LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Double Down & Tarnished), Weekend Concert Previews, And New Videos!!

Before we begin this preview post, I wanted to apologize for a show missed in last week's previews, as local alternative/punk cover supergroup BookcluB played at The Kiln at Searchmont Resort this past Saturday night. Both the band and resort only publically announced the show via their respective Facebook pages earlier that day, with BookcluB only giving fans five hours notice to make the trek to Searchmont. I'm sorry for missing this one, I'd have happily covered it had it even had a day's notice, but hopefully Mikey, Dustin, and crew had a blast for fans and skiiers alike on Saturday!

Today's first weekend concert preview post otherwise looks at most of this weekend's hard rock-leaning slate, but due to the amount of announced shows, we'll hold Saturday's Viscera show for tomorrow's post. As far as I'm aware, none of the hard rock-hosting venues this weekend are advertising early St. Patrick's Day festivities. Most of today's previews concern SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, and we'll start in Sault Michigan, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished will play their first show of 2026 TOMORROW NIGHT at The Merchants Bar! Apologies for the short notice, the band first announced this show via their Facebook page yesterday, and as always, The Merch doesn't promote bands playing there by name on social media. The guys were last seen on stage at the local Kewadin Casino in December.

This will be Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron's first stop at The Merch since late November, and hopefully there's a solid turnout! A one-nighter as usual at the 108 West Spruce Street nightclub, TOMORROW'S concert goes down at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge, and if you believe Tarnished's own promotion, "it's going to be a BLAST" (they capitalized it, not me!). Visit the above links for more on the hard rocking cover action ahead, and for a preview, here's Tarnished live at The Merch!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will set up shop at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band first confirmed this weekend's bookings on their Facebook page on Monday, and the venue has not corroborated them on social media. Marking their first gigs at the former Roosevelt Hotel for this new year, fans last saw Double Down elsewhere in the west end this past Saturday at Beck's Bar, where they welcomed back guest singer Jack "Jacklyn Hyde" Alisat for at least one song. Unlike that gig, however, the band are 100% publically advertising that Jack is back in some capacity TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, so if you want to catch the original Quite Frankly frontwoman on stage with a full band again, you have at least two more chances in the west end this weekend!

Double Down's brand of rocking cover action can be enjoyed TOMORROW & SATURDAY at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of Double Down with Jack at Beck's on Saturday! Filmed by RPM drummer Joseph Bertrand and uploaded to the band's Facebook page, this cover of AC/DC's "Shoot To Thrill" really shows off her vocal range nicely, and you'd never guess she was just a guest here! I wish Joseph had zoomed in more from where he was in Beck's, but at least this is horizontal. Give it a watch below, and get more from Double Down & Jack TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Jay's!

Moving to shows that did get advance notice, we'll next head to The Machine Shop, as Great Britain-based Queen tribute band Majesty: A Tribute To Queen will make their local concert debut TONIGHT! While local fans will be no stranger to Australia's Queen: It's A Kinda Magic's periodic concerts at the S.C.T.C., this concert will deliver an alternate British take on Freddie, Brian, John, and Roger's classic singles and stage show. Whether you prefer the performance quality and attention to detail of It's A Kinda Magic or not is subjective, but Majesty are the real deal, and if you love Queen, they'll deliver the classic rock goods tonight from across Queen's run! I have not seen any reference to an opening band. The second of three major hard rock concerts at The Machine Shop in a sub-2 month span (following The Trews and preceding Pop Evil), this is an all ages event taking place tonight at 8:00 PM.

Tickets remain on sale at this link, at the Community Box Office at Station Mall, or at the door tomorrow, and tickets run for $45 (seated) or $40 (standing). Despite this structure, this is a general admission event, so first come first serve for the best spots. This should be a fun concert, so consider coming out if you can swing it on a work/school night! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Majesty live!

Finally for this preview post, we'll head back to the west end, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will rock Beck's Bar for the first time on SATURDAY NIGHT! It is surprising that this is their debut at the former Vibe Lounge, but remember that they had been prioritizing private and community events over the winter, only just playing their first nightclub gigs of 2026 this past weekend at The Esquire Club. This talented foursome should have a lot of fun rocking covers in store for fans on Saturday, so keep this one in mind! This is a one-nighter as is usual at Beck's (DJ Dark Mark is spinning tunes tomorrow), while the 3:00 PM Saturday matinee timeslot this week belongs to new local country rock duo Danielle Roberts & Brad Collar. Of course, they aren't "opening" for Silent 9, they and the band each have 4 hour timeslots spaced 2 hours apart, but you can hang out to see both if you like.

Silent 9 are up at Beck's on Saturday at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video from the band's Facebook page of them at The Esquire Club this past weekend! The band rarely uploads videos of full songs, so you only get 34 seconds of Silent 9's cover of Cher's "Believe" (featuring many front row fans as their "new backup singers") here, but at least the video is horizontal and filmed from a really close angle. Jess is completely at ease here, and everyone's having fun, so while not the most "rock" cover in their setlist, it's a fun rendition! Give it a watch below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Majesty & The Trews), Tym Morrison Concert Previews, And Convergence Updates!!

Here's a Saturday morning post to check out before/instead of shovelling yet again, and it features this weekend's last hard rock concert previews, a teaser for an upcoming album, and leading off, two big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS at the same venue next year, so here's what you should know!

Juno Award-nominated Nova Scotia alt-hard rock quintet The Trews will return to Sault Ste. Marie for a headlining concert at The Machine Shop on Wednesday, February 25th! Well known on domestic rock radio from hit singles like "Not Ready To Go", "So She's Leaving", and (more recently) "Breakdown", this will be The Trews' first local gig since headlining last year's Go North Music Festival on St. Joseph Island. Within city limits, fans last saw them open for Marianas Trench at GFL Memorial Gardens in 2022, but this will be their first proper headlining concert in Sault Ste. Marie since 2009. Crucially, since last year's outdoor gig in Richards Landing, Country 104.3 became 104.3 The Fox, giving The Trews more local radio play than ever, so if you can swing the mid-week concert scheduling, you won't want to miss out as the tour supporting their new album "Bloody Light" continues!

I have not seen any reference to opening bands for this concert yet. Tickets went on sale yesterday for $40 at this link, and can also be bought at the box office at Station Mall and at the Gelato Mill on site at Mill Square. This is definitely an all ages show, and an 8:00 PM start time is listed. This should be a strong concert with lots of familiar rock numbers from this talented group, so visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more on The Trews' Machine Shop concert in a couple months!

Next up, here's another new Machine Shop concert announcement for the new year, as Majesty: A Tribute To Queen will headline there on Thursday, March 12th! Now, the idea of a Queen tribute band is far from new here, as fans who saw Australia's Queen: It's A Kinda Magic will know well, following that group's multiple headlining appearances at The Sault Community Theatre Centre in the last few years. Majesty will also be on an intercontinental trek (they're from Great Britain), and if you watch videos of them in action, they definitely have the Queen sound and look down, so it will be interesting to see a high quality Queen tribute at a more intimate local venue! Another all ages and 8:00 PM affair, ticket also start at $40 like for The Trews at the same on-sale locations (buy them online here), but unlike that show, there will be some general admission seating for Majesty, and those tickets will run for $45. Visit the above links for more on Majesty's local debut!

Now, let's wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews via another busy weekend for prolific local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison, who will play yet another matinee concert at Misty's Fifties LATER TODAY before doing the matinee honours at Beck's Bar TOMORROW! While the consecutive matinees is notable enough, these actually mean that Tym has played three shows in four days, as alas, I completely missed that he played at The Dive Gastro Pub on (Think It Over) Thursday. While The Dive didn't confirm the booking until four hours prior to showtime (I miss their monthly calendars), Tym had quietly announced the show on November 6th via this Facebook event page. Given how Tym promotes his concerts, it's easy to miss individual Facebook event pages when he plays the same venues so often, but I profusely apologize for Thursday's gig falling through the cracks. 

Hopefully he rocked "the naughty corner" well as usual, and note that he played the same three venues on the same days of the week back in early May as well! After his downtown trip, fans can see him back at Misty's on Second Line West today at 4:00 PM before doing the matinee honours tomorrow at Beck's on Goulais Avenue at 3:00 PM. Neither show has an announced cover charge, and both are 19+. Click here or visit the above links for more details on today & tomorrow's shows, and here he is live!

Finally for this post, here's the latest from local progressive metal quartet Convergence, who have revealed that the first single from "our debut album" will be released on Christmas Day! Now, long-time fans will know that Convergence released two EPs when they were still a two man instrumental project (2023's "One" and last year's "Dead & Dreaming"), but since adding singer and 2025 Soo's Got Talent runner-up Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio to the band late last year, they've basically started over publically, wiping both EPs from streaming services, though songs from both are expected to be on the new album, now with vocals and David Peredun drumming. No word on if the album will still be called "In Bloom" (already renamed from "Gemini") or not, but the first single will be "The Ebb", which was first heard on the "One" EP. To preview its re-release, Convergence shared this lyric video snippet on their Facebook page on December 3rd.

Why it has to be vertical, I don't know, but its existence implies that a full lyric video could be in the cards in a few weeks. Both because I hope to review the album next year and that this is a 30 second teaser, I'll hold comment on the "Ebb" clip, but it's good to hear some true public news on Convergence's next studio album for the first time in months! They last alluded to their studio work on social media in the spring, and they were teasing that as being towards building an EPK at that point. Give the teaser video a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Convergence in the coming weeks, including "The Ebb" on the 25th!

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

A Concert Cancellation, A New Local Band, And Much More!!

Greetings everyone! I have some more local metal news to share with everyone on this fine Wednesday evening! Mostly assorted news that's piled up lately, but we're kicking things off in style with a new local metal band and a concert cancellation. So here's what you need to know!

(EDIT: 4:32 PM): According to a posting on The Canadian Nightclub's Facebook group by Mary Lou Johnson, the planned performance by Burlington's 2112: A Tribute To Rush has been cancelled. No reason as to why was given, but to be fair, the band never announced the show on their website. In their place tomorrow night will be DJ Beetle, so if that's your thing, head on out! According to the same posting, Mary Lou mentioned that a Bon Jovi tribute band would be playing at The Canadian next weekend. I will research which band it is and will plug the show in my next post if I can verify which band. Stay tuned! Shame that 2112 cancelled, but they do a good job covering Rush, hopefully they will come here for a show one day in the near future!

Next up, I have discovered a new local metal band! They are called Hammerspace, they are a progressive metal band from Sault Michigan, and I just came across their MySpace page in some Google crawling I conducted earlier today! They launched their page on April 26th of this year, though depending when they wrote their description, may have been together since January. These guys have played live at least once, rocking out at The Corner Pub Bar & Grill on May 6th, and believe me, if I'd have known about Hammerspace then, I'd have alerted you guys to the show! The band consists of singer Logan Reed, guitarists Justin Smith & John Bergeron (creator of the local psychedelic/trance project Immortal Danish), former Burn The Day bassist Tim Padoba, and Bent Rollercoaster drummer Paul Burns! Nice to see them getting back into the local scene!

Hammerspace have no videos online that I've seen, but lucky us, they have audio! Click here to check out four live songs from a practice session in April! My assessment of them is: Not bad, the songs have a nice groove, though Logan definitely sounds better when he's using angrier harsher singing than with his cleaner singing voice. I imagine it'll be better to judge Hammerspace though when they get better audio samples, or more live shows booked, but they have obvious promise! I can't wait to hear more, and when I do, you'll find out here!

Thirdly today is some updates from local music store Case's Music, which has been a well known source of musical instruments and lessons for many years! Owner Mike Case handed over ownership of Case's Music to his nephew Jay Case and his wife Carrie Suriano, who will be renovating the Spring Street-based building this summer prior to a grand re-opening in September! Local music fans will be sure to recognize Jay from his work in numerous local bands, including Bigsuit, The Chris Belsito Band, The Wild Turkeys, and Big Wheel & The Spokes, so he's definitely got the music genes in him, and should do very well as the new "Case" of Case's Music! So to all you musicians out there, things are in good hands over at Case's Music! Sad to see Mike retire though, he was an ardent supporter of young local musicians, it was apparent each year with the Case's Music Battle of the Bands he put on, which helped give some young local bands their first exposure, including 2008 high school division winners Stillbroke! Also of note, Jay will be bringing many new musicians with him for the re-opening as additional teachers at Case's Music, mostly bandmates of his, including Crank Sound Distribution's George Ravlich (himself a veteran of some local metal/hard rock bands) as a bass instructor! Check out SooToday's article on the Case's Music ownership change by clicking here!

Before we close with some assorted quick stories, here's a new video I found online from local metal guitarist/solo artist Brendan Christie! It's an acoustic performance of the first movement of a new classical piece he wrote called "Ode To Darkness", and I have to say, I like it! It has kind of an ominous melody that would fit well in a metal song if he chose to go that route with it! I've always been impressed with Brendan's talent, this is just another example of the things he can do on his guitar that set him apart! Check it out below, and visit his YouTube channel for more videos from him, or his MySpace page for audio samples and more!



Finally for today, three more random stories from my news pile, in order by band name:

• SooToday has been running a weekly feature called "Friday Hot Shot" since April, which features a locally relevant photo of some type taken by Donna Hopper. This past Friday, it featured a photo of Lion Ride guitarist Marky Lion from their concert on May 22nd at The Canadian Nightclub! Curious that there was no review of the show posted too, but I'll take what we can get! Check out the great photo by clicking here!
• My apologies for the lateness of this, I don't know how it slipped me by! A new local band named Nocturnal Majesty (out of Sault Ontario) are looking for a drummer who would like to play for them! Kory Derasp from the band stresses that anyone interested must be a serious drummer. Their old drummer left for family reasons. If you're interested in trying out for this position in Nocturnal Majesty, contact Kory Derasp at this location! Just to note, they practice on Mondays and Tuesdays. Sorry for the late posting of this, Kory!!
  
• The announcements of bands playing the Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival has been incredibly slow, hopefully they announce a full lineup soon! Regardless, I have found another confirmed band! Boston rock band StilrizE will be back for the festival, playing on July 23rd as one of the support bands for Three Doors Down, along with Finding Clyde and many others! You may recognize StilrizE as one of the bands who backed up Papa Roach last November at Kewadin! I don't think StilrizE are really "metal", but seeing as they're part of the festival, they should get mentioned! More about the festival as it comes in!

That's all for now, I will have much more in the next few days! Friday is likely for a new post, I have an announcement to make on Friday concerning the SMS' 3rd anniversary, so keep an eye out for it, because I need your help concerning it! Stay tuned!