LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Poutine Feast), New Videos, And Hails Updates!!

Before we kick off our likely last news post of June 2026, just a heads up that Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover band Tarnished had to cancel their St. Ignace Car Show matinee gig on Saturday, as per their Facebook page 22 minutes prior to showtime. A reason wasn't given, but Alex & Josh still played their acoustic Bay Mills gig that night, so Chris and/or Ron being unavailable could explain things. Disappointing given the timing, but Tarnished will return to St. Ignace for an outdoor Music By The Bay concert on September 5th! Now, here's a Canada Day SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and more recent news and notes from the last little while!

Local punk/alternative cover sextet BookcluB and their sister acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will reportedly both be among the lineup on WEDNESDAY at The Downtown Plaza as part of the opening Canada Day program for this year's Poutine Feast! Apologies for the short notice, we only caught lineup details for this year in the batch post promoting the touring poutine festival on Facebook (only the paid advertisement version lists any scheduled musical performers, not the static promotional images shared as permanent posts). After 2025 had a reduced music lineup that was never announced on social media, we at least know some of the 2026 performers, with BookcluB and Dos Amigos (neither of which have corroborated the Poutine Feast advertising) joining new local southern/indie rock quartet Eli Russell & The River Fools and classic rock veterans RPM on WEDNESDAY.

Also teased are "...and more!", but who they are isn't known, let alone the timeslots, or the entire Thursday music lineup beyond Jay Case, but we will touch on the Friday program in our next weekend concert previews. Expect games, family entertainment, other vendors, and of course, lots of touring poutine food trucks on WEDNESDAY through Sunday at the plaza, so click here for full details on the daily themes! Poutine Feast is on daily from 11:00 AM-9:00 PM, this is absolutely FREE & ALL AGES (food purchases aside), and 9&10 News is calling for partly-mostly cloudy skies, with temperatures ranging from 25-30°, so prepare accordingly for the heat. Visit the above links for more details, and here's BookcluB live at the plaza!

Next up, here's the first public video that I can actually embed here (not a "Story") from local ska punk/"crackrocksteady" quartet A.S.D.P. in concert! The band still doesn't have a formal social media page outside of Bandcamp, but this was uploaded to drummer "Just" Ralph Barber's personal Facebook page yesterday, and then publically shared to frontman Mikhal Muto's promotion agency Underground Events SSM's Facebook page. This comes from the all-local concert that they headlined at Blaster Powerhouse this past Saturday, and this may not be representative of Adam Smith Death Parade's general sound for two reasons. One is that it's not a ska punk song (rather a cover of Pennywise's "Bro Hymn"), but also because this doesn't just have Mikhal, Tucker, William, and Ralph on stage. No, everyone is on stage, from members of other bands that night (Chris Nielsen and Spencer MacGillivray among them) to other fans and friends.

If you know anything about "Bro Hymn", the community aspect adds a lot, and it's great to see everyone having a blast in what I can only assume is the last song of the night! The attendee who filmed this (I recognize him but don't know his name off hand) unfortunately shot this vertically and only for a minute, but it's a fun watch, and I wonder who brought the balloons? Check it out below, and hopefully some more public videos of A.S.D.P. surface, even without a Facebook page of their own!

Also today, here's the latest from Mikhal's old hardcore punk band Hails, who announced the addition of With Gunfire/ex-Jack Spades guitarist Anthony Orazietti to their lineup on June 3rd, replacing Carmen Muto (Mikhal's cousin). A reason for the switch was not publically announced, but Carmen didn't immediately leave when Mikhal did at the end of 2025, and he has since been confirmed as the new lead guitarist of the aforementioned BookcluB, so follow them for his next live outings. Anthony is a talented and underrated shredder, so hopefully he bolsters the ranks well with Brent & Keegan going forward! While Ha!ls' first local date of the year and with Anthony will be at the Ripcordz concert at Beck's Bar on July 18th, they will actually debut the new lineup on Friday, July 10th at the conveniently named Dock Ellis sports bar in Toronto, which will be a headlining date alongside three bands from the GTA.

Hails are a ripping live act that fans of Brent's past work as a frontman will take to with ease, and it's great to see that their six month+ break from the stage is winding down, so if you won't be in Toronto in two weeks for the new lineup's soft launch, don't miss out on the new Ha!ls lineup with The Ripcordz the following week (on Rotaryfest Saturday, even!)

Finally for today, here's some updates from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9! The band is in the midst of their annual summer break from nightclub concerts, instead focusing on festivals and private events, but even given that, this is a quiet stretch for them, as their only public booking in Sault Ste. Marie until the fall was at Throttle Fest at Runway Park on Saturday, June 20th. If you want to get a glimpse of how the set at the outdoor motorcross/mud drag event looked, then here's a (sadly) vertical clip of Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve covering Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" late in the concert, as per their Facebook page the following day. Silent 9 were playing on a flatbed trailer at Runway Park, and there was an active crowd rocking out at this point in the night, if perhaps with a few bugs. The video is only 20 seconds long, but what we hear is well performed!

Note that the thumbnail image is from much earlier in the set for one reason or another (the video was 100% shot at nighttime), and as such, I do think that the stage lighting on the trailer made Silent 9 look too purple, especially in contrast to the outdoorsy locale, but you shouldn't be expecting Bell Border Jam II either. The description of the video does imply that Silent 9 will be back for Throttle Fest II next year, but with no Rotaryfest or Giovanni's sets this month (or anywhere else), local fans won't be able to see Silent 9 again at a public event until September, unless you wanna drive to Thessalon or White River. Give this new video clip a watch below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news, updates, and concert previews as we enter the month of July! Thanks everyone!

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

Before we begin our latest round of weekend concert previews, just a heads up that the planned Dr. Feelgood concert at The Sault Community Theatre Centre has quietly been cancelled, as per the deletion of its ticket page from the S.C.T.C. website. I have not seen any public statement on a reason for the cancellation, but $61 adult tickets can't have encouraged sales, White Pines theater or not. Contact Miles Management or the local box office if you still haven't gotten a refund for purchased tickets. Dr. Feelgood deliver the goods for Motley Crue and hair metal fans, and hopefully they try here again!

This preview post will go into most of the weekend's hard rock shows, but due to the amount, I'll hold the Go Skateboarding Day and Quite Frankly concerts for our next post. Most of today's are SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, and we'll start at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the shows were only announced on the venue's Facebook page yesterday, creatively by sharing the AI-generated poster for their shows there last month, which didn't have date-specific details. Fresh off of their sister band Separate Wayz' shows at Reggie's last week, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S concerts are not advertised to be "epic crossover" shows either, but as we saw last week, you never quite know when Nicole will turn up at a Soundcheck-only gig, and vice versa for Travis with Separate Wayz!

In the realm of Facebook "Story" videos, you may have seen one from their last show at Beck's Bar from that venue featuring Soundcheck covering Billy Squier's "Everybody Wants You" with Travis on vocals, but alas, "Story" videos disappear forever after being seen once or twice. Will they perform it again TOMORROW or SATURDAY? Find out at the former Reggie's West! These are 9:30 PM concerts with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover veterans Generations will play an hour-long set as part of Minelli's 75th anniversary Italian Celebration on SATURDAY! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed their involvement via their Facebook group on Tuesday, and the schedule was only released yesterday. To celebrate 75 years of Minelli's as an Italian restaurant in the Soo (currently based out of The Marconi Multicultural Events Centre at 450 Albert Street West), this one day festival on SATURDAY will celebrate Minelli's and give back to the community, including vendors, games, raffles, kids activities, food and drinks, and of course, live music. Not counting the DJ playing that night, there is a four band matinee program on SATURDAY, with Generations co-headlining at 3:00 PM. Local country musician Matt Tarantini will be last up at 4:30 PM, with the Elettra Marconi Society Choir performing at 2:00 PM, and classic rock mainstays RPM kicking things off with a 2 hour block at 12:00 PM, so there's a lot for many tastes!

To be held in The Marconi Hall's parking lot from noon until 10:00 PM, this is a free & all ages event, but food and drink tickets will be on site if you're so inclined. 75 years is quite a milestone, so kudos to Julie and the rest of the family and staff for sticking with Minelli's for all these years, and hopefully Generations and the other musical performers set the right notes on SATURDAY! As the concert is outdoors, 9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy weather on SATURDAY with a high of 20° and a low of 7°, and rain is unlikely. Visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Generations live!

Also this weekend, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will head west to Runway Park to serve as musical entertainment at Throttle Fest on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, we knew that they were scheduled to play at Runway Park via their website's concert calendar, but firm confirmation about the event proper only crossed my radar this week. Surprisingly their only public show in city limits this summer (they're not playing at Rotaryfest), Silent 9 will help close out Throttle Fest, a drag racing & mud bog festival taking place at the 573 Airport Road dirt racing venue that is most famous in a concert context for hosting the Bell Border Jam festival in 2008. Along with racing to take part in and watch, there will be a food truck and beer tent on site, tattoos, on-site camping, and more, so click here for fuller details on what to expect! Silent 9 are scheduled to perform from 7:00-11:00 PM on SATURDAY NIGHT.

General admission is $40 unless you're racing in Throttle Fest events proper (kids 10 and under are free), and gates open for the day's swath of events at 7:30 AM on SATURDAY. Like with the Minelli's festival, the weather forecast currently looks good here as well. Silent 9 should get fans moving with some fun hard rock and general covers to cap off a busy program, so visit the above links for more on Throttle Fest, and here they are live!

Finally for this preview post, we'll close with one more special summer festival (albeit one whose band details weren't on short notice), as local southern rock trio Bone Yard 225 will return as the house band for the annual Queen Street Cruise TOMORROW & SATURDAY! "The Dirty Three" have long served as musical entertainment for this classic car throwback event, with the home base returning to The Roberta Bondar Pavilion all weekend long. As usual, tomorrow's program is headlined by the cruise proper, with your local 225 playing under the tent from 6:30 PM onward, while they will set up shop outside on the boardwalk proper by Montana's from 12:30 PM onward during the show n' shine car show, preceding the awards ceremony to close the weekend. Outside of their concert action, click here for the full weekend itinerary, including appearances by Cristy Lee from All Girls Garage, the Touch-A-Truck, and much more.

Admission is free for general attendees (see above if you intend on registering for the car show or cruise), this is absolutely an all ages event, and while the Saturday forecast is already noted above, tomorrow's forecast is calling for clear skies and temperatures of 13-16° when Greg, Alex, and Warren are slated to be performing, tent acknowledged. If you love classic cars, be you the owner of one or not, don't miss the Cruise this weekend, and if you've missed Bone Yard's full electric show in recent months, they'll be in full force downtown! See above for more details, and here's Bone Yard 22live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Quite Frankly and Go Skate Day previews (and more) next! Thanks everyone!

New Live Concert Cover Videos & More Recent News & Notes!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our Canadian readers! Before you settle in for turkey and football (assuming you didn't take care of that yesterday), here's an all-Sault Ontario post for the day off, and it's devoted to recent videos and some other updates, so let's get things rolling!

Normally, I would hold this new video of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down for our next preview of one of their shows (their next publically scheduled gig is on November 21st at The Water Tower Pub), but seeing as it has two guest performers, let's show it off on its own! This comes from one of their gigs at Jay's Piston Broke Pub over this long weekend, in which Mid Life Crysis bassist Lori Reinholtz again sat in for Dan Beaupre, but the guys also welcomed Bourbon Blue singer/guitarist Jules Cote to sing lead on a cover of Oasis' "Don't Look Back In Anger"! Filmed from another high stationary vantage point (if not as straight-on as other past Double Down videos shot like this), this is a soundly handled cover that Oasis fans should like! You can tell that Jules isn't used to singing on stage without a guitar in hand, but his voice fits well enough here, if not hitting as high of notes.

It is worth noting that Bourbon Blue have recently added ex-Re:Born frontman Robert Nevitt as their new lead singer, though Jules remains in the pop rock cover band that he co-founded, so we should still see him on lead and backing vocals where needed. Check out the Syrettes, Ric, Jules, and Lori tackling Oasis this weekend below!

Next up, here's a mild surprise, namely a cover of April Wine's "I Like To Rock" by local indie rock band Jupiter Marvelous! While their original music largely doesn't cross our genre radar, their lineup is entirely comprised of alumni of past local hard rock bands, and they do have the occasional hard rock or punk cover in their live sets (remember when they covered Fall Out Boy at Rotaryfest?). This was filmed for veteran local rock guitarist Mike Cliffe's YouTube channel, one of multiple videos of Jupiter Marvelous that Mike has filmed there, and this was from the band's set at Wolf Fest at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion last month. Most of this Canadian hard rock staple was captured here, with new guitarist Spencer Pine taking on lead vocals, which old Electric Church fans will be sure to appreciate! I'd have had the screen behind the band showing something, but Jupiter Marvelous are a talented and very adaptable band, so give this a watch below!

Also today, here's a new video from local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225's Facebook page last week, which features drummer Greg Simpson heading to his drumkit at his home studio for what he says is "my favourite time". The implication is that he was working on new Bone Yard material, but nothing was explicitly said there. Regardless, he had his coffee ready! Nice little glimpse at the behind the scenes process, and Facebook was not able to content match the Black Label Society song in the background, so give this video a watch below, and stay tuned for more from your local 225!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

 

• Sporadically seen local deathcore band Bardo have quietly altered their name to Bardos, as per their Facebook page. A reason for pluralizing the name wasn't announced, but note that their only Facebook posts in the past year have been to plug Heavy North Entertainment concerts put on by frontman Tyler St. Amour. The name change would be a sign that they're still active despite not playing an acknowledged public concert in over a year, so we'll have to see what comes out next from Bardos!
• The Facebook event page's description for the 1990s punk reunion concert at Soo Blaster on December 27th had been updated to note that "some original members" of the three reuniting bands will be playing, hinting that Fist Magnet, Room 206, and/or The Spigots may not be fully/officially reuniting here. A discussion thread there from co-promoter/P.R.O.D. guitarist Christian Foisy did shed some light on that, with ex-Spigots guitarist Jeff Nisbet questioning who would be representing that band. Christian added that singer Trevor Harding & bassist Frank Guidocco would be playing in December, so the "some original members" clarification may reflect The Spigots in particular. It will be a must-attend show regardless!
• I have moved local/Toronto indie/punk quartet Treble Charger back to our inactive band links. They last issued a public update or played live when they opened for Everclear at the annual Western Fair in London in September of last year. I will not be commenting on the allegations from October of last year, which are far outside of what I want to cover on here, and do not directly affect our coverage of local music beyond the band's active status.

 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225 & Oktoberfest) And More Weekend Concert Previews!!

Let's keep the weekend concert previews rolling on this Thursday evening with more concert action in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, particularly from two concurrent outdoor community festivals promoted by local breweries. One is a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, and we have more new dates to touch on, so here's what you should know for concert preview post #2!

Make it two Oktoberfests that local alternative/punk cover supergroup Bookclub are playing at this fall, as they have been added to the lineup for SATURDAY'S Outspoken Brewing-hosted Oktoberfest street party on Queen Street East! Apologies for the short notice, the band was only confirmed for the festivities on Outspoken's Facebook page on Monday (they were obviously the "more TBA" when the brewery first announced the street party on September 4th, and there are no other punk/hard rock-leaning bands scheduled). Still riding the momentum from the Forever Seger concert earlier this month, BookcluB should be a fine and crowd pleasing fit on Queen Street (closed between Elgin and Bruce) on SATURDAY evening, so don't miss this stacked sextet then! It is worth noting that guitarist Brandon Ruch was present with the band at Forever Seger despite his announced move to Barrie, and he is pictured in the Oktoberfest advertising.

I don't know what's Brandon's status with BookcluB is going forward, but we'll let you know when/if we learn who was playing guitar with Mikey and crew on SATURDAY! BookcluB are slotted in the middle on SATURDAY at 5:30 PM, with local DJ/EDM duo Flummoxx closing the festivities at 10:30 PM, and indie rock quartet Lucy's Diner (the former Hollow Heads) scheduled in between at 8:00 PM. Local polka band Nein German Guys (who are also playing at Soo Falls' Oktoberfest at The Machine Shop with BookcluB on October 18th) will keep the Oktoberfest vibes rolling at 3:00 PM, and the day begins with folk singer/guitarist and Dustcovers member Tom Peer at 2:00 PM. Beyond the music, there will be lots of games and competitions (with prizes) to take in, plus food, beer (as you'd expect), vendors, and more German-flavoured entertainment, so definitely visit Outspoken Brewing's Facebook page for full details on SATURDAY'S events!

Tickets run for $30 at this link (plus processing fees) and presumably at the gate on SATURDAY. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for a high of 19° with mostly cloudy skies and a 10% chance of rain, which should bode well for Oktoberfest revelers, but do follow up with your preferred local weather outlets for updates closer to. Visit the above links for more on SATURDAY'S first of three Oktoberfest parties in the Soo this fall, and for a preview of all of the action, here's BookcluB live!

Next up, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will return to their favourite local stomping grounds (Reggie's Place) TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Two weeks removed from their last stops at Reggie's, "the dirty three" should be in fine spirits with some gritty and in-your-face covers and originals all weekend long, plus with lots of merchandise and hoodie orders in store for fans, so don't bypass this weekend's action if you're up for it! While we're on the subject, Greg, Alex, and Warren have some newly announced dates ahead at The Esquire Club, which resumes hosting live bands this weekend after their summer break, and as per the venue's Facebook page, they'll be back there on on November 7th-8th! The band already announced their Thanksgiving weekend shows there. We'll have more on the other hard rock-leaning new shows at this Second Line West staple in an upcoming post, but it's good to have The Esquire Club hosting concerts again!

Your local 225 are on at 9:30 PM tomorrow and Saturday at Reggie's and for their November dates at The Esquire Club. All four shows are 19+ affairs with no announced cover charges. See above for more on Bone Yard's upcoming concerts, and here they are live!

Finally for weekend concert preview post #2, let's re-answer the viral question: What is Wolf Fest? Running head to head with Oktoberfest for downtown outdoor concert action from a local brewery on SATURDAY, Wolf Fest takes place at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion, and will be hosted by Northern Superior Brewing Co. to help give back to the community and their customers. Along with live music, attendees under the big tent will get to enjoy local vendors and artisans, beer, a charity auction, barbers, tattoo artists, an arcade, and more, so definitely visit Northern Superior's Facebook page for full non-musical details! SMS readers will likely be most drawn to classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 in the 7:00 PM timeslot (their prior scheduling of a Northern Superior show on Saturday was clearly this and not at the Tap Room), but the headliners at 8:15 PM are pop rock cover quartet The Killer Hooks, who do have some heavier covers.

Online page-less local Tragically Hip tribute band The Luxury will take the stage at 5:45 PM, preceded by indie rock band Jupiter Marvelous (led by Killer Hooks frontman Tony Marcello's son Anthony) at 4:30 PM. In a late confirmation, the "special guests TBD" are actually The Royal Canadian Navy Band, believe it or not, so don't miss them leading off Wolf Fest at 3:00 PM! The weather should hold up identically (tent acknowledged) for Wolf Fest, which has admission by donation to the Alzheimer Society of Sault Ste. Marie, which is a wonderful cause. Saultites have a lot of options for live music, beer, and varied entertainment downtown on Saturday, so see above for more on Wolf Fest, and here's Silent 9 live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Double Down and Tym Morrison previews (and more) on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Wolf Fest & Double Down!!)

In today's post, we're focusing solely on LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, all involving prominent local cover bands, so here's what you should know for later this month and beyond!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down's summer break is almost over, and after eleven weeks away from the public stage (even festivals), they have announced a busy slate of nightclub gigs through mid-December! Now, two caveats here: I'll hold their return gigs next weekend for that round of weekend concert previews given the now-short notice, while with the exception of next weekend's dates, all shows are listed as being on a single night (and all but one of those is given as being on a Friday only). Given normal booking trends, I will treat the Jay's and Reggie's bookings as being for the Friday and Saturday of the given weekends, but we'll let you know if that isn't the case. All new dates were announced via Facebook event pages this summer, mostly last month. Beyond next weekend, their first show back at The Water Tower Pub since June will take place on Friday, September 19th, with a return there also taking place on Friday, November 21st.

Both of these are one-nighters, as The Water Tower Pub historically doesn't book the same band on consecutive days. After playing a private stag & doe on September 26th, fans can see Joel, Beej, Dan, and Ric back at Beck's Bar for one night only on Saturday, September 27th, and it will be good to see them back at this newer west end favourite for the first time this fall! On October 3rd and 4th, Double Down will return to Reggie's Place for the first time since last year, and while I don't know why the Syrettes and crew haven't played there in so long, hopefully they rock the house well for downtown fans next month! Lastly, as part of their run of monthly weekends at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, you can see the guys back at the Korah Road nightclub over the Thanksgiving long weekend (October 10th-11th) before returning to the former Roosevelt Hotel on November 21st-22nd and December 12th-13th.

Sounds like a lot of good chances ahead to hear their hard rocking cover array, complete with teased new setlist additions, so keep all of these dates in mind, and we'll address their first shows back from their break on Thursday! All of these shows are 19+ with no announced cover charge, while start times are 8:00 PM at The Water Tower Pub, 9:00 PM at Beck's, and 9:30 PM at Reggie's and Jay's. Visit the above links for more details on Double Down's fall/winter return schedule!

Finally, and after three weeks of teasers from Northern Superior Brewing Co., we can finally answer this question: What is Wolf Fest? Well, it is a community festival taking place on Saturday, September 27th where the downtown microbrewery plans to give back to the Sault area and supporters, and there will be beer on tap (as you'd expect) plus food and a wide array of local vendors and artisans. This even extends to barbers, tattoo artists, and an arcade, believe it or not! Visit the brewery's Facebook page for complete non-musical details so far. Rather than cram everything into the Tap Room on site, Northern Superior will hold Wolf Fest at the Roberta Bondar Pavilion, and four bands will rock the big stage under the tent there, including classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9, confirming their prior teasers about playing here. Good to see Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve back at it after their recent Tap Room gig!

The headliners in three weeks are veteran local/Toronto pop rock cover quartet The Killer Hooks (who do cover hard rock songs on occasion), while frontman Tony Marcello's son Anthony will play a rare concert with his dad that night when his indie rock band Jupiter Marvelous also rock Wolf Fest. The advertised lineup is rounded out by online page-less Tragically Hip tribute band The Luxury (featuring Redefined, Late Shift, Headrush, Billy Bastards, and Tripod The Dog alumni), while the poster references "special guests T.B.D.", so we'll have to see what that entails. Wolf Fest is presumably an all ages event, it runs from 3:00-11:00 PM on the 27th, and admission is by donation to the Alzheimer Society of Sault Ste. Marie. I think Northern Superior could have gave Wolf Fest more direct promotion and less of a teaser campaign, especially as it's three weeks away, but this sounds like a fun event with a lot going on, so visit the above links for more on Wolf Fest! 

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

Neither Could Dylan, Salty Marie Trails Fest, And HeadFirst Concert Previews!!

Given that one of the remaining un-previewed hard rock/punk concerts in the Soo area this weekend is an afternoon matinee tomorrow, let's get our last weekend concert preview post up tonight to avoid putting things off any further! This last preview post looks at three shows tomorrow of varying appeal levels, so here's what else you should know!

We'll pick things back up TOMORROW with the second annual Salty Marie Trails Fest, which returns to Hiawatha Highlands with a bigger and better installment, now including live music! While the Trails Fest proper is a mountain biking/foot racing event featuring local vendors and family activities (click here for full details on how to attend or participate in the festivities), two local covers-centric bands will grace the "salty stage" tomorrow afternoon! Coverage of the bands hasn't been paramount in the recent festival promotion, but alt-punk cover sextet Bookclub are your headliners in their first show since Rotaryfest Stage 1 last week, and they should provide a fun soundtrack of scarcely heard covers for fans at Hiawatha tomorrow afternoon! No word on if bassist Dustin Jones (who missed Rotaryfest while on vacation) will be back in time for the Trails Fest or not, but note that ex-guitarist Dave Bahun returned to fill in for him last week.

Newer local pop rock cover band The Dead Stops (led by ex-Garden of Bedlam frontman Erik Boissineau) will open at 12:00 PM, and hopefully they leave a good impression! The "salty stage" will be set up behind Hiawatha Ice Cream at 780 Landslide Road, and 9&10 News is calling for sunny weather of around 16-24° during the Salty Marie Fest, so weather should be great for the outdoor bands, running, and biking, humidity aside! Attendance is free for spectators (click here to see what race events have openings, but most are booked solid), and while things begin in the morning, both bands play in the afternoon. Visit the above links for more on all of tomorrow's action, and here's Bookclub live!

Next up, after a quiet two months with only sewing events being promoted there, The Distraction on East Street returns to host a formal concert TOMORROW NIGHT, as Vaughan, Ontario "punkabilly" solo project Neither Could Dylan will be making their local concert debut! Neither Could Dylan blend many disparate genres into their original material and live show, with punk, power pop, and indie rock all being detectable in their live show, and it'll be interesting to see how Jaimee goes over to Saultites tomorrow! Sylo frontman Eli Russell will open with his indie rock project launched between Raincourt/Sylo's 2023 hiatus, so if you heard his solo album or saw him solo already, prepare for some talented singer/songwriter material! This concert takes place at 7:00 PM, there is no age limit, and admission is "$10 or pay what you can". Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Neither Could Dylan live!

Lastly for known hard rock concerts this weekend, we'll head to Shooters Downstairs Lounge, where local hard rock quintet HeadFirst will headline their EP release party TOMORROW NIGHT! While attendees of last week's sets at Rotaryfest Stage 2 and Loud & Proud had first crack at buying advance copies of "Head Trauma", tomorrow is the full wide release of the EP beyond the 20 copies brought to the downtown festivals for early birds. If you didn't buy a copy last week (like I did), they cost $15 and feature four songs: "Hot Blooded Woman", "Take You (Down)" (which Liam & Anthony trade roles for live), "Little Darling", and the advance single "Don't Care, Don't Mind". At the moment, "Head Trauma" is exclusively available at their concerts, with the band noting on their Facebook page on Monday that there's "no online store yet", but availability of the full EP on major streaming services is expected tomorrow or soon after.

For the record, "The Walk" is not on the EP (singer Red Jettison told me that it's more intended as a live jam for now), but the band will be playing multiple non-EP originals tomorrow along with the four included songs and some covers, as this is a four set deal a'la weekend headliners on the cover band circuit. There will also be giveaways of signed gear and free CDs to "three lucky winners who rock out with us", so if you want to win some swag, stay until midnight for the reveal! Remember, Shooters hosts DJs on Fridays this year, hence why this is a one-nighter. Tomorrow's concert has no cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and a 9:30 PM start time. See above for more details on HeadFirst's big night, and note that the official trailer for the EP release is online, and it happens to feature live performance footage of the guys at what appears to be Robbie Adamson's old church in Leeburn!

No, this wasn't from a public concert (that I know of), but HeadFirst aren't the only band to use the church for a shoot. Remember The Bear Hunters' music video? Opening with lit firecrackers, the video (uploaded to their Facebook page on Tuesday) features clips of the guys playing live there, but "Hot Blooded Woman" aside, the songs seem like they were edited to look synced up and actually weren't. Lots of post-production graphics and effects (including a filmstrip motif) spice things up, and it's a good teaser of what's to come tomorrow, so check it out at this link! I can't embed it here due to Facebook content matching the studio material clips, but for a preview, here's HeadFirst live at Shooters!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bookclub & HeadFirst) Plus New Studio Song Teasers!!

Today's post features some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for mid-2024 and some teasers for new studio material from two local bands, so here's what you should know on this sunny Tuesday!

Local hard rock quintet HeadFirst have announced their concert calendar for the next month via their Facebook page! I will hold their shows this weekend for our weekend concert previews due to being announced on late notice, and we already knew about their set opening for Greg Rekus & The Inside Job at The Distraction on Thursday, May 23rd (event page linked here), but they will be back at Reggie's Place on Queen Street East for a one-nighter on Friday, May 31st! This appears to have fallen into place due to their booking on Saturday, June 1st at Shooters Downstairs Lounge (which has been booking DJ nights on Fridays in 2024), so they're ending May on the right foot before kicking off June in style a little further downtown! Bone Yard 225 had already confirmed that they're playing at Reggie's on June 1st after a one-nighter at The Water Tower Pub on the 31st, so both bands solved their full weekend booking problems!

If you want to check out HeadFirst for a full weekend at Reggie's afterwards, they will be back there on Friday, June 7th and Saturday, June 8th, so keep these four new dates in mind! All are 9:00 PM affairs with 19+ age limits and no cover charges, and remember, we will be addressing this weekend's HeadFirst shows in our weekend concert previews on Thursday. Meanwhile, remember how HeadFirst vaguely teased on Facebook last month that "Something. Is. Coming." on May 18th (this Saturday)? Well, we now know what exactly. Is. Coming. on the 18th, namely their first studio single! Rather than release the previously filmed "The Walk" thusly, the single (strongly hinted to have been recorded at Mission Control Studios) will be for their original "Don't Care, Don't Mind", and it will be accompanied by a music video featuring footage of the band performing at Case's Music.

The 67 second teaser clip also features the band hanging out, fans dancing at one of their shows, and cigarette package imagery. No vocals, so you aren't spoiled too much yet! Oddly, the teaser video was uploaded sideways, so if you want to watch it without tilting your device/head, you will sadly have to watch it as a "Reel". I can't embed "Reels" here, so the sideways teaser is embedded below, but check it out if you want before the launch on Saturday, and stay tuned on Thursday for our late notice preview of their shows this weekend!

Next up, online page-less local alternative/punk cover sextet Bookclub will perform at this year's second annual Salty Marie Trails Fest at Hiawatha Highlands at 780 Landslide Road on Saturday, July 27th! If you're not familiar, the Salty Marie Fest is a festival of mountain bike and foot races alongside family activities, refreshments, local vendors, and more (click here for SooToday's coverage of last year's event), and this year's sophomore outing is shaping up to be bigger and better, so click here and above for current details on what's going on this year and, if you're up for it, how you can enter one of the races! Among the upgrades for year #2 is live music on "the salty stage", with Bookclub playing in their first confirmed summer festival gig of the year, so don't miss their up-tempo and atypical covers slate then! I have no idea if other musicians will be playing in two months, we'll keep you posted if we hear of anything.

Note that The Salty Marie's Facebook promotion gives us our first official (non-live) photo of Bookclub since adding Josh Norling on saxophone and since Brandon Ruch replaced Dave Bahun on guitar. Presented by Red Pine Tours, the trails fest is absolutely an all ages event, and as best as I can tell, the only admission fee would be for registrants taking part in the bike/foot races. A start time for The Salty Marie has not been announced yet, let alone for Bookclub's set, but based on last year's public media, I'd be shocked if Bookclub weren't on during daylight hours. Visit the above links for more details on the festival and races to come in July!

We'll close today with some punk cohorts of Bookclub's founding members, namely veteran local punk quintet The Gambit, who posted on their Facebook page last week to reveal that they are recording in studio! An 18 seconds-long video was attached featuring drummer Clint Wilson drumming at what appears to be a home studio, and we don't hear any tracks from the rest of the band, but it is a good sign that the former Sick Sons are working on studio material! Fans will recall seeing this band play a few originals live, and you can hear at least five in their live-stream from the Fuller reunion concert at LopLops in December, which I had titled as "Lonelier Tomorrow", "Lucky Seven", "Depth", "Clickbait", and "Faultline" (some could be mislabelled, blame the audio quality of the stream). Are they just recording a one-off single, or is more afoot? We'll keep you posted, but watch Clint's video below, and stay tuned for more from The Gambit!

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

New Videos From Three Local Acts, Plus Summer Festival Cancellations!!

Let's dive into a full news post as we continue year #13 at the SMS! This post is mostly devoted to new videos from three local hard rock acts from the last little while, but we're ending things on a somewhat sour note with a trio of postponed summer concert festivals. Here's what you should know!

Local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's 26th live-streamed concert took place on his YouTube channel on Thursday, and after last Tuesday's show surprisingly went off scot-free with a full run-time, will the good vibes persist here? "Starting Soon" card aside, the video begins about 16 minutes in with Tym covering Frozen Ghost's "Dream Come True", Toto's "Love Isn't Always On Time", Berlin's "Take My Breath Away", Supertramp's "Breakfast In America", an improvised version of The Village People's "Y.M.C.A.", and Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love", before hitting a run of songs where two instrumentals (this jazz number and this lengthy song) bookend a cover of Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You". Afterwards, Tym tackles The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby", Simon & Garfunkel's "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)", and an original song possibly named "Someday", which surprisingly ended the show.

Tym explained that he was "worn out... in the hot sunstroke weather", and given how he looked in the video and how humid the temperatures were last week, I don't blame him in the slightest for stopping halfway through. Kudos to him for playing as long as he did! Fun set with lots of setlist standards and newer cuts, though that instrumental run may not be to everyone's preference, and we just heard the Frozen Ghost and Berlin covers in the previous stream on Tuesday. Give Tym's newest at-home concert a watch below, and look for his next installment tomorrow!



Next up, local party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty shared their first video in two months on their Facebook page on Saturday, which sees the band covering MGMT's "Kids" in their jam space, with the Stanghettas apparently joined by Miranda Siegrist on the second bass (there has not been a statement on if she replaced Alice or if she's just filling in.) Note the minimal attire, which I chalk up to last week's awful humidity. Raw and intense performance that will definitely appeal to existing A.A. fans, though the camera work can be a little unstable. Give this one a watch below!



Also today, here's the remaining new video from Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Project 906's Facebook page that we didn't acknowledge in our post on Saturday, namely a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song"! An audio recording posted as a video on Thursday (with some images from popular movies), this cover is well done, but Billy's vocals do sound like they are straining to hit high notes at times. Give this new 906 cover a listen below!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items, all related to COVID-19 festival cancellations on the summer concert calendar, alas. As usual, these are in alphabetical order by event name:

• After teasing the possibility in April of holding a postponed and downscaled Rotaryfest next month in Sault Ontario, the Rotary Club of Sault Ste. Marie has officially cancelled this year's community summer festival outright, as per local news media like SooToday over the past week. However, organizers have indicated that they will hold a virtual concert of some kind for local musicians to take part in, effectively replacing the two Clergue Park stages for 2020. What form will this take, and when? See above for more details!
• On June 23rd, the fifth annual Rudyard Musicians Festival was officially postponed to next year, as per the event's Facebook page. The Sault Michigan-area event is a fundraiser for Rudyard Area Schools music programs, and had sparingly featured hard rock bands like Project 906 and The Karstens on their varied lineups. Hopefully organizers are back better than ever next summer!
• Similarly, the 20th annual Sugar Island Music Festival will not take place next month, as per their Facebook page earlier today, with organizers citing the "need to keep our community and our people safe", and that "it would be irresponsible" to hold it this year, but they will be back in 2021. While not a hard rock haven, there's usually at least one heavier act out on Sugar Island each year, most recently Tarnished and their predecessors Banned on an annual basis. Again, I hope next year's festival is a huge success!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (First Jason) & A New Local Punk Band!!

Today's post will be very notable for you punk, horror, and horror punk fans, as we have two big topics to address on those spectrums. One is a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with some unique hooks in the spring, and leading off, here's a new addition to our band links that was over four months in the making!

We have a new local punk band to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they The Sick Sons, who have became a quickly prominent sight in the second half of 2019! Originally named The Filthy Dadicals, they made a big splash via two major punk concerts at The Rockstar Bar, where they opened for Random Killing in July and The Ripcordz last month, though they only just launched their Facebook page on November 26th. Fans of defunct ska punk group The 12 Gauge Ready will be very interested in The Sick Sons, as they feature guitarist Lucas Schmiedendorf, bassist Dave Barrett, and drummer Clint Wilson in their lineup! Of course, don't forger that Luc and Clint were previously bandmates in both Bankshot and the short-lived 2017 group The HTs. This band's lineup is rounded out by former Downshift guitarist Steve Zuppa (who shares vocal duties with Luc), and their Facebook bio says that they are "fueled by their love of punk rock and craft beer."

You can next see The Sick Sons opening for Northwest on December 20th and The (former?) Cover-Up on the 28th, both shows taking place at LopLops. With a stacked lineup of local punk veterans from numerous high profile groups, it's no wonder they have got such a good reception at their initial gigs! While they don't dip too far into the ska well a'la The 12 Gauge Ready, they easily tackle lots of 1990s and 2000s punk favourites with skill, so give their first public videos a watch at this link, and stay tuned for more!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, and it's a newsworthy one, as New York punk/metal band First Jason will make their local concert debut at The Canadian Nightclub on Sunday, April 26th! The band's name is surprisingly literal, because their frontman is Ari Lehman, who played Jason Voorhees in flashbacks and the climax of the original Friday the 13th movie from 1980, filmed when he was just 14 years old. Afterwards, Ari moved onto a music career as a keyboardist and soundtrack composer, but he formed his own horror punk band in 2004, where he is the lead singer and plays a keytar shaped like a machete. How's that for a back story for a band playing here? As a band, First Jason have an entertaining sound that merges a few different genres into a heavy package with lots of Friday the 13th and horror movie fan service for good measure, and they are definitely worth checking out to see what you think! Adding to the intrigue, local horror punk standouts Frightlight will return as local openers for their third post-reunion show!

Last seen opening for Michale Graves in September at the same venue, it would admittedly be ridiculous to call this another one-off concert when we just saw them live less than three months ago, so I have restored them to our active band links for the first time since 2014. It looks like their status nowadays is to only play special or major concerts, and this definitely counts, though no word on if Rick will be back after missing the Graves show. At least one more local opening band is to be announced, we'll let you know when they are. Promoted by Frightlight's own J.D. Pearce (a.k.a. Johnny Pints), this show is a co-production with Steel City Events, the organizers behind the first annual Steel City Nostalgia Fair taking place that same day, where Ari Lehman will be signing autographs and meet local fans, so click here for full details on that event! The organizers also hold the annual Steel City NerdCon at the Bushplane Museum, FYI.

This concert is considered to be the official after-party of the fair, though if there's a bundle admission option for both events, it's not yet public. Concert tickets go on sale online tomorrow (link to be posted on the Facebook event page), and they will run $15 in advance or $20 at the door, with physical ticket availability to be announced next week. A limited "Crystal Lake VIP package" will also be offered where you can get early entry, a photo with Ari, and an autographed Jason mask, so if that interests you, that runs for $40. This is a 19+ event with a 9:00 PM start time. There's a lot to take in here, but if you love horror punk and the original Friday the 13th, how can you pass this show up? Visit the above links for complete details, and here's Ari's preview video for both the Nostalgia Fair and concert here, as shared from Steel City Events' Facebook page on Friday! It's short, but Ari hypes things very well, and the neon Jason mask is a nice touch!



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

Seax & Treble Charger Concert Videos!!

Today's news post is devoted to new videos, including a surprise find from Southern Ontario this summer, and leading off, lots of videos from a recent metal concert in Sault Ste. Marie proper, namely the Seax-headlined show at Soo Blaster last week! Christopher Paci was in attendance to get more footage for his awesome YouTube channel, filming 8 videos on the night, including three of the headlining Worcester, Massachusetts speed metal quintet. I didn't have much luck titling two of these videos, partly as those two are joined in progress, but one is of Seax's opening song "Rituals", another is linked here, and the longest video is embedded below. Clearly in full auditory and visual mode for their 1980s throwback stage show, Seax sounded solid and heavy throughout those three videos, even if Carmine mispronounced "Sault" in their introductions. Give Seax's videos a look!



Next up, Chris also filmed three videos of opening Montreal thrash metal trio Warsenal, including their originals "Dying on Stage", one of their two opening songs (likely "Doomed From Birth" if it was their set-opener), and as embedded below, a clip featuring two songs, namely "I Am The Blade" & (most of) "Unstoppable." It looks like Warsenal made the most of their local return after 6+ years away, with their fast and brutal set winning over gathered fans up front, so give these videos a look above & below!



Lastly from this concert, Chris filmed two videos of local death metal mainstays The Bear Hunters (minus Josh) playing their originals "Neckbreaker" and, as embedded below, "I Fear No God." Despite another months-long hiatus to shake the rust off from, the guys sound as brutal and technical as ever here, and Nik even seems to have some extra venom in his growling! Hopefully there's more on the horizon for The Bear Hunters (new CD?!), but check out their newest live videos above & below!

Finally for today, here's a surprising discovery, as Treble Charger played a live concert in June! Much like their one-off festival date in 2017 at Peterborough's WTFest, the local indie/punk veterans hit the road for Vaughan (just outside of Toronto) on Saturday, June 15th as the closing act at their second annual Burger Fest, which celebrates what you think it does, but also has a solid music lineup and even pro wrestling. I was totally unaware of this festival, but given that it's a 7 hour drive away, and that Treble Charger don't have a regularly updated online presence, it was easy to miss, like WTFest was. Their set is briefly featured in this official recap video 96 seconds in (albeit with dubbed over audio), but attendee Brad Duncan filmed this 26 second clip of the guys playing "How She Died" for his YouTube channel, and while it lasts, everyone sounds good!

Personnel-wise, the live bassist and drummer appear to be Darcy Yates and Ian McKay (not Richard Mulligan) once again. The vertical camera angle is never optimal, but kudos to Brad for filming this, as I'm not sure when I'd have learned of Treble Charger's Burger Fest set otherwise! I wish they had more activity on social media, but it's great to see that they're still active, even if new updates are sporadic, and hopefully there's more to come in the near future! See more from this event above & below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles on the site next! Thanks everyone!