LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Rock Orchestra & Riverside Stasis), Fefe Dobson Concert Fallout, And More!!

Before we settle into weekend concert preview mode for the Thanksgiving long weekend, here's a packed news post on this early Thursday morning, including some assorted shorter updates, known videos from a recent concert, and leading off, two nearby LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS that are notable in different ways, so here's what you should know!

Local alt-hard rock band Riverside Stasis and acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will join forces for a special outdoor concert on Friday, October 16th at The Canopy on top of Village Media headquarters! The rooftop space at 298 Queen Street East has been used sparingly as a live concert venue this year, notably at last month's second Downtown Street Party, where Dos Amigos' sister band BookcluB already played a headlining set. Next Friday's show will be the premiere of Village Sessions, a rooftop concert series that is implied to not be returning until 2027 (it will be mid-October next week, after all), but it will be a platform for originals-focused local headlining bands, and the corner of Queen and Bruce will be closed to accommodate the concert. In fact, this concert will have two hosts, namely long-time Rotaryfest Stage 1 MC Andrew Stuetz and Pat Mackan, who is the administrator of the Musicians page on Village Media's social media network Spaces.

After taking September off from the stage, Riverside Stasis will be fresh off of playing two concerts this Friday (more details in our weekend concert previews), while Dos Amigos remain busy even if their social media accounts don't (they recently played a private gig at a retirement home, believe it or not), and this will be a fun change of pace before it gets too cold for practical outdoor gigs! This is obviously free and all ages next week, and is expected to run from 7:00-10:00 PM. Hopefully the weather cooperates to give the Village Sessions pilot a fair shot, so visit the above links and Andrew's SooToday article for more details on all of next week's rooftop action!

Next up, the first major SMS-amenable concert at GFL Memorial Gardens for 2027 has been announced for Tuesday, May 11th, but the headliners aren't a major original touring band. Rather, they are The Rock Orchestra, a touring classical group who reinterprets rock and metal songs in epic orchestral and gothic fashion, complete with a dark candlelit stage show and suitable costuming to match, including instrumental performers in makeup and skull masks. The only equitable band to really hit the area is Sault Michigan's Theatre of Night, but they're a metal band with orchestral flourish and a Christmas theme in live performance, whereas The Rock Orchestra are a full-on touring orchestra who just happen to cover bands like Metallica, System of a Down, Evanescence, and The Cranberries (generally with a female singer if not instrumental). They do have a cover album too, with some very creative takes to check out.

The Rock Orchestra have played in Sudbury before to a positive reception, and it will be very interesting to see how they go over in seven months, but there's plenty of time to build anticipation, and videos of their shows will really show what they have to offer better than I can in text! Tickets for this all ages & 7:30 PM concert go on sale on Friday at 1:00 PM at this link or at the arena box office, but the ticket prices aren't being released until sales begin. Visit the above links for much more on The Rock Orchestra's Sault Ste. Marie debut, and stay tuned for more details!

Also today, I have put this off long enough, as there are a few videos on Facebook from the free Fefe Dobson concert at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion last month! Alas, multiple videos from the show were only shared as "Stories" (including at least one of local openers Silent 9 and one from the City of Sault Ste. Marie Facebook page that featured a shot of the line of fans), so I obviously can't link to those here. The Vivid Arts Festival headlining event was a hit based on fan reports on social media, and while multiple videos were posted online on personal accounts, the only page that I have seen permanent public videos shared on is the aforementioned City of Sault Ste. Marie Facebook page. One is actually of Toronto pop rock cover band Goodnight Sunrise's opening set, while the other has clips from Fefe's set. Unfortunately, the City opted to upload both as vertical highlight reel videos with dubbed over stock pop music instead.

Why not let us actually hear raw audio from a well attended concert? I think most fans would rather have heard "Bye Bye Boyfriend" or "Stuttering" rather than Giulio Cercato's "Dance On" while out of context clips of the concert were played. The only positive is that Facebook somehow didn't content match the audio, so I can embed it here. Give it a watch below, and see more from the concert at the above links! 

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

 

• The Full Throttle Saloon has a new home, as they will make the four minute drive northwest from the former Primavera Hall to The Market Mall at 275 Second Line West! Owner Rosa Carello has reportedly leased space in the Cravings Diner location at the now-strip mall, but I'm not 100% sure what this means for Cravings (this SooToday article from last month indicated that that most of their staff were recently laid off due to financial difficulties). A grand re-opening is still to be announced, so we'll let you know when it is, let alone when concerts resume there!
• Over two years after Crooked Music closed, Sault Michigan finally has a new local music store, named Rockstars Music! Located at 212 Ashmun Street (beside Ozone of the North), they opened on September 13th, and offer gear for sale as well as studio recording space, instrument repair, and lessons on multiple instruments, with Tarnished/Crush frontman Alex Traynor and Nameless guitarist Mike East serving as instructors (as best as I can tell, Alex is the owner). No word on if they'll sell local CDs like Crooked/Grooves Music did, but it's great to see a new music store back in the EUP, so stop in weekdays from 11:00 AM-5:00 PM!
• In the wake of the passing of Canadian hard rock singer Sass Jordan last week, The Sault Star re-published the interview that Jeffrey Ougler conducted with her in August 2008 in advance of her last local appearance at the Bell Border Jam festival in Sault Ontario. The article erroneously dates the show to "the fall of 2008" and otherwise stripped out mentions of the now 18-year old event, but it's a good interview with Sass reflecting on the ups and downs of her career, whether she could have theoretically auditioned for Canadian Idol, and the future of the music industry. Kudos to the paper for reposting the interview, and R.I.P. Sass!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) & Labour Day Weekend Concert Previews!!

Despite this being the Labour Day long weekend, it's quiet for hard rock/punk concerts in the Twin Saults and EUP, so barring a surprise show announcement, our weekend previews fit in only one post! Note that Double Jack are playing at the soon-to-close Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino this weekend, and I don't mean the former Exit 808, as the Bay City-area classic rock cover band of the same name (who the local band changed their name over) are playing there this weekend. Confusing, but good to see the original Double Jack making their way north! 

We'll start our previews in Sault Ontario with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will take the stage at Reggie's Place TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows first came to my attention via personal Facebook postings, and neither the band nor venue have publically advertised the gigs on social media. This weekend's shows will be Soundcheck's first there with their new bassist, as Sidekicks/ex-Double Down bassist Dan Beaupre has joined the group, replacing the now-retired Jim Michaud. I have not seen a 100% confirmation that Dan has also joined their sister band Separate Wayz (whose lineup is 75% identical), but it seems quite likely given how often they play "epic crossover" dates. Of course, this also reunites Dan with his old Hollow bandmate Terry Eaton, so fans of that 1990s group should like that!

Dan was present at their last two weekends at Jay's Piston Broke Pub too. Note that AI-generated artwork on personal accounts is referring to the band as "Soundcheck 7.3", but if they have tacked a Bone Yard 225-esque number onto their name, there hasn't been a public confirmation yet. Dan is a solid and experienced rock bassist who should fit Soundcheck (and Separate Wayz?) like a glove, so welcome him to the fold TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT if you haven't yet! Both shows are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, let's head to The Art Hub At Spring (technically at 504 Queen Street East) TOMORROW NIGHT, where local hard rock quartet The Reeves and space/hard rock duo The Spaceship Opening will join forces to open for Saskatoon indie rock quartet Autopilot! In something that completely slipped me by when this show was announced, this is actually a sequel to a concert from last fall, as Autopilot and The Spaceship Opening played at Piecing It Together Shows' pop-up venue on Wellington Street West in November, which I didn't cover here because I couldn't verify The Spaceship Opening's genre at the time (that may have been the final hard rock-included concert from the former Dryer Fire). 10 months later, they're rolling it back at a different downtown locale, but this time with The Reeves as a second opener, in what they referred to on their Facebook page as "our 2nd show" (did their debut at Toystock this past November go badly or did it just get forgotten?)

Regardless, their new originals should pair well with Andrew & Ralph's minimalist hard rock before Autopilot's distinct indie/alternative sound hits the stage! Promoted by Hails frontman Brenton Ellis as part of his slate of events and art exhibits at The Art Hub this month, this stop on Autopilot's Name That Tour! 2026 is an ALL AGES concert at 6:00 PM tomorrow, and admission is $15 or "pay what you can", which is down from last fall's $20 door charge (though it did have $15 advance tickets). Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Reeves live!

Now to Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula for the back half of our long weekend previews, and we'll start an hour south in St. Ignace, where Sault Ste. Marie classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished will take the stage TOMORROW EVENING for the penultimate night of the town's Music By The Bay concert series at American Legion Park! This annual seasonal run of outdoor concerts daily from June-September wraps up with Nancy Kelel there on Sunday, but Tarnished are back once more before the fall truly begins, having last played at the park at the end of July. Presumably the full band with Chris and Ron in tow after they missed the band's acoustic Bay Mills Casino show last week, you can enjoy Tarnished's old school-leaning rocking covers tomorrow from 7:00-8:30 pm, and this is absolutely an all ages concert with no cover charge. If you can't make it, the guys will be at The Driftwood Sports Bar there in two weeks!

Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for 68-70° temperatures (20-21° Celsius) tomorrow evening with sunny skies, which sounds like a perfectly cromulent way to end the season if you like outdoor concerts. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Finally(?) for this weekend's previews, we'll head to The Islander Bar in nearby Hessel, where local hard rock cover trio Nate's Chow will play their third post-renaming show TOMORROW NIGHT! Fans may recall seeing Jody, Brett, and Jason debut the former Unfortunate Sun's new name and Skip-less lineup at The Islander Bar last month, with a late notice gig downstate in Alanson in the interim. That show went well, complete with a bachelorette party concurrent with the concert, and now Nate's Chow are back home in the UP, so expect a fun night of hard rocking covers tomorrow! Unless The Islander Bar has had heavy renovations, I wouldn't believe how it's depicted in the AI-generated poster. "Nates Chow" (someone forgot the apostrophe in the prompt) are on tomorrow at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's our first live video of Nate's Chow in concert!

Filmed by an uncredited attendee at last month's Hessel concert and posted to their Facebook page, this sees the band covering The Barenaked Ladies' "The Old Apartment" with Jody on lead vocals, and it's always neat seeing a Sault Michigan area band covering Canadian content! The audio is somewhat muffled, and the video is only 30 seconds long, but the performance isn't bad at all, and Jody's singing suits the original track, so give it a watch below, and don't miss the guys back at The Islander tomorrow night! 

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

The Go North Music Festival & Sandman Concert Previews!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

YouTube Channel Profile Series: SYKOTYK RAMPAGE - Topic

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profile! In our last monthly feature post of the summer months, we have another spotlight of a randomly selected YouTube channel whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk music/concerts. This month's selection is a YouTube Music channel for a prominent local band, if not as comprehensive as you may expect, so here's what you should know on it!

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SYKOTYK RAMPAGE - Topic (http://youtube.com/channel/UCrjvSyO3DGjK1fVMyvgT3kw)

Owner:  If anyone, Sykotyk Rampage guitarist/singer Dirk Becker, though the channel is auto-generated to facilitate the band's catalogue being available on YouTube Music

Channel Timeline: Launched on August 19th, 2022; Videos posted that day and on March 19th, 2024

Channel Summary: Four different YouTube channels exist to host parts of the back catalogue of local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage on YouTube Music, with this particular channel hosting two albums of theirs from 2013, incidentally both part of concept chronologies. 32 songs are hosted between the two albums.

Why You Should Watch: Given how fragmented (and incomplete) Sykotyk Rampage's discography is represented on YouTube Music, this channel is really only for band completionists who regularly consume streaming music via YouTube. Their complete 70+ album discography is available on their Bandcamp page, which should be stop #1 for fans of the masters of the crash, but if you had a particular affinity for these two albums, note their YouTube presence!

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

GATES: The earlier of the two Sykotyk Rampage albums on this channel is "Yamaraja" from August 2013 (its sequel followed two years later), which notably uses one word titles for all songs on offer except the self-titled closing number. Notable for being one of their first albums with bassist Tony Briglio (joining Dirk, singer/drummer Paul Becker, and guitarist Shane Kokis), "Yamaraja" is an album that I have yet to review on the SMS (with how many Sykotyk Rampage have, who knows when I will!), but as good a place to start as any here is the opening song "Gates", which will appeal to fans of their Paul-sung crash rock originals, complete with background chanting to go along with the loose theme around Hindu gods. There's more where that came from on the full album!

Intro to Revenge: The longer and more popular album of the two here is October 2013's lengthily titled "Adventures Of Captain Awesome Sex & Chastity Boy 2: Revenge Of Professor OCD & The Crimson Nipple" (the first album in this series immediately preceded it and the third "Adventures Of..." album came out in 2014). Another concept album ("Chastity Boy" is Tony's band nickname) featuring "story" tracks peppered in between the songs, the most popular upload on this particular channel is the opener "Intro To Revenge". This one features Tony setting up the storyline for the album and where things picked up from the first album in this series. Not a song in itself beyond the backing music, the story being set up is definitely sykotyk and it'd be a fool's errand to sum it up here (especially when I don't know when I'll be reviewing Captain Awesome Sex & Chastity Boy's adventures here), but it'll start you on book #2 of this epic story!

American Dreamer: Of the actual songs on "Adventures Of Captain Awesome Sex & Chastity Boy 2", I most want to highlight "American Dreamer" for its near-7 minute length and the fact that, as of this writing, it has zero hits on YouTube. I know Sykotyk Rampage have dozens of albums to comb through, but no one has played this song there? Starting with a solid bass solo, this is a showcase for Dirk's distinctive punk snarl on lead vocals, which don't get deployed enough on their albums, and the freewheeling nature of their improvised hybrid rock attack comes through well without seeming overlong despite the length! Give this and much more a listen above!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will return on or around September 26th for another randomly selected channel, and this time, it's via Vern03, who filmed six videos at the Heaven & Hell/Megadeth concert here in 2007! Look for that on or around September 26th, and for more news and notes on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Sole Aggressors), More From Them, And A New Album Release!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to note a late concert cancellation from yesterday's rainy weather, as local hard rock/classic metal quartet Tarnished did not perform at American Legion Park in St. Ignace for their planned Music By The Bay outdoor concert. While The Nameless' outdoor show in Goetzville went on despite the forecast, Tarnished confirmed on their Facebook page that their concert was off last night at 6:32 PM, 28 minutes prior to when it would have began (note that they never plugged the show on Facebook prior to then). Disappointing, but Mother Nature can be inconvenient at this time of year. Hopefully Tarnished try again for the Music By The Bay series in 2026!

Today's post otherwise features a new local album release, and leading off, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and related band breakup, as Sault Michigan punk trio The Sole Aggressors will reportedly play their final public concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this via their Facebook page yesterday (their first Facebook post since March, though they have played live and plugged shows via Instagram since). The 2023 LSSU Battle of the Bands winners revealed that they are disbanding "due to recent events... before we all part ways for college". While they didn't elaborate on what the "recent events" were, The Sole Aggressors are far from the only example locally of a high school-aged band splitting up due to members moving out of town after grade 12. TOMORROW'S show will take place in the garage at guitarist Brett Siesel's residence, and the address is on the poster.

While the show will technically be all ages, they "ideally" request no alcohol or drugs on the premises. The concert takes place TOMORROW at 7:00 PM, and there is no cover charge, but they will be selling merchandise and taking donations. It is worth noting that The Sole Aggressors were also supposed to play at an outdoor house party concert in Thessalon, Ontario yesterday featuring loads of familiar Sault Ontario names across multiple genres, but even if Thessalon was within our coverage range (it's over an hour from Sault Ste. Marie), it too was rained out. The Sole Aggressors made a solid name in their two year run via their battle win and by being a rare example of an E.U.P. band to play in Sault Ontario (let alone more than once), while also being a pure punk band, which has never been common in Sault Michigan. Even if they never have a reunion, they made their mark in multiple ways, and have a solid sound and quality original music.

Of course, best of luck to Brett, Calvin, and Isaac (and Henry) in whatever lies ahead for them, but send off The Sole Aggressors in style TOMORROW NIGHT, and for a preview, here's one of three full concert videos from their YouTube channel that we have yet to feature on here! How I've been slacking on their YouTube channel in the past year, I don't know, but I'll get to all of their uncovered videos there soon, and we'll start with their set opening for Dick Texas at a Serious Business-promoted concert at Pickles Bar & Grill in Brimley in November of last year. The 39 minutes-long set was actually filmed by Dafter solo musician Molly Escherich and her mom Tiffany, and in order, the guys played "Down By The Bay", "State Of The World","Teenage Guide", "Kill Thy Neighbour", "False Hope". "Fast Punk For Fast Food", "Time To Commercialize!", "Reject", "Melted Plastic", "Hypocrite", "Kill A Celebrity", "Ventilation", ...

... "Tale Of An American Hero", "Fool", and "Heil Artificiality". While re-arranged in the order, every song from their set at Pickles in August 2024 is featured here, alongside "Tale Of An American Hero" & "Heil Artificiality" as new additions. Camera angles are all stationary here, but the Escherichs did move it a few times, particularly closer for the last two songs. Not a packed house but there's some loyal fans on the floor throughout. Maybe they're blocking the camera a bit, but The Sole Aggressors have a strong and in your face punk sound that comes through really well in this full set video with a slowly improving stage presence. Give it a look below, and go see The Sole Aggressors one last time in the Soo TOMORROW NIGHT!

Finally for today, here's a surprise album release, as Sault Ontario "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage released their 71st studio album onto their Bandcamp page last week! Entitled "WYRD Radio 3: The Midnight Horror Show", this is a thematic sequel to their prior "WYRD Radio" albums from 2015 & 2022, themed around the pretense of the songs being played on a fictional radio station. While the end of 2022's "WYRD Radio 2: Kype The Jesus Boots" hinted at their next "broadcast" being about alien abductions, this album has a fantasy epic theme not unlike last year's "Waerlogas Saga 1: Konfysion Of Fyck", though not sharing that storyline or multimedia comic book spinoff. As usual, "WYRD Radio 3" was recorded at The Cave completely improvised, and was mastered at their own River Front Recreation Studios, with singer/drummer Paul Becker, guitarist/vocalist Dirk Becker, guitarist Shane Kokis, and bassist Tony Briglio all back here. The album is well over 2 hours in length with 30 tracks.

While this may seem like a lot for a local hard rock album, remember that "WYRD Radio 2" had 40 tracks and would need three CDs if sold thusly. While Sykotyk Rampage have a presence on major streaming services, I believe the new album is currently a Bandcamp exclusive, though note that they officially list "September 1st" as the release date there. In any event, you can buy it on mp3 there for $15 or stream it for free. Without ongoing backlog of new album reviews on the SMS, "WYRD Radio 3" is currently pencilled in to lead off 2026 on the SMS, so look for that in January, and check out the album above! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Sugar Island Music Festival) & New E.U.P. Concert Videos!!

Plans for today's SMS post got very upended by a big SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT that has tripped me up multiple times in the past, so that and some new concert videos are on the docket in this all-Michigan post. Here's what you should know on this Saturday morning!

Reports of this weekend's quiet hard rock concert lineup were slightly premature, as Sault Michigan hard rock quartet The Nameless will rock the annual Sugar Island Music Festival TODAY! I profusely apologize for the short notice, the band only confirmed their involvement on their Facebook page yesterday, but the lineup was quietly confirmed for some time on the festival's website. As you may recall, the Sugar Island Festival gathers numerous local musicians (mostly not regulars on the E.U.P. bar scene in these projects) to perform on the outdoor stage on the island just east of the Soo, but there is always at least one token rock band who fans will be familiar with, and The Nameless have been that band since 2023. While we're at it, I profusely apologize for not covering their set at last year's Sugar Island Fest, as per the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine backup of their website.

For full details on this year's lineup (including bands yesterday and tomorrow), click here, but note that performers on Sugar Island tend to lean more towards bluegrass and country from my understanding. After playing last year at 6:00 PM on the Friday, fans can see Joshua, the Mikes, and Jamie (fresh off of their third place run at the Superior Whitefish Festival battle of the bands) TODAY at 5:00 PM. Your top three acts again this year are 3½ Men at 9:00 PM, 3-Zip at 8:00 PM, and Aberdeen at 7:00 PM, while festival regulars 2 Cents take the stage at 6:00 PM after not playing on the Saturday last year. Gentleman George Snider also returns at 4:00 PM, while afternoon newcomers include The Blue Lines at 3:00 PM, The Russells at 2:00 PM, and Rich Klenle at 1:00 PM. February Sky will return as the opening band at 12:00 PM, and an open mic block will kick off TODAY'S program as usual at 11:00 AM.

Music aside, expect a beanbag tournament, childrens' activities, and camping on site, so be sure to check the above links for more on the family friendly entertainment, as well as instructions on how to get to the stage on Sugar Island (and remember that you have to take the ferry to get there from Sault Ste. Marie). This all ages festival has admission of $20 via buttons purchased at the Hilltop Bar and Westshore Convenience Store on the island proper, or at the gate (there are no single day passes). 9&10 News is calling for partly-mostly cloudy skies TODAY with weather ranging from 77-84° (25-29° Celsius) with a 20% chance of rain for the final two acts, so mind the current heat wave if you're coming out. Despite the relative lack of social media advertising (The Nameless never even plugged their 2024 set on Facebook), it's great to see a stacked lineup of local talent back for another year of music on Sugar Island!

Even with the genre focus away from live rock music, there's a lot of talent to take in TODAY and tomorrow, as there was yesterday, so don't bypass the Sugar Island Festival for a pleasant (if hot) outdoor diversion this weekend! Visit the above links for more details, apologies again for the short notice and missing last year's festival on the SMS, and for a preview, here's a new video of The Nameless live at The Islander Bar in Hessel last month! In this one, you can hear them covering the end of Lit's "My Own Worst Enemy" but the visual focus is on dancing attendees, with the band not even in frame. The audio is muffled, and Josh's vocals don't always match the song in intensity, but fun was had, so give it a watch below!

We'll take the ferry back to Sault Ste. Marie to end this post, and like yesterday, we'll do so with local hard rock/punk trio About:Blank via a long awaited public video of their opening set at the Musicians Unite benefit concert at Bird's Eye Outfitters in March! The guys only uploaded a clip of them at the Mary Jo Jenkins fundraiser event to their Facebook page on June 5th (over two months later) and it features Parker, Nathan, and Kade playing an original song named "Unheard". Like with their jam session video shared here yesterday, this horizontal video was uploaded in letterboxed vertical dimensions, making it needlessly tiny again, and like on "Why", we're only seeing the end of the song here, but there is promise to be had! The audio is muffled somewhat, but "Unheard" sounds solid with a little more of a punk edge to it, and Parker's intense screams suit the ending of it well! Check out About:Blank's new video below, and stay tuned for more from them!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Sylo & Tarnished!!)

Just before things get rolling on the SMS, today marks our eighteenth anniversary since launching the original group. No major plans to commemorate the day, but just a brief thank you acknowledgement to all of our readers and followers for continuing to stick around and read/engage with our content, and here's to another big year for local metal, hard rock, and punk music ahead! For our first batch of weekend concert previews for July 2025, we have an all-LOCAL CONCERT ALERT post, mostly of the SHORT NOTICE variety, so here's what you should know!

Sault Michigan hard rock/classic metal quartet Tarnished have a busy and all-short notice concert weekend ahead, and before we get into all three gigs, I apologize for the short notice on all of them, Tarnished only announced the three via their official Facebook page earlier today. Is that a record for late notice gig announcements by one local band at different venues on a given weekend? Regardless, Tarnished will kick off the Independence Day long weekend TONIGHT when they return to the annual Fourth of July parade in Sault Ste. Marie, marking their fourth straight year playing on a float during the parade! Of course, the idea of a SMS-amenable band playing during a parade is still uncommon for bands other than Tarnished, but it'll be like a brief concert coming to you, which will be neat if you're checking out the parade TONIGHT! Obviously, this is free and all ages, but where can you see Tarnished along the parade route?

As last year, the parade begins TONIGHT at 7:00 PM behind the U-Haul on Davitt Street, running until Magazine Street, and will move north along West 14th and Ashmun Streets, as well as West Portage Avenue, so pick a good spot to enjoy the parade, with some hard rocking tunes from Tarnished alongside! Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy skies with weather around 70° (21° Celsius), which sounds like fine conditions for a parade! Click here for complete details on the parade itself. Tarnished will continue the rocking in short notice show #2, as Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron will set up shop at The Savoy Nightclub TONIGHT at 10:00 PM! This will be Tarnished's first show at the 117 West Portage Road bar in over two years, and while The Savoy's modern social media presence isn't high, it is good to see that they're still open and hosting live music there! This is a 21+ concert with no announced cover charge.

Finally for Tarnished's busy long weekend, they'll return an hour south to St. Ignace TOMORROW NIGHT as part of the annual Music By The Bay summer concert series at American Legion Park at 200 North State Street, and in one more new show announcement, they'll return there on Saturday, August 16th as well! Good to see Tarnished spreading their wings and helping prove that there's more going on for St. Ignace concert venues than just Kewadin Casino, so keep TOMORROW'S show in mind! Click here for the full daily schedule at the Music In The Bay series too, it runs until the end of August. This is another free & all ages concert taking place from 7:00-9:00 PM, and while the stage is covered for the band's sake, be advised that 9&10 News is calling for a 40-60% chance of rain TOMORROW with 75° weather (24° Celsius). Visit the above links for more on Tarnished's shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, and for a preview, here they are live!

Finally for this all-LOCAL CONCERT ALERT post, Sault Ontario hard rock quartet Sylo will return to Reggie's Place TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced on the venue's Facebook page on Sunday (remember, Sylo don't have an active Facebook page). This has been a long time coming, as Sylo haven't played a show on record at Reggie's since 2022, so it will be neat to see Eli, Alder, Owen, and Jakob back at this Queen Street staple for a rare solo headlining appearance! Sylo have been making the most out of their return to active gigging this summer, and here's hoping for more of the same entertaining originals and covers from this talented young foresome TOMORROW! This is a one-nighter due to or resulting in classic rock cover quartet RPM playing there tonight. TOMORROW'S Sylo concert is at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details, and here's Sylo live!

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That's all for now, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!