LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Greg Simpson & Dos Amigos) And The ARCH Run Concert Preview!!

Today's post got somewhat rushed and altered thanks to not one, but two SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for TONIGHT, so those lead off today along with our preview of a returning charity concert on Saturday, so here's what you should know as our weekend concert previews roll on!

Local acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will make their apparent debut at Thomson Farms Cider & Winery for an outdoor patio concert TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced via this AI generated poster on the winery's Facebook page last night, and it appears to have been relatively late notice in conception, as it's not on the band's summer concert calendar from Instagram on July 3rd. The 4057 Third Line West winery has been hosting occasional live unplugged musicians for Thursday evening concerts this summer, and it makes sense that Dos Amigos would step in for at least one of them, as singer/guitarists Mikey Hawdon and Dustin Jones played at Thomson Farms' teddy bear picnic in June 2024 and 2025 with BookcluB (such an event did not happen last month). Despite the late notice, hopefully there's a decent turnout TONIGHT for Dos Amigos' acoustic punk covers!

Thomson Farms are also hyping up having appetizers on sale, as well as seven different kinds of cider, so keep that in mind if that's your thing! This concert takes place TONIGHT from 6:00-9:00 PM with a presumed 19+ age limit given the winery aspect, and no announced cover charge. As this is on the patio, 9&10 News is calling or partly cloudy to clear skies TONIGHT with 22-23° temperatures. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Dos Amigos live (albeit indoors!)

Next up, Bone Yard 225 frontman Greg Simpson will bring his "Ranting Rockstar" solo show back to The Dive Gastro Pub for a "Think It Over Thursday" concert TONIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, Greg only announced the show via his personal Facebook page yesterday (he doesn't have a public page for his solo concerts that I am aware of), and while The Dive did finally confirm the booking on their Facebook page this afternoon, that's more than many of their concert bookings have gotten in recent months. TONIGHT's concert will be indoors in "The Naughty Corner", and if you're familiar with Bone Yard's "uncorked" gigs (let alone The Bearded Lounge), expect more of the same, just with Greg alone, though note that Soundcheck's Travis Sharpe has guested with him at the former Low & Slow before, and is a credited guest for Greg's set at the Maddy's Mighty Mutts family fun day in two weeks. Be there TONIGHT to see if he shows up again!

In case you're curious, Bone Yard 225 are playing at a stag & doe on Saturday night, which is listed on their website's calendar, but with rare exceptions, I don't cover stags & does as "concerts" here (even if ticketed) due to their hyper-personal nature. They'll next play proper public concerts next weekend at Beck's Bar, but TONIGHT'S "Ranting Rockstar" show is at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details! The only public videos of Greg's solo dates that I can find are via The Dive, which now content matches their videos' audio as being their own, so embedding videos from their Facebook page now doesn't work.

Finally for weekend concert preview post #2 is an event that thankfully had lots of advance notice, namely the third annual ARCH Run takes place on SATURDAY outside of Jay's Piston Broke Pub! After last year's ARCH Run bizarrely never had a public schedule release, we now know exactly which bands will be rocking out to support the Algoma Regional Community Hospice as bikers make their annual rally through Sault Ste. Marie. Of course, if you want to pledge donations to ARCH or ride in the rally proper, or get details on the draw for a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle, click here. Numerous vendors will also be on site on this closed section of Korah Road for all of today's action! And just to clear up any confusion, this is the only ARCH motorcycle rally/concert this year, as the Dragonfly Run (which the ARCH Run splintered off from in 2024) ended last month, and click here for more on that decision from their organizers. 

Musically speaking, there will be a nightcap inside Jay's once again, this time by country rock cover band Elly McWatters & The Drifters at 9:30 PM, but outdoors, your headliners are young local hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe, another high profile set or them as they continue building their local name and reputation! Country cover veterans (and 2024 ARCH Run performers) Tex Riviera & The Ride will take the stage at 7:00 PM, preceded by newer classic rock cover quartet Doo & The Boyos at 6:00 PM (if there will be a Stones At The Alter sidequest then, it's not in the advertising). New local alt-hard rock band Riverside Stasis will play their third public concert set (and penultimate gig with rhythm guitarist Liam Dinsmore) at 5:00 PM, while 1960s-themed classic rock band Whiskey Hippy are on at 4:00 PM. Prolific local drummer Chris Johns will hop on guitar for a reunion of his early 1990s local band The Korner Monsters at 3:00 PM.

If you're friends of his on Facebook, head there to see archival video of this band, and it will be interesting to hear how they go over on Saturday, or if this leads to more concerts! Chris will joined by singer/guitarist Rusty Barrel, bassist Dave Konkin, and drummer Jim Edwards, and they will be playing 1980s-1990s alt rock covers. Your openers are local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith and his Big Finish Band in his first proper advertised local date of 2026, and of course, most of his band will be playing at night's end with Elly & The Drifters, so they have a big day ahead! While donations and pledges are encouraged, attending the ARCH Run and the indoor nightcap is free, and the outdoor festivities are all ages. In terms of the weather, 9&10 News is currently calling for overcast to mostly cloudy skies with a high of 23°, and as of the current forecast, the rain expected on Saturday morning should be done prior to Mike's opening set. 

Supporting ARCH and the work they do for those dealing with cancer is always a wonderful reason to come out for events like this and help out, and kudos to everyone for donating their time! While it is unfortunate that the Dragonfly Run isn't back this year, I am very glad that there is still an outdoor concert festival and motorcycle rally to raise money for ARCH, and hopefully there's a great turnout on Saturday, especially with the comfortable temperatures hopefully continuing! Visit the above links for more on ARCH Run III, and here's 5 Dollar Bribe live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned next for our Go North Music Festival and Sandman previews, and the Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands and Sunday's all-local Blaster concert are also in queue! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Separate Wayz, Stones At The Alter, And Greg Simpson), Plus The Cory Marks Concert Preview!!

Let's dive into what is an interesting weekend for hard rock fans in terms of live music! Due to the amount of shows, we'll hold our previews of of the previously announced Bone Yard 225 and Epic Rush concerts this weekend for our next post. Here's what you should know, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this weekend!

Bone Yard 225 frontman Greg Simpson will bring his "Ranting Rockstar" acoustic solo concert back to The Dive Gastro Pub for a "Think It Over Thursday" concert TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook page on Tuesday. While there may have been an assumption that Greg's solo debut at The Dive was a stopgap measure for him to keep playing while Bone Yard were still on their spring break, the band proper is back, so perhaps we will see Greg back sans Alex & Warren for more "uncorked" gigs beyond TONIGHT! Regardless, if you like your local 225 (or the former Bearded Lounge), you'll be right at home with Greg's unplugged southern and hard rock covers, though if you want the full band back, they'll be at Beck's tomorrow (preview forthcoming). TONIGHT's show will definitely be in "The Naughty Corner", as Greg's show last month was.

Expect a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge at the former Low & Slow TONIGHT, so visit the above links for more details on Greg's third solo show of 2026, and here he is live at The Dive!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Separate Wayz will hit up Reggie's Place for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via the band's Facebook page on Monday (note that the venue has not corroborated this booking on their own Facebook page at press time). While fans last saw their sister band Soundcheck two weeks ago at Jay's and a month ago at Reggie's, these will be the first Separate Wayz-branded concerts with Nicole present since April, when they played a standalone gig at Jay's and an "epic crossover" weekend at The Esquire Club with Soundcheck. Surprisingly, I can't find record of Separate Wayz playing at Reggie's since their debut last year, so if you're an existing fan or are curious to see how Soundcheck sound with a female singer, keep TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows in mind! No word on when we'll see Soundcheck back on stage, but we'll let you know.

As usual for weekend cover action at Reggie's, TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT's concerts are at 9:30 PM with no cover charges and 19+ age limits. See the above links for more details on Separate Wayz' Reggie's debuts, and for a preview, here they are live!

Also newly announced for this weekend is the headlining debut of new local hard rock quartet Stones At The Alter, who will play a special outdoor concert on SATURDAY NIGHT outside of the aforementioned Dive Gastro Pub! Apologies again for the short notice, this show was only announced by the venue's Facebook page on Sunday, though note that the band's Facebook group has not seen any updates in over a month. The Doo & The Boyos side project will set up shop outside of the former Low & Slow on SATURDAY to take advantage of that day's Sault Ste. Marie Festival of Beer, the annual LopLops Lounge-promoted event that returns to The Downtown Plaza, which is just down the road. Note that I don't know if Beerfest will have their own music lineup at the Plaza (they did last year), but we'll let you know if something comes out late. Hopefully S@TA can fit their full setup on The Dive's patio!

Note that Curtis McKenzie had advertised playing at The Dive on Saturday himself (in an announcement that slipped us by last month), but he blamed a "double booking accident (by) the venue" for the mixup. We'll let you know when he'll be back there soon! This rare plugged-in "Patio Play" gig will be an 8:00 PM nightcap at The Dive with a 19+ age limit and no cover. 9&10 News is calling for a high of 20° on Saturday with a low of 9°, and while we're too soon to see an hourly forecast, be advised that the chance of rain on Saturday in general is about 50/50 at present. Visit the above links for more details, and we'll let you know when Stones At The Alter videos surface!

Finally for this preview post, it's TONIGHT'S main event, as North Bay country/hard rock musician Cory Marks will return to The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre for a headlining concert! While promotion calls this the "first concert ever" at the Bushplane Museum (Cory himself says as much in this promotional video), that isn't true, as multiple locals-only shows have happened there, not to mention Cory's acoustic concert last year for Hope Air Day. However, for a high scale, high production concert, this is uncharted territory for the 50 Pim Street venue, and tickets are selling well for Cory's genre hybrid sound, which we last saw in a full band, electric splendour at The Machine Shop in 2023 & 2024. He has had charting singles on US rock radio, and some very high profile guest spots, so if you like hard rock and/or country, there will be something for you! In a late confirmation, former Northwest bandmates Greg Callaghan & Mike Yakasovich will open tonight in an acoustic set.

While their acoustic exploits largely haven't crossed our radar, Greg does cover some punk in his solo dates, so hopefully the set things off on the right foot! This concert takes place in the hangar proper tonight at 7:30 PM (running until 10:00), it is all ages, and limited general admission tickets cost $40 at the door. Online sales have ended, and VIP passes (which get fans an early acoustic set from Cory at 6:30 PM among other perks) have completely sold out. Food trucks will be on site tonight too, as they are every Thursday this summer. Click here and visit the above links for more on what should be a big night for the Bushplane Museum and fans of Cory's, and here he is live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Bone Yard 225 and Epic Rush previews (and more) next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Silent Nine & Greg Simpson), The Crazy Babies Concert Preview, And More!!

Possibly due to the long weekend ahead, this weekend's hard rock concert previews are pretty quiet, but we still have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to touch on, so here's what you should know for this weekend as well as a new live-streamed video from a local band's recent gig on the road!

Bone Yard 225 frontman Greg Simpson will return to the stage when he debuts at The Dive Gastro Pub TONIGHT before serving as the acoustic matinee performer at Beck's Bar on SUNDAY! Apologies for the short notice, both shows were only announced via the venues' respective Facebook pages yesterday and on Monday respectively. Fans haven't seen "the ranting rockstar" on a public stage since Bone Yard's acoustic St. Patrick's Day gig at Smitty's, and with your local 225's indefinite break still ongoing (our best wishes are still with Alex and family), it looks like Greg is ready to hit the stage again in the interim, with these shows likely to be similar to Bone Yard's "uncorked" acoustic gigs, albeit sans Alex and Warren. Take The Dive's AI poster claim of "live DJ / singer vibes all night" with a grain of salt, but as usual for non-summer gigs at The Dive, TONIGHT's "Think It Over Thursday" show will be indoors in "the naughty corner".

As for SUNDAY at Beck's, this does seem like it might be a replacement for a planned Bone Yard matinee gig there. Note that they're not hosting a band on Saturday. rather a blacklight dance party featuring DJ Dark Mark, so were Bone Yard supposed to play the double shot there like they have before? In any event, TONIGHT'S Dive show downtown is at 9:00 PM, SUNDAY'S Beck's show (which coincides with a euchre tournament) is at 3:00 PM, and both have 19+ age limits and no cover. Good to see Greg back at it after a couple of months away from the stage, so expect "uncorked" southern hard rock covers at both venues ahead! Visit the above links for more details, and we'll let you know if solo videos of Greg live surface publically!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will return to the public stage on SATURDAY NIGHT at DeMarco's Boots & Saddles Roadhouse! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this concert via their Facebook page on Monday, though it was quietly added to their website's concert calendar in recent weeks. After taking April off, this will be Silent 9's first show since rocking Beck's Bar two months ago, but it won't be their debut at the Boots & Saddles, as they made the drive deep into the west end for at least one private gig in January. Like in recent years, the band is taking the summer off from standard bar gigs, instead focusing on festivals and private events, so if you want to see Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve rock out in a nightclub, and you're in the area/up for the drive, keep SATURDAY'S show in mind! This is an 8:00 PM and 19+ show with no cover. See above for more details, and here's Silent 9 live!

Lastly for known hard rock concerts this weekend is the local debut of Toronto-based Ozzy Osbourne tribute band Crazy Babies on SATURDAY NIGHT at The Full Throttle Saloon! Apologies for erroneously crediting them as being the Detroit-based Ozzy ReBourne in our initial coverage, Ozzy tribute band marketing confused me a bit at the time. The first real stab at hosting a touring headiner at the former Primavera Hall, this tribute to Ozzy's solo career and Black Sabbath work has received acclaim in their travels for their faithful stage show and Rod Clarke's closely matched vocals, so definitely keep this show in mind if you love the Prince of Darkness! Local support will come by way of classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush, who are no strangers to the Full Throttle Saloon or as openers for a touring tribute band, so don't be late for their 1980s-leaning sets! They are playing sets before Crazy Babies' set and afterwards at midnight.

Now, this 19+ concert takes place at 9:00 PM on Saturday, but tickets cost $70 in advance at this link, at the saloon, or by calling them, and there will reportedly be no admission at the door. The high cost of tickets (higher than Triumph & April Wine at the Gardens!) has not gone unnoticed on social media, and while I won't pass judgment as to how the venue/headliners landed on that number, I just hope the show meets or exceeds expectations for turnout. Visit the above links for more on what should be a fun night for Ozzy and Sabbath fans, and for a preview, here are the Crazy Babies live!

Finally for today, here's a new live-streamed video from Sault Michigan hard rock trio Crush's Facebook page! This comes from their most recent gig, which saw them head downstate to open for Tribe989 at The Ann Arbor Music Festival at The Blind Pig this past Friday. Like at their show at The Merch last month, the Tarnished splinter group live-streamed it for local fans to check out, but as Facebook's current rules for live-streamed videos mean that they'll be deleted after a month, you guys have until around June 1st to see it unless Crush convert it or re-upload it as a regular video. You can tell it's a live-stream though because the 50 minute video doesn't start until 9:30 in, so skip there unless you want to observe them setting up. Their set features the guys playing "SDR&R", "Fire", "Intoxicated", "Hey You", their covers of AC/DC's "Big Balls" and Shania Twain's "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!", ...

..."Capitol Gain", "Too Close",  the original not introduced by name that may be titled "Fuck It", and an original that wasn't in the Merch livestreams that I think is named "Call It A Night" (Alex sang lead on that one). Alas, this video was shot vertically, and attendees can block the view for parts of the set, but the audio is clear and Crush show a good sense of humour and rapport with the Metro Detroit fans! They're actually opening for Tribe989 downstate again tomorrow (in Battle Creek, click here for details), but give their Ann Arbor video a watch this month while you can!

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

The BAG & Tym Morrison Concert Previews, Plus The Last Of Crush's Live-Streams!!

Before we begin today's post, we have one more concert cancellation to take note of this weekend, as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 are not playing at The Water Tower Pub tonight, as per the venue's Facebook page yesterday. The band never confirmed the gig on their own social media, and aside from last month's "uncorked" gig at Smitty's, they haven't played live in two months. I'm not sure if their recent break is directly related, but I do want to offer our deepest condolences to guitarist Alex D'Ettore and his family following the recent passing of his daughter Ally. I can't imagine the pain and heartbreak that Alex, Marcy, and everyone who knew and loved Ally are going through, and hopefully things proceed as naturally and respectfully as possible in her honour! Newer local blues rock band The Low Light Company are filling in at The Water Tower Pub tonight.

Today's post otherwise concludes this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, as well as wrapping up our coverage of a recent live-streamed concert, so let's start with the return of local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison to Misty's Fifties TOMORROW! It's been an unusually long 2+ month wait for Tym to play another matinee gig at the Second Line West nightclub, as he was laid up for much of that time healing a broken pinky finger, having last played at Misty's on February 7th before dropping out of that night's Reggie's show due to the injury. Tym returned to the stage on March 26th at The Dive, but he ended up cancelling his next two scheduled Misty's shows for other reasons, so if you have missed his prolific setlist of classic and hard rock cover favourites at this west end staple, head there tomorrow! As usual for Misty's Fifties, this is a matinee concert taking place from 4:00-8:00 PM.

This is a 19+ event with no announced cover charge, and while it is Tym's only scheduled show at Misty's this month, he gets back to a more typical schedule with three shows there in May. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on tomorrow's return to one of Tym's favourite recent stomping grounds, and here he is live!

Lastly for known hard rock concerts this weekend, we'll head to Soo Blaster, where local metal trio The BAG will play their first show of the year TOMORROW NIGHT by headlining their long awaited album release party! While the band has been very cagey on particulars for their debut album "Sacculus" in the lead-up, fans will get their first chance to buy physical copies tomorrow, and assuming it drops on streaming as well, I'll let you know about that when specifics go live! This will be Spencer, Austin, and Bradley's first concert in nine months, and hopefully the anticipation builds to make tomorrow's concert one to remember! Openers will include local death/thrash metal trio Pillory, newer local ska punk trio A.S.D.P. (fronted by this show's promoter Mikhal Muto), and Winnipeg folk punk musician Greg Rekus, who fronted The Inside Job here twice in the mid-2020s and is hopping on this bill mid-tour.

Remember, Mikhal is a huge fan of folk punk, so the shoe fits for the early portion of this concert! As seen in this (AI-animated?) poster from The BAG's Facebook page, tickets cost $15 in advance (via the local bands, promoters Underground Events SSM, and The Rad Zone), but admission fees jump to $25 at the door. This is an all ages show, the concert starts at 7:30 PM, and again, I don't know further details on "Sacculus" (i.e. formats, price, track listing, production details, etc.), so you may be the first to know tomorrow night. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, stay tuned for more from The BAG and the new album, and here they are live!

Finally for today, let's wrap up our coverage of Sault Michigan hard rock trio Crush's live-streamed concert at The Merchants Bar while these videos are still viewable! Remember, as per Facebook's current live-stream video regulations, these will only be left online until around May 11th unless the band converts or re-uploads them to their Facebook page, and click here for our recap of the first two sets' videos. This live-stream abruptly stopped 21:26 into its presumed half hour runtime, but it at least stopped in between songs. From what we can see from The Merch last week, you'll see the guys covering Eric Clapton's "Cocaine", Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell", and Led Zeppelin's "Rock & Roll", before playing an apparent original comedy rock song named "My Cheese" that some attendees were requesting. Kudos for answering the call from their fans when they weren't originally planning to play this one! The last song here is "Fire", an original that ended their Superior Whitefish Battle Of The Bands-winning set in Brimley last year.

Bassist Isaac "Iggy" Royer sings lead on the first two covers, singer/drummer Alex Traynor handled "Rock & Roll" and "Fire", and guitarist Josh Tyler sang "My Cheese". The stage lighting at The Merch was a little too vibrant for my liking, and like with the prior live-streams, this was shot vertically, but the performances are strong with good energy and a sense of humour, and the guys have a good grasp of their covers (you'd hope so given the obvious Tarnished links) while still showing strong original songwriting, so give Crush's third set a watch below (until May 11th?)

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Cory Marks), A New Addition To Our Band Links, And More Updates!!

Let's catch up on some Sault Ontario odds and ends on this Tuesday night, including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, promotion for another upcoming show, and some other updates, but leading off, here's a long overdue addition to our band links & full coverage!

We have a new-ish band to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they are the no-longer-online-pageless The Spaceship Opening! Despite debuting on stage in September 2024, they only launched a social media presence (their new Facebook page) over the weekend. Described in promotion for past gigs as "east end rock & roll" and "space rock", The Spaceship Opening are a two-man-band featuring former Redundant/Fitswitch bassist Andrew MacDonald alongside A.S.D.P. drummer Ralph Barber, and in videos publically shared so far, neither sings at all. Over the past 18 months, you may recall seeing The Spaceship Opening sharing the stage with touring acts like The Space Wizards and Greg Rekus & The Inside Job, while they also opened for Mike Haggith's "Under A Moonlit Sky" show last fall, and most recently played at the "Not A Leap Year Party" concert in "Mellow D's Basement" on Saturday, alongside other public and private events.

Two videos are on their Facebook page, one being this short and black-and-white clip from an unspecified venue, while embedded below is four minutes of them playing at the still-closed Distraction last year, and while this one is in colour, it was shot vertically. Unless you've seen them live already, their early descriptors didn't give their sound away, and they have way more of an AlgomA-esque sludge/doom essence than I would have assumed. If you were expecting The Spaceship Opening to be similar to Andrew's past local bands, you may be surprised! Distorted and low (if not all that spacey), I can see why they've attracted fans with their minimalist rock compositions so far, so check things out from them above and below!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as North Bay country/hard rock musician Cory Marks will return to The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center on Thursday, June 11th! The fourth time in as many years that Cory has performed a local date, this appears to be a full band show with a proper promotional push, unlike his most recent local gig (also at the Bushplane Museum), when he headlined the Hope Air Day charity event this past June with a solo acoustic performance that we didn't hear about until it was short notice. The Bushplane Museum is hyping this up by saying that "for the first time ever, we’re turning the hangar into a full-blown concert venue", and while multiple shows have taken place there in the past, they've tended to be all-local or supplemental to other events. Hopefully this show is a huge hit for Cory and the venue alike, so that more similarly scaled concerts can be considered!

No word on possible openers, but Silent 9 opened at Cory's Machine Shop shows in 2023 and 2024, and Matthew James opened last year's unplugged Hope Air Day concert. Doors open for this "hangar party" at 5:00 PM, there is no announced age limit, and tickets run for $40 (up fro $35 from Cory's last full-band show here) at this link, and $100 VIP passes are also available. Cory's hard rock and country crossover sound continues to garner fans and chart success, and fingers crossed that his fourth local concert is a smash this summer! Visit the above links for more details!

Also today, here's the first Facebook update from local progressive metal band Convergence in almost three months! Well, that's discounting "Stories", you may have seen one where "Johnny Cash" endorsed them, but they did not opt to separately upload that "Story" as its own video. The video below from Sunday features guitarist Jake Valois hyping their first show of the year, when they will be among the openers for Nashville death metal band Demon King and other touring groups at Soo Blaster on March 24th (three weeks from today!). Amusingly, Jake puts footage of the mobile video game Subway Surfers in an inset picture-in-picture window to try and discourage people from scrolling away, assuming you're watching the video on a vertical cell phone orientation, which may explain the captions. As the show is all ages, Jake suggests that the whole family come out to "Soo Blasters", even your grandma!

Tickets are on sale through the band for $15, and if you message him to get yours, he will make sure he gets it to you, so how simple is that? It's good to see some new shareable content from Convergence, and with their planned new album still in the works, hopefully 2026 proves to be a stacked year for them! Check out the new video below, and stay tuned for more from them!

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

 

• We don't cover open mic/jam nights as "concerts" here due to their in-built unpredictability, and even if the host crosses our radar, there's no guarantee that they'll perform if it's busy. That said, I did at least want to mention that local party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty are actually hosting Piecing It Together Shows' weekly jam night tonight at their seasonal pop-up locale at 331-A Wellington Street West, as per their Facebook page. The former Dryer Fire haven't booked formal concerts with SMS-amenable acts over their winter season, but hopefully Paul, Amanda, and Mikhal have a good turnout for tonight's open mic night!
• Winnipeg folk punk musician Greg Rekus (who fronted The Inside Job here twice in the past two years) has been added as a surprise opener for The BAG's album release party at Soo Blaster on April 18th, as per Underground Events SSM's Facebook page last week. This may seem odd for a metal concert with a local headliner, but promoter Mikhal Muto is an ardent folk punk fan, so I assume this was just good timing to get Greg a local booking when he'd be coming through on a spring tour run. Plus, this show already has a diverse lineup, as Mikhal's new ska punk band A.S.D.P. are also opening. Hopefully Greg sets things off on the right foot next month!
• In their own poster for new local Pearl Jam tribute band Even Flow's concert there on March 27th, Soo Blaster alternately list the venue name for the show as "SooBlaster / Blaster Power" and "Blaster Power House". I don't know if this is portending anything about a name change for the building/stage, but the Queen Street East entertainment complex has recently opened bowling lanes, laser tag, and arcade upgrades. Of course, the concert stage there had been branded as the Soo Lounge since opening in 2019, but if anything is clarified further, we'll let you know!

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS in due course! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Exit 808, Generations, And Curtis McKenzie) & More Weekend Concert Previews!!

As promised, let's wrap up another batch of weekend concert previews today, but it's supplemented with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), and a brief teaser clip from one of the bands in question, so here's what you should know on this Friday evening!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to Gateway Casino for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced this past Saturday on their Facebook group when revealing their March dates, and while we covered the other shows at the time, we held TOMORROW'S for this weekend's previews due to the already late notice. This will be Generations' first concert since rocking Jay's Piston Broke Pub three weeks ago, and their first at Sault Ontario's casino since January. If you want a night of fan-friendly and diverse classic/hard rock covers from this experienced quartet you know where to go TOMORROW! Remember, Gateway Casino doesn't host live music on Fridays, and Generations aren't playing elsewhere tonight. Expect a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge TOMORROW, so see above for more details, and here they are live!

Next up, here's some shows with advance notice, including Sault Michigan hard rock sextet Exit 808's return to The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley on Saturday, March 15th! Four months removed from their debut at Bay Mills' on-site lounge/concert venue, this show was quietly announced on their Facebook page on March 2nd when they posted a teaser video that we'll outline in a second, and this show will be their first anywhere since their I-500 pub crawl gig at The Merch early last month. Good to see Exit 808 back after a quiet month+ stretch, and hopefully things go well in Brimley next weekend! No word on if there will be a St. Patrick's Day theme at the Back Bay and/or on the band's end, but note that Bay Mills' events calendar only lists the actual holiday (Monday the 17th) as having a tie-in event. This 21+ concert has a 9:00 PM start time and no advertised cover charge. Visit the above links for more details!

As for Exit 808's teaser video, the 11 seconds-long clip features guitarist Alex Zimmerman and (seemingly now full-time member?) Blaze Beairl playing a new cover for their setlist, with Blaze playing guitar himself in the clip. Someone's holds a bass neck in frame but we don't see who is doing so. A commenter seemed to accurately guess that they were playing an Ozzy Osbourne song (possibly "I Don't Wanna Stop"), and while it's way too short to accurately judge the cover, maybe you'll see them play the full thing next week, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

Also, we'll head north to Sault Ontario, where local hard rock/grunge singer/guitarist Curtis McKenzie will return to The Dive Gastro Pub for another "Think It Over Thursday" acoustic concert on March 20th! This will be Curt's first stop at The Dive for a traditional concert since the start of February, and it was first announced via the venue's March concert cale-+-ndar on their Facebook page. It's always good to see the former Haggith/Eclipse frontman back on stage, and hopefully his hard rocking unplugged covers get another strong response from attendees and fans alike in a couple of weeks! All of the action in The Dive's "naughty corner" goes down on Thursday the 20th at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more show announcements and updates from Curtis when they roll in!

Finally, we'll wrap up this weekend's concert preview by heading to (well, under) The Distraction on East Street, where Winnipeg folk punk band Greg Rekus & The Inside Job will make their second local concert appearance TOMORROW NIGHT! Unlike their local debut in May of last year, tomorrow's show will take place in The Stellar Door, the basement venue space under the barbershop proper, as has been the case for all scheduled rock concerts at The Distraction since the summer. Greg and crew made a strong presence on local fans last year with their folk punk originals and high energy live sound, and hopefully they get more of the same tomorrow!  This year, they won't be the closing band though, with new and online page-less local space rock duo The Spaceship Opening getting the honours tomorrow, and hopefully we learn more about them in due course!

Two solo acts will kick off the night, including local folk punk solo project Agnosticism (led by this show's promoter Mikhal Muto) in their first public set of 2025, and local folk musician Tucker Lidstone, who has played at a couple of folk/acoustic-leaning events at/under The Distraction in the past year. This all ages concert has a $15 or "pay what you can" admission fee, and doors open at 7:00 PM. If you like a nice variety of alternative rock, you'll like what The Stellar Door is hosting tomorrow, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Greg Rekus & The Inside Job live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for some long overdue fallout from recent major concerts next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Dayglo Abortions, Greg Rekus & The Inside Job, And Bone Yard 225), And More!!

Here's a stacked news post on this Monday night that features a surprise kinda-sorta album release 2+ years in the making, but let's lead off with three big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the next few months!

Local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard 225 will make their Soo Blaster debut for a one-night-only event on Saturday, February 22nd! You do occasionally see covers-leaning rock bands headlining at Soo Blaster, as seen from past gigs from bands like Half Past and Fort Creek, so such a booking is usually a sign that they have big plans and upward momentum locally, and that is definitely the case for your local 225. Of course, the guys have three studio original songs now, they recently got a lengthy interview on The Borderline, and they have big plans for shows locally and afar in 2025, so hitting the big Soo Blaster stage should be a good stop as they continue their late-period rise! No word on any specific frills given the larger venue, but expect merchandise and their infamous "Bone Yard shot". This show has a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more on Bone Yard's big show ahead!

Next up, Winnipeg folk punk band Greg Rekus & The Inside Job will make their second local concert appearance when they return to The Distraction on Saturday, March 8th! Fans may recall seeing Greg and crew at the former barbershop in May of last year, but when they return next month, this show will take place downstairs in their basement venue space The Stellar Door, which has hosted all of The Distraction's concerts since the summer (I know that the Ripcordz show downstairs was a huge hit, but the upstairs barbershop space is unique and I hope it gets used for concerts again!) Unlike last year, The Inside Job are not the advertised headliners, with new and online page-less local space rock duo The Spaceship Opening (featuring former Redundant bassist Andrew MacDonald) getting top billing. We still don't know a lot about this band, but in case nothing is posted online prior, you can learn more next month!  Local folk punk solo project Agnosticism (led by this show's promoter Mikhal Muto) will open in their first concert of the new year.

Kicking off the proceedings is Tucker Lidstone, an acoustic folk singer/songwriter who you may have seen at The Distraction opening for former(?) Sylo frontman Eli Russell and playing at last fall's Sewing In Solidarity event, but this is the first time that he's crossed our radar on a heavier/punk show. Doors open at 7:00 PM for this all ages basement event, and admission is $15 (up from $10 last year) or "pay what you can". Greg & The Inside Job should deliver a solid set of folk punk amongst this diverse array of local talent, so don't miss out on all of the action at The Stellar Door next month, and visit the above links for more details!

Also newly confirmed is the long awaited return of Victoria, British Columbia hardcore punk legends The Dayglo Abortions to Sault Ste. Marie when they rock the aforementioned Soo Blaster on Thursday, May 8th! This will be the Cretin and company's first local date since headlining at Soo Blaster in May of 2023, following two well received gigs at the former Roosevelt Hotel in the early 2010s and many in prior decades, though the Soo's half-own Spades GT have opened for The Dayglos in Southern Ontario in the interim. Should be good to have their ferocious old school punk attack on home soil once again, so don't miss out in spite of the work/school night scheduling! Two touring bands are joining The Dayglo Abortions on their cross-Canada spring tour, including Vancouver-based "west coast skacore" quintet Dirtnap and Prince Edward Island folk punk band The Devil's Punchbowl, both making their local debuts.

Hardcore punk fans will find Dirtnap to be closer spiritually to Dayglo, but there's a diverse array of punk stylings here, which will be kicked off by local hardcore punk/crossover thrash quartet Hails in a rare Soo Blaster appearance. This will be a huge feather in their cap, so don't miss their fast and intense originals in May either! Doors open at 6:30 PM for this all ages concert, and tickets will run $20 in advance (presumably in time on Soo Blaster's website and through Ha!ls members) or $25 at the door. For reference, the advance ticket price is identical to 2023, but the door charge this year is actually $5 less. Hardcore punk fans will not want to miss this huge concert in three months, so see above for more details!

Finally, here's a surprise, as inactive local hard rock quartet The Uncanny Valley have posted what would have been their debut album on YouTube! As you may recall, this young group were working on an album from at least late 2020 onward, and included their song "Stuck In Rotation" on the "Clusterfolk" compilation album in 2022, but public activity dried up after that fall aside from posting a belated music video for "The Village" in June 2023. The 40 minute album was uploaded to their YouTube channel on January 29th, in both a single video format and as 11 individual songs. The upload order of the individual songs on the channel is is not accurate to the order on the full video, so the songs in presented order are "Onto The Path/Where Do I Go?", "The Uncanny Valley", "Middleman", "Something To Believe In", "This Love Is Psychedelic", "The Oracle", "The Village", "Glowin'", "Fumblin' Through", and "Wastin' Time".

Their early original "Sweet Like Sugar" didn't make the cut, nor did "Stuck In Rotation", though the Clusterfolk compilation has the latter in full studio splendour. No idea if the band's logo was intended to be the cover art right along, for the record. This obviously isn't the ideal release method for what Adrian, Matt, Brenden, and Dylan had in mind in the early 2020s, but even 2+ years after they fell inactive, I'm glad that these songs finally saw the light of day! Nice slices of psychedelic and classic rock-tinged original material with solid melodies, and while not a proper paid album, do check it out on YouTube above and below to support what The Uncanny Valley worked on in their heyday!

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

The First Half Of This Weekend's Hard Rock/Punk Concert Previews!!

Another busy concert weekend is upon us, but this weekend, it's not because of a holiday! Yes, it is the Memorial Day long weekend in Michigan, but I only know of two hard rock shows in the E.U.P. from one band. This is just a busy weekend as we near the summer season, and as such, we will have to break up our previews into two posts. Today's previews involve bands playing tonight or tomorrow in some description, with the Saturday or Sunday-only shows from Pet Retina, Tym Morrison, Generations, and Agnosticism being previewed in tomorrow's post. Now, here's what you should know to start in rough chronological order!

We'll start with the first of two shows at The Distraction on East Street in a three day span, as Winnipeg folk punk band Greg Rekus & The Inside Job will make their local concert debut TONIGHT! If you appreciate folk punk (particularly the full band, Rising Tide-esque type), you will like Greg and crew's original music, which benefits from a raw, more direct style and lyrics more themed around tough times and social issues, and they should get a good response from local fans in this special Thursday nighter! This show will have a wide array of styles on offer from its three scheduled acts, including Shane "DJ Seith" Erickson and local hard rock quintet HeadFirst (in their Distraction debut) as the opening acts. HeadFirst's hard rocking sound (augmented by their new studio single "Don't Care, Don't Mind") should get some positive attention, and DJ Seith's turntable mixes are well done!

Tonight's all ages festivities at the former barbershop have a 7:00 PM start time, and admission is under a "$10 or pay-what-you-can" model. While folk punk is the main attraction, there is a little something for everyone tonight, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Greg Rekus live!

Next up, let's head north to The Water Tower Pub, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will play the last traditional concert of their early 2024 concert slate TOMORROW NIGHT! Like last year, this talented foursome will be taking the summer off from the normal weekend bar grind aside from festivals & private bookings, so if you're hoping to see Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve in a public nightclub setting after tomorrow, you'll have to wait for September 6th-7th at The Esquire Club. Tomorrow's show will be Silent 9's first at the Great Northern Road venue since January, and hopefully their hard rocking and crowd-friendly covers get another strong reception! Remember that The Water Tower Pub hosts different nightly acts, with this Saturday's band there actually being Nova Scotia blues rock duo Claverhouse in a rare show (and EP release!) here from a touring band, so keep that in mind if you want something a little different!

We will address Silent 9's public summer festival appearances on the SMS soon, but note that their website's calendar claims that they will be making their Rotaryfest Stage 1 debut in July. In Rotaryfest's case, I traditionally wait until the festival releases the full schedule (last year, it was on May 26th), but either way, keep that in mind! Tomorrow's Water Tower Pub show has an 8:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Silent 9 live!

Now let's head back downtown, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will take the stage at Gateway Casino for another "uncorked" concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Normally, bands only play at the Sault Ontario casino on Saturday nights, but tomorrow's rare Friday nighter appears to be due to Gateway Casino's 25th anniversary celebration, with the concert being one of multiple special events going down tomorrow, including a $2,500 cash draw, a t-shirt giveaway, free cupcakes, hourly hot seat draws all day, and dinner specials. Of course, congratulations to the casino on a successful 25 year run, and here's to 25 more! Concert-wise, this is an acoustic show as usual for Bone Yard at 30 Bay Street West, and if you'd rather see them "uncorked" tomorrow rather than next week at the aforementioned Water Tower Pub, you'll wanna head downtown for their show and all of the 25th anniversary festivities!

No, Bone Yard 225 are not scheduled for a Saturday nighter elsewhere this weekend. Tomorrow's Gateway Casino concert has a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Bone Yard acoustic live!

Finally for today's previews, let's head across the river to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where Traverse City, Michigan classic/hard rock cover trio Peril will return to the E.U.P. for Memorial Day weekend concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen in our neck of the woods at the end of April in Sault Ste. Marie (which I regrettably missed covering here, apologies again), these will surprisingly be Peril's first St. Ignace dates of 2024. No official promotional image for these concerts yet, but they are definitely on, and hopefully Peril draw in a solid crowd both nights for the long weekend! If you can't make it, Jeff, Adam, and Brooks will be back at The Northern Pines Lounge at the end of June. This weekend's concerts are 21+ affairs with no cover charges and 9:00 PM start times. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Peril live a few years back!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's concert previews next! Thanks everyone!