LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soundcheck), New Concert Videos, And More!!

Before we begin today's news post. I wanted to apologize for missing a pair of recent EUP concerts for coverage on the SMS. Firstly, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished reportedly played a second outdoor concert at American Legion Park in St. Ignace earlier today at 1:00 PM, separate (but still organized by the folks behind) the town's summer concert series, which they played at yesterday. The band only announced the added matinee on their Facebook page last night, too late for me to rush it into a post. I'm assuming that today's rainy forecast didn't impair the show, as I didn't hear about a late cancellation, but regardless, I do apologize for missing it even with the late notice! The other show, I really should have caught wind of, as Sault Ste. Marie promoters Serious Business brought another eclectic multi-act show to the basement of Pizza Hut on the Business Spur on July 18th.

The concert saw Detroit experimental band The Hum and Muskegon post-punk duo The Mollusks make their way north, alongside local acoustic folk openers Shae Tull (by way of Sault Ontario) and Kevin Blakeney. Not the most hard rock/punk-centric bill, but it did have The Mollusks, so I should have caught wind of this concert prior, and I apologize for that. Hopefully that Serious Business show and Tarnished's bonus matinee were both hits for artists and venues alike, and we'll have more from both soon!

Now, today's post is start of a big clean-out of accumulated news, videos, and announcements from last month that got delayed by busy weekend concert previews and our concert reviews from last month, and we'll start today with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month, as Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quartet (quintet?) Soundcheck will return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only on Friday, August 28th! A relatively rare stop at this Great Northern Road nightclub, this show was first announced in the venue's August concert calendar on their Facebook page on Wednesday. Soundcheck proper may not corroborate the booking on social media at all, as their haven't posted on their own Facebook page for any reason since May. You'd think they'd want to hype up their Drag Race Nationals gig in Chapleau with Separate Wayz in mid-August, at least, but we shall see how things go for updates this month!

As always for The Water Tower Pub, this is a one-nighter, and the Saturday the 29th band there will be southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, who already announced that show on their own. Terry, Travis, Jim, and Johnny (and the new synth player?) will be on that night at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details!

We'll close today with new videos, starting with a trip west to The Up & Down Lounge for videos from the first solo musician to play there during their Thursday summer concert series, courtesy of their Facebook page! As you may know, Tym Morrison played there this week, but for the first two Thursdays, the honours went to Dodge This/ex-Phatstick frontman Jason Taillefer, who was filmed playing covers at both gigs. On July 16th, the patio party had to be moved indoors due to that day's severely poor air quality, but musicians at The Up & Down Lounge were always playing inside anyway, and you get a look more at the fans than Jason in this 12 seconds-long clip of him playing keyboard that evening. A 31 seconds-long video of Jay covering Shinedown's "Symptom Of Being Human" (also on keyboard) was shared too, with a hard-coded caption above him plugging their Thursday musician search.

The other videos are from this batch post featuring media from the July 23rd concert. Jason is faintly heard on vocals & guitar in three sub-12 seconds videos there promoting the on-site Pizza Wagon by the patio, but I can't make out the song(s?) in any of them. Two slightly longer videos show him on camera, including a keyboard cover of Coldplay's "The Scientist", and as embedded below, a guitar cover of Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)". The short lengths aren't ideal, let alone the on-screen captions, but it is good seeing Jason out there during Dodge This' ongoing break, and while most of the covers aren't songs I personally love, he performs them well, so check these out above & below!

We'll come full circle today by heading south to St. Ignace, Michigan, where Sault Ste. Marie hard rock cover quartet The Nameless headlined at The Driftwood Sports Bar on June 26th during the St. Ignace Car Show weekend! The venue shared two videos of their set to their Facebook page that night, and despite being shot and uploaded during the show, neither was a live-stream. Thank goodness, as we can still watch them now! One video is just 7 seconds long, and focuses on the turnout in the bar rather than The Nameless' cover of The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army". Embedded below though is the longer and more band-centric of the two videos (if still only 20 seconds long), which sees the guys covering 3 Doors Down's "Kryptonite". Of note, bassist Mike East was not seen on camera for this cover, and I have no idea if he missed the Driftwood show entirely or just sat out this song.

The short lengths, vertical framing, and complete lack of band focus on the White Stripes cover don't make these ideal looks at this talented group (let alone Mike E.'s apparent absence), but what we hear is soundly performed, and it definitely looks like they had a solid crowd on a packed weekend in Mackinac County! Give these a watch for yourselves above & below!

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

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

As promised, here's the rest of this weekend's known hard rock concert previews as we plunge deeper into the Civic Holiday long weekend for many (but not all) readers on the Ontario side of the border. Mercifully, all of today's shows had prior advance notice, but one was postponed a day, so here's what else you should know to end July!

We'll start at Gateway Casino TOMORROW NIGHT, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will end their recent break! After members spent last month working on other projects and bands (including a one-off Jus' Chillin reunion), tomorrow's show will be Generations' first at Sault Ontario's downtown casino in almost two months. Hopefully this one-nighter delivers more of the classic and hard rock goodness for fans of Valerie, Joe, Pierre, and Tony's tried-and-tested brand of rock covers, so keep this show in mind for your (long?) weekend plans! If you can't make it tomorrow, Generations will return to The Water Tower Pub next week. Tomorrow's concert takes place at the casino at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Generations live in concert a few months ago!

Next up, if you crave some original music and/or multiple bands, you might want to head to Blaster Powerhouse TOMORROW NIGHT, where four local bands will join forces, including rising young hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe as the headliners! Proving that their rapid ascent this year isn't a fluke, this skilled high school-aged group should have an intriguing array of covers (expected and unexpected alike) tomorrow, so keep this show in mind! Crossover thrash trio Hails will play their first show at the former Soo Blaster with their current lineup tomorrow, while veteran local punk supergroup The Gambit will play just their fourth show with this name and first since Rotaryfest two years ago tomorrow as well. Space/hard rock duo The Spaceship Opening will... open this concert in their first public gig of 2026, and this is definitely an interestingly varied lineup of newer and established names!

Promoted by former Ha!ls guitarist Mikhal Muto's own agency Underground Events SSM, this all ages concert begins tomorrow at 8:30 PM with no age limit, and admission is $20 at the door ("no tickets will be made for this one", so apologies to ticket stub collectors, alas). Despite a somewhat out-there poster (at least it's not AI!), this is shaping up to be a fun concert for punk fans, so visit the above links for more details, and here's a new video of 5 Dollar Bribe at the ARCH Run earlier this month! Uploaded to their Facebook page last week, this is their frequent live cover of The Atlanta Rhythm Section's "So Into You", albeit for just 34 seconds. Well played and relaxed, if not that heavy, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

Also this weekend, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will have the rare double header weekend TOMORROW NIGHT & SUNDAY at Beck's Bar! On the weekend that they release their new studio single "Welcome To The Shit Show" (more on that next week), tomorrow's concert is a regular plugged-in, full band concert for fans of "the dirty three" in their full splendour, so you'll be ending July on a loud and high note if you come to the former Vibe Lounge tomorrow! If you're curious, tomorrow's matinee performer (who isn't "opening" for Bone Yard) is new local singer/guitarist Stephen Biason, who plays from 3:00-7:00 PM. On Sunday, your local 225 will go "uncorked" for an acoustic matinee concert, which coincides with Beck's weekly euchre tournament on Sundays, so whether you play cards or not, you'll have a fitting soundtrack from Greg, Alex, and Warren! 

Tomorrow's nightcap is at 9:00 PM, the Sunday unpl... uncorked concert is also at 3:00 PM, both shows are 19+ affairs, and none have an age limit. Visit the above links for more details on Bone Yard's busy west end weekend, and for a preview, here they are live in concert last year!

Finally for these previews, we'll head south to Cedarville, Michigan for the annual Government Bay Barge Bash, but later than you may think, as it has been postponed from tomorrow to SUNDAY. As revealed via this AI-generated poster, organizers have decided to push the Barge Bash back a day due to the rainy weather forecast tomorrow. 9&10 News currently has rain forecasted for Cedarville in the 12:00 PM hour, but an even likelier chance for precipitation is spotted from the 4:00 PM hour onward, which would not be ideal for bands, let alone everyone else. Sunday's forecast is much better (sunny skies all day with 73-76° temperatures, 23-25° Celsius), and all bands are able to play the rain date, so adjust your schedules accordingly! The Les Cheneaux Islands Barge Bash will again feature bands playing on a literal barge floating in Government Bay off of East Hodeck Street, so if you want to boat or swim over for the music, you can! Click here for non-musical details.

Sunday's headliners are hard rock cover quintet Project 906 (likely around 4:00-5:00 PM) alongside Cedarville rock veterans Shipheads On Shore (likely around 2:00-3:00 PM), and The Haske Brothers (now featuring prolific local singer/guitarist Mark Bowen!) kicking things off at noon, giving us a near identical lineup to last year. The Barge Bash is FREE & ALL AGES, though please drink responsibly, and be careful out on the water regardless. This is always a fun and very unique concert event on the EUP calendar, so visit the above links for more on Sunday's action, and here's Project 906 live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Wax Mannequin & Tym Morrison) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

It's time to dive into another round of weekend concert previews, and while things aren't as hectic as the last two weeks, there are still enough shows to get to where we'll have to break things in twain, so shows that are only on Saturday and/or Sunday (Generations, 5 Dollar Bribe, Bone Yard 225, and the Barge Bash) will be in tomorrow's post. Now, here's what you should know on both sides of the border for bands playing shows tonight and tomorrow in some fashion, including a pair of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will play his third solo acoustic concert in as many days TOMORROW NIGHT at Ije's Place in nearby Desbarats! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced via his Facebook event page on Monday. You may recall seeing late notice word that Tym would be making the 45 minute drive southeast to Desbarats (hometown of Central Algoma Secondary School) four weeks ago for his debut gig there, which I unfortunately missed at the time, so thankfully I heard about this one! Fresh off of shows at The Trading Post and the Up & Down Lounge, Tym should have lots of entertaining hard and classic rock covers in store for fans TOMORROW, and clearly his July 3rd show went well for him to get called back again before July is up! Ije's Place is located off of Highway 17 at 4 Lake Huron Drive, and is roughly between St. Joseph Island and Bruce Mines near the edge of our coverage area.

This indoor concert goes down TOMORROW from 6:00-8:00 PM, this is likely all ages given that Ije's is a cafe & bakery, and there is no announced cover charge. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a live-streamed video of Tym there earlier this month! The 2 minute clip sees Tym covering much of The Black Crowes' "She Talks To Angels" and doing a solid job of it, but alas, the filmer didn't zoom in at all, so full screen is your friend here. As this was live-streamed on Ije's Facebook page, it will vanish early next week unless re-uploaded or converted, so watch it below (while you can?) 

Next up, Hamilton "weird folk art punk" solo project Wax Mannequin will return to the Soo TOMORROW NIGHT for a concert at... Unnecessary Noise? Again, apologies for the short notice, the show was first announced via its Facebook event page this past Friday. As to my understanding, Unnecessary Noise is the private location that has been used for recent Underground Events SSM concerts like the Danger Box one and Soopfest, but the space now has an official name, and it's being used for public event promotion going forward, even if the address isn't at a public locale ("ask a punk"). This isn't entirely new for Wax Mannequin, as Chris Adeney's last show here in August 2024 was also not at a standard venue, instead a residence's backyard. Hopefully Unnecessary Noise proves a fitting spot for Wax Mannequin's return, and their noise definitely isn't unnecessary, with punk and metal tinges across their wide ranging setlist and discography!

Fellow Hamilton alt-folk/punk solo project The Kettle Black will make their apparent local debut tomorrow while on tour with Wax Mannequin, while comedy rock band The Floor Between Us (featuring Stones & Crows bassist Nicholas Gingras) will return as openers after doing the honours two years ago. Like in 2024, this is an all ages concert at 8:00 PM, but unlike that Piecing It Together Shows-promoted event, admission is "pay-what-you-can" with $15 recommended (down from $20 in advance/$25 at the door last time). This should be a fun concert for fans of eclectic original music with punk and hard rock influences across the board, so see above for more details, and here's Wax Mannequin live!

We'll head to the Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan to round out this post, starting with local classic/hard rock cover quarter Tarnished, who will make their way an hour south to St. Ignace TOMORROW NIGHT when they rock American Legion Park as part of St. Ignace's Music By The Bay summer concert series! Once again, St. Ignace is impressively hosting a different live music act daily until Labour Day, with tomorrow's show being the first of two that Tarnished are playing under the canopied stage at 200 North State Street this year, the other being the penultimate show for 2026 on September 5th. Hopefully tomorrow's concert is a smash hit for Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron, though note that the band has not corroborated the booking on their Facebook page at press time. Tomorrow's concert takes place at 7:00 PM with no cover charge or age limit, and lawn chairs are suggested given the park setting.

Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for a 40% chance of rain during showtime tomorrow, with temperatures of 72-73° (22-23° Celsius). Yes, artists get to play under a roof, but attendees aren't so lucky, so if you are at all concerned about the forecast and/or the potential for the show being cancelled or abbreviated by the rain, keep tabs with Tarnished for updates. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Finally, let's head north to Sault Ste. Marie, where Petoskey classic/hard rock cover quartet The Blitz are scheduled to make their local debuts at The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! While not mentioned in new social media posts in the past month & a half, The Blitz are the first of three non-local hard rock cover bands debuting at Kewadin lounges over the next month. Videos from after their 2022 reunion point to a well varied but often heavy range of covers played with talent and professinalism, and I do hope that things go well so they can blitz a local stage again in the coming months! As usual for Kewadin lounges, this weekend's shows both have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's The Blitz in a recent jam session!

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

The 2026 Superior Whitefish Festival Battle Of The Bands Review!!

It's been way too long since I've made the point of crossing the border to see and review a concert in Sault Michigan or the Eastern Upper Peninsula, and with last night harbouring the second annual Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands, that seemed like as good a reason as any! I made the half hour drive southwest to Brimley (nice country drive there), and for context, the festival was set up not far down the road from Bay Mills Resort & Casino, and you also passed Pickles Bar & Grill en route. While I didn't take part in the bulk of the non-concert festivities, the layout by the Riverview Park & Campground saw food trucks, vendors, and tents bordering an open area for games and activities to take place. Like last year, bands performed under a large white tent that had room for some attendees to be under in case of inclement weather, though many were happy to sit and watch outside.

Skies were cloudy and overcast all evening, but there was zero precipitation, and temperatures were reasonable. The battle format saw bands play 45 minute sets with 15 minutes for teardown and setup, and all got a "one song left" warning from the sound guys (there was no dedicated battle MC, but there were PA announcements regarding festival events, last call for whitefish meals and drink sales, and the battle awards). The battle was judged, but there was no announcement made concerning judging criteria or who was on the judges panel. Good crowd of people too, and there was a real community/family aspect to who stuck around all night!

The opening set at 7:00 PM went to local southern rock/country duo Blood, Sweat, and Beers, who were playing their first show in 2½ years last night. This is the old/new band from former Fake Chow/Unfortunate Sun singer Skip Parish, who was joined on guitar by his brother Stephen, and their set definitely leaned away from the rock covers from Skip's recent band work. The all-covers set saw them tackle songs by Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Mellencamp, Deana Carter, The Eagles, Zach Bryan, Eddie Rabbitt, Post Malone, and Steve Earle. I'm not a big southern rock or country guy (let alone The Eagles), and I do think Skip's vocal range suits rock more, but the Parish brothers had a good sound going and a fun camaraderie! I especially liked Stephen's stage presence, coming off amusingly aloof and oblivious to the setlist and what was happening. Nice and casual southern fried unplugged set to lead off!

Second up last night was local punk/hard rock duo About:Blank, who were the only band present with any substantial inclusion of original songs, playing nine of their own tracks here, including "Shedding Skin", "Tread On", "Peaches", and "Run & Hide". A mix of familiar and unfamiliar acts were covered also, including Adult Books, Green Day, Turnstile, and The Orwells. I did see Parker Talentino solo at the LSSU Battle of the Bands in 2024, but in a full band setup (current duo lineup acknowledged), About:Blank delivered a set that had a lot of nods to early 1990s grunge with punk and hardcore influences, including some screaming for effect. He and drummer Kade DesArmo paired well for a chaotic but well composed batch of songs, including when Parker switched to bass for their closer "Unheard" (with its very "Barracuda"-ish riff). Good stuff, and hopefully we hear more from About:Blank before long!

The third band last night was reunited local classic/pop rock cover quartet The Whole Shabang, with singer Candy Fultz and her husband Lawrence (on guitar) back alongside bassist Mitchell Willis. On drums here was Mark Livermore, who was recently seen in The Chris Barker Band. Playing their own first show in two years, The Whole Shabang covered songs by Trick Pony, The Neon Trees, Robert Palmer, Billy Joel, Elle King, The Cranberries, Aretha Franklin, Radiohead, and Gretchen Wilson, for a set that really was a jack of all trades range of covers (dare I say, "the whole shabang"?). There was a hang-up when they restarted "Respect" after Candy got her foot caught in the microphone cord, but they had a fun and lively sound with everyone performing well, and lots of dancers hit the front of the stage, which is quite welcomed! You'd never guess they'd been inactive for as long as they were!

Closing the battle past sunset were The 8th Fire, who are the new local hard rock band from Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich alongside her former Other Guys bandmate Jackie Moon (ex-Exit 808) on drums, plus Proiect 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins on guitar. We'll have more on them in an upcoming post, but they look to be more than just a short term band made for a battle, as there are 8th Fire t-shirts! No word on what the first seven fires were though. Molly actually kicked off the set with an original country song about a perfect boat day with her dad, but the full-band songs were all covers, where they tackled Redbone, The Doobie Brothers, Green Day, Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Judas Priest, and Ozzy Osbourne. Joe even took over lead vocals for a cover of Seven Mary Three's "Cumbersome", and killed it on guitar, especially on "Mr. Crowley" (including playing behind his head at one point!) If only we had gotten that Project 1327 crossover!

Molly has improved vocally since I last saw her in person at the 2024 LSSU Battle, and while some songs were still out of her range, she adjusted well (and remember, she is fourteen years old). Jackie drummed well with enthusiasm, and Molly's bass work was strong, though Joe did break a guitar string late in "Billie Jean". Not a bad debut set at all, and hopefully we hear more from The 8th Fire before Molly heads back to Interlochen!

After judges' deliberations, the PA announcer revealed the winners of the battle, and the $1,000 first place prize went to.... The Whole Shabang! The 8th Fire debuted with a $750 second place finish, while About:Blank won $500 for third place, and Blood, Sweat, and Beers claimed $250 in fourth place (so everyone got something for showing up). The Whole Shabang also earned the right to play a bonus set (or as the announcer called it, a "jam sesh") in the 11:00 PM hour, but I didn't stay for that, owing to a combo of depleting camera batteries and the half hour drive back to Sault Ontario. I don't know what the judges criteria amounted to for the battle proper, but the order did fall in line with who had the biggest and fullest live band presentations, not to mention the crowd engagement levels. I will say that I don't think originality was supremely high as a criterion for the judges, as About:Blank would have ran away with that.

Still, this was a triumphant return gig for The Whole Shabang (they look ready to play regular shows again instantly), and kudos to everyone for an entertaining night of live music! No word on if the LSSU Battle will return for year #4 this fall or not, we'll keep you posted, but I do need to come across to the EUP for more concerts already! You can check out our photos from last night at this link or at our Facebook page, and here's Blood, Sweat, And Beers covering Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason", About:Blank playing "Dilletante", The Whole Shabang covering The Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See" (with flute!), and The 8th Fire covering Hole's "Malibu"!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for much more on the SMS this week, feature posts and regular news posts alike! Thanks everyone!

The 2 Stoned Crows In The River Concert Preview, New Videos, And More!!

Before I kick off this post, I wanted to apologize for two missed concerts for coverage on the SMS in this busy month. The most recent is an apparent gig by local punk/alternative cover sextet BookcluB at Peace Restaurant at 250 Queen Street East this past Friday, a show implied to be on their outdoor patio based on the Facebook "Stories" promoting it (the only way the band even acknowledged it on social media; Peace never said a thing). The possibility exists that this was a private event, but if it was public, I do apologize, but I can't cover something that no one announces in a permanently sharable way! The other show was a bonus Mike Case Memorial Stage concert for Tym Morrison, who played outside of The Trading Post on Friday, July 10th, as per this Facebook event page separate from his every-Wednesday summer concert arrangement there.

Alas, this would be easy to miss given that the only distinguishing characteristic of the event page compared to his batch one for the Wednesday shows is the date, especially as a Friday show is far more amenable for concert-goers, but the event page went up with less than 3 hours to go before showtime, so it was extremely late notice anyway. Was he a last minute fill-in for someone else? Still, I do apologize, but Tym will be back there on Wednesday! Now, here's one more weekend concert preview to cap off this beyond stacked run on the SMS and some new videos from both sides of the border as we start playing catch-up!

In the last show of this final full concert weekend of July 2026, an all-local concert named "2 Stoned Crows In The River" goes down TONIGHT at Blaster Powerhouse! Promoted by Underground Events SSM, this show is so named because of two bands each with "Stone" and "River" in their names, with a "Crows" reference for good measure. In presented band order on the Facebook event page, tonight's bands (all relatively newer ones to the local scene) include indie/southern rock quartet Eli Russell & The River Fools, alt-hard rock band Riverside Stasis (in their final gig with outgoing rhythm guitarist Liam Dinsmore), "diamond rock" quartet/Doo & The Boyos spinoff Stones At The Alter, and blues/hard rock trio Stones & Crows. Not a bad lineup of rising local talent, and in many cases, familiar faces in new projects! Of course, props to Anthony Boudreau (a.k.a. Tony Stone) for drumming with both Stones & Crows and Riverside Stasis tonight too.

This is an all ages show as usual for the former Soo Blaster, it has a projected 7:00-10:00 PM runtime (just as well on a work/school night), and admission is a flat $15 at the door with no advance tickets. Whether you saw The River Fools and Stones & Crows at Rotaryfest Stage 2 last week or not, there's a lot to like from this mix of bands tonight, and while Eli's new band isn't as hard rock leaning as their fellow performers, don't bypass their talented original sound either! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, best of luck to Liam in his swan song with Riverside Stasis, and here they are live!

We'll close today with new videos, and we'll start with the first public video (that I am aware of) from yesterday's ARCH Run outside of Jay's Piston Broke Pub, specifically of local hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe's closing set! This was uploaded to drummer Chase Chapman's mom Jodi's Facebook page before being shared publically to the band's Facebook page, and sees them covering Marcy Playground's "Sex & Candy". I don't think this song suits Jayce's vocal range, especially with how low the original's are, but it's well covered overall! Bands again played on a flatbed trailer, and a tent was put up there as well, but I believe they mostly dodged rain despite cloudy overcast skies all day. Alas, while the video was shot in horizontal landscape mode, it was uploaded into vertical letterboxed dimensions, making it tiny, and I'll never understand how that keeps happening. Check out the new 5 Dollar Bribe video below, and stay tuned for more from them soon!

Finally, here's a new video from Sault Michigan punk/hard rock duo About:Blank's Facebook page from two weeks ago! Remember, Jon appears to have been just a guest bassist in their video from last month. This video sees Parker and Kade playing a new original song named "Pollution", which notably starts off with a 30 second clip where Parker expresses his frustration with pollution and they agree to write (and immediately perform) a song on the idea. A surf punk-inspired number that has a "Crocodile Rock"-ish vocal melody at points, it's a fun song, but this clearly isn't an ideal setup in terms of capturing the audio, as the guitar is extremely muffled. Not badly performed all the same, so give it a watch below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS this week, plus this month's YouTube Channel Profile and CD review before the month is up! Thanks everyone!

The Superior Whitefish Festival Battle Of The Bands Preview!!

Next up as we wind down this weekend's concert previews is a road trip 20 minutes southwest to Brimley, Michigan, where the second annual Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands goes down TOMORROW NIGHT! I completely missed last year's for coverage on here until after the fact, and I'm not letting year #2 slip past me, especially as this is shaping up to be another intriguing event! As you may recall, the Superior Whitefish Festival returned after a decade+ hiatus last year, and they had a battle of the bands to help end the festivities, which was won by Tarnished's then-new and all-original spinoff band Crush. While five acts played last year, only four are doing so tomorrow night, but the prizes are still the same, with a whopping $1,000 going to the first place band, as well as the right to play an encore set at night's end! Second-fourth place will receive $750, $500, and $250 apiece, meaning that everyone gets $250 to just show up. That's not a raw deal!

The Superior Whitefish Festival is brought to you again by the Bay Mills Indian Community, and honours the importance of whitefish in Anishinaabe communities. It will feature whitefish meals alongside with local vendors, family entertainment, competitions, and cultural displays, so visit the official Facebook event page and the host links for non-musical details. Everything goes down tomorrow at 12099 West Lakeshore Drive (near the Riverview Park & Campground), and if the battle is staged similarly to last year, there will be a large tent for bands to play under with space for attendees. Unusually compared to other local battles (even compared to last year) is that competing bands have one hour timeslots, and while I have not seen confirmation as to whether a judges panel, an audience vote, or another method determines the winners, you will have ample time to assess!

The Bay Mills Indians Community Tribal Chairperson Facebook group has a schedule of all events posted, confirming set times for tomorrow's battle, including that the opening band at 7:00 PM will be Blood, Sweat, And Beers, who are a revival of former Fake Chow/Unfortunate Sun frontman Skip Parish's old band with his brother Stephen. They get sporadic mentions on personal Facebook postings, and played occasional shows in Brimley and Hulbert Township in 2024 and 2025, the former being acoustic. Will that be the form that they take tomorrow evening? The 8:00 PM set belongs to local punk/hard rock band About:Blank, who played at the pre-battle Music In The Park concert at the Whitefish Festival last year, and were competitors at last fall's Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands. Recent promotion on their Facebook page indicates that they will play tomorrow night as a duo.

They never did confirm Jon Stone by name as a permanent band member, so the video of him playing with Parker & Kade must have been on a guest basis. Regardless, will About:Blank keep up their recent live momentum? Reunited local cover rock band The Whole Shabang will play their first show in almost two years as the 9:00 PM band, and while not familiar from our coverage, their lineup at least used to feature Stoned Ape Evolution alum John Napoletano, while Candace Fultz was their lead singer. Infrequently seen on the stage as recently as 2024, what do they play, and do they indeed provide "the whole shabang"? Find out tomorrow! Last up at 10:00 PM is Dafter singer/guitarist and Interlochen Academy student Molly Escherich, who you may recall fronting The Other Guys to victory in 2024's LSSU Battle and also competing in last year's Superior Whitefish Battle. Molly will be fronting a new band named The 8th Fire tomorrow though.

The 8th Fire actually have a Facebook page (something that The Other Guys never had), which implies that we'll be seeing Molly and them again, but who all is in the band, what do they play, and do they hew close to the hard rock-leaning stuff that Molly has played in full band settings previously? And Molly is just fourteen years old, but plays at a level well beyond her age, so don't sleep on them tomorrow night! Note that I read on personal Facebook shares that local folk musician Kevin Blakeney wanted to sign up to compete again this year, but organizers opted to exclusively host full bands this year (he and Kaleb "NDN Summer" Shannon played solo sets in last year's battle, where Kaleb finished in second with Kevin in fourth). If you're curious, the day opens with the acoustic-leaning Music In The Park concert, which includes veteran duo Whistle & Fish at 5:00 PM, Seth Haske at 4:00 PM, ...

...Molly Escherich solo at 3:00 PM, Mark Bowen at 2:00 PM, and "Family Band" (credited to "Christian P" in the schedule) at 1:00 PM. I am not seeing anything about an admission fee for the Whitefish Festival, but it is absolutely an all ages event, and it is expected to end at midnight, given that the battle winners will be playing a bonus set at 11:00 PM. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy skies turning into rain by Molly's set, so hopefully the tent is big and well covered just in case! Temperatures for the battle will be 66-73° tomorrow evening (19-23° Celsius). This battle looks well formatted with great prizes again, and it still amazes me that the EUP is eating Sault Ontario's lunch in terms of actually hosting battles successfully in the 2020s, so best of luck to all four bands tomorrow night, visit the above links for full details on the Superior Whitefish Festival, and we'll let you know when results come out! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906, Tarnished, And The Nameless) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

An extremely eventful and busy weekend of hard rock concerts is in store for the Twin Saults and area this weekend, so much so that I might have to break our previews into three posts! For now, this post is 100% devoted to Sault Michigan and the E.U.P., including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, two on SHORT NOTICE, so here's what you should know to start the weekend!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, I was aware of these shows for a few weeks now after being announced on Kewadin's entertainment page, but they got lost in the shuffle in a very busy month (not helped by the glut of new-to-the-EUP touring bands playing there this summer that I covered initially). Last seen at the Soo Kewadin in May when they were late replacements for The Louie Longoria Band, these will be another good chance to see Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron's 1980s-leaning hard rock covers all weekend long, so don't miss out if this is up your alley! No word on if SATURDAY'S booking is why their sister band Crush aren't defending their title at the second annual Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands in Brimley or not though.

As usual for Kewadin lounges, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows are 21+ affairs at 9:00 PM with no announced cover charges.  If you can't make their next two shows in St. Ignace, then don't miss out on Tarnished here TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are live!

Next up, let's head to Rudyard, Michigan, where Sault Ste. Marie blues/hard rock cover quintet Project 906 will return to Huck's Pub & Grill TOMORROW NIGHT, but in a new confirmation, they will also return to the annual Government Bay Barge Bash in nearby Cedarville on Saturday, August 1st! The #summerof906 marches on first tomorrow with a show timed with the annual Summerfest in Rudyard, and while this isn't an official Summerfest event, there should be a good crowd at the former Joe's Bar for Project 906 (or "906 Band", as it were) rocking out tomorrow! This is a one-nighter due to or resulting in Saturday's Private Drive concert, and it goes down at 8:00 PM on Friday with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. While we're on the subject, let's discuss the aforementioned Government Bay Barge Bash one week from Saturday, which will again see Project 906 in Cedarville for quite a unique outdoor concert on the local summer calendar!

Billy, Joe, Dustin, Jason, and Brian have played this event many times, which is quite literally named, as the bash takes place on a barge in the water off the coast of Government Island near Bumpas on East Hodeck Street in Cedarville, and attendees are more than welcome to swim or boat over to the stage! 906 and Cedarville classic rock veterans Shipheads On Shore are both returning from last year's Barge Bash, while The Haske Brothers (formerly of Oddfellow fame) will replace The Mark Bowen Band as the third band this year, though of course, Jason Haske was in Mark's band last year. Project 906 are this year's headliners, with their set likely beginning on August 1st at around 5:00 PM, with the Shipheads playing a mid-afternoon set likely around 2:30 PM or so, and The Haske Brothers kicking things off at 12:00 PM  This is a fun event for those in and around the Les Cheneaux Islands, so keep it in mind, especially if you love being out on/in the water!

The Barge Bash is a FREE & ALL AGES event, and remember to please drink responsibly if you are so inclined here, especially given the nature of the concert being literally held on the bay. Visit the above links for more details on the Barge Bash and tomorrow's Huck's show in Rudyard, with lots of hard rocking covers in store from this talented local band at both events, and for a preview, here's Project 906 live! 

Finally for this preview post, we'll head back to Kewadin Casino in Sault Ste. Marie, where local hard rock cover quartet The Nameless will serve as the musical entertainment at the third annual American Legion Riders' Hell To Paradise motorcycle rally on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for erroneously noting when this was first announced that they'd be at The Rapids Lounge (Tarnished are there, obviously), the band has since confirmed that they'll actually be playing in The Dreammakers Theatre, so the ending banquet will be well staged! The two-day Hell To Paradise rally will see bikers drive north from Stockbridge to the Soo (15 minutes west of Hell & an hour+ east of Paradise respectively) to support awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health, as those battling depression can feel lost between Hell and Paradise. Click here for full details and how you can support the cause!

The Nameless will be rocking out after a buffet dinner and awards ceremony, and as best as I can tell, you do not have to pay a dedicated admission fee or buy dinner to see the concert, which will be 21+ at 8:00 PM. If you'd rather see them in normal concert confines, Kewadin's entertainment page confirms that their previously teased Kewadin dates (lounge then unclear) will indeed be at The Rapids Lounge on Friday, August 28th & Saturday, August 29th, so consider those LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS too! Same ground rules as Tarnished this weekend. Visit the above links for more on Josh, the Mikes, and Jamie's Kewadin gigs of any scale ahead, and for a preview of the Hell To Paradise afterparty, here are The Nameless live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for previews of Sault Ontario concerts and the Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Maddy's Mighty Mutts Family Fun Day), A Concert Preview, And More!!

Our Rotaryfest review is in the latter stretches now, but with a Wednesday concert to preview, a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT to touch on in two weeks, and a very busy bunch of weekend concert previews ahead, let's get another news post up today, so here's what you should know! 

An intriguing mix of local musicians will join forces for a special charity concert at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on Wednesday, August 5th! This is called a Family Fun Day (not to be confused with the Loud & Proud one for Pridefest), and is being organized by Maddy's Mighty Mutts, a dog rescue business that you may recognize from doing events with dogs up for adoption at The Dive Gastro Pub. To help support the work that Maddy's does, the Family Fun Day will also have a beer/cocktail tent, a barbecue, kids activities, and vendors, so be sure to follow the above links for full non-musical details! 11 local music acts have donated their time to perform at this event (which takes place from 2:00-10:00 PM), including five local bands, so who can you expect? In alphabetical order on the AI-generated poster, the bands include newer young hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe, southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, ...

...Josh & Todd from The Golden Scoundrels in an acoustic folk/country set as "Half Scoundies", acoustic classic/hard rock cover duo TNT (Terry Eaton n' Travis Sharpe from Soundcheck), and country cover veterans Tex Riviera & The Ride (or if you believe the AI poster, "Tex & The Relix"). The rest of the bill will be comprised of solo acoustic musicians, including Bone Yard 225 frontman Greg Simpson in his solo "Ranting Rockstar" guise (with a guest appearance by the aforementioned Travis Sharpe), Arin Karki (a.k.a. Arin Jung), Dodge This/ex-Phatstick singer/guitarist Jason Taillefer (mind the missing "i" on the poster), local country musician Jazmine Ladouceur, former Haggith/Project 421 frontman Curtis McKenzie, and country singer/guitarist Leslie Cook. That's quite a stacked lineup, including a lot of names who you don't see on multi-band bills that often!

Maddy's Mighty Mutts' Family Fun Day takes place on Wednesday the 5th from 2:00-10:00 PM, it is absolutely all ages, and I haven't seen anything concrete about admission fees or a lack thereof. This looks like a fun event for a great cause, but I do wonder how they landed on a Wednesday for the date for this, as a lot of people work days/9 to 5 during the week (to that end, a performer schedule would be handy). While not "short notice", this is just two weeks away, so visit the above links for more on what to expect under the big tent for this intriguing charity concert!

Next up, here's a mid-week concert preview before we dive into the full weekend previews proper, as prolific local acoustic classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will continue his weekly summer arrangement at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post TONIGHT! This is day #4 of this current run of outdoor concerts beside the Big Moose Ice Cream Parlor, and hopefully there's a decent crowd there for his unplugged rock covers and other favourites, as recently usual! As usual for this year's run of Trading Post gigs, tonight's festivities take place from 6:30-8:30 PM with no age limit or cover charge. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for 17° temperatures and sunny skies, so nicer than last week, but cooler, especially for late July. In case you're wondering, the air quality index has not been higher than a 5 (moderate risk) since Saturday night, and the forecast maximum for today is a 3 (low risk).

I suspect we made it out of the worst of the air quality warnings from the forest fires, but things are recent enough where it seemed worth bringing up at least one more time (famous last words). Visit the official Facebook event page on Tym's show tonight at The Trading Post, and here he is live!

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

• The aforementioned Bone Yard 225 have announced that their fourth studio single "Welcome To The Shit Show" will be released to major streaming services on Friday, August 1st! In the meantime, you can hear a sample of the song on their website. No word on how progress on the complete debut album is going, but it will be neat to hear the new song from your local 225 next week!
• As noted above, advertising for the Maddy's Mighty Mutts family fun day notes that Bone Yard's Greg "The Ranting Rockstar" Simpson will be featuring Travis Sharpe in his set. How much, we don't yet know, but Travis made an unadvertised guest appearance with Greg when he played at The Dive Gastro Pub last month, which the venue's Facebook page captured in this 40 seconds-long video of the two covering Guns N' Roses' "Used To Love Her". I wish this was the full song, but it's a solid performance with Travis making use of his deeper clean vocals well! Unfortunately, I can't embed the video here, as The Dive background matched the audio in the clip as their own.
• Grand Rapids, Michigan death metal quartet Life Sentence have been added to the Viscera-headlined Pizza Hut concert in Sault Ste. Marie on September 26th, as per updates to the poster on the band's Instagram page. Very grindcore-inspired sound here that Blood Shed Productions fans on the Ontario side may want to check out, and it will be interesting to hear how a band this extreme goes over in Sault Michigan in two months' time!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Rotaryfest review and this weekend's concert previews ahead! Thanks everyone!