LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Nameless), And Halloween Concert Previews, Part 2!!

For Halloween weekend concert preview post #2, we're heading largely to the Eastern Upper Peninsula via two concerts tomorrow (one a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT), but to fill things out and commemorate this rare Saturday timing for October 31st, I'll take some time in the back half to note what non-hard rock/punk acts are playing publically verified concerts tonight or tomorrow. Now, here's what you should know in the EUP (and remember, bridge fares are slashed to $1.50 USD or $2 CAD tomorrow from midnight to midnight to celebrate the International Bridge's 50th anniversary, so if that's an incentive to head across to enjoy concerts for cheaper on either side of the border, keep tomorrow's discount in mind!)

Local hard rock cover quartet The Nameless will return to The Merchants Bar to headline their Halloween party TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced on their Facebook page this past Saturday, and as usual, The Merch doesn't acknowledge bands playing there by name on social media. This actually won't be The Nameless' first Halloween concert of the month, as they hit the road to play at The Paradise Inn's annual Halloween bash two weeks ago. Paradise is just outside of our coverage range (an hour's drive from the Soo), but hopefully The Nameless had a good show out west! If you're wondering, The Paradise Inn has their Halloween party early because they close for the season in late October. TOMORROW'S Merch show (their first in the Soo since August at Kewadin Casino) promises "fun", "music", "prizes", "Lume (Cannabis Co.) swag", and "gift cards", presumably as prizes.

As you'd hope for Halloween night, there will be a costume contest TOMORROW, where the top three costumes will net their wearers $300, $200, and $100 (Not bad!). The Nameless have also revealed that TOMORROW'S concert will be their final one with drummer Jamie Costner, who is "shipping off downstate" next month. As old Dirty Musky fans know, she is a talented drummer, and best of luck to Jamie in her move and in whatever comes next! Everything goes down TOMORROW at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's The Nameless live earlier this year!

Next up, let's take the half hour drive southwest to Rudyard, where local blues/hard rock cover quintet Project 906 will headline the Halloween party at Huck's Pub & Grill TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen in Eckerman last week and in Rudyard during Summerfest weekend in July, tomorrow's concert will be far from 906's first rodeo as Halloween headliners, and they should have some fun costumes to go along with their hard rocking cover slate! In terms of seasonal frills, Huck's hasn't given much away, but there will be a costume contest, with prizes going to those with the best overall, funniest, and best couples costumes. Billy, Joe, Dustin, Jason, and Brian hit the stage at the former Joe's Bar tomorrow at 8:00 PM, expect a 21+ age limit, and there's no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more on all of the action at at Huck's tomorrow night, and for a preview, here's Project 906 on Halloween at The Islander Bar in Hessel a few years ago!

To cap off this post (the other heavier previews are coming), as a public service, I wanted to run through all of the other known musicians playing shows tonight and tomorrow in the region that aren't hard rock or punk acts. Halloween on a Saturday only comes once every 6-11 years, after all! In Sault Ontario tonight, RPM plays at The Water Tower Pub, The Preacher & His Jackleg Band will be at Outspoken Brewing, and Frankly Speaking will rock The Whiskey Barrel. For bands doubling up tomorrow & Saturday night, Jay's Piston Broke Pub will host Bourbon Blue and Reggie's Place will welcome Smokehouse. Tomorrow only, Beck's Bar will welcome The Stumpy Coldwater Trio (matinee) and Elly McWatters & The Drifters (night), the relocated Full Throttle Saloon hosts Flathead Ford, Matthew James will be at the aforementioned Whiskey Barrel, and for Saturday matinees, Leslie Cook is at the Royal Canadian Legion and Forty Creek (not Fort Creek) are at The Moose Lodge.

Over in Sault Michigan and the EUP, NuCorp will be the final band to ever play at The Rapids Lounge at the Soo's Kewadin Casino tonight & tomorrow night before their heavy renovations begin, while Tom Katalin & Highway 41 will be playing at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin those same nights. Tomorrow, Viscera frontman "Blind" Bob Quinn & Louie Radecki will be playing at Moloney's Alley, Shipheads On Shore will be at The Islander Bar in Hessel, and Frank Gillotte will be performing at The Lakeside Lounge at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley. Note that this just counts bands within an hour of the Soo, but if you're up for a drive, Tarnished will be playing at The Pine Bar in Engadine on Saturday. Remember, levels of Halloween celebration and frills (from decor to drink specials to costume contests) will vary from venue to venue, so check in with each establishment and/or band before you commit to anything.

If you're free and able, go occupy a venue this weekend! The calendar blessed us with an ideal weekend for Halloween concerts, and there won't even be an October 31st on a Friday until 2031, so take advantage where you can. We'll wrap up our Halloween previews with three shows tomorrow night and one short notice Sunday matinee, so stay tuned then! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Nate's Chow, Tarnished, And Dos Amigos) & More Weekend Concert Previews!!

Our crush of weekend concert previews ends here with shows in the EUP and Sunday matinee concerts, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly SHORT NOTICE ones, so here's what you should know to cap off this busy Saturday!

Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover band Tarnished will head back to The Lakeside Lounge at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley for a two-man acoustic concert TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the casino only announced the show on their Facebook page on Wednesday, with the band corroborating it the following day. As usual for shows at this new acoustic-leaning lounge at "your perfect up north retreat", TONIGHT'S concert has just Alex & Josh (no Chris or Ron) playing 1980s-leaning rock covers for assembled fans, or if you believe Bay Mills' advertising, "the energy, great tunes, and good vibes". Just three weeks removed from their last show there, hopefully there's a decent turnout once again for their hard rocking cover action! This show is at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Tarnished at The Lakeside Lounge!

Next up, let's head north to the Soo, where local hard rock cover trio Nate's Chow will rock The Merchant's Bar TONIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band quietly confirmed this show via this updated AI-generated concert calendar on their Facebook page on August 24th, which also removed their cancelled show at The Merch last week, so TONIGHT's show is (like with Dos Amigos) a de facto rescheduling a week later. Their new show-specific AI-generated poster for TONIGHT indicates that this will be "Nate's Chows (sic) debut at The Merch", but that only goes back to their name change, as the former Unfortunate Sun played there over the I-500 weekend in February and multiple times prior, including when members were in Fake Chow. While we're on the subject, the concert calendar from August also confirms that Jody, Brett, and Jason will return to The Merch for two mid-week shows later this year, so what should you know on that front?

One will be on Wednesday, November 25th (on Thanksgiving Eve, or as Unfortunate Sun called it, "Drinksgiving"), and the other will be on Thursday, December 31st as part of The Merch's New Years Eve party. Holiday action is coming soon in two ways from Nate's Chow, so keep these shows in mind after TONIGHT'S regular Saturday nighter! All three Merch shows are 21+ affairs at 9:00 PM with no cover, and time will tell if there are frills to admission or the experience on December 31st. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Nate's Chow live!

Also, let's head north to Sault Ontario for two Sunday matinees, as local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos will return to Thomson Farms Cider & Winery for a matinee concert TOMORROW! Apologies again for the short notice, the farm only announced that Dos Amigos would be performing via this AI-generated poster on their Facebook page, though Dos Amigos members did mention that they'd be playing TOMORROW in Facebook "Stories" a few days prior (the band has not publically confirmed it in a permanent social media post). TOMORROW's show will basically be a makeup for Dos Amigos' planned matinee gig at Thomson Farms this past Sunday, which they were "unable to make" for unannounced reasons (The Low Light Company replaced them on short notice). Last Sunday was the kickoff for the cider mill & winery's fall festival running through Halloween, so expect the corn maze, pumpkin patch, food and drinks, vendors, the corn cannon(!) and more.

No word on who the teased live musicians today are, but like today, TOMORROW'S Dos Amigos matinee is at 12:00 PM with no age limits or cover charges. This is implied to be outdoors on the patio again, so 9&10 News is calling or 13-14° temperatures with mostly cloudy skies, and while there is a slight rain risk that afternoon, it's expected to dissipate during the concert timeframe. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview of the acoustic punk action ahead TOMORROW, here's Dos Amigos live!

Finally for this weekend's previews, former Haggith/Project 421 singer/guitarist Curtis McKenzie will rock Beck's Bar TOMORROW! This show was actually announced by Curt on social media back in May, so Bone Yard 225's advertisement of it on their website's concert calendar must have been erroneous or was cancelled months ago. Regardless, Curt's brand of alternative and hard rock covers is a reliably entertaining sight at local venues, and hopefully he has some more good stuff in store for fans on Goulais Avenue tomorrow afternoon! As usual for Beck's Sunday matinees, this is at 3:00 with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge, and will take place during Beck's weekly euchre tournament on Sundays. If that interests you, inquire within about details on how to compete. Visit the above links for more details on tomorrow's concert, and for a preview, here's Curtis live a few years back!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new news post and this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Curtis McKenzie & Tarnished), Plus More Weekend Concert Previews!!

As promised, here's the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews, but we also have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to touch on, one on SHORT NOTICE, one for next month, so here's what you should know!

Sault Michigan classic/hard rock quartet Tarnished will return to The Merchants Bar for one night only TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced on the band's Facebook page yesterday, and as ever, The Merch does not promote bands playing there on social media. TONIGHT's show may be well timed in terms of sports fans being present, as the United States' men's national soccer team opens FIFA World Cup action against Paraguay on Fox (plus CTV in Canada) at 9:00 PM, and The Merch is known to show live sports on the TVs, so will Tarnished's rocking slate of covers prove a good soundtrack if the game is on? Regardless, Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron are fresh off of concerts at the St. Ignace Kewadin last week, with TONIGHT'S gig being their first in the Soo in over a month, and their first at The Merch in three months. Keep this late notice return to 108 West Spruce Street in mind!

TONIGHT'S Tarnished concert also begins at 9:00 PM, with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are live a couple years back!

Next up, here's a new show from an artist who was once advertised to be playing this weekend, as Sault Ontario alternative/hard rock singer/guitarist Curtis McKenzie will bring his acoustic solo show back to The Dive Gastro Pub on Saturday, July 4th! Curt had announced this show on his Facebook page on May 20th (apologies for the delay in that making the site until now), but it was announced alongside a show at The Dive tomorrow that Curt eventually confirmed was cancelled due to being double booked. If you didn't read yesterday's post, The Dive are hosting new local "diamond rock" quartet Stones At The Alter on their patio for a short notice outdoor concert TOMORROW NIGHT. At least Curtis will be back in three weeks, so if you like the Project 421/Eclipse alum's unplugged hard rock covers, you know where to be! This is expected to be a "Patio Play" concert, weather permitting.

As usual for Thursday nighters at The Dive, this Fourth of July concert is at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Hopefully things go well (and that Curt isn't double booked again) next month, so visit the above links for more details on his next advertised solo date!

Back to this weekend's concert previews now via a pair of shows that do have advance notice, starting with local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, who will return to Beck's Bar for one night only TONIGHT! After a three month spring break prompted (in part) by personal concerns, this will be the first fully electric and plugged-in concert from "The Dirty Three" since February. It's great to see the full Bone Yard experience back, and you can get a taste of what they've been working on as of late via their website, which has a new preview clip of the fourth studio track from their upcoming debut album! It's entitled "Welcome To The Shit Show", and while I'll hold comment pending our eventual review of the full album, give the 30 second teaser a listen in the bottom right corner! As teased in this jokingly ominous Facebook video, tonight's Beck's gig is at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge.

Tattoo Tearz will be on site at Beck's from 6:30 PM onward tonight, so if you want to get a tattoo before/during the concert, take advantage of this opportunity! Remember, when Beck's does host bands on Fridays, they do not host the same band on Saturdays, so if you come out tomorrow, the nightcap will be from country rock veterans Tex Riviera & The Ride. See above for more details, and here they are live!

Finally for known heavier concerts in the Twin Saults this weekend, Sudbury-based Rush tribute band Epic Rush will return to town TOMORROW NIGHT when they headline at The Full Throttle Saloon! The second stab at booking a touring tribute band at the former Primavera Hall, this comes a month after Ozzy Osbourne tribute Crazy Babies played a well received (but expensive) concert there. Epic Rush previously rocked the former Soo Blaster in late 2024 and 2025, but now, the former Rust are making their way to Steelton for a summertime concert, and hopefully the Kuthy brothers deliver another fun and technically sound blast of Rush classics, especially well timed given that the real thing began their reunion tour earlier this week! Advertising for this concert does not mention an opening band. This 19+ concert goes down tomorrow night at 10:00 PM with a 19+ age limit, and tickets are $40, which is much lower than Crazy Babies attendees saw, but up from the $25 tickets that fans paid to see Rust/Epic Rush at Soo Blaster.

If you love Rush and their progressive and hard rock catalogue, you'd be hard pressed to miss Saturday night's concert, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Epic Rush live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Nameless, Soundcheck, T.N.T., And Tym Morrison!!)

Tonight's weekend concert preview post is devoted almost entirely to SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the next few nights, but someone with a late notice gig does have shows ahead to touch on as well! Due the the glut of recent announcements, I'll be previewing this weekend's Silent 9 and B.A. Johnston shows in tomorrow's post, while Monday's Dopethrone concert will likely be in a separate post on the weekend proper. Now, here's what you should know for this weekend, along with a missed concert apology!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Beck's Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced via the venue's Facebook page on Monday, and the band hasn't corroborated this booking publically at press time (nor have they updated their Facebook page at all in three weeks). Fresh off of a well received weekend at Reggie's Place (you may have caught their "Sweet Emotion" cover there as a Facebook "Story"), this will be Soundcheck's first stop at the Goulais Avenue nightclub in over a month, and it should prove to deliver classic and hard rock favourites to, if you believe Beck's own promotion, "keep the party rocking all night long"! As usual for when they host bands on Fridays, TOMORROW'S show is a one-nighter, with pop rock cover veterans Bourbon Blue playing there on Saturday night (more on the Sunday matinee timeslot there in a bit though).

This Separate Wayz-free concert goes down TOMORROW NIGHT at Beck's Bar with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more on Terry, Travis, Jim, and Johnny's late notice return west, and for a preview, here they are live a few years back!

Next up, we'll head to The Dive Gastro Pub (The Dive On Queen?), where veteran local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will set up shop for matinee concerts THIS SATURDAY, and then on Friday, June 5th and (Think It Over) Thursday, July 9th! Again, apologies for the short notice on SATURDAY'S concert, it was quietly announced along with the other two via a batch Facebook event page on Tym's Facebook group last week. With Tym's pinky finger healed up and the summer concert season fast approaching, it makes sense for him to spread his wings a bit more, with these monthly shows bringing his unplugged but well produced solo shows to a welcoming downtown audience! Interestingly, these are all on different days of the week, as The Dive is expanding live music nights beyond Thursdays for the summer, and their patio opens for the season tomorrow, heavily implying that Tym's short notice gig will be their first "Patio Play" concert of 2026 (a DJ is spinning tunes tomorrow).

In the event SATURDAY's show is outdoors, 9&10 News is calling for cloudy conditions with temperatures of around 15°, and rain is unlikely. Whether all, some, one, or none of these three shows are in "The Naughty Corner", expect 3:00-7:00 PM runtimes, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges, while Maddy's Mighty Mutts will be on site, and you can meet the dogs! See above for more details, and for a preview of SATURDAY's concert, here's Tym live!

In a brief detour to Sault Michigan, local hard rock cover quartet The Nameless will return from a 3+ month break when they rock The Merchants Bar for one night only on SATURDAY! Apologies again for the short notice, the band only announced this show on their Facebook page yesterday. Of course, this being the Memorial Day long weekend south of the border, the holiday timing makes all the sense in the world for Josh, the Mikes, and Jamie to come "out of hiding", and while I don't know why they took most of the spring off, it is good to have them back! Yooper fans last saw The Nameless when they rocked The Merch over the I-500 weekend, and while them calling the venue "everyone's favourite place" seems presumptive, it has been good to them despite the bar's continued lack of promoting concerts on social media! No word on if The Nameless have any new covers for their return.

As usual for concerts at The Merch, this is a 9:00 PM affair on SATURDAY with no cover charge and a 21+ age limit. If you want some heavier live music for the long weekend in Sault Michigan, this might just do the trick, so see above for more details, and here's The Nameless live!

Finally for this preview post, we'll head back to Beck's Bar, where Soundcheck singer/guitarists Terry Eaton & Travis Sharpe will set up shop again as their SUNDAY matinee performers, after previously debuting their acoustic side project T.N.T. at the aforementioned Dive Gastro Pub tonight. Once again, apologies for the short notice, profusely so for missing tonight's concert on here, The Dive only announced tonight's gig this afternoon on their Facebook page, and I didn't even notice it until writing up the Tym Morrison shows above. Meanwhile, SUNDAY's Beck's gig was announced on Monday with the rest of their weekly slate, but regardless, Terry & Trav(is) don't have a social media or band page to promote their own unplugged concerts with, to my knowledge. Despite the very slim notice, I hope tonight's show was a hit, and that the AI poster wasn't wrong about the promised "live acoustic hits" and "rockin' good times"!

If you missed tonight's show like I did, you can see them back at Beck's on SUNDAY to cap off Travis & Terry's three show weekend, albeit without a Friday nighter regardless of band. Their Dive debut tonight was at 9:30 PM in "The Naughty Corner", but the Beck's show is a 3:00 PM matinee, and expect no cover and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's our first public video of TNT live, courtesy of The Dive's Facebook page from tonight's show! The 39 seconds-long clip sees them covering The Stone Temple Pilots' "Plush" with Travis on vocals, and while the song is overplayed on the radio, it is a good showcase for his voice, so give it a look below!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Silent 9 and B.A. Johnston previews (and more) next! Thanks everyone!

Our Recap Of (Most Of) Crush's Concert At The Merch On Saturday Night!

You may recall that newer Sault Michigan hard rock trio Crush made their debut at The Merchants Bar this past Saturday night, and you can now see the vast majority of their three-sets-long concert via live-streamed videos on their Facebook page! Well, you can watch them "for now", as current Facebook limitations on live-streamed videos mean that these will no longer be playable after a month unless Crush opts to convert them into regular videos or re-upload them. Basically, I'd better get to them now while there's time, and if you want to see the three videos, assuming the guys don't make them permanent, you have until around May 11th! Unfortunately, the filmer recording the concert shot all three sets vertically, but they did try to frame the whole band within the portrait orientation. Just as a reminder, Crush is the Tarnished spinoff band that debuted last summer.

In the first set video (which is embedded below), you can see Alex, Josh, and Iggy leading off with a fast and rocked up cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary", before tackling "SDR&R", which is a holdover from Tarnished's days as an original band, specifically a 2021 studio single of theirs. Of note, while singer/drummer Alex Traynor sang lead on the Tarnished version, guitarist Josh Fair (a.k.a. Josh Tyler) handled lead vocals on Saturday night, and he didn't do a bad job, aided by bassist Isaac "Iggy" Royer's gruff backing vocals! Crush's own original "Too Close" (which has been teased on social media before) follows, and here, Iggy sings lead. Alex returns to lead vocals for a cover of AC/DC's "Big Balls", before the guys play a brand new original named "Satisfied" with Josh singing. Iggy takes over vocals for their punky original "Hey You", which opened their battle-winning set last year.

Their next song is actually a cover of the fast rocking outro of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" (in response to a fan yelling the title out; kudos for actually learning part of it!), before Alex sings his first original song of the night, "No Way". Like with "Too Close", the studio version of this song has been sampled as background music in some of Crush's prior social media videos. The first set closes with a hard rock cover of (I'm serious) Shania Twain's "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!", also with Alex on vocals. There's already a lot to take in there, but how about their set #2 live-stream video? Henceforth, all songs have Alex on lead vocals unless otherwise stated. In the 10:00 hour at The Merch, their set began with a cover of The Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz", followed by their original "Capitol Gain" (also played at last summer's battle of the bands in Brimley), which Josh and Iggy roughly share vocal duties on. 

The next song (with Josh on lead vocals) wasn't introduced by name, but it has a Motley Crue-esque swagger, and it may be named "Fuck It" based on the chorus. Next is "Intoxicated" (featuring Iggy on lead vocals), which is another Tarnished original that Crush have taken on, and while that band never recorded it as a studio single, you can see Alex and Josh play it in that band in early 2024 at this link. Crush have teased their studio version in social media teasers as well, including this "gross" video starring Iggy to promote the Merch concert. Iggy remains the lead singer for their next song, a cover of Kiss' "Rock & Roll All Nite", and they wrapped up set #2 with one more Kiss cover, this time "Detroit Rock City". Logging and writing about what happened in an hour's worth of live-streamed concert video has dragged this post out really well, so I'll save set #3 for an upcoming post.

Just based on the first two sets, Crush have a good thing going, and it is encouraging to see Josh and Iggy get so many opportunities at the mic! Things aren't too far removed from Tarnished sonically, but with a looser and heavier form factor, and some cover choices of varying levels of predictability for a band of their style. The vertical camera angle, hazy lighting, and Alex often being obscured behind Josh all aren't ideal for home viewers, and I do wish that the attendees at The Merch were more vocal between songs, but there's good tunes here, so check out the first two sets above & below, and we'll look at the third set very soon! Thanks everyone! 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (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 (Project 906, Unfortunate Sun, And Double Down), And New Videos!!

As promised, let's round up the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews along with some new live videos, so here's what you should know (mostly from Sault Michigan), starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly SHORT NOTICE ones!

Local hard rock cover quartet Unfortunate Sun will return to The Merchants Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show on their Facebook page on Tuesday (The Merch never acknowledged it on social media, as usual). You'd think that Unfortunate Sun would have given this more of a push, as TOMORROW'S concert will actually be their final gig with singer Skip Parish, who is retiring from the band for unannounced reasons. This is the second lineup departure in under two months for Unfortunate Sun, following bassist Tony Rogers' exit in January, with the band playing just three gigs with new bassist Brett Blackwood in the fold before announcing that Skip is leaving too. From their predecessors Fake Chow to today, Skip has been a strong presence on vocals, and hopefully TOMORROW's show is a fitting sendoff!

In their post announcing Skip's departure, they said that Jody, Jason, and Brett are "not going anywhere" and to "stay tuned for the next chapter". We'll let you know when more on their further plans is announced! Everything goes down TOMORROW at The Merch at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Unfortunate Sun live!

Next up, local blues/hard rock cover quintet Project 906 will return to Hulbert Happy Hour in Hulbert Township for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT themselves! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band also only announced this show on their Facebook page on Tuesday (and given the weather forecast, you may not want to bring an AI-generated snowmombile to the bar for it). Last seen at Hulbert Happy Hour five months ago during a poker run, TOMORROW'S show will be their first anywhere since rocking The Strongs Tavern last week. Of course, drummer Jason VanLuven is playing in the Soo TOMORROW with Unfortunate Sun, who get priority when the two bands have conflicting dates, but 906 have not announced whether there will be a guest fill-in drummer or not (but they have played shows with hand drummer Brian Duford as the sole percussionist in the past, so they won't be out of luck regardless).

You can enjoy Project 906's hard rocking cover slate TOMORROW at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. See the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of the guys at The Strongs Tavern in Eckerman last week/month! This clip from their Facebook page sees the guys covering the end of Guns N' Roses' "Paradise City", which really tests Billy's vocal range, but he hangs in there well! Alas, this video is A. partial, B. very blue (blame the tavern's lighting), and C. vertical (oh so much ceiling here), but it's a fun performance for what we do get, so give it a watch below, and don't miss the Hulbert action TOMORROW NIGHT!

In one more show announcement, let's take a brief detour to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will return to The Water Tower Pub on Saturday, March 28th! This show was announced via the venue's March concert calendar, and Separate Wayz TONIGHT aside, is the only new hard rock-leaning show revealed thusly. The pub didn't post a monthly calendar online last month, and January's seemed extremely rushed, so it's good to see the Great Northern Road nightclub putting the regular one up for March! Joel, Beej, Dan, and Ric will rock out at month's end with no cover, a 19+ age limit, and an 8:00 PM start time, and as the venue hosts different nightly bands, classic/pop rock veterans Encore are playing there on Friday the 27th. Visit the above links for more details, and while we're on the subject, here's a newly uploaded video from Double Down's Facebook page of them live with a special guest!

As you may recall, Double Down welcomed former Quite Frankly singer Jack "Jacklyn Hyde" Alisat as a guest for a handful of gigs last summer, including a Beck's Bar date that I don't believe the band ever officially confirmed she would be singing at. While the video description alluded to Cher, the video itself actually sees Double Down and Jack covering Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams' "Get Lucky", which is a surprisingly modern and poppy cover for them. The extremely dark foreground lighting isn't ideal, but at least this was filmed horizontally, and it's a fun cover with strong vocals, so give it a watch below, and don't miss the guys back at Beck's tomorrow night!

Finally for today, let's head back to Sault Michigan for some new videos from a band who isn't playing live this weekend, namely hard rock quartet The Nameless! On January 4th, the band shared videos from drummer Jamie Costner's personal Facebook page of them at a private event the previous day, where they were filmed on a stationary camera covering Blur's "Song 2", The Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Otherside", the end of Guns N' Roses' "It's So Easy" (with bassist Mike East on vocals), Chevelle's "Vitamin R (Leading Us Along)", and as embedded below, Papa Roach's "Last Resort". Most of the videos are incomplete, and alas, all five were shot vertically, but things were framed as well as they could have been given that, even though Josh is largely blocking Jamie from view. Solid work all around, and they should use Mike's vocals more, as we don't hear him leading songs often, just the end of "It's So Easy" a couple of times on video. Give these a watch above & below!

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