LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Who Made Who, Queen: It's A Kind Magic, Bon Jovi Forever, And Led By Zeppelin!!)

Today's news post is devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the Sault Community Theatre Centre for later this month, and I do apologize for only finding out about these in one cluster just recently. I've gotta stay more on top of S.C.T.C. concerts, and they've been pretty busy for booking notable touring shows and bands this year, even if the last attempted one (Dr. Feelgood) fell victim to "unforeseen circumstances". In an SMS-amenable context, what is first up there this fall?

Hamilton-based Led Zeppelin tribute band Led By Zeppelin will make their local concert debut at the former Kiwanis Theatre on Saturday, September 12th! If this gives you deja vu, it's likely because we just saw a different Led Zeppelin tribute (London's Zed) headlining Rotaryfest Stage 1 yesterday, so the turnaround to have another Zeppelin tribute from Southern Ontario exactly eight weeks later seems really odd. I find it's unfair to compare tribute bands of the same source act due to inevitably subjective opinions, but what I can tell you is Led By Zeppelin deliver the goods musically! Not so much visually, there's no real attempt to dress like Led Zeppelin, but as Motorhead fans saw with M1 earlier this month, you don't have to mimic the original artists' hair and clothing to deliver a good show. Hopefully Led By Zeppelin get a strong turnout in September, especially if the Zed fans last night want a kinda-sorta encore!

This concert has an 8:00 PM start time and no age limit, but unlike Zed at Rotaryfest, this will be a paid and ticketed event (unless you are under 6 years old). As such, adult tickets cost $61.02, seniors 65+ and students 16-25 will cost $49.72, and kids 6-15 will cost $27.12. Those may seem high, but given the large and fancy theatre playing host, hopefully tickets move well, and there's plenty of good seats still available. Buy yours at this link or at the in-person box office at Station Mall, and stay tuned for more on what should be a solid concert for late 1960s and 1970s hard rock fans!

Next up, if you want another tribute to a legendary British classic hard rock act of the 1970s, you only need wait until Wednesday, September 30th, when Australia-based Queen tribute band Queen: It's A Kinda Magic return to the White Pines Collegiate-based theatre! Fans of Freddie, Brian, John, and Roger have been absolutely spoiled post-pandemic, as not only has this particular tribute band rocked the S.C.T.C. three times on their global tour runs (most recently in May of last year), but they're not even the most recent Queen tribute to play here, as the Great Britain-based Majesty just headlined at The Machine Shop in March. Again, I'm not comparing the two, but It's A Kinda Magic have gotten really solid crowds and high praise in their past local stops for how well they pay tribute to Queen musically and visually, so hopefully this show brings the goods all around again!

Like with Led By Zeppelin that same month, this is an all ages ticketed event, albeit with a slightly earlier start time of 7:30 PM. The show will have adult ticket prices of $75 with kids under 13 at $45 (no senior or student rates here), and if you're curious, prices here are slightly up from Q.I.A.K.M.'s show here last year. Based on the online ticket sale link (click here), there are still lots of good seats available still, though the show is moving tickets a little faster than Led By Zeppelin. Buy yours online and at the in person box office, and while this isn't the cheapest show going (and mid-week), there's a reason why this Queen tribute comes here so much!

Also this fall at The Sault Community Theatre Centre is the return of Oshawa-based Bon Jovi tribute band Bon Jovi Forever, who will headline there on Saturday, October 10th! This Thanksgiving long weekend concert will be (at least) this particular band's third stop here, following a Rockstar Bar show in 2016 and their S.C.T.C. debut in September of last year. As I recall, B.J.F. drew well last fall, and you can see proof of how that show went via videos linked here. Baz and crew sound the part and deliver enough visually for fans of both early hair metal Bon Jovi and their later, more general rock material, and he definitely sounds better than Jon himself does nowadays, so hopefully things go well in their return to White Pines in three months! The 8:00 PM start time, all ages status, and ticket prices here are actually identical to the Led By Zeppelin show in every way, so see above for the ticket price breakdown.

Of note, tickets aren't moving nearly as fast yet for this concert, but Bon Jovi Forever drew well last year, so this should tick up, and it just means that you have time to get a really good seat! Click here or visit the in-person box office to get yours, and visit the above links for more details!

Lastly for new Sault Community Theatre Centre concerts of a hard rock persuasion, Toronto-based AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who will return to the Soo on Saturday, October 24th in a joint concert with Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band Green River Revival! This is being touted as "the ultimate rock concert", which is quite a claim, and while the two bands aren't even contemporaries for era, the two will cover a lot of ground for classic rock fans. Both bands share management, hence why it makes sense for them to share a bill if tour paths cross, and they've both played here numerous times, including as the featured touring headliner of Rotaryfest (Green River Revival in 2019, Who Made Who last year). Repeat local stops for both is a good sign, so fans know that Who Made Who will deliver their requisite high voltage rock n' roll again, while Green River Revival's faithful take on CCR and John Fogerty hits will go well for southern rock fans in the Soo in October!

This concert has a listed 7:30 PM start time, and will be all ages like the rest. The show was literally first announced last week, so this has the most available tickets of the four, and prices are a flat $55.37 for all, which is the cheapest of the four shows, surprisingly so given Who Made Who & Green River Revival's combined name recognition. Expectations appear to be high for ticket sales too, as this is the only one of the four with available balcony section seating, so get yours A.S.A.P. at this link and/or at the in-person box office while selection is good! Looks like a lot of good 1970s and 1980s hard rock tribute action is in store for the Soo this fall, so visit the above links for more on all four concerts! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (T.N.T. & Tarnished), The Wheelhouse Concert Preview, And More!!

Before we get into today's post, just two updates regarding this weekend's concert previews. First, while I'm not covering the shows here because the band never really crossed our genre radar, classic rock cover band Jus' Chillin are reuniting to play at Reggie's Place this weekend, as per members' personal Facebook postings. Jus' Chillin folded in the spring of 2023 so they could form Generations alongside ex-Obsession singer Valerie Powley, so this would imply that Valerie is unavailable this weekend, hence Pierre and Tony bringing the old band back for a couple of nights. Hopefully the shows go well! As for TONIGHT'S Poutine Feast lineup at the Downtown Plaza, the previously advertised Riverside Stasis and Jeffrey Wright were joined by classic rock cover veterans Encore and Riverside Stasis bassist Rob Speers, who has played live often as an acoustic solo singer/guitarist since The Wyld Stallyns disbanded in mid-2024.

Our source for the full lineup is You Belong SSM's Facebook page, and it remains to be seen if their will be an advertised live music program during Kids Day tomorrow (Canada/Morocco World Cup game acknowledged), but Sunday's final day seems unlikely given that there will be a marathon of Disney/Pixar movies on the big screen. Whether you're going for poutine, live music, or both, have fun downtown this weekend, and stay cool and hydrated! Now, here's the rest of this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Sault Michigan classic/hard rock quartet Tarnished will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino for Fourth Of July weekend concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows have been advertised on Kewadin's entertainment page in recent weeks, and while I've got to get better at covering shows listed there, the band only acknowledged the shows on their Facebook page earlier today. TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S shows are kinda sorta makeup dates for Tarnished in terms of St. Ignace at large, as they dropped out of their planned outdoor car show gig this past Saturday for unannounced reasons. It's good to see the full band back in action a week later, and if you're one to dodge summer heat & humidity, you won't mind TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S shows being indoors! You may want to duck out to see fireworks TOMORROW though.

Note that Tarnished will make the 2 hour drive west to Manistique on Sunday to play at the grand opening of The Hive Commons there, and while this AI-generated poster only directly reflects on the tour date, note that the Manistique show will be 1980s themed and will feature a set mostly (if not entirely) themed around 1980s rock covers, so will that focus bleed into the St. Ignace shows TONIGHT & TOMORROW? The local dates are 21+ affairs with no cover and 9:00 PM start times. Stay tuned for more from Tarnished next week, and here they are live!

Next up, newer Sault Ontario acoustic classic/hard rock duo T.N.T. (Travis Sharpe & Terry Eaton) will return to Beck's Bar for a matinee concert on SUNDAY! Again, apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced via the venue's weekly Monday entertainment schedule drop on their Facebook page, and I don't believe Trav(is) or Terry have launched a social media or band page yet to reflect their duo outings. Fans last saw the Soundcheck side project at Beck's in late May, and while I don't see this always promoted as taking place during SUNDAY matinees there, Beck's hosts weekly euchre tournaments on that day of the week, so if you play euchre, you'll get some live hard and classic rock covers with your card gaming! Terry & Travis will rock the stage on SUNDAY at 3:00 PM (karaoke is the nightcap there as usual), with a 19+ age limit and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and we will let you know if any public videos of T.N.T. surface online!

Lastly for known hard rock concert previews this weekend, here's a show that had lots of advance notice, as revived local classic/hard rock cover trio Wheelhouse will play their second show since coming back TOMORROW NIGHT at the aforementioned Beck's Bar! The group from former Stiffler's Mom bandmates Michael Davies & Jon Ferguson (now plus Eden Plague/Golden Scoundrels drummer Johnny Belanger) made their relaunch at Beck's on May 15th, and they quickly announced plans to play a Fourth of July gig at the former Vibe Lounge. As revealed on Johnny's personal Facebook page at the time, this poster for the concert was lovingly drawn with pencil crayons rather than using generative AI, which I appreciate! The band's own prior usage of AI to make their initial Facebook photos though, I'll let you assess that at your leisure. Videos and "Stories" of Wheelhouse so far point to a fun live band with heavy covers, so don't miss out!

The matinee performer tomorrow is former Thin Ice frontman Nathan Albidone with a solo country set, though remember, he has a full 4 hour block from 3:00-7:00 PM and isn't "opening" for Wheelhouse, who take the stage tomorrow night at 9:00 PM. This is also a 19+ event and it has no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on Wheelhouse's second show of the year, and here they are live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished) Plus The Peril And Stones & Crows Concert Previews!!

This packed slate of hard rock concert previews marches on with a second Thursday post, this time looking at SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS in the E.U.P., more Michigan concert action related to a big ongoing event this weekend, and a Sault Ontario debut concert, but let's head to Mackinac County to kick things off! Our previews of announced hard rock shows in Sault Ontario on Saturday will be in our next post.

Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover band Tarnished will return to St. Ignace for a second straight year of St. Ignace Car Show-timed live music on SATURDAY! Apologies for the short notice, these two(!) shows were first announced on the band's Facebook page. Last year, Tarnished played at The Driftwood Sports Bar during this annual event, but they will actually be playing two shows elsewhere, and they appear to be linked to the car show proper for show #1, a matinee gig from 2:00-5:00 PM outdoors at McGregor Lot, a parking lot behind the former Shell station at 200 South State Street (some vendors from the car show will be set up there, but the actual car show is spread out through town). After things wrap up in St. Ignace, Alex & Josh will disembark from Chris and Ron, taking the 45 minute drive north to Brimley for a rare acoustic duo concert at Bay Mills Resort & Casino that night!

This show will reportedly be in the "Lakeside Lounge", which has been given as the name for their location of their concerts and karaoke nights this month rather than the Back Bay Grill & Games. "Your perfect up north retreat" finished renovations and expansions in January, and it does seem like they're shifting concerts to the new lounge (all of which have been acoustic, for what it's worth) at least for the summer. Hopefully things go well for half of Tarnished there on SATURDAY NIGHT! The Lakeside Lounge show in Brimley is a 21+ affair at 8:00 PM, the car show matinee in St. Ignace is all ages, and neither has an announced cover charge, though click here for full details on what to expect at the car show. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for sunny skies and temperatures hovering around 74° (23° Celsius), so for an outdoor concert, you can't ask for much nicer summer weather than that!

I wish Tarnished had announced their two gigs on SATURDAY with more advance notice, especially with the hype around the St. Ignace Car Show's 50th anniversary, but hopefully this talented hard rock group (in full form in the afternoon or unplugged in Brimley) have a solid pair of concerts with attendances to match! Visit the above links for more details on both, and for a preview, here's Tarnished live and unplugged a few years ago!

Next up, there's one more familiar hard rock cover band rocking the St. Ignace Car Show weekend, as Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at their Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Peril haven't hyped up the car show angle in their own promotion, but Jeff, Howard, and Brooks landed two key timeslots at the casino, as Kewadin hosted and sponsored the cruise night tonight and will be hosting the after-party on Saturday, so it is somewhat of a hub for official events outside of showing/driving the classic cars. If you're not into the car show or would prefer to stay closer to the Soo, they'll be back at The Rapids Lounge in two weeks, but Peril should get a sizable crowd for both of this weekend's gigs, and hopefully their hard hitting and crowd friendly covers go over as well as ever! These are 21+ shows at 9:00 PM with no cover. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Peril live!

Finally for weekend concert preview post #2, we'll head north to Sault Ontario, where new local southern hard rock trio Stones & Crows will make their live concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT at Beck's Bar! This new band features Jupiter Marvelous guitarist/ex-Electric Church frontman Spencer Pine (a.k.a. "Bukky VanZant"), Floor Between Us bassist Nicholas Gingras ("Nikki Crow"), and Riverside Stasis/ex-HeadFirst drummer Anthony Boudreau ("Tony Stone"), which is definitely a promising lineup! Stones & Crows have not yet posted public media of them performing in any capacity, but they claim to "hit with a modern hard rock sound rooted in blues & grit", which sure sounds like an extension of Electric Church to me, and it will be good to see Spencer fronting a live band again! Remember, when Beck's does book live bands on Fridays, it's never the band playing the Saturday nightcap, and we'll preview Bone Yard 225's show there on Saturday in our next post.

Just to clarify something, I am aware that Spencer is the owner of local internet radio network Tomahawk 141, and I'd love to talk about it on here, but since I belatedly discovered it (when Stones & Crows launched), the rock/blues station has never worked for me. If Spencer gets it back online, I'll let you know! Tomorrow's Beck's concert will see them "rock the night" and "all night long" (assuming that the night only runs from 9:00 PM-1:00 AM), this is a 19+ event, and there's no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for our Bone Yard, Generations, and A.S.D.P. previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Peril, Fyrbird, And The Nameless), Plus About:Blank Updates!!

Today's post does indeed wrap up our weekend concert previews, but things fell into place for an all-Sault Michigan/EUP post, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and new videos, so here's what you should know!

Manistique hard rock cover duo Fyrbird will set up shop at The Driftwood Sports Bar in St. Ignace TONIGHT, but they will also return there for a special Thursday night concert on June 25th! Both shows were announced on The Driftwood's Facebook page (thankfully with lots of advance notice each), and both line up with special events for vehicle owners in and visiting Mackinac County. As noted yesterday when we previewed Tarnished's shows at the St. Ignace Kewadin, tonight's show takes place during the Bronco The Mac Festival (whether you have a Ford Bronco or not, click here for details), but the Thursday the 25th show coincides with an even bigger institution, namely the 50th annual St. Ignace Car Show Weekend! Kudos to Fyrbird and The Driftwood for jumping in on this too, and there should be a sizeable crowd tonight and on the 25th for Jamie & Rikk's minimalist hard rock covers! The show on the 25th is a nightcap for the cruise night.

Both tonight's and the 25th's are 9:00 PM concerts at The Driftwood with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Unless they've played in our neck of the woods (an hour's drive from Sault Ste. Marie) in an unadvertised gig, we haven't seen Fyrbird locally in around a year, so even with the expected large turnout for both car shows, keep their shows in mind, starting with tonight! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Fyrbird live!

Next up, that's not all for hard rock fans in St. Ignace during the Car Show weekend, as Sault Ste. Marie hard rock cover quartet The Nameless will reportedly make their Driftwood Sports Bar debut on Friday, June 26th! The venue announced the show via their Facebook page on Sunday, and at press time, the band has yet to corroborate this booking on their own Facebook page. Fans last saw The Nameless at The Merch two weeks ago, but this will be their first show outside of the Soo in 2026, and their first in St. Ignace in two years, believe it or not. Fingers crossed that Josh, the Mikes, and Jamie recruit a strong turnout for this one-nighter on what will be a very busy weekend for St. Ignace at large! This concert will also serve as lead-out entertainment, this time for that evening's Down Memory Lane Parade, and if you're curious, The Driftwood will be hosting DJs on Saturday the 27th.

Like with Fyrbird the previous night, The Nameless take the stage at 9:00 PM on Friday the 26th with no cover charge and a 21+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, but is that all for the St. Ignace Car Show Weekend in a hard rock context?

Nope, as Traverse City classic metal trio Peril have booked The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino for shows on Friday & Saturday, June 26th-27th! Like with The Nameless, Peril have not corroborated the booking on social media yet that I have found, but Kewadin's entertainment page confirms that these well travelled Northern Michigan live favourites have snagged the casino's lounge for what should be a busy and lucrative weekend! The guys are no stranger to the conceit of a well timed weekend at this Kewadin branch, as their last St. Ignace shows were in February during the Labatt Blue UP Pond Hockey Championships. Jeff, Howard and Brooks should deliver a fun weekend of rocking classic covers for Car Show participants ans fans alike later this month, so keep these in mind as well! These shows are also at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover. See above for more details!

We'll stay in the E.U.P. to close, via two new videos from Sault Ste. Marie hard rock/punk band About:Blank! On May 4th, the guys shared a clip on their Facebook page of them playing their new song "Dilettante" when they opened for Bimbo in Pizza Hut's basement a few days prior. The 44 seconds-long video sounds promising with a 1990s alt-rock flourish, but the video is fuzzy, Parker completely obscures Kade at this vantage point, and the video was (sadly) uploaded in vertical dimensions with letterboxing despite being horizontal from the off. Embedded below is About:Blank's newest Facebook video, and while it also has a horizontal video forcibly crammed into vertical "Reel" dimensions with major pillarboxing. How does that happen twice in a row? In any event, the video sees the guys jamming their song "What You Wanted", albeit for 48 seconds. The big scoop is that there is a third performer in the clip!

About:Blank have not firmly or publically said if they have finally replaced Nathan Webber in their lineup after four months as a duo, or if this musician is just a guest/fill-in, but based on appearances, this looks like local rock bassist and visual artist Jon Stone (please let me know if I am incorrect). Assuming that they have added him full time, it is good to see About:Blank without a blank in their lineup, and while the tight camera placement doesn't do Kade many favours here either, the guys deliver some good intensity in what we do see, so check it out for yourselves below!

That's all for now, but we'll catch up with recent Sault Ontario news and notes next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Oz, Scarkazm, And Exit 808), Plus More From Sault Michigan!!

Today on the SMS, we're focusing entirely on Sault Michigan and the Eastern Upper Peninsula via some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and new videos & related updates from a band in question, so here's what you should know!

Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will return to both the Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace Kewadin Casino branches for one more weekend each in 2025, as they'll rock The Rapids Lounge in the Soo over Thanksgiving weekend (Friday, November 28th & Saturday, November 29th) before closing out their E.U.P. calendar for the year on December 19th & 20th at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace! Both weekends were confirmed on both Kewadin locations' entertainment pages linked above, which have been updated to reflect concerts through the end of the year. Always good to see Adam, Dave, and Jeff bring their hard hitting original and cover attack to our neck of the woods, and hopefully these concerts go well across the board! While we're on the subject, Scarkazm themselves have confirmed shows through April via their Facebook page's event pages, so will they be back here in 2026?

Yes! The Peril sister band will be back at The Rapids Lounge in the Soo on January 30th & 31st, and then again on March 20th & 21st, before rocking The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace once again on April 24th & 25th, so keep all of these upcoming dates in mind for your Scarkazm fix over the next six months! As usual for Scarkazm's Kewadin bookings, all ten dates have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details on Scarkazm's next E.U.P. trips!

Next up, Iron Mountain classic/hard rock cover quintet Oz will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Soo Kewadin on Friday, December 12th & Saturday, December 13th, but they too will also be back in the E.U.P. in 2026! Like with Scarkazm, Kewadin isn't going into next year yet, but Oz confirmed on their Facebook page that they will be back at the same venue on February 20th & 21st and then again on September 18th & 19th! Really far out booking there, bands that we cover don't usually announce dates 11 months prior like this, but they also confirmed a December weekend in Baraga in the same post. Local fans last saw Oz at The Rapids Lounge in April, so it will be neat to see their talented blend of classic and hard rock covers back in town for one more weekend before the year is up! Like with Scarkazm above, all of Oz's Kewadin dates ahead are 21+ affairs with no cover charges and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details on these shows!

Also taking place on December 12th & 13th (albeit at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace) is the return there of local hard rock band Exit 808! Kewadin's entertainment page credits the band playing there as Double Jack, but that is (of course) their old name that they changed from in early 2024 due to the existence of a separate band named Double Jack downstate. So these shows has been scheduled with the casino for at least 21 months without someone catching the old name? Exit 808 have yet to confirm these dates on their own Facebook page, but these will be their first shows in St. Ignace since the beginning of August. Hopefully these winter-time concerts go well across the board with their dual vocalist-led array of hard rock covers! Like with Oz and Scarkazm above, these are 21+ events once again at 9:00 PM with no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, but we're not done with Exit 808 for this post yet!

As you may recall, Exit 808 most recently headlined at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino for their belated Halloween party on Saturday, November 1st, a concert that had multiple guest musicians, one being a mystery bassist named Brad. When acknowledging who performed on Saturday, they said "we were joined by 13-year-old Molly Escherich and new bass player, Brad Pringle, along with our typical 6". Note the lack of a pronoun, so is he a new bassist or their new bassist? Brad has played bass (and saxophone!) in bands downstate, and in both of the new videos from "Fright Night On The Bay" on the band's Facebook page, he is on bass with no sign of Blaze Beairl. The "typical 6" would include Blaze, so he must have been there, and he has played at Back Bay gigs in the past despite being underage, but he is not visibly performing any instrument in the two videos. We'll let you know if things get clarified on Brad and Blaze's statuses either way!

Both videos feature Molly on guest vocals and Brad on bass, but teased guest guitarist Joe Jenkins is not in either clip. The videos include a cover of Volbeat's newer single "By A Monster's Hand" with Dillon and Molly splitting vocals (no Amy), but as it's shorter and bafflingly uploaded in vertical "Reel" dimensions with heavy pillarboxing despite being a horizontal landscape video, it's not embedded here. Instead, here's the longer and fully framed (but still vertical) video of Exit 808 covering Journey's "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" with Amy and Molly sharing vocals. This alone is unusual as Molly usually subs in for Amy, but they sound good together! Both covers are solidly done, so give them a watch above & below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Peril, Tarnished, And Exit 808), And More!!

With something of a backlog accumulating for local metal, hard rock, and punk news/notes, let's begin digging ourselves out of that hole with a primarily Sault Michigan/E.U.P. post on this Monday night, along with a new original song teaser from a metal band on the Ontario side of the border, but let's lead off with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Kewadin Casino's website's entertainment pages have been updated to reflect concerts at their on-site lounges through the end of June, so who is taking the stage and when among hard rock/metal acts? Three definitely heavier bands are scheduled, with the first being local classic metal/hard rock quartet Tarnished, who will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin branch on Friday, May 16th & Saturday, May 17th! The band has yet to corroborate these bookings on social media, but they will be Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron's first stops in St. Ignace since their gigs at the Driftwood Sports Bar last month, and their first at The Northern Pines Lounge in almost two months. Should be a fun time for fans of Tarnished's old school covers and hard hitting originals, so don't miss out, in just under two weeks! These are 21+ concerts with no cover charges and 9:00 PM start times as usual.

I also wanted to acknowledge that, in the original schedule listings on Kewadin's entertainment pages before the June shows were added, the casino had listed shows from local hard rock cover quartet Rhythm & Brews at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin that same weekend. Of course, bassist Chris Leask and drummer Ron Suchey are in both bands, so unless there was something I didn't know re: lineup changes, I assumed that there would be a cancellation on one side or the other, and in the current listings, the Soo shows that weekend now belong to online page-less local classic rock cover group The American Band. Hopefully we hear more from Rhythm & Brews in time! 

Next up, Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will make their way north of the Mackinac Bridge for two Kewadin Casino weekends in this two month stretch, starting with shows on May 30th & 31st at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace before rocking The Rapids Lounge in the Soo on June 27th & 28th! Their month-ending dates in St. Ignace will be their first there since mid-March, but their Sault stops next month will be their first at The Rapids Lounge yet this year. It's good to see this Jeffrey Hudson-led band back at both branches in relatively quick succession, and hopefully there's a strong turnout across both weekends for their tried and true old school covers! Like with Tarnished this month, all four Peril shows are 21+ affairs with no cover charge and 9:00 PM start times (and no, their sister band Scarkazm are not scheduled in this timeframe). Visit the above links for more details, and look for more from Peril up here!

Lastly for verifiably heavier bands under the Kewadin Casino umbrella, local hard rock band Exit 808 will return to The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on June 6th & 7th! Fans last saw Exit 808 at the Musicians Unite fundraiser concert at Bird's Eye Outfitters last month, with next month's St. Ignace stops being their first at that Kewadin branch in 2025. It's always good to see this talented and modular hard rock group back with more double vocalist-led cover action, so keep both of their upcoming shows These dates should have Blaze Beairl back on guitar or bass after he missed Musicians Unite, but it's not yet clear if Exit 808 will have any guest musicians or new additions over that weekend. Expect these to be 21+ shows at 9:00 PM with no cover once again, and see above for more details on Exit 808's mid-2025 plans!

Finally for today, here's a mild surprise, namely a new teaser video from Sault Ontario metal duo Hollow Sky! In their first public update since May of last year, Liam and Adam revealed on their Facebook page on April 18th that they are "working on some new material", attaching this vertical video of a tracking computer featuring a snippet of a new original song featuring clean and harsh vocals. Way too soon to comment on the song proper (which would be Hollow Sky's third original), but it's promisingly heavy, and Adam seems to like it! Check it out below, and stay tuned for more from Hollow Sky!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Scarkazm) & More Halloween Weekend Concert Previews!!

Let's continue with this weekend's hard rock concert previews as we continue the (pre-)Halloween concert slate! Remember, there are venues and bands holding their concerts/parties on Thursday and next weekend, given the proximity to the 31st proper. Also, just a heads up also that Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Dirty Musky are playing a private event at Three One Three On Ashmun tomorrow night, as per their Facebook page, but I won't offer further known details out of respect to the event's non-public nature. Now, here's what you should know for your Saturday night concert plans, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this year!

Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will play their last Eastern Upper Peninsula dates of 2024 when they return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Friday, December 13th & Saturday, December 14th! While not yet confirmed by the casino online, Scarkazm announced the dates via this concert calendar on their Facebook page earlier today, which also covers dates by their sister classic metal/hard rock trio Peril and their acoustic side act Project 6 (no relation). Peril will not be north of the Mackinac Bridge for the rest of the year, and Project 6 scarcely play in the E.U.P. at all, but Scarkazm are ending 2024 with three regional weekends up here, including St Ignace stops next weekend and the Thanksgiving weekend in the Soo. Hopefully next month's and December's Scarkazm shows have more great hard hitting covers in store! As usual, these are 21+ gigs at 9:00 PM with no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, we'll pick this weekend's previews back up in Sault Ontario, where local concert promoters Piecing It Together Shows (nee Dryer Fire) will host their Halloween party TOMORROW NIGHT at the Fraternal Order of Eagles club at 246 Wellington Street West! The second concert that Nicole and crew are hosting at the Eagles Club, tomorrow's spooky festivities will be headlined by the local debut of Toronto grunge/punk trio Skoff, whose explosive retro stylings should appeal to early 1990s alternative rock fans, so don't miss this rising young group tomorrow! Joining them are local punk/crossover thrash quartet Hails in their first gig since opening for The Ripcordz last month, and this should be a prime chance for Brent, the Mutos, and Keeghan to unleash their fury on a new venue and audience! Online page-less local electro synth pop artist Owen MK (who debuted at a Dryer Fire event two years ago) will lead off this multi-genre event.

Specifics about the Halloween aspects of tomorrow's concert are not public, but if there's no costume contest, one assumes that costumes are at least encouraged, and hopefully there's some suitably scary decor! Admission is $15 via tickets at this link or $20 at the door. Everything starts at 7:00 PM and this is an all ages event. It's good to see a multi-band Halloween show like this post-pandemic, as there haven't been too many of those, so keep all of the Steelton action in mind tomorrow at the Eagles Club! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Skoff's debut music video! I struggled to find a video of them in concert.

Also, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to Gateway Casino for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of rocking Shooters last week, this will be Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre's first show at the downtown casino in just over two months, and hopefully their classic and hard rock cover slate draws another strong reception as usual! What we don't know about tomorrow's concert is if it will be Halloween themed, as Generations have not indicated whatsoever if this show will have any seasonality to it. This is Gateway Casinos' Spooktacular Customer Appreciation week, which includes deals at the on-site Getaway Restaurant and nightly promotions for casino-goers midweek, but I have seen no promotion on the casino's end tying Generations' concert to Halloween at all. Of course, they will be playing on Halloween proper at The Water Tower Pub, but keep posted in case they/the casino clarify tomorrow's plans.

As such, wear costumes to Gateway Casino tomorrow at your discretion, but I can't guarantee that they're encouraged and/or if there will be a costume contest. The concert proper takes place at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Generations live!

Finally, we'll head south to Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula for this weekend's last known hard rock concert, as Sault Ste. Marie hard rock quartet Unfortunate Sun will headline the Halloween party at Huck's Pub & Grill in nearby Rudyard TOMORROW NIGHT! This one-nighter will be the Fake Chow successors' first show at the former Joe's Bar since debuting there with an outdoors gig back in July, and they'll be back there in three weeks if you want to see them in a regular, non-seasonal environment. Unfortunate Sun have fortunately delivered a strong show and gotten a reception to match since debuting, and hopefully they get more of the same in Rudyard tomorrow! Huck's Facebook page confirms that there will be a costume contest tomorrow, so wear your best outfit and you may be rewarded with one of three prizes! No word on other seasonal frills but the venue should be decked out for the occasion, so keep tabs with the band/pub for any possible new details on this show.

Like with Generations in Sault Ontario, Unfortunate Sun take the stage in Rudyard at 8:00 PM (though they're slated to run until midnight, one more hour). This show will be a 21+ affair with no cover charge, and in the unlikely event that Huck's is hosting this outdoors, 9&10 News are calling for partly cloudy skies with temperatures of around 39° Fahrenheit (4° Celsius), which I'd assume would be too chilly. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Unfortunate Sun live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soundcheck) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

The Thanksgiving long weekend (for Sault Ontario and Canadian readers) is upon us, and there's a fair amount of shows to take in for hard rock fans in the next few days! Due to the amount of shows, I'll hold our previews of Saturday night's Cross Dog and Half Past concerts for tomorrow's post, along with any further late notice gigs that I hear about. Speaking of which, we're leading off today with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you should know on this Thursday night!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we only learned about this gig via the venue's concert calendar for October 2024, belatedly shared to their Facebook page on Sunday (though be advised that Soundcheck have not publically corroborated this booking on social media). Last seen at Jay's three weeks ago (with the cancelled A&W car show in the interim), this will be Soundcheck's first stop at The Water Tower Pub since the end of August. If you like hearing Terry, Cameron, Jim, and Glen's classic and hard rock cover attack with a dash of country, definitely keep their return to this popular central venue in mind TOMORROW! This one-nighter has an 8:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, let's head south to St. Ignace, Michigan to make up for missing this band's last local dates, as Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at St. Ignace's Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Like with Soundcheck, we haven't seen Peril locally in three weeks, following their Rapids Lounge gigs at the Soo Kewadin last month, which I profusely apologize again for missing on here outright. I definitely wasn't going to miss covering their St. Ignace stops this weekend though, marking Jeff & crew's first stops at The Northern Pines Lounge since July. These should be another prime opportunity to see Peril's hard hitting classic covers, so fans in Mackinac County or who are up for a short drive won't want to miss out, even if it's not a long weekend for Yooper readers! Remember, their sister band Scarkazm will return to both local Kewadin branches at the start and end of next month.

As usual for Peril's trips north of the Mackinac Bridge, tomorrow & Saturday's concerts have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Peril live!

Also this weekend, there's more classic/hard rock cover action at The Water Tower Pub on SATURDAY NIGHT, and because they traditionally host separate nightly acts, Double Down will take the stage there one day after Soundcheck! Another band we last saw on stage three weeks ago (this time at the Band Together To Rock Cancer benefit), this will be the Syrettes, Brad, and Ric's first show at this central nightclub since May, and it should be a fun night of rocking covers from this experienced foursome, featuring alumni of bands like Bone Yard, Griphook, and That's Chester in their ranks, so don't miss out on this long weekend one nighter either! Like with Soundcheck tomorrow, Saturday night's Double Down concert is a 19+ affair with no cover charge and an 8:00 PM start time. If you can't make it, Double Down's next advertised shows will be in November at The Esquire Club. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Double Down live last month!

Finally, here's a matinee concert on SATURDAY, as prolific local classic/hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison will continue his 2024 weekly concert arrangement at Misty's Fifties that day! With at least three more stops on his weekly run at the Second Line West nightclub to go (we'll let you know if he extends the arrangement into November), Tym should have another fun day's worth of classic and hard rock covers, perhaps with some more modern or country cuts alongside, so don't miss out at Misty's for his proficient vocal and guitar work along with his ample setlist! As usual for his Saturday run here, this is a 4:00 PM matinee with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. If you want to hear Tym's acoustic cover slate over the long weekend, go west for all of the action in two days' time! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Scarkazm, Rhythm & Brews, And Tarnished), Plus X's & Y's Updates!!

Today's post is 100% devoted to Sault Michigan and the Eastern Upper Peninsula, as we have a bunch of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE with a related apology) to take note of, along with big news on an upcoming album release, so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock/classic metal band Tarnished will return to The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino TONIGHT after previously playing there last night! Apologies for the short notice and for missing yesterday's show, they were only announced on the band's Facebook page yesterday morning, with the band admittedly calling them a "surprise show", despite there being two gigs. According to (temporary?) bassist Chris Leask's personal Facebook page, yesterday's and TONIGHT's shows came about after "a last minute cancellation". The originally scheduled Rapids Lounge band this weekend was Traverse City dance rock quartet Risque, who confirmed on their Facebook page that they withdrew due to "unforeseen circumstances", but "we are all okay". Hopefully that is the case, and that Risque's scheduled return to the Soo Kewadin in December goes on!

Kudos to Tarnished for stepping in last night & TONIGHT on late notice, and this means that The Rapids Lounge hosted the same band in consecutive weeks, which is not common but a big thing for fans of their hard rocking covers and originals! TONIGHT's (and yesterday's) shows are 21+ affairs with no cover charges and 9:00 PM start times. Visit the above links for more details, apologies again for missing yesterday's show (surprise though it may have been), and here's Tarnished live!

Next up, let's stay with new Kewadin Casino shows, as the entertainment pages for both regional Kewadin branches have been updated to reflect bookings through the end of November! Not a ton of new hard rock-leaning bookings ahead there, and we already knew about Peril's St. Ignace shows next week and Fyrbird's Thanksgiving weekend there too, but Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will return north for two concert weekends at both Kewadin lounges next month! The Peril sister band will first rock The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin on Friday, November 1st and Saturday, November 2nd, and in case you're wondering about a potential Halloween theme, I wouldn't bet on it given that their general events calendar points to their parties and costume contests at all branches being on Saturday the 26th (Sault Ontario's Touch of Class will be in St. Ignace that weekend).

As for The Rapids Lounge, fans will be able to see Adam, Dave, and Jeff back there on (Black) Friday, November 29th and Saturday, November 30th as they light things up over the Thanksgiving long weekend. That may be the last time you can see either Scarkazm or Peril in the E.U.P. this year, so don't miss out on Scarkazm's hard hitting covers before December rolls around! All four of Scarkazm's November gigs up here have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. See above for more details!

The only other verifiable new hard rock shows at either local Kewadin branch will come on Friday, November 1st and Saturday, November 2nd once again, but this time at The Rapids Lounge in the Soo, where local hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews are slated to return to the stage! Rhythm & Brews (featuring current Tarnished performers Chris Leask and Ron Suchey on bass and drums) don't play live all the often right now, with next month's shows being their first publically advertised gigs that I have seen since June. It will be good to see Brandon, Chris Hubbard, and crew back in just under a month's time, and hopefully their hard rocking covers provide a strong kickoff to the month! Once again, I don't believe Kewadin Casinos are celebrating Halloween a day late at all based on their event calendar listings, and if you come there on the 26th to celebrate, that night's Rapids Lounge band will be local country duo Perry/Hatch.

As with Scarkazm in St. Ignace that same weekend, expect 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits for Rhythm & Brews' Soo shows. Visit the above links for much more on Kewadin Casino's regional lounge gigs for the rest of the fall season!

Let's close today with the latest from local metal solo project X's & Y's (led by former Life's Eclipse guitarist and Werehold Records founder Jason Mills), who has been very busy in recent months! As of September 11th, their long-gestating debut album "The Obsidian Dream" was complete, and unlike every Werehold release from their heyday, this actually is done and dusted, and Jason sent the album to be printed on physical CDs the following week! The full album will be released on Friday on all major streaming services and on CD while supplies last. The first 30 CDs come with an NES-inspired band sticker, and if you order it early, it will immediately ship, so you may get yours before October 11th if you're quick/close enough. Jason posted the video below onto X's & Y's Facebook page on Thursday to preview the packaging for "The Obsidian Dream", which will have eight songs, and note the Werehold logo on the back!

I'm not sure if this is a first step for the label's rebirth or just to have a label for the release even just in name, but it's neat to see it on a real physical CD in 2024! Two of the songs have guest musicians (pause it 19 seconds in to see their names clearly). If you've been following Jason's original metal music over the past couple decades, you'll wanna pick up "The Obsidian Dream", so visit the above links to get your CD and/or more details, and click here to see guest guitarist Jeremy Belter playing a riff from the final cut "Never Left"! Very incomplete, but very promising at the same time!

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

Tarnished & Exit 808 Concert Previews, Plus New Videos!!

For phase #2 of our weekend concert previews, let's head south to Sault Michigan and area, as there are some hard rock concerts happening there this weekend too! Yes, I am well aware of Saturday night's Ace Frehley-headlined concert in St. Ignace, the plan is to preview that one alongside the Sunday concerts in Sault Ontario in a post hitting the site by Saturday morning. Otherwise, here's what you should know! 

We'll lead off today in Sault Ste. Marie, where local hard rock band Exit 808 will make their Kewadin Casino debuts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Rapids Lounge! Their first ever double booking of Friday & Saturday nighters on one weekend at one venue, these shows will reportedly see the debut of their new permanent bassist, only credited as "Myke". We'll let you know when more is revealed on his identity, but he won't be playing all weekend, as recent regular fill-in Blaze Beairl will also be handling the low end in some capacity (the band's Facebook post yesterday said that they'd be "sharing the stage"). Also, Exit 808 will welcome Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins as a guest for this weekend's shows, likely filling in for Will Robbins given that Alex Zimmerman is tagged in the Facebook post. Joe is a solid and established name, so hopefully he adds well to Exit 808's double vocalist-led hard rock sound!

These Rapids Lounge dates are 9:00 PM affairs with 21+ age limits (Blaze performing aside) and no cover charges. See above for more details, and for a preview, we have two new Facebook videos of Exit 808 to share from their show at The Merchants Bar on June 29th! Both filmed by Kishketog Lynn Mary of the Marquette-based Kish Productions, one is of them covering Drowning Pool's "Bodies" (with Dillion Semasky on lead vocals), though it's short and primarily focuses on Blaze, who did perform at least partially that night. Embedded below is a longer 1:44 clip of them covering Skid Row's "18 & Life" with Dillion and Amy Beach trading off on verses and sharing choruses, and Spun's Bob Libick guesting on bass. Not bad at all, and good way of balancing the two vocalists amongst a solid crowd of attendees at The Merch, so check it out for yourself below!

Next up, let's head further south to the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where their busy concert weekend begins indoors via Sault Ste. Marie classic metal/hard rock trio Tarnished's return TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Northern Pines Lounge! Surprisingly, these will be Tarnished's first shows at the St. Ignace Kewadin since 2022, so if you've missed them there or want a relative change of scenery, keep their hard hitting originals and covers in mind! The band's promotional imagery only shows their current core lineup (Alex, Josh, and Parker), implying that they'll be in trio mode here with no guests, but we'll let you know if that's publically contradicted. Of course, Saturday's concert goes down the same night as the Ace Frehley show, so how does timing look? The '80s hair metal invasion begins outside the St. Ignace casino at 6:00 PM on Saturday night, whereas Tarnished take the stage indoors at 9:00 PM (21+, no cover).

With five acts there, it's doubtful that Ace will finish up before Tarnished, so if you want to keep the good times going, just head indoors to The Northern Pines Lounge afterwards! It's a wonder why Tarnished weren't booked as local openers when they play similar music and will already be there. Visit the above links for more details on Tarnished's St. Ignace shows this weekend, and for a preview, we have three videos to share from Tarnished's set during the Fourth of July parade in the Soo two weeks ago! Two were unfortunately uploaded to their Facebook page as "Reels" (pillarboxed, at that), and they include covers of AC/DC's "Highway To Hell" and Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Old Time Rock & Roll" filmed behind their float. Rhythm & Brews bandmates Chris Leask & Ron Suchey guested here on bass and drums, and neither was credited as playing with Tarnished at the parade in advance on social media (Parker played guitar here.)

Possibly owing to space limitations, Alex Traynor (vocals only) and Josh Fair (lead guitar) performed while walking alongside the float, which would be a neat way to experience the set for them and the audience! The other video is a 1:41-long livestream shot by Alex where Tarnished, Chris, and Ron covered AC/DC's "T.N.T.". Alex mostly filmed this in vertical selfie mode, but he did pan around to show parade viewers and some of the Independence Day scenery, and I'm glad the weather held out! The video is choppy with some laggy dropped-out audio, which is unfortunate, but it's the only one of the three that I can embed here, so check it out below, and don't miss Tarnished stationary in St. Ignace this weekend!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Rotaryfest Stage 2 preview (and more) on the site next! Thanks everyone!