossed into the winter sports scene, but Snowcross weekend looks pretty packed, so see above for more on everything going down while it still looks like winter outside! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Generations live!

Next up, fellow local classic/ hard rock cover quintet Headrush will set up shop at The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were first announced via their official Facebook event page on Monday. Marking their first concerts outside of the Full Throttle Saloon since they last rocked The Esquire Club in late November, it will be good for west end fans to see this skilled 1980s-leaning cover rock group back at it this weekend, and expect a nostalgia rush along with the Headrush TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! The Johns, Wes, Gino, and Frank hit the stage both nights at 9:30 PM, these are 19+ events, and there are no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more on TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S concerts, and for a preview, here's some brand new videos of Headrush live at The Full Throttle Saloon two weeks ago!

Publically shared by bassist John Amendola to their Facebook group, these were filmed by frequent local concert attendee and supporter Audrey Marshall for her personal Facebook page. She filmed the guys covering Journey's "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" and, as embedded below, Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me". While both are incomplete (90 seconds or so apiece), Audrey was filming horizontally, and had a close tight angle of the band, though I will note that they do seem really cramped on the stage at the former Primavera Hall. Sound performances of these late 1970s classic rock staples, so give them a watch above & below!

Also, we'll head to Sault Michigan briefly, where local hard rock trio Crush will play their second show of the year on SATURDAY at The Merchants Bar! Apologies again for the short notice, this show was only announced via this comedy video on their Facebook page on Tuesday (I won't dare try to describe it). While the show was only announced on five days' notice, at least it got that much, unlike their Savoy Bar show in February, which neither they nor About:Blank publically acknowledged on social media at all! Unless they had another unadvertised concert in the past six months, this will be Crush's debut gig at The Merch, though members have played there in the past with their sister band Tarnished (remember, Crush basically took over as Alex & Josh's outlet for both original music and comedic viral content after Tarnished shifted to a covers-only focus in 2024). 

It's good to see Crush back at it, and hopefully the guys rock The Merch well with their nicely developing original slate on SATURDAY NIGHT! Note that I saw reference on their Facebook page last month to a pair of shows downstate next month but I can't find the post that mentioned the dates and locations. The video above notes that SATURDAY's show has a relatively short run-time of 10:00 PM-12:00 AM, it is a 21+ affair at The Merch, and there is no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Crush live in their local concert debut last year!

Finally for today, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for a show that did get advance notice before this week, specifically at The Water Tower Pub, where reunited local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly will take the stage for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Two weeks removed from their most recent gig at the Boots & Saddles Roadhouse, this will be Quite Frankly's first show at this central venue in three months. If you haven't see the new look Quite Frankly in recent months, why not make a trip to The Water Tower Pub for their rocking cover slate on Saturday? As always, this venue hosts different nightly acts, and tomorrow's band is veteran country cover quintet Out & Out Country (featuring former That's Chester/Double Down drummer Ric Datson). There's no cover charge on Saturday, a 19+ age limit, and an 8:00 PM start time as usual here. Visit the above links for more details!

For a preview, here's a brand new video of the band at Boots & Saddles two weeks ago, courtesy of their Facebook page, and it features their cover of Alannah Myles' "Black Velvet". Like with the Headrush videos above, this is horizontal but incomplete (a minute long this time), and while this isn't exactly a surprise pick or a deep cut, it's well performed with Linsaey L.W. delivering strong vocals, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for the Pop Evil preview and more next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (B.A. Johnston, Bone Yard 225, Generations, And Soundcheck!!)

Plans to put up this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post today have been slightly delayed due to SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know on that front today as well as some other newly announced shows taking place later this spring!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's Place for Easter long weekend concerts TONIGHT (yes, they're open for Good Friday) and TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced these shows via their Facebook page at 12:47 PM today, and Reggie's never corroborated them on Facebook. These will be the second and third shows from Soundcheck in a six day span, following their also-announced-that-day concert on Monday at Beck's Bar as an unofficial Goo Goo Dolls replacement event, and yes, they did indeed have Separate Wayz frontwoman/bandmate Nicole Thibodeau on hand that night for an "epic crossover". Kudos to all five members of the two sister bands for jumping on board that short notice gig, and hopefully there was a decent turnout despite the work night scheduling! TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S shows appear to be Soundcheck only.

Two weeks removed from Travis, Terry, Jim, and Johnny's last shows at Reggie's, TONIGHT & TOMORROW's concerts will see the classic and hard rock cover attack take the stage at 9:30 PM with no announced cover charges and 19+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, we have a couple of new show announcements for later this month of the cover-leaning persuasion at The Water Tower Pub, who posted their April concert calendar on their Facebook page earlier today! We already knew about Quite Frankly's show there on April 11th thanks to that band's own advertising, but SMS readers may want to circle the following weekend on their calendars, starting with the return of southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 on Friday, April 17th! Last seen at Smitty's for St. Patrick's Day, this will be Greg, Alex, and Warren's first show at the Great Northern Road nightclub since late January. Your local 225 have been oddly quiet since mid-February, only playing the one "uncorked" concert in the interim (the April 17th show will also be acoustic, as usual there), and only having plugs for that event and a couple of frontman Greg Simpson's new "Ranting Rockstar" social media posts since, where he offers his own pearls of wisdom about life and music.

No word on when we'll see the full electric Bone Yard show again (last seen on Valentine's Day at Beck's), but hopefully their Water Tower Pub show is a sign of more gigs to come, and that their album is still in progress! As usual for this venue, expect an 8:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover on the 17th. See above for more details!

As usual, The Water Tower Pub hosts different nightly acts, and the Saturday, April 18th booking belongs to local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations! Now, I will preface this by noting that the band has not yet corroborated this booking on their Facebook group, and haven't even posted there since March 9th, despite playing at The Kiln in the interim. Assuming all is well in their camp, this will be Generations' first show at this venue since late February, and hopefully fans get another entertaining classic and hard rock mix from this union of Jus' Chillin and Obsession alumni! Like with Bone Yard 225 the previous day, expect this to be a 19+ event with no cover charge and a start time of 8:00 PM. Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more from Generations when announced!

We'll close with a newly announced concert from a familiar touring artist, but not at a venue you may expect, as Hamilton outsider folk/acoustic punk musician B.A. Johnston will return to the Soo on Saturday, May 23rd at... The Esquire Club? It is very strange to see a touring act, let alone a show expected to have at least one opener, at this Second Line West mainstay, but B.A. is infamous for never playing at the same venue twice in his Sault Ste. Marie stops (seven by my count, at least sixteen by his). B.A. last played at Venue on Queen Street East in May of last year, and if you're unfamiliar with his shows, expect his proudly Canadian, self-deprecating, Hawkins Cheezies-loving, and deeply humorous live set to turn heads once again, and my description of his shows will never do them justice. Click here to sample B.A.'s show last year via SooToday's coverage, where he even played on top of a car at one point!

The support act (if not acts) is to be announced, but note that Silent 9 have been scheduled for May 22nd and 23rd at The Esquire Club since last year. We'll keep their May 22nd show in our calendar for now, but we'll let you know if the May 23rd gig's status is clarified. Despite the proximity to May 24th, this show does not fall on the Victoria Day long weekend. It is a 9:00 PM concert with a 19+ age limit, and while his Venue show last year had an admission fee, this year's B.A. show will have no cover. This should be a fun time next month, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and go check out his videos on YouTube to get a better sampling of his live experience! That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's almost-completed "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Silent 9, Generations, And Separate Wayz) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

In what's shaping up to be a mild and rainy weekend, let's dive into this weekend's Sault Ontario hard rock concert previews, mostly including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS! Due to the amount and that it's on the other side of the border, I'll hold our preview of Saturday's Unfortunate Sun concert for tomorrow's post. Here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Separate Wayz will return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show on their Facebook page yesterday, and the venue has not posted a March concert calendar on social media at press time. Last seen in their joint "epic crossover" matinee with sister band Soundcheck at The Tap Room two weeks ago, this will see Separate Wayz return to the site of their live concert debut from February of last year. As you may recall, singer Nicole Thibodeau had to drop out of the band's scheduled Esquire Club concerts last week due to illness (Travis filled in for her in what became a Soundcheck weekend), so hopefully she is 100% and ready to rock with the guys TOMORROW! As usual for The Water Tower Pub, they don't book the same band on consecutive nights, and the Saturday night headliners there will be Tex Riviera & The Ride.

Separate Wayz won't be idle on Saturday though, as for a second straight year, they will be headlining the dance party after the annual Wawa Ice Fishing Derby that night (Soundcheck have done so in the past too). Wawa is 2½ hours north of here, but if you're up there or are up for a road trip, keep this gig in mind, and click here for details! As for TOMORROW'S Water Tower Pub concert, it's an 8:00 PM event as usual with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here they are live!

Next up, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will set up shop at The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, and will also return there on Friday, May 22nd and Saturday, May 23rd! Again, apologies for the short notice on this weekend's dates, we only just heard about them via the band's Facebook page this past Saturday, and The Esquire Club has seemingly transitioned to plugging shows week by week on Facebook rather than a half year schedule like in the past. It is worth noting that both TOMORROW & SATURDAY's shows and the May dates are recent additions to Silent 9's website's concert calendar, and were not among the 2026 dates listed there at the start of the year. After focusing on private events for most of the winter and Bon Soo last month, this weekend's dates will be Silent 9's first traditional bar concerts of the year, and they should have lots of fun rocking covers in store for west end fans TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT!

Despite the proximity to May 24th, their shows in May are not on the Victoria Day long weekend, which is the week prior this year. All four shows are 19+ affairs at 9:30 PM with no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video from Silent 9's Facebook page from their Bon Soo-opening concert at The Machine Shop! This 33 second clip sees Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve covering Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", albeit in two chunks, and alas, shot vertically (look at all that needlessly empty space above the stage!) Length and orientation aside, they sound good here, and Jess' voice sounds strong for what is included, so check this video out below, and don't miss out this weekend!

Also newly announced for this weekend, one more female-fronted classic/hard rock cover quartet will take the stage on SATURDAY NIGHT, as Generations will return to Gateway Casino! Apologies again for the short notice, the band first announced this show on their Facebook group on Monday. This will be Generations' first gig at the downtown Sault Ontario casino this year, and it will also be their first show there with new guitarist Joe Miller, (their most recent Gateway gig in October featured fill-in guitarist Michael Yurich). Hopefully there's a sizable crowd at the casino on SATURDAY for Generations' tried and tested classic and hard rock hits! As usual for shows there, this one-nighter is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on SATURDAY's concert action, and for a preview, here they are live last month!

Finally for this preview post, we'll look at a show that did get advance notice earlier than the past week, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will return to Beck's Bar for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen at The Water Tower Pub two weeks ago, this will be Double Down's second Beck's gig of 2026 and their first since last summer with bassist Dan Beaupre (not pictured, unless their AI prompt was really vague). No word on if there will be multiple guest appearances like fans saw last time, but there should be a solid array of hard rocking covers in store on Saturday from the Syrettes, Dan, and Ric for fans in the west end! Beck's is hosting live music tomorrow too, but like The Water Tower Pub, they don't double up on Fridays and Saturdays, so tomorrow's band is new local blues rock act Sunday & The Broken Hearts, who you may recall from last year's Toystock.

As for the matinee performer on Saturday, the 3:00 PM slot then goes to 2024 Soo's Got Talent semifinalist Arin Karki, who you may know as a frequent performer at The Dive Gastro Pub. Remember, Arin isn't "opening" for Double Down, he and the band have separate 4 hour timeslots spaced 2 hours apart, but you can hang out to see both if you like. Double Down are up at 9:00 PM on Saturday with no cover charge and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Double Down live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Unfortunate Sun preview and more next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck, Travis & Terry, And Curtis McKenzie), And The Generations Concert Preview!!

(Updated at 10:08 PM) In this final concert weekend of February 2026, we again have too many hard rock shows for one post, so Saturday's Project 906 and A.S.D.P./Apocalypse Afterparty shows will hit the site in our next news post. Here's what you should know to start off, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Former Haggith/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will play his second solo acoustic concert of the year TONIGHT at The Dive Gastro Pub! Apologies for the short notice, Curt only announced this "Think It Over Thursday" gig on his Facebook page on Monday, where he said that he "just got word that I will be performing", though at press time, The Dive has not corroborated this booking on social media. Curtis kicked off his 2026 solo calendar at the same venue last month, and hopefully his return to "The Naughty Corner" provides another solid evening of hard and alternative rock covers, so don't miss out TONIGHT if this is what the doctor ordered! As usual for concerts at the former Low & Slow, this is a 19+ show with no announced cover charge, and Curt mentioned a 10:00 PM start time despite generally listing 9:00 or 9:30 PM there in the past. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Curtis live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via their sister band Separate Wayz' Facebook page earlier today. The reason why that band announced Soundcheck gigs is because, when this post was originally written, TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT belonged to Separate Wayz (via shows also announced on late notice earlier this week), but singer Nicole Thibodeau is under the weather. Good thing that the two bands have a 75% identical lineup, so swap her out for Travis Sharpe, and boom, Soundcheck are here to save the day! As such, these will be Soundcheck's first shows at The Esquire Club since 2024, their first there with Travis since 2019, and their third concert weekend of any kind with new drummer Johnny Amendola. Hopefully he, Travis, Terry, and Jim rock the house!

As would have been the case with Separate Wayz this weekend, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows are 19+ events at 9:30 PM with no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, here's Soundcheck live, and hopefully Nicole gets better soon! It's never fun being sick!

Also newly announced for this weekend is a show sandwiched in between Soundcheck's Esquire Club gigs, as singer/guitarists Terry Eaton and Travis Sharpe will play an acoustic matinee concert together at Misty's Fifties on SATURDAY! Apologies again for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook page on Monday, and Sound Track Soundcheck have not confirmed the booking either, though it is only half of the band. Yes, Trav(is) & Terry are replacing Tym Morrison, who was originally slated to play at Misty's on SATURDAY before he broke his pinky finger (he is scheduled to return to live concerts late next month). While the idea of Soundcheck's original/current guitarists playing an unplugged show is relatively new for our coverage, you may recall seeing Terry back up his old bandmate Cameron Oliver in acoustic country concerts last year.

With Travis back, it's safe to assume that this acoustic gig with Terry will be similar in tone to Soundcheck's hard and classic rock-leaning full band shows, and it'll be a second straight busy SATURDAY for them, after Soundcheck played two concerts in one day last week, so keep this one in mind if you want some unplugged mid-day rock! As usual for Misty's Fifties on Second Line West, this is a 4:00 PM gig with a 19+ age limit and no cover, before the guys head down the road to join Soundcheck that night. Visit the above links for more details, and we'll you know if public videos of Terry & Travis surface!

We'll close this preview post with a show that did have advance notice before Monday, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations are scheduled to return to The Full Throttle Saloon for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Just to clarify, the band erroneously announced this show as taking place tomorrow night when first mentioned on their Facebook group on January 11th (source here), but the former Primavera Hall typically doesn't book bands on Fridays, and the venue has since corrected the date in recent promotion. Two weeks removed from their Valentine's Day show at the Full Throttle Saloon, this should be another prime opportunity for fans to see Generations rock out in Steelton, so keep this Saturday nighter in mind for your weekend plans! As usual for Full Throttle gigs, this is a 19+ event with no announced cover charge and a 9:30 PM start time. See above for more details, and here's some brand new videos of Generations live!

Uploaded to new guitarist Joe Miller's personal Facebook page and shared to the band's Facebook group (yes, I can embed these ones), these come from their Water Tower Pub show last week, and include covers of The Tragically Hip's "Blow At High Dough" (with bassist Pierre Anthony on vocals), and as embedded below, Loverboy's "Working For The Weekend" with Valerie Powley singing. While neither is the full song, both are horizontal (thank goodness!) and capture the band in good form from two different camera angles, so if you like their brand of old school rock covers, these should be up your alley! Check them both out above & below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our A.S.D.P. and Project 906 previews (and more) next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Bone Yard 225) & This Weekend's Hard Rock Concert Previews!!

Another seemingly quiet concert weekend is ahead for hard rock fans in the Twin Saults, but we do have a related LOCAL CONCERT ALERT from one band and a new video from another, so here's what you should know as we slowly come out of this week's cold snap!

We'll start with southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, who will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, but in another new announcement, they'll return to Beck's Bar on Saturday, February 14th for a special Valentine's Day gig! While the band proper has not confirmed their slate of concerts beyond this weekend on social media or their website, the venue announced the show (on the Family Day long weekend) on their Facebook page yesterday, and it's not a run of the mill concert. For Valentine's Day, Beck's is hosting a concurrent "stoplight party", the gimmick being that you wear coloured clothing to signify your relationship status and hopefully encourage matchmaking (green = you're single and looking, yellow = maybe/it's complicated, red = you're taken/married). Fun idea, and hopefully there's a strong turnout at the former Vibe Lounge in two weeks to make it as successful as possible!

No word yet on if Bone Yard also have the "uncorked" matinee slot on the 15th, we'll let you know when they or Beck's confirm. In the meantime, tomorrow & Saturday mark the first stops at The Esquire Club for "the dirty three" since November, and just their second and third full electric shows of 2026, so keep everything in mind this weekend and next month! This weekend's Esquire Club shows are at 9:30 PM, the Valentine's party at Beck's is at 9:00 PM, and the three are all 19+ with no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's your local 225 live!

Next up, one of the bigger attractions this weekend is the surprise reunion of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Over a year after the band parted ways following their New Year's Eve 2024 concert at the YNCU Curling Centre, most of the band's final lineup (singer/guitarists Terry Eaton & Cameron Oliver and bassist Jim Michaud) are back for presumably one weekend only. Of course, we have seen unions of 2+ of them multple times in the past year via Cameron's own solo dates, with his short-lived "The Band", and via Terry & Jim's current successor bands Separate Wayz and The Guilty Party, so why Terry is only just now reviving the Soundcheck name isn't publically clear. Hopefully their classic and hard rock covers (with a dash of country) go over well after a year+ away, if technically!

Terry & Jim's new Separate Wayz/Guilty Party bandmate Johnny Amendola will take Glen Thomas' spot behind the drumkit, in his first public gigs with them under any band name, so if you're curious to see how he fits in, come to the former Roosevelt Hotel! Like usual for their old gigs, the former Nameus hit the Jay's stage at 9:30 PM tomorrow and Saturday night with no cover charges or age limits. See above for more details on Soundcheck's reunion weekend, and for a preview, here they are live!

In a brief detour to Sault Michigan, fans across the river can welcome Traverse City metal/hard rock trio Scarkazm back to The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino for the first times this year TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Their sister band Peril kicked off 2026 at the Soo Kewadin four weeks ago, and will be in St. Ignace in two weeks, but in the interim, Scarkazm are hear to bring things a little heavier with their rocking slate of covers and possibly some originals, and it will be good for fans of Adam, Dave, and Jeff to see them back at it after another busy past year! If you miss this weekend's shows, Scarkazm proper won't be back at The Rapids Lounge for almost two months. As usual for Scarkazm's (and Peril's) Kewadin bookings, tomorrow and Saturday's shows are 21+ affairs with no cover charges and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details, and for a preview, here they are live a few years back!

Finally for this weekend's known and public hard rock concert previews, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for a one-nighter, as local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will return to the stage on SATURDAY NIGHT at The Full Throttle Saloon! Four weeks ago, this talented veteran group played their first gig at the former Primavera Hall, and now they're back in Steelton for their second show there and of the year. Bassist John Amendola (whose son Johnny is drumming with Soundcheck at Jay's that same night) teased that Headrush will have new songs in their setlist to unveil on Saturday, so head to the Full Throttle Saloon to see what's new! This is a 9:00 PM concert on Saturday with no announced cover charge and a 19+ age limit. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new jam session video of Headrush in action, as shared to their Facebook group!

Shared from John Amendola's personal Facebook page, this sees him, John Anderson, Wes, Gino, and Frank covering "Spaceship Superstar" by Canadian hard rock legends Prism. The camera could be centered moreso, but the cover sounds good to me, and it's always good to see a local band covering some Cancon that isn't one of the usual suspects! Check it out below, and see much more from Headrush on Saturday night!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review next, either tomorrow or on Saturday! Thanks everyone!