LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & Wheelhouse) A New Local Band, And More!!

Today's post turned into more of a weekend concert preview motif than I imagined, thanks to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), clarification on a kinda-sorta new band, and a missed concert from last night, so here's what you should know as the Canadian long weekend continues!

We have a new-ish band to add to our band links, and as hinted at at the top of Thursday's post, that band is classic/hard rock cover trio Wheelhouse! Now, those familiar with the weekend cover band circuit may recognize Wheelhouse from playing sporadic regional dates since 2023 (their earliest publically documented gig was at Reggie's that June), and they either were successors to or a renaming of the 2022 band Buzzsaw Jaw, but they only launched their own Facebook page this month. Wheelhouse are notable for reuniting guitarist Michael Davies and bassist/ex-Foggy Notions co-owner Jon Ferguson in a new band, following their successful 1996-2017 run with Stiffler's Mom, and they are newly joined by Golden Scoundrels/Eden Plague drummer Johnny Belanger on lead vocals and drums! I don't know who drummed for Wheelhouse previously (let us know if you can confirm), but Cliff Alloy at least drummed for Buzzsaw Jaw.

On their Facebook page, Wheelhouse claim to cover "hits from the 80's, 90's, and today's music" (people realize that "today" in that context covers a 26 year span, right?), and while there are band logos in their Facebook photos, I refuse to take AI-generated artwork at face value for setlist hints. What I can tell you is that Beck's Bar (where they played last night) did film at least two videos, though sadly, they were only uploaded to Facebook as "Story" videos, which means that if they show up in the "Stories" strip on your news feed, they will vanish forever after one or two viewings. I do not like "Stories", but alas, there's only so much I can do about them. If you weren't at Beck's last night, you'll have to take my word for it that the videos showed them covering AC/DC's "TNT" and Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself". If you remember pre-pandemic Handsome Sandwich from 2017-2020, it is good to see Johnny on lead vocals while drumming again!

In one of today's LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, Wheelhouse will return to Beck's on Saturday, July 4th, That show will again be at 9:00 PM with no cover and a 19+ age limit, so if you miss Stiffler's Mom or Handsome Sandwich 1.0, their return may just be in your "wheelhouse"! There is one actual permanently uploaded video on the band's Facebook page that I can embed here (it's horizontal, too!), and it features 75 seconds of John, Mike, and Jon covering (no joke) The Village People's "YMCA". The dark lighting and side-stage angle don't help the view, but it's a lively rocked-up cover with a solid and animated crowd, so give Wheelhouse's first fully public video a watch below!

Next up, here's that SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's Place TONIGHT after previously playing there last night. My profuse apologies for both the short notice on TONIGHT's show and missing yesterday's outright, I only heard about the gigs this morning via the venue's Facebook page, and the band has not announced the bookings on their own Facebook page. Alas, this isn't the first time that Soundcheck and related bands have forgone social media promotion for one reason or another. TONIGHT's (and yesterday's) shows mark Soundcheck's first since at the Queen Street staple since early April, and unlike their Esquire Club shows two weeks ago, this is not an "epic crossover" weekend with their sister band Separate Wayz, at least not according to current promotional materials.

As was also the case last night, TONIGHT'S show is at 9:30 PM with no cover & a 19+ age limit, and if you believe the AI promotional image, "good music (and) good times" are to be had. Despite the lack of press from Soundcheck proper, it will be good to see Travis, Terry, Jim, and Johnny rocking out with their hard rocking blend of covers again downtown, so apologies again for missing last night's show, and I hope TONIGHT'S goes over just as well, if not better! See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Lastly, let's talk about prolific local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison, whose run of frequent Saturday matinee concerts at Misty's Fifties continues TODAY (as in, RIGHT NOW), and I do apologize for not being timely enough to cover it before it started. I'm out of town this weekend and was on the road for much of yesterday. Today's Victoria Day long weekend concert marks Tym's penultimate advertised gig from his batch Facebook event page for shows at the Second Line West nightclub, with a return scheduled in two weeks on Saturday, May 30th, but we await likely show announcements there in the short term. There is still time for Saultites to head down to Misty's to check out Tym's smooth and talented mix of rock covers today, and you know his solo shows give a production quality beyond the usual trappings of the acoustic singer/songwriter, so you'll get your money's worth (free admission acknowledged!)

This is a 19+ event that started at 4:00 PM and runs until 8:00 PM. Stay tuned for more from Tym in due course, here he is live, and apologies again for not previewing this show until after it began! He'll be back in two weeks!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck, Travis & Terry, And Curtis McKenzie), And The Generations Concert Preview!!

(Updated at 10:08 PM) In this final concert weekend of February 2026, we again have too many hard rock shows for one post, so Saturday's Project 906 and A.S.D.P./Apocalypse Afterparty shows will hit the site in our next news post. Here's what you should know to start off, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Former Haggith/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will play his second solo acoustic concert of the year TONIGHT at The Dive Gastro Pub! Apologies for the short notice, Curt only announced this "Think It Over Thursday" gig on his Facebook page on Monday, where he said that he "just got word that I will be performing", though at press time, The Dive has not corroborated this booking on social media. Curtis kicked off his 2026 solo calendar at the same venue last month, and hopefully his return to "The Naughty Corner" provides another solid evening of hard and alternative rock covers, so don't miss out TONIGHT if this is what the doctor ordered! As usual for concerts at the former Low & Slow, this is a 19+ show with no announced cover charge, and Curt mentioned a 10:00 PM start time despite generally listing 9:00 or 9:30 PM there in the past. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Curtis live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via their sister band Separate Wayz' Facebook page earlier today. The reason why that band announced Soundcheck gigs is because, when this post was originally written, TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT belonged to Separate Wayz (via shows also announced on late notice earlier this week), but singer Nicole Thibodeau is under the weather. Good thing that the two bands have a 75% identical lineup, so swap her out for Travis Sharpe, and boom, Soundcheck are here to save the day! As such, these will be Soundcheck's first shows at The Esquire Club since 2024, their first there with Travis since 2019, and their third concert weekend of any kind with new drummer Johnny Amendola. Hopefully he, Travis, Terry, and Jim rock the house!

As would have been the case with Separate Wayz this weekend, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows are 19+ events at 9:30 PM with no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, here's Soundcheck live, and hopefully Nicole gets better soon! It's never fun being sick!

Also newly announced for this weekend is a show sandwiched in between Soundcheck's Esquire Club gigs, as singer/guitarists Terry Eaton and Travis Sharpe will play an acoustic matinee concert together at Misty's Fifties on SATURDAY! Apologies again for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook page on Monday, and Sound Track Soundcheck have not confirmed the booking either, though it is only half of the band. Yes, Trav(is) & Terry are replacing Tym Morrison, who was originally slated to play at Misty's on SATURDAY before he broke his pinky finger (he is scheduled to return to live concerts late next month). While the idea of Soundcheck's original/current guitarists playing an unplugged show is relatively new for our coverage, you may recall seeing Terry back up his old bandmate Cameron Oliver in acoustic country concerts last year.

With Travis back, it's safe to assume that this acoustic gig with Terry will be similar in tone to Soundcheck's hard and classic rock-leaning full band shows, and it'll be a second straight busy SATURDAY for them, after Soundcheck played two concerts in one day last week, so keep this one in mind if you want some unplugged mid-day rock! As usual for Misty's Fifties on Second Line West, this is a 4:00 PM gig with a 19+ age limit and no cover, before the guys head down the road to join Soundcheck that night. Visit the above links for more details, and we'll you know if public videos of Terry & Travis surface!

We'll close this preview post with a show that did have advance notice before Monday, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations are scheduled to return to The Full Throttle Saloon for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Just to clarify, the band erroneously announced this show as taking place tomorrow night when first mentioned on their Facebook group on January 11th (source here), but the former Primavera Hall typically doesn't book bands on Fridays, and the venue has since corrected the date in recent promotion. Two weeks removed from their Valentine's Day show at the Full Throttle Saloon, this should be another prime opportunity for fans to see Generations rock out in Steelton, so keep this Saturday nighter in mind for your weekend plans! As usual for Full Throttle gigs, this is a 19+ event with no announced cover charge and a 9:30 PM start time. See above for more details, and here's some brand new videos of Generations live!

Uploaded to new guitarist Joe Miller's personal Facebook page and shared to the band's Facebook group (yes, I can embed these ones), these come from their Water Tower Pub show last week, and include covers of The Tragically Hip's "Blow At High Dough" (with bassist Pierre Anthony on vocals), and as embedded below, Loverboy's "Working For The Weekend" with Valerie Powley singing. While neither is the full song, both are horizontal (thank goodness!) and capture the band in good form from two different camera angles, so if you like their brand of old school rock covers, these should be up your alley! Check them both out above & below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our A.S.D.P. and Project 906 previews (and more) next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Separate Wayz), The Tym Morrison Concert Preview, And More!!

Weekend concert previews are upon us, but given how much I wrote about today's first band (new to our links, if not the live music scene), I have opted to move our preview of Saturday night's HeadF1rst concert at Beck's to a separate news post tomorrow. Here's what you should know to start the weekend off right, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

It's time to finally and belatedly roll local classic/hard rock cover quartet Separate Wayz into our full coverage! The delay was because I couldn't 100% verify if their sound and cover selection crossed our genre radar (the band posted zero live videos online in 2025), but a recent lineup change and how it links to their sister band The Guilty Party led me to make the move. It was announced last week that Separate Wayz drummer Steven Flint (formerly of The Suicide Kings and Soundcheck) had decided to leave the band, possibly temporarily, due to scheduling concerns that make it difficult to guarantee his availability for bookings. There is a chance that he will be back when he "makes his final call", though the band didn't specify what his external commitments revolve around. As such, Guilty Party drummer Brent Royer was announced "as the drummer of Separate Wayz".

With Brent taking on the drum position in this band, it means that Separate Wayz and The Guilty Party have identical lineups, aside from Separate Wayz' lead singer Nicole Thibodeau (Brent is the main singer with The Guilty Party). Nicole was discovered by then-Soundcheck bandmates Terry Eaton and Jim Michaud as a favourite guest singer during their Thursday jam nights, and was recruited to front their new band after Soundcheck disbanded on New Year's Day last year. Presumably named for the Journey song with a swapped letter, Separate Wayz debuted at The Water Tower Pub in February, and they later performed at Jay's Piston Broke Pub and The Esquire Club, at Toystock in November, on the road in Wawa and Chapleau, and at a private event or two. In those LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, their first shows of the year (and with Brent) go down TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Esquire Club!

Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced by the band late last week. While they credited this as "our debut at Esquire" on their Facebook page last week, the original lineup did play there back in April (source here). Given how the guys are used to playing with Brent in The Guilty Party (let alone Nicole guesting with that band at Reggie's last week), there shouldn't be any rust or growing pains as they return to the west end TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! With Steven stepping back, this may lead to an increase in bookings for Separate Wayz if his availability was the main reason why they weren't playing live often, but regardless, the synergy is noted. TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows are 9:30 PM affairs with no cover charge and 19+ age limits. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's the first ever public social media video of Separate Wayz! Well, technically, it's from a Guilty Party gig.!

Posted on the event page for this weekend, it features Nicole, Terry, Jim, and Brent covering Heart's "Barracuda" at Reggie's during one of The Guilty Party's shows there this past weekend. While sadly shot vertically (at least pan and zoom to hide the floor a bit!) and the very turquoise/magenta lighting doesn't suit the band, they sound good here, and if you haven't heard Nicole live yet, she was a really good voice that works well on this Heart classic! Give things a watch below, and don't miss Brent's official debuts with Separate Wayz TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT!

Finally for this preview post, let's stay in the west end, as veteran local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will bring his acoustic solo project back to Misty's Fifties for another matinee concert on SATURDAY NIGHT! This will be the second public concert of 2026 from the former Caveman Morrison frontman and Hollow guitarist, following his Misty's show this past Saturday, and while he's taking next Saturday off from the Second Line West nightclub, he will be back there in two weeks. Whether you're game to see Tym right away or not, you have lots of chances ahead this year to enjoy his old school blend of classic and hard rock covers in an intimate setting! As usual for his ample stops at Misty's Fifties, Saturday's gig is a 4:00 PM matinee with a presumed 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on this & upcoming Misty's shows, and here's Tym live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our HeadF1rst preview and more next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Double Down, Headrush, and Tym Morrison) Plus New Half Past Videos!!

It turns out there was a lot more going down on this first concert weekend of 2026, so let's spend most of today's post going into that via some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, three of which are on SHORT NOTICE! To round things out, we have some new videos from a recent New Year's concert, so here's what you should know on this Friday night!

Local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will kick off 2026 with their debut appearance at The Full Throttle Saloon TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was quietly announced on the band's Facebook group on December 23rd, which slipped by me at the time. After taking December off, this will be the first gig from Headrush (not HeadF1rst) since ending November at The Esquire Club, and will be this veteran group's first public gig at the Full Throttle Saloon, the 256 Wellington West venue previously known as The Primavera Hall. If you're up to escape the snow at this new-ish Steelton nightclub, then don't miss the Johns, West, Gino, and Frank there TOMORROW NIGHT! This one-nighter has a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Headrush live last year!

Next up, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will also kick off their new year TOMORROW NIGHT with a one-night-only concert, in their case at The Water Tower Pub! Again, apologies for the short notice, they too first announced this show via their Facebook page on December 23rd, though it got much less follow-up promotion on social media than Headrush's concert, and at press time, The Water Tower Pub has yet to post a January concert calendar on social media (they didn't post one at all last month, and no word on who's playing there tonight). Double Down were last seen at Jay's Piston Broke Pub on Friday, December 14th, though not Saturday the 15th, as they quietly confirmed on their Facebook page that they had to cancel the following night's show. They didn't directly specify why there, but if memory serves, major snow hit the Soo that day. Better safe then sorry, of course! The guys last played at The Water Tower Pub on November 22nd.

Notably, that Water Tower gig was their last one with a fill-in bassist (Alex White that time) before Dan Beaupre quietly returned for last month's Jay's concert, so if central concert-goers have missed the full lineup, keep TOMORROW'S show in mind! As usual for the Great Northern Road nightclub, expect a 19+ age limit, no cover charge, and an 8:00 PM start time. See above for more details on Double Down's 2026 debut, and here they are live!

Also newly confirmed is the return of local acoustic classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison for his first solo shows of 2026, as he has confirmed a bunch of Saturday matinee dates through May at Misty's Fifties, starting TOMORROW! Apologies again for the short notice, Tym only announced TOMORROW'S show with the rest of them in this batch Facebook event page on Monday. We'll hold the last two May shows for now, as no other heavier-leaning acts have gotten that far ahead yet, but you can see Tym back at the Second Line West staple TOMORROW and next Saturday, before taking a week off from Misty's. He'll return there on January 24th, February 7th, 21st, and 28th, March 14th & 28th, April 4th & 18th, and May 2nd, so keep all of the above dates in mind if you his well produced solo covers and extensive setlist! Of the Misty's bookings listed above, only one falls on a holiday long weekend (the April 4th show is the day after Good Friday). These are all 4:00 PM matinees with 19+ age limits and no cover charges.

The only other new booking from Tym (so far) will see him return to "The Naughty Corner" of The Dive Gastro Pub for his first nighttime gig of 2026, which will be on (Think It Over) Thursday, January 15th. If the lack of a Misty's gig on the 17th disappointed you, maybe this will make up for it a bit! Tym doesn't play at The Dive with anywhere near the regularity of his Misty's shows, but hopefully this 19+ and 9:30 PM show with no cover goes over well also in two weeks! Visit that show's Facebook event page and the above links for more on Tym's busy start to the year, and here he is live!

We'll close today with new videos from last year (technically), as there's footage on Facebook from local hard rock quartet Half Past's New Year's Eve concert at Beck's Bar to check out! Three videos are publically circulating, with one being shared to the band's Facebook page from Headrush bassist John Amendola's personal Facebook page (his son Johnny is Half Past's drummer), and it sees them covering Godsmack's "Keep Away". Not a band you see covered often locally, but the guys have a good handle on this single, and John's camera quality is really nice, especially when he gets closer to the stage! The lighting really accentuates the drumkit more than anyone else (John can't have minded that!), but the venue was nicely dolled up for December 31st revelry! Beck's Facebook page also uploaded two videos of their own from Wednesday night, one of them featuring a 17 second vertical snippet of their cover of Weezer's "Hash Pipe".

Unusually, the video was put into a post-production filter where it's tiled to look like four physical photographs, two in monochrome. I guess it's a way to give some zest to a vertical video, but I wonder if they shot more of this cover? It's one of my favourite Weezer songs, and it was filmed from a unique angle with frontman Jordan Rains walking into the crowd with a lot of quick zooms! Embedded below is Half Past covering Alice In Chains' "Would?" with guitarist Alain Fletcher (a.k.a. "Flex"?) helping for the backing vocals. Strong cover Jordan pushing his vocal range well, and the lighting better suits the stationary camera here, so give this video and more from Wednesday night a watch above & below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post and more on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Hells Bells & Tym Morrison), More Concert Previews, And Recent Updates!!

Tonight's post wraps up this weekend's hard rock concert previews, with the major exception of Toystock, which gets an extended look on the SMS tomorrow! For now, we also have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), plus recent updates, so here's what you should know! 

Joining his previously announced Fraternal Order Of Eagles Club concert TOMORROW NIGHT, local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will also rock Misty's Fifties TOMORROW with a matinee gig prior! Apologies for the short notice, I had held off on adding Tym's end-of-year gigs to our listings when there weren't any other concerts of note to add to our listings, but I forgot to add them before tomorow's was short notice. In terms of Tym's lengthy relationship with Misty's, fans will be able to catch the former Caveman Morrison frontman at the Second Line West nightclub TOMORROW and then thrice next month (December 6th, 20th, and 27th), all also Saturday matinees. Busy end of year for Tym, so don't miss out on his final four Misty's gigs this year, not to mention tomorrow night's Eagles Club show, as he plays his final double header of 2025, so he'll be heading to Steelton after things wrap up at Misty's.

Tym ends 2025 back at The Eagles Club on New Year's Eve, for the record. TOMORROW'S and next month's Misty's shows are all 4:00 PM events, tomorrow night's show at Aerie #3991 is at 8:00 PM, the Misty's gigs are likely 19+, and none have an announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here for more on Tym's year-end acoustic hard rock cover shows at both venues, and here he is live!

Next up, Barrie-based AC/DC tribute band Hells Bells will return to Sault Ste. Marie on Friday, April 10th at The Sault Community Theatre Centre! One of a handful of different AC/DC tribute bands to play here over the years, local fans will have last seen them as original AC/DC frontman Dave Evans' backing band in May 2019 at The Rockstar Bar, where they also played an opening set on their own accord, but they last played a full headlining date of their own here in 2015. Definitely moving up in the world to book the former Kiwanis Theater, and it will be interesting to see how big of a crowd packs White Pines for their brand of high voltage rock n' roll in the spring! This show has a 7:30 PM start time, it is definitely all ages, and tickets are now on sale for a flat $45.20 at this link, with all rows having seats available at press time. Visit the above links for more on Hells Bells' return next year!

Also, let's resume this weekend's hard rock concert previews by heading to Soo Blaster, where local party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty will once again be the rock outliers on an otherwise all-hip hop concert TOMORROW, this time headlined by Guelph rapper Robbie G! This is effectively the sequel to Robbie G's shows here in April and in 2023 that The A.A. also opened for, not to mention the Tech N9ne, Madchild, and Afroman shows where Robbie and the band's paths also crossed. Clearly, these rap bookings for The Apocalypse Afterparty are going well, and hopefully they carve out another solid niche and make some more cross-genre fans tomorrow night with the double bass attack! Paul, Amanda, and Mikhal remain unacknowledged on the Facebook event page despite ample social media promotion on personal accounts (clearly they are the "& more"), but former As It Stands/Sault Side Squad frontman Justin "Nadj" Pregent is hosting.

Also performing tomorrow are Southern Ontario rappers M For The Movement with Capital "A" Plus and Lumberjack Pat, local MC Bold Noize, unspecified rappers from No Filter Records, and KG Tha SunGod. This is an all ages concert taking place tomorrow at 8:00 PM, and base tickets are $20 at this link or at the door, with VIP packages also available. If you like rap, there will be a lot of strong MCs here dropping rhymes, with a bit of a rock chaser from The Apocalypse Afterparty, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's the band live!

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

 

• Sault Michigan hard rock trio (and Tarnished's all-original side project) Crush's most recent concert was out of town, as they opened for Tribe989 at Benet's Benefit Ride at the Bluegill Festival Pavilion in St. Helen (2 hours south of here) on November 8th. Not a lot was said about it on social media from what I found, but hopefully Crush and crew had a great show for the cause! 
• In a post on their Facebook page on Wednesday, The Algonquin Hotel's upstairs nightclub The Rockstar Bar revealed that they're looking for a DJ to work weekends there, and to send contact information if you're interested. Comments inquiring if the 864 Queen Street East venue was re-opening were not denied, so could we be seeing The Rockstar Bar opening to normal service for the first time since the summer of 2022? They spent the past 3+ years only hosting occasional private and ticketed events, as Silent 9 know well. This is encouraging news for sure, so we'll have to see what The Rockstar Bar has in store for 2026!
• I have replaced the link for 2012-2018 local hard rock quintet Skeyes of Seven from their (sadly) now deleted Facebook page to their still-up Bandmix page. Successors to the late 2000s hard rock band Sense of Truth, Skeyes of Seven had a lot of promise and solid original material, but only played five sporadic concerts. Don't miss Cory in Bullet Train or Alain & Johnny in Half Past nowadays though!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Toystock preview on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Crush) And Saturday Hard Rock Concert Previews!!

Before we begin this post, I waned to note that this Saturday's planned Soo Falls-hosted Oktoberfest concert at The Machine Shop was quietly cancelled, as per the end of ticket sales (source here) and lack of recent social media promotion. A reason for the cancellation was not publically announced, but remember that we did have two other Oktoberfest events in Sault Ontario earlier this fall. Hopefully we see BookcluB and Silent 9 back at it soon, and Nein German Guys at Oktoberfest events next year! Now, let's lead off this busy weekend's hard rock concert previews (Rust and Beck's Bar gigs aside) with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

New Sault Michigan hard rock trio (and Tarnished spin-off) Crush will make their Sault Ste. Marie debut THIS SATURDAY NIGHT with a multi-band concert at The Savoy Nightclub! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via this teaser video from their Facebook page on Sunday where the band amusingly sampled a bottle of Josh wine (as Josh Fair is their guitarist). While Crush did play a downstate gig since then in Prescott on August 22nd, and will also hit the road tomorrow to open for deathcore band Godstine at a "Creepy Cheapy Halloween Bash" in Battle Creek, this will be just the second local gig since Alex, Josh, and Iggy formed Crush as their new original music outlet, leaving Tarnished in their current covers-centric formation. The Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands winners are the headliners on SATURDAY, and will be joined by the local debut of Rose City metal quintet Tribe989!

Crush had previously opened for Tribe989 at the aforementioned Prescott show last month (a fundraiser gig for this tour run), and Crush debuted at Bar-N Stock in Rose City in July (which Tribe989 also played at), not to mention Tarnished's past gigs there, so it's neat to see paths cross 3 hours north for a change. Tribe989 are a solid and melodic mixed-gender metal band, so don't bypass them! Newer local punk/hard rock trio About:Blank (featuring fellow Tarnished alumni Parker Talentino and Nathan Webber) will also take the stage on SATURDAY in their own first gig since the aforementioned Superior Whitefish Festival, though they were in the Music In The Park block, not the battle. Good to see About:Blank back out there, and hopefully their original tunes and sometimes surprising originals kick things off on the right foot! For the record, you may recall seeing Alex & Josh with Tarnished at the 117 West Portage Avenue bar back on July 4th.

SATURDAY'S concert (named "Destroy The Savoy") is at 7:00 PM, there is a 21+ age limit, and admission is $5 at the door. Not a bad deal all around for three originals-leaning Michigan hard rock/metal bands, and if you miss Tarnished's original material and more comedic social media videos/postings (we have to play catch-up on those), then Crush will be very much up your alley, let alone from their clear musical talent! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Crush live!

Next up, let's head to Sault Ontario for a pair of previously announced concerts, starting with a matinee gig from prolific local classic/hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison, who will keep his busy slate at Misty's Fifties going with yet another early acoustic booking on SATURDAY! This is the second in a three week run of weekly Saturday matinees from the former Caveman Morrison and Nostalgic Band frontman, so whether you regularly see him live or haven't see his skilled mix of vocals and guitar talents as of late, head to the Second Line West nightclub on Saturday to check out the action! Tym will not be at Misty's over Halloween weekend, but he will have six more shows there in November & December. Saturday's concert is another 4:00 PM matinee with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

Finally for preview post #1, we'll head downtown to Gateway Casino, where classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to the stage on SATURDAY NIGHT! After taking a two months-long break while drummer Tony Santoro recovered from carpal-tunnel surgery, this will be Generations' first casino gig in four months, and also their first show since they parted ways with guitarist Tony Kajnar. In his place, Smokehouse frontman Michael Yurich (a frequent fill-in between Brandon and Tony K.'s stints) will guest on guitar on Saturday, so come on down to see how he fits in with Valerie, Pierre, and Tony S. anew! A one-nighter as is standard at Gateway Casino (they don't book bands on Fridays at all), Saturday's concert has an 8:00 PM start time, a 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on Generations' return to the live scene, and here they are with Michael live!

That's all for now, but look for our Rust, Bone Yard 225, and Curtis McKenzie previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Headrush, Project 906, And Tym Morrison) And More Weekend Concert Previews!!

As promised, let's wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews along with some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), so here's what else to know for this busy weekend!

Members of Sault Michigan hard rock bands Project 906 and Exit 808 will join forces for a joint concert TONIGHT at The Well Diggers Watering Hole & Feed Lot in Kinross! Apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced via Exit 808's Facebook page on Monday. Technically speaking, this is a Project 906 concert, despite that band not promoting the show on their own Facebook page whatsoever, but they have enlisted Exit 808 drummer Jackie Moon for the evening to fill in for an absent Jason VanLuven for unannounced reasons, with that post featuring every 906 member except Brian. There might be more of an 808 integration to the evening (Project 1714?!), as their most recent share of the event suggests "a rock music collaboration" featuring "some of the guys" from Exit 808, but I don't know which of Dillion, Alex, Nathan, and/or Blaze could turn up (Amy likely isn't given her supportive comment on said post).

Whatever permutation of the two bands we're getting TONIGHT, you'll get your hard rock fill from this talented collection of E.U.P. musicians! As usual for Well Diggers shows, this will be on their newly renovated outdoor stage, so head to the party yard for all of the action! Things go down TONIGHT at 7:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. 9&10 News is calling for temperatures in the 55-60° range (13-16° Celsius) with mostly clear skies and no chance of rain. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Project 906 live at Well Diggers!

Next up, let's resume our weekend concert previews at Misty's Fifties in Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's acoustic solo act is slated to set up shop for yet another matinee concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Certainly no stranger to the Second Line West bar and restaurant, Tym has played there multiple times in 2025, most recently this past Saturday, so if you want to check out his ample setlist and considerable vocal and guitar talent in an intimate west end atmosphere, you know where to go! While we're on the subject, Tym is not playing at Beck's Bar anymore on Sunday. A reason for the cancellation of this Sunday matinee outing was not announced, but the September 28th gig was quietly removed from his batch Facebook event page for shows there (Beck's is hosting Out & Out Country on Sunday instead). However, we have six more new show announcements for Tym there, so when will he be back?

As per that Facebook event page, Tym will be back at the former Vibe Lounge for matinee gigs on Saturday, November 1st & 15th, Sunday, November 23rd & December 7th, Saturday, December 13th, and Sunday, December 28th, so keep his end-of-year rush in mind! Tomorrow's Misty's matinee is at 4:00 PM, the Beck's shows ahead are all at 3:00 PM, and all have 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the Misty's show's Facebook event page and the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!

Also, let's head to a venue that recently resumed hosting live bands for the fall season for some brand new shows later this year, as classic/hard rock cover quartet Headrush will end their own recent break by returning to The Esquire Club on October 24th-25th and November 28th-29th, as per the venue's fall 2025 concert calendar! Unless they announce something in the interim, the October shows will be Headrush's first since closing out Rotaryfest Stage 1 in July, and their first at The Esquire Club since the end of May. It is great to see the Johns, Wes, Gino, and Frank back at it, and hopefully they rock the house down on Second Line West across both weekends! As usual for The Esquire Club, these are 9:30 PM bookings with 19+ age limits and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and we'll have more from both Headrush and The Esquire Club on the SMS soon!

Lastly for this weekend's previews, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will set up shop at the aforementioned Beck's Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! This will be Double Down's fourth concert of the fall season and first at Beck's since the spring, so this should be a good opportunity to check out their new setlist and diverse range of classic and hard rock covers once again! With bassist Dan Beaupre still out injured (get well soon!), the Syrettes and Ric have recruited Mid Life Crysis/ex-Havadder bassist Lori Reinholtz to fill in tomorrow, after previously doing the honours when they rocked The Water Tower Pub last week. Welcome her back in style tomorrow at this fast rising Goulais Avenue pub! For reference sake, the matinee band tomorrow will be Joel & Beej's occasionally-seen acoustic side project The T.R.I.P., featuring a guest appearance by former Quite Frankly frontwoman Jack "Jacklyn Hyde" Alisat, as per Beck's Facebook page on Monday.

Busy day for the cousins, so if you want to see them before they plug in, The T.R.I.P. are on from 3:00-7:00 PM. Double Down take the stage at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details, and for a preview, and here's Double Down live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison & Bone Yard 225) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

For this first concert weekend of the autumn of 2025, things are surprisingly quiet as hard rock goes, but we do await the returns of some bands and venues from summer breaks still, so things should pick up soon. As luck would have it, this post is also full of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly on SHORT NOTICE, plus new videos from one of the acts in question, so here's what you should know on this Thursday night!

Let's dive into this weekend's quiet slate of hard rock concert previews, and we'll start with a busy triple header weekend for local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, who will kick things off with a one-nighter TOMORROW NIGHT at The Water Tower Pub, before rocking Beck's Bar for concerts on SATURDAY NIGHT and then for their SUNDAY matinee! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were first announced late last week, but given the timing for this weekend's shows, I held them for this round of previews due to them being a week away at that time. Bone Yard's shows this weekend are sandwiching a traditional plugged-in concert at Beck's on SATURDAY with two "uncorked" shows, as they only play acoustic at The Water Tower Pub (who traditionally don't book the same band on consecutive nights), while they are the matinee performers at Beck's on SUNDAY, capping off their weekend in style.

Nice and busy (and varied) weekend is in store for fans of "the dirty three", so don't miss their southern fried hard rock across all three nights, and remember, if you want the full electric show, be at Beck's on SATURDAY NIGHT! If you're curious, the Saturday matinee timeslot belongs to new local acoustic duo Lawrence & McKey, who have their own full block that day and aren't "opening" for your local 225. All three shows this weekend are 19+ events with no cover charge, and the start times TOMORROW at The Water Tower Pub at 8:00 PM, SATURDAY at Beck's at 9:00 PM, and SUNDAY at Beck's at 3:00 PM. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's some new live-streamed videos of Bone Yard 225 live! These come from their concert at Reggie's Place on August 30th, and as they were live-streamed, they will vanish from Facebook at around the end of the month as per their new rules on live-streams, unless explicitly converted or reuploaded.

One is an "uncorked" cover of The Tragically Hip's "Wheat Kings", but embedded below is 17 minutes of their third set that night, which starts with singer/drummer Greg Simpson acknowledging their upcoming album before they play their three public originals (so far) "F.A.F.O.", "Fuck!", and "Gypsy Spell". After citing a targeted "early 2026" release timeframe for the album, Greg noted that the album will have "a couple of covers", and yes, one will indeed be Mike Posner's "I Took A Pill In Ibiza" (the chorus of which was covered by Alex and Warren in this studio clip). The guys play it to end the live-stream, and while I'll hold comment pending our eventual review of the album, it is rocked up to fit Bone Yard 225's sound. While both of these videos were unfortunately shot vertically, and are time-limited unless the band converts them, they do The Hip justice, and the album preview suite seemed to go over well!

Check everything out above & below (while you can), and don't miss Bone Yard live TOMORROW NIGHT at The Water Tower Pub or at Beck's on SATURDAY NIGHT and SUNDAY!

Finally, we'll head to Misty's Fifties, where local classic/hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison will continue his lengthy run of acoustic matinee concerts there on SATURDAY! This comes just one week removed from his most recent show at the Second Line West nightclub, which got somewhat mixed up last week when country musician Allan Mooney briefly advertised that he was playing there instead before things were clarified in Tym's favour (I even believed Allan at first). Tym will actually play every Saturday at Misty's this month except next week, so if you like his unplugged classic and hard rock covers and the huge setlist that they come from, then you won't want to miss out on his latest solo gig! While we're on the subject, here's some extra LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS now that we're later in the timeline, as Tym will be back at Misty's on Saturday, October 18th!

One week later, he will play a traditional nighttime concert at The Fraternal Order Of Eagles Club on Wellington Street West on Saturday, October 25th, so keep these shows in mind as we enter the fall! No word on a potential Halloween theme for the latter gig. The Misty's shows are both 4:00 PM affairs, the Eagles Club show is at 8:00 PM, and these are all likely 19+ events with no cover. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here for more details on Saturday's and next month's shows, and here's Tym live!

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