The Go North Music Festival & Sandman Concert Previews!!

This stacked concert weekend presses on, so for our third of (now) four weekend concert preview posts to cover the hard rock and punk-integrated action, we're looking at a big returning regional festival today, as well as the return of the very first band that I ever saw at a licensed 19+ concert, so here's what you should know on this Friday morning!

Continuing this marathon weekend, we'll take the hour's drive southeast to Richards Landing on St. Joseph Island for the eighth annual Go North Music Festival, which takes place TONIGHT & TOMORROW! Returning to the former Cornfest site at Centennial Grounds, this outdoor festival will again see two days of live music, and in a non-musical sense, there will be food vendors both days this year, alongside an artisan market, a family zone featuring Science North displays, games, crafts, and a large interactive community mural project, and as always, on-site camping. Visit the official website for complete details on this front! After not having any hard rock or punk acts for 2025's Big Sugar-headlined program, Go North will have one band that pings our genre radar, namely Juno nominated Saskatoon blues/hard rock band Wide Mouth Mason (of "My Old Self" and "Why" fame, among other hits).

Surprisingly their first concert within an hour of the Soo on record, Wide Mouth Mason's brand of accessible and catchy hard rock with distinct vocals should make a good impression tomorrow night! Curiously, festival advertising does not confirm set times, just the performance order. Your Saturday headliners are Juno-winning Halifax indie rock veterans Wintersleep (they of "Weighty Ghost" and "In Came The Flood" fame) and three touring acts from Toronto, namely alt-rock band Jackie, pop rock solo artist Loviet, and alternative/indie singer/guitarist Keegan Powell & his band The Jetpacks. Local openers tomorrow are CASS FM, Central Algoma Secondary School's student rock band, who have played Go North multiple times. Also on Saturday are returning London children's musical band The Thinking Caps, who will headline the separate children's stage that afternoon. An eclectic lineup for alternative and indie rock fans, so don't bypass the talent here!

Tonight's shorter opening night program will be headlined by Niagara Falls brass/funk supergroup My Son The Hurricane (with ex-Redefined/Rising Tide drummer Danno O'Shea still in their ranks), alongside Oakville R&B/country duo Yassin & Sean Terrio and local indie rock quartet Lucy's Diner (the former Hollow Heads). The music lineups of Go North VIII go down from 3:00-11:00 PM tomorrow and 6:00-11:00 PM tonight, and while online ticket sales have ended, you can still buy tickets at the gates. At last word, day passes cost $40 tonight and $70 tomorrow ($20 and $25 respectively for teenagers 13-18 or students with valid student ID). Camping passes are a separate charge, as are $15 premium parking passes, while discount bundles for groups of 2+ adults were also an option. Recent social media hype suggests that this year's Go North is outselling last year's event, which is great news all around!

Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy skies tomorrow with a high of 25°, though there is a slim chance of rain starting during Wintersleep's set into the overnight, so make note of that if camping (tonight's opening concert is projected to have clear skies and a high of 24°). Conditions look to mostly hold up, so best of luck to everyone enjoying the music on St. Joseph Island this weekend! Visit the above links for more on this year's Go North Music Festival, and here's Wide Mouth Mason live!

Finally for weekend concert preview post #3, let's head home to Sault Ste. Marie, where Toronto-based Metallica tribute band Sandman will return to town TOMORROW NIGHT, this time at The Full Throttle Saloon! The only tribute band officially licensed by Metallica (and featuring three ex-members of Helix in their ranks), this will be Sandman's fifth local concert appearance on record, and first since they rocked the former Soo Blaster in October 2022, but this time, they're heading into Steelton as the third touring tribute headliner at The Full Throttle Saloon this year. The former Primavera Hall has done well booking the Crazy Babies and Epic Rush shows despite some eyebrow raising over the ticket prices, but Sandman have the most local experience of the three, so hopefully they draw well with their faithfully performed take on Metallica's 1980s and early 1990s catalogue! This 19+ concert goes down tomorrow night at 10:00 PM, and has no announced opening band.

Tickets cost $50 at the venue, and while this is cheaper than the $70 Crazy Babies show at The Full Throttle Saloon, it's also way above the $40 that both of Sandman's 2022 Soo Blaster gigs cost combined. Still, Crazy Babies and Epic Rush appeared to draw well, so if you want to enjoy Metallica's classic hits again, get your tickets while you can! I'm not seeing the "no ticket sales at the door" restriction this time, but call ahead if you're at all worried. Visit the above links for more on the the thrash metal tribute action tomorrow night, and for a preview, here's Sandman live!

That's all for now, but look for our Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands and 2 Stoned Crows In The River previews next, as well as (finally) our Rotaryfest review! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Go North Music Festival!!)

Single topic post today thanks to a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as Juno Award-nominated Saskatoon blues/hard rock band Wide Mouth Mason will (as far as I'm aware) make their first ever local concert appearance as one of the co-headliners of the eighth annual Go North Music Festival on Saturday, July 25th! A staple of Canadian rock radio and MuchMusic in the late 1990s thanks to hit songs like "My Old Self", "Why", and "Smile", it will be neat to finally welcome Shaun, Safwan, and crew to our area (if not the Soo proper) this summer, and their jam-friendly alt-rock sound and distinct vocals still set them apart! Wide Mouth Mason are really the only hard rock-leaning outpost for this year's festival, which didn't have anything that really crossed our radar in 2025 (when it was headlined by Big Sugar, featuring former W.M.M. bassist Gordie Johnson). Presented by SooToday & 104.3 The Fox, this annual event returns to the old Cornfest site at Centennial Grounds in Richards Landing on St. Joseph Island for two nights of music.

As seen on the poster, the headlining Saturday band this year is Juno-winning Halifax indie rock quintet Wintersleep (of "Weighty Ghost" and "Amerika" fame), who have also never played in the Soo area before. While their name sounds heavier than they are, Wintersleep are a very talented and acclaimed band, so don't bypass them this summer! Also making their way to St. Joseph Island in four months are three acts from Toronto, namely alt-indie trio Jackie, pop rock musician Loviet, and alternative singer/guitarist Keegan Powell, who should also make some waves with their skill sets and rising national profiles! Your only local band on July 25th is CASS FM, the Central Algoma Secondary School student rock band (a'la Mustang Sally), who are multi-time veterans of Go North, if with a lot of lineup turnover. As well, London children's music group The Thinking Caps will return to headline the kids stage that afternoon.

The night #1 lineup on Friday, July 24th has more local ties despite only having three acts, those being fan favourite Niagara Falls brass/funk collective My Son The Hurricane (still featuring former Rising Tide drummer Danno O'Shea), Oakville country/soul hybrid duo Yassin & Sean Terrio, and local indie rock quartet Lucy's Diner (née The Hollow Heads). Along with the announced musicians, attendees can also expect to find local art and food vendors amongst the outdoor surroundings on Centennial Grounds, and if you're bringing the kids, there will be interactive Science North exhibits, games, crafts, and a mural that everyone can help paint at the family zone. Timeslots for the individual acts are not out yet, but gates open on Friday at 6:00 PM and Saturday at 3:00 PM, and bands are projected to wrap up nightly by 11:00 PM. On-site camping is absolutely available as usual, and a fireside jam will again be held after hours.

Advance tickets are now on sale at this link, and minus online processing fees, day passes run for $40 on Friday and $70 on Saturday ($20 and $25 respectively for teenagers 13-18 or students under 25 with valid student ID). Camping passes for 2 or 4 adults for the whole weekend or Saturday only are also available (kids/teens are free to camp thusly but must be with an adult), but these do not include festival tickets, which are a separate purchase. $15 premium parking passes are also available if you want to get a really close spot, but this is an optional bonus. Discount bundles for two adults with camping & premium parking are also available. It is great to see the Go North Fest back for year #8, and while they have had heavier lineups, there's a lot of established and up & coming names to watch out for here, so definitely visit the above links for more on this year's event an hour east of the Soo! Thanks everyone!

The Go North Music Festival & Handsome Sandwich Concert Previews!!

Let's continue with this weekend's hard rock/punk concert previews in today's second post, but with our write-up on a big local concert festival eating up most of this post, I have opted to hold our preview of Project 906's show in Strongs, Michigan tomorrow night to our next post, but it is coming! Now, here's what you should know for that Sault Ontario-area festival and one more show here tomorrow night!

We'll start with an hour's road trip southeast to Richards Landing on St. Joseph Island, where local indie/punk quintet The Northwest will be the local openers for the fifth annual Go North Music Festival TOMORROW! Last seen at Outspoken Brewing in May, The Northwest have been oddly quiet in the last couple of months, but it will be good to see them add a little punk flavour to the Go North Festival, which returns to the former Cornfest grounds at 1511 Richards Street. As in past years, this all ages festival will feature loads of food and craft vendors, family entertainment, games, and on-site camping, so visit the official website and the official Facebook page for complete non-musical details! The conceit of having a separate "family stage" for bands to play a second kid-friendly set will return too, so clearly that did well last year! Organizers have clarified that the "kids zone" stage will have short 15 minute sets between main stage acts.

The Northwest are one of three bands to pull double duty tomorrow, as they are the opening band on the main stage at 4:00 PM and the headliners at the kids zone at 6:45 PM. For the remaining bands, I'll note in brackets if they are on the kids zone stage or not. Juno winning Toronto alternative trio The Monowhales will make their local debut in a big headlining set at 9:40 PM, preceded by London alt-rock quartet Texas King at 8:15 PM, and Guelph garage rock trio The Royal Castles (finally playing Go North after dropping out of last year's event due to COVID exposure) at 7:15 PM (5:45 PM on the family stage). Toronto country/folk singer/guitarist Jeremie Albino takes the big stage at 6:00 PM (and opens the kids zone at 4:45 PM), with Toronto retro rock quartet Propter Hawk beginning the non-local contingent of the frstival at 5:00 PM. A shorter country-centric program featuring Toronto's The Holy Gamblers, Port Hope's Nickola Magnolia, ...

...and Kingston's Solomon Woodland takes place tonight at 7:00 PM. Advance ticket sales have wrapped for Go North V, but general tickets at the gate are $65 (full weekend), $55 (Saturday only), or $25 (tonight only), price points that are $30, $25, and $15 respectively for youths aged 13-18 (kids 12 and under are FREE). Camping fees are separate if you are looking into that, so click here for full ground rules on this licensed festival. The festival will happen rain or shine (the main stage has a roof), but 9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy weather of around 23° for tonight's country program, and mostly cloudy weather with a high of 22° and a 30% chance of rain on Saturday. At least this year's Go North Music Festival seems to have dodged the recent humid snap that we had up here! The lineup this year mostly doesn't cross the SMS' genre radar, but The Northwest will add some punk zest, and there's still a lot of talent!

Visit the above links for complete details on Go North's band lineup, vendors, camping details, and much more going on an hour southeast of the Soo tomorrow, and for a preview, here's The Northwest live!

Lastly for this preview post, we'll head back into Sault Ste. Marie for local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich's debut at The Water Tower Pub TOMORROW NIGHT! One week away from their return to Rotaryfest Stage 2, this will be Handsome Sandwich's first solo headlining concert with no other bands of the year, so expect a lot of covers along with their fan favourite originals to fill out a full night's worth of music, not unlike many of their quartet gigs in early-mid 2022. Hopefully this trip up Great Northern Road will prove bountiful for the Sandwich, and that they make some new fans at The Water Tower Pub tomorrow! Shows here are traditionally one-nighters, as The Water Tower Pub almost always books different bands on Fridays and Saturdays, and if you're curious, folk/country musician and Face To Face co-headliner Brian Tremblay (with his wife Lynn) will be playing there tonight.

Tomorrow's Handsome Sandwich show has an earlier 8:00 PM start time, a 19+ age limit, and no announced cover charge. This should be a fun show for fans of Handsome Sandwich's eclectic sound, so don't miss out tomorrow, and here they are live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for the Project 906 preview and more on the site soon! Thanks everyone!