LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Fyrbird & Tarnished) Plus Wednesday Night Sault Ontario Concert Previews!!

Today's post is half devoted to previews of two mid-week concert previews in Sault Ontario tomorrow, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for concerts in Michigan's E.U.P. next weekend during an upcoming festival!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished will reportedly be rocking The Northern Pines Lounge at their Kewadin Casino on Friday, June 5th and Saturday, June 6th! Kewadin's entertainment page has confirmed the bookings as part of their calendar updates through the end of next month, which is great to see, as Tarnished's own show announcements over the past seven months have all been with (at best) three days' notice. At least some venues get the word out prior! The classic/hard rock cover quartet had just played at The Driftwood there this past Saturday, which will be a good primer for their return two weeks later, and while not specified on Kewadin's end, this is a good weekend for Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron to be in town. Next weekend is the Bronco The Mac festival, where owners and fans of the Ford Bronco will congregate for a ride across the Mackinac Bridge, plus parades, a drone show, and more varied activities for truck owners and everyone else.

Whether intentionally timed for Bronco The Mac or not, Tarnished should get an attendance bump for their hard rock and classic covers, so keep things in mind whether you'll be around for the festival or just wanna hear some live music! As usual for Tarnished's stops at the regional Kewadin Casino lounges, next weekend's shows are at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, that's not all for fans in the Straits/Mackinac County next weekend, as Manistique hard rock cover duo Fyrbird will also return to the E.U.P. on Saturday, June 6th when they rock The Driftwood Sports Bar in St. Ignace! While not a common venue for our coverage, it just came up on the SMS the other day when I apologized for missing Tarnished's recent show there, but I am trying to keep better tabs on The Driftwood's own advertising, which is how I heard about this booking yesterday. We haven't heard of a new Fyrbird booking in our coverage area since Jamie & Rikk played at the St. Ignace Kewadin in March of last year, possibly complicated by lengthy schedules not being posted on their Facebook group recently, but I haven't seen any Kewadin shows on the casino's end either, so this may legitimately be their first show within an hour of the Soo in over a year. It will be good to see their minimalist and hard edged cover attack back next week!

The Driftwood's own advertising even mentions Bronco The Mac, so they're likely expecting an attendance bump next Saturday. Like with Tarnished, Fyrbird's show next month is a 21+ event with a 9:00 PM start time and no cover charge. See above for more on what should be a busy weekend in St. Ignace for live rock and Ford Bronco fans alike!

Now to previews of two special Wednesday concerts TOMORROW NIGHT in Sault Ontario, starting with the final concert of Piecing It Together Shows' nine month residency at their pop-up venue at 331 Wellington Street West! While music at the Steelton locale in this spell has either been not SMS-amenable or open mic/jam nights right along, the former Dryer Fire will end things a little heavier when Victoria, B.C. noise rock project Pet Retina and drummer Max Patterson's solo outfit i.o will both return to the Soo for the season closing concert! Fans last saw both Pet Retina and i.o here at Shae Tull's album release party in May of last year, but this time, they are the advertised headliners, and their brand of abrasive yet creative noise punk should turn heads again tomorrow! Local support includes comedy rock quartet The Floor Between Us (who I hope to talk about more soon) and online page-less experimental rock group A.D.H.D.

This all ages concert goes down tomorrow at 8:00 PM (it is projected to end at 11:00 PM for folks who work or have school in the morning), and $15 advance tickets remain available at this link. The door charge will jump to $20, but "no one (will be) turned away for lack of funds". This looks like a fun way to cap off a successful nine month stay on Wellington Street for Nicole and crew, so hopefully there's a solid turnout to welcome Pet Retina back to town tomorrow evening! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Pet Retina live!

Finally for today, if you want some mid-week hard rock concert action, you can also get it at Beck's Bar TOMORROW NIGHT via the return of fast rising local hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe! Why this is on a Wednesday, I truly don't know (the venue says they booked them mid-week "just because", but perhaps Beck's weekend slots are booked solid?). Regardless, this talented young group made their public debut at the Goulais Avenue nightclub to a strong reception in April, and kudos to Beck's on bringing them back for an encore! If you missed their ample videos from their debut, you can expect lots of heavy covers along with some rock classics and a bunch of really surprising pulls and deep cuts (especially for their ages), so keep things in mind if you're up for it! This will be a later night (9:00 PM-1:00 AM) with a 19+ age limit for attendees, and no announced cover charge. For a preview, we have a new video of 5.D.B. live!

While videos from their debut were plentiful, only one video from their second show (at Jay's Piston Broke Pub two weeks ago) was shared to their Facebook page, this time shot by bassist Randy Lundigran's dad Chad for his personal Facebook page. Continuing their impressive run of covers of bands that you do not see tackled locally, this sees 5 Dollar Bribe covering Husker Du's "Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely" with Randy on lead vocals.  Well framed from a close and horizontal vantage point, Randy captured a strong rendition of this post-hardcore staple, and when else are you going to see Bob Mould covered here? Check it out for yourselves below, and look for much more tomorrow night from 5 Dollar Bribe at Beck's!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Pet Retina & 5 Dollar Bribe), Convergence Videos, And More Recent Notes!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert(s?) in this weekend's concert previews, as Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished played at The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino last night. The band only announced the show yesterday morning, noting that "it's last minute for us too", and while unstated there, they were late replacements for St. John's country veterans The Louie Longoria Band following the passing of Louie's brother, as per their Facebook page. I do not know if Tarnished played at the casino on Friday also, but kudos to the guys for filling in late, and hopefully the show(s?) went well! And of course, our condolences go out to the Longoria family at this time.

Today's news post otherwise features some new videos and assorted recent updates, but let's lead off with two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this month in Sault Ontario, and we'll start with new local hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe, who will play their second public concert on Friday, May 15th at Jay's Piston Broke Pub! Another trip to the west end for this promising young group, who received a strong reception for their matinee debut at Beck's Bar last month, but unlike that concert, this Victoria Day long weekend show will be in Jay's usual 9:30 PM timeslot, so how will 5.D.B. go over at the former Roosevelt Hotel? Find out next weekend, but give their ample videos from the Beck's show a watch on their Facebook page to see what Jayce, Tyler, Randy, and Chase bring to the table! This is a 19+ show (5 Dollar Bribe members aside), I do not yet know who is playing on Saturday the 16th, and there is no cover. Visit the above links for more details on their sophomore gig!

Next up, Victoria, B.C. noise rock duo Pet Retina and drummer Max Patterson's solo project i.o will make their return to Sault Ste. Marie on Wednesday, May 27th to play at Piecing It Together Shows' pop-up venue in their last concert of the 2025-2026 season! As the former Dryer Fire have done a few times in the past, P.I.T.S. have rented a vacant space to serve as a short-term host venue since September, this time at 331 Wellington Street West (beside Angela Le Fashion and across from Bruni's Fine Foods). A nine month residency is pretty good, but in that span, Nicole and crew haven't really dipped into hard rock or punk territory aside from open mic hosts, so this will be a party to cap off their Steelton stint! Pet Retina & i.o last came here in May of last year to open for Shae Tull's album release party, and this will be Pet Retina's third local stop, and i.o's fourth. Should be some explosive sets of minimalist noise ahead, so keep this one in mind!

Local support will come by way of local comedy rock band The Floor Between Us (more on them soon) and new local experimental group A.D.H.D. (who I still know nothing about). This all ages concert goes down in just over three weeks at 8:00 PM with advance tickets going for $15, but as of this writing, the online ticket link is not live. Visit the official Facebook event page for updates in that regard, but the door charge will jump to $20. The event page also notes that no one (will be) turned away for lack of funds. Should be a fun and diverse capper to P.I.T.S.' pop-up run on Wellington Street West, despite the mid-week scheduling, so see above for more details!

Also today, here's the latest from local progressive metal quartet Convergence's YouTube channel, where they have been surprisingly active in the past month posting there like it is Facebook, even though you basically have to be subscribed to them to not have to seek the posts out yourself. Of note, they launched a poll last week asking for fan input on a new original song name, giving the options "Cooked/Chopped", "Ultraluminari", "I Hate My Day Job", and "Erode". Assuming these aren't joke titles, this confirms that their long-gestating self-titled album will have new originals and not just re-recordings and holdovers from their instrumental era, but if you want to pick your favourite name, do so above! Along with "new content, new music, and some heavy surprises on the way", three new vertical "Shorts" videos were posted there as well as on the band's Facebook page, so what can you see therein?

One is a vertical clip taken from Stephen's vocal tracking from their behind-the-scenes video from last month, so if you want the full upload in widescreen and without a "This chorus hits different" caption hard-coded on the video, watch that instead. Another just reuses the same promotional Soo Blaster video used in other "Shorts" seen on social media, this time following a jumpscare (with a warning, at least). Embedded below is the only new "Short", which gives us an alleged glimpse at what the band members hear in their in-ear monitors when recording their music. Amusing while it lasts, so give it a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Convergence soon!

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

 

• Some Facebook users may have seen a "Story" video shared from The Speak Easy's Facebook page showing newer local ska punk band A.S.D.P. playing at Friday night's Write-Ups concert there, but alas, as a "Story", I could only watch it once before it vanished forever, despite being the first public A.S.D.P. video that I have ever seen online. You'll have to take my word for it that the vertical video showed a second guitarist (wearing a Vanity First t-shirt) playing with Adam Smith Death Parade, but I didn't immediately recognize him, nor do I know if he was a new permanent member or just a guest. We'll let you know if something is confirmed!
• In a quiet announcement on his Facebook page on April 23rd, local hard rock solo musician Mike McCleary announced that the first single from his new album will be released to major streaming services on June 5th! The song is named "Carousel", and while I can't go back and check due to Mike delisting most of his back catalogue, this appears to be a re-recording of a song of the same name that he included on his 2018 EP "Hourglass" and its full-album expansion "Weight Of The World" (which I reviewed at the time). Stay tuned for the (re-?) release next month!
• At this year's Northern Ontario Music & Film Awards, Dustin Goodall has received his third nomination for Outstanding Engineer for his work producing local death metal trio Pillory's new album "Old Soul"! Dustin was previously nominated in this category in 2024 for producing both The Northwest's last EP and Handsome Sandwich's first album. He does great work at Unsalted Audio, so congratulations to Dustin and the other nominees! The winners will be announced on June 20th, and fellow local musicians Crystal Shawanda and Kalle Mattson have been nominated in other categories,

 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906, BookcluB, And Headrush), Plus A Monday Concert Preview!!

With a special Monday night concert to preview, let's fill things our with some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the summer, so here's what you should know as we kick off May 2025's last work week!

Local alternative/punk sextet BookcluB have announced their "summer series" via this picture on their Facebook page, so when will fans be able to see this supergroup next? In Prince Township on Thursday, June 12th, as they will be kicking off the summer concert series at the Prince Township Pavilion at 3042 Second Line West. Keep this one in mind if you're in Prince or are up for the hour's drive west! This all ages event has a $10 cover charge for attendees over 10 years of age (kids are free) and BookcluB take the stage at 7:00 PM. Two days later on Saturday the 14th, BookcluB will perform at this year's Beerfest Sault Ste. Marie Festival of Beer, with a musical lineup setting up shop at the Downtown Plaza while attendees buy and sample craft beer at this LopLops-curated outdoor event on Queen Street from 12:00-7:00 PM. We await confirmation of when exactly BookcluB are playing, who else is, and more finer details, so stay tuned!

While listed after their planned Rotaryfest Stage 1 return on Saturday, July 19th (I'm waiting for the full schedule reveal from organizers), they'll also previously return to Thomson Farms Cider & Winery on Sunday, June 22nd to serve as musical entertainment for their teddy bear picnic for a second straight year! Fun excuse to bring the family/kids to the farm to see their operations, enjoy kids entertainment and treats, and teddy bears are welcome! Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door, and it should start at 1:00 PM once again. BookcluB performed outdoors under a tent last year, so fingers crossed that the weather holds up for all three of these shows! Visit the above links for more on BookcluB's June concert slate!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will rock The Roberta Bondar Pavilion for the first time on Saturday, June 28th when they open for Toronto-based Eagles tribute band Hotel California! This has to be the biggest concert yet for Headrush, even if their own sound descriptions pin them as playing "80's music at its finest", whereas The Eagles broke up for the first time in 1980, but they'll cover a lot of bases that way! While The Eagles don't really fit the SMS' coverage (the occasional Don Felder or Joe Walsh song acknowledged), Hotel California will be a familiar tribute band for fans, having played at The Sault Community Theater Center multiple times in the past, most recently in December, and they have been a touring presence in Canada for decades. Fans of classic rock and country rock should have a ball next month, so keep this outdoor-ish show under the big downtown tent in mind!

This is absolutely an all ages show with a 7:00 PM start time, and tickets are on sale at this link for $37.27 apiece. Visit the above links and this SooToday press release for more details on this concert, and don't miss Headrush at The Esquire Club this weekend, previews forthcoming!

Also upcoming on Saturday, June 28th is the return of Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quintet Project 906 to The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley! The band has yet to publically confirm this booking on social media, but Bay Mills' website's calendar lists the date, complete with this poster advertising it on its own event profile page (the band photo used doesn't include hand drummer Brian Duford, but I wouldn't read anything into that, as that was the casino's call to reuse an older band photo). Project 906 were last seen live in Hessel earlier this month, with their Brimley gig next month being their first at The Back Bay Grill since early April. Hopefully a strong turnout of hard rock fans gives Project 906 a solid reception for their quality rocking covers at Bay Mills next month! As usual for concerts there, this is a 21+ event with a 9:00 PM start time and no cover. See above for more details!

Finally for today, here's a special Monday night concert preview for TONIGHT, as Victoria, British Columbia noise rock duo Pet Retina and drummer Max Patterson's solo project i.o will both return to Sault Ontario, this time at The Art Hub At Spring! This special concert will see the touring bands opening for a local artist, that being outsider folk musician Shae Tull, who is launching her new album "Statues Of Teeth On Every Street Corner" following its digital release in March. Hopefully Shae gets a great response for the new material, and check everything out on Bandcamp! Readers may recall seeing Pet Retina & i.o here just over a year ago when they rocked The March Street Stage (which, like The Art Hub, is technically on Queen Street East), but now they get to take their creative original music indoors, and hopefully old and new fans alike take to the noise rock cacophony ahead tonight!

Promoted by Piecing It Together Shows (née Dryer Fire), this all ages concert has an advertised start time of 7:15 PM on the Facebook event page, and admission is $15 or "pay what you can" (last May's i.o/Pet Retina show was strictly "pay what you can" but remember that it was outdoors and had no local album release attached). The work night scheduling isn't ideal, but it should end early, and it'll definitely be a unique night of talented noise and outsider music, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Pet Retina & i.o live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Who Made Who & Pet Retina), Convergence Updates, And More!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for missing a late notice concert in this past weekend's concert previews, as local classic/hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison played at The Dive Gastro Pub on Saturday night, replacing acoustic rock duo Dodge This. A reason for the late lineup change wasn't publically announced by the venue or musicians, but Tym only launched the Facebook event page for the gig earlier that day at 1:03 PM, so it must have fell into place late. Hopefully Tym's show went well, apologies again, and hopefully we see Dodge This back out there soon!

Now, today's post otherwise has LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming months, updates from a local metal band, and some new original material, but let's start with the new shows, as Victoria, British Columbia noise rock/synth duo Pet Retina and drummer Max Patterson's solo project i.o will both return to the Soo on Monday, May 26th at The Art Hub At Spring! These two creative acts last came here to rock The March Street Stage (which, like the Art Hub, is technically on Queen Street) in May of last year, but their return just over a year later will actually be as support bands for local outsider folk musician Shae Tull, as this show is the release party for her new album "Statues Of Teeth On Every Street Corner", which came out digitally last month. No word on if there will be physical copies, but hopefully Shae gets a strong response to the new material at the show and in general!

Noise rock fans will take to Pet Retina and i.o in their opening sets, so don't be late for all of this diverse action next month! The first SMS-amenable concert booking of 2025 for Piecing It Together Shows (née Dryer Fire), doors open for this all ages concert at 7:00 PM, and tickets run for $15 at this link (at the door, admission is via a "pay what you can" model). Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on this intriguing concert!

Next up, the headline band for this year's Rotaryfest Stage 1 at Clergue Park on Saturday, July 19th has been announced, and unlike in recent years, you may know them from prior local headlining dates, namely Toronto-based AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who! High voltage rock n' roll fans may recall seeing Who Made Who last when they rocked the former Canadian Nightclub in November 2019, after previously playing at least four prior local gigs dating back to at least 2010. We've seen multiple different AC/DC tributes here in the past decade, but Who Made Who always delivered the goods in the past, and how does an outdoor nighttime concert on the big stage at Rotaryfest sound for their return after 5+ years? We await full confirmation of the Rotaryfest lineup on any stage, as applications for local bands are still ongoing until April 16th, so click here for details on how you can get consideration for 2025!

As per this SooToday press release, the full musical lineups for the Sault's summer festival will be released in "late May", which would beat last year's June unveiling if that holds. Who Made Who would likely take the stage on July 19th at 8:30 PM, with a local cover band closing out the night & festival at 10:30m if things are the way they were in eight of the past ten years. Rotaryfest is FREE & ALL AGES as usual. This has to be the heaviest touring headliner that Rotaryfest has ever had on the big Clergue Park stage, so definitely stay tuned for more updates on this year's stage lineups!

Finally, here's the latest from local progressive/djent metal band Convergence, starting with the long awaited confirmation of their newest member, as they have enlisted singer Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio into their lineup. Steve's biggest band role that I'm aware of is as co-lead vocalist in the local disco tribute band The Saturday Nights, but his tenor vocal range has been put to good use in multiple local stage productions, most notably when he played Frankie Valli in last year's production of Jersey Boys. That's a demanding role in & of itself, but how will he handle metal? Stephen actually joined Convergence as far back as December, as per this Sault Star article from Brian Kelly which focused on guitarist Brendan Christie's own Woodward Avenue Studios (née Yellow Room Studios), but elaborated on how they decided to add him to the group. The article is a good read, and Brendan does quality work for original artists!

As for Convergence at large, they are continuing the lead-up towards their live debut at The Pit at Soo Blaster on April 18th, and have continued posting "Reels" to their Facebook page to hype their preparation process for the concert (just a reminder, "Reels" are unembeddable on external websites). Four new ones have been posted since we last left off with Convergence on March 24th, with the March 25th "Reel" features what they call "more writing/arrangement shenanigans" where they're working through how many choruses that one of their songs should have. Four days later, guitarist Jake Valois revealed in this "Reel" that "the drums are tracked", their live setlist is finalized, tickets for The Pit are selling well, Steve is writing and helping finalize lyrics, and the band was planning to rehearse with their full live rig last week. On Sunday, that "Reel" saw the guys setting up their gear at the Algoma Conservatory of Music.

Their newest "Reel" from yesterday has Stephen jokingly (thank goodness) promoting Convergence's official cryptocurrency and also playing piano, before we see out first rehearsal video of the band in action as a four piece, albeit not for long. These "Reels" tend to end abruptly, and who knows what content they're leaving on the editing room floor, but it looks like progress is making its way up for Steve, Brendan, Jake, and David, and here's hoping their live debut is a hit! Visit the above links for more from Convergence, and that's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS as this week continues! Thanks everyone!

More Hard Rock/Punk Concert Previews For This Weekend!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to acknowledge that Wyld Stallyns/ex-Elements singer/guitarist Rob Speers played a late notice & rare solo concert at The Dive Gastro Pub (formerly Low & Slow) yesterday as part of their new "Think It Over Thursday" series featuring acoustic musicians. I'm not sure that I would have been able to cover it before it happened given how crammed this weekend is, but I am also not entirely sure if Rob's solo set was just a solo Stallyns/Elements show or if he played things softer for genre all around. Regardless, I hope his debut at The Dive went well!
 

Now, let's finish up this weekend's hard rock/punk concert previews by looking at Sault Ontario concerts taking place solely tomorrow or on Sunday (anyone that played on Thursday or yesterday is noted in the post below this one), and we'll start with three Saturday matinees, including local acoustic classic/hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison, whose bi-weekly arrangement at Misty's Fifties marches on for another installment TOMORROW! Unless things get extended, Tym only has two more shows left in this series at the Second Line West nightclub, both next month, so if you want to take in Tym's hard rocking solo covers and professional production, head west! As usual for his shows at Misty's, this is a 4:00 PM matinee with a likely 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night day only TOMORROW! While originally advertised by the band as a normal nighttime concert at the Dennis Street nightclub, Shooters has since confirmed that this show will actually be a 5:00 PM matinee, so keep the earlier timeframe in mind if you want to enjoy Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre's blend of classic and hard rock covers! Of course, this is a one-nighter due to Shooters' Friday DJ nights this year, and while Shooters said on their Facebook that "we're shaking things up" with Generations' "first matinee" there, the earlier scheduling is actually to accommodate a second concert tomorrow night from Sudbury adult contemporary singer Ashley Woodruff, who also played at Shooters last July. While Generations' concert is considered a separate event and not as Ashley's openers, neither show has a cover charge if you wanna hit both.

Generations will take the stage from 5:00-9:00 PM tomorrow, while Ashley's distinct later concert begins at 9:30 PM. Obviously, both events are 19+. Hopefully things go well a little earlier for Generations, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are live!

There is some punk-leaning nighttime action to take in TOMORROW as well, as local folk punk/emo solo project Agnosticism (whose only social media account is on Instagram) will be headlining at The Distraction! As far as I know, this will be Agnosticism's first public local concert since releasing their new EP "A Letter Of Resignation" earlier this spring, so this could be considered the de facto release party for it (our review of said EP is coming in the next week). Project leader/prolific local punk guitarist Mikhal Muto is no stranger to the East Street venue, and he should have some entertaining folk punk originals in store for fans tomorrow! This all acoustic solo performer show will be opened by The Floor Between Us frontman Colin Gasparelli (who opened for Jackal Blood at The Distraction in February) and Mikhal's Vanity First bandmate Andrew Beggs (a.k.a. "Andrew Keith") in a rare solo set of his own.

I don't know how Andrew solo will differ from Vanity beyond being unplugged, but a wide array of sounds should be on offer tomorrow! While also a matinee, this has the latest start time of the three shows previewed here (6:00 PM). Unlike the above events however, The Distraction is an all ages venue and admission for this show is under a "$5 or pay-what-you-can" model. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Agnosticism live a couple of years back!

Finally, we'll take things to the slightly misnamed March Street Stage (beside June & Friends Hair Salon at 485 Queen Street East) for an eclectic outdoor concert on SUNDAY NIGHT from local promoters Piecing It Together Shows (née Dryer Fire) in their first hard rock-featured booking of the year! The headliners tomorrow are Victoria, British Columbia noise rock/synth duo Pet Retina in their local concert debut, though drummer Max Patterson played here for Dryer Fire last June at The Drawing Club on Bruce Street under his solo project handle i.o (concert promotion is treating this as "i.o. & Pet Retina so there is a possibility that i.o will have a separate set). Pet Retina have a strong and sometimes wild brand of noise rock, so don't miss out on something different on Sunday! Local support will include "noise art" project Hinterbrane, led by local artist Michael Burtch performing alongside Frank Deresti (of Lake Effect fame) and Annie King.

As well, cryptic local anti-folk/Americana act Tye Lawless Co. (also playing at the It's The Pits Festival in Leeburn in July) will be opening here. Sunday's festivities begin at 6:00 PM, this is definitely all ages, and this is strictly a "pay what you can" event with no recommended cover charge. Weather-wise, it's too soon for an hourly forecast as of this writing, but 9&10 News is currently calling for mostly cloudy weather with a 10% chance of rain and 20° temperatures on Sunday. Of course, keep tabs on the local forecast as we get closer to showtime. Visit the above links for more on the first hard rock-featured P.IT.S. show post-renaming, and for a preview of Sunday's action, here's Pet Retina live!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by pet retina🔇 (@pet.retina)

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (i.o), Matthew Good Concert Fallout, New Videos, And More!!

Before we dive into weekend concert previews and look at the recent lineup announcements for two big summer concert festivals on the outskirts of town, let's cover some recent news and notes on the site today, including new videos, recent updates, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you should know!

The first hard rock-leaning concert of 2024 from local promoters Piecing It Together Shows (née Dryer Fire) takes place at the somewhat misleadingly named March Street Stage (beside June & Friends Hair Salon at 485 Queen Street East) on Sunday, May 26th, and will see the return of Victoria, British Columbia experimental noise project i.o to the Soo! Readers may recall seeing i.o headline at The Drawing Club on Bruce Street during the then-Dryer Fire's summer concert series in June, but they're heading outdoors for their local encore. Max isn't playing alone this time though, as advertising indicates that he's performing in/alongside Pet Retina, an also-Victoria-based noise rock duo that will be an intriguingly eclectic group to take in next month! Local support includes Hinterbrane (a "noise art" project led by artist Michael Burtch) and local folk/Americana band The Tye Lawless Co., who opened for Catriona Sturton for Dryer Fire last year.

This all ages concert takes place at 6:00 PM on May 26th, and admission is under a "pay what you can" model. Definitely a diverse range of entertainment to take in next month, but it'll end heavily and creatively with i.o and/or Pet Retina (weather permitting?), so visit the official Facebook event page for more details! Also, stay tuned for updates on the It's The Pits festival that the promoters are holding in Leeburn on Saturday, June 22nd, especially if hard rock/punk-leaning bands are playing! Yes, I am well aware of Crucifest in Leeburn too, we are waiting for public promotion to start before plugging it here.

Next up, you may be wondering where our fallout coverage of the Matthew Good concert at The Machine Shop on April 14th has been. Honestly, public videos from the show have not been plentiful whatsoever, but SooToday's Donna Hopper was back to cover it for this article, picking up 16+ years after his contentious acoustic show at The Speak Easy in 2007 that she also covered. Thankfully for all involved, this concert went off without a hitch, and while Donna didn't go into great detail about the show, there was apparently "a lively sing-along" of his Matthew Good Band hit "Hello Time Bomb". It's great to see that bygones are now bygones (now if only we can get Danko Jones back here!). Donna took thirteen colour photos on the 14th, nine of Matthew and his band, and four of openers... Silent 9? Yes, the local classic/hard rock cover quartet were tapped as late notice openers three days before showtime!

They replaced planned opening act Vilivant, who is still on tour with Matthew Good but did not play at the local date for unannounced reasons, and never acknowledged why they didn't play in the Soo. After dropping out of the Big Wreck tour last fall (including its local date), are we snakebit re: Vilivant playing here? Hopefully she and the band come to the Soo at some point! Silent 9 did post a video on their Facebook page featuring clips of multiple songs from their set, but unfortunately, it is A. vertically shot and B. a "Reel", so I can't embed it here. Everyone sounds good while the clips last, co check it out at the above links!

Also today, you may have seen scattered plugs on social media that local punk trio Hails were playing a show in Bay City, Michigan on April 6th, and that event did take place! It's very rare to see Sault Ontario bands play in the US, let alone not in Sault Michigan, but clearly Ha!ls did the paperwork and followed the rules they needed to! Even if it was local, the show was not something that I likely would have covered as normal, as the venue ("The We/Us House") is not a public venue with a freely posted address. Even the other bands (Rot Knot, Piss Soup, and Unabomb) had cryptically designed logos as far as name readability. The Vanity First side project were filmed in Bay City (outside of Saginaw) by attendee "Fish" playing for 60 seconds, and while the video was horizontally shot, it was regrettably uploaded in vertical dimensions with pillarboxing, which is why it's so tiny and sandwiched by black bars.

As uploaded to their Facebook page, the video shows Hails dipping a bit into thrash with the intensity on offer, and while I wish they'd uploaded this horizontally like it was filmed, it's a strong video overall! Just watch it in full screen for best results. Hails have also announced that they're heading to Toronto for the first time to play at the Humber River Art & Music Festival on August 24th, which will be a huge opportunity for Brent, Mikhal, and Keeghan, so click here for details on that booking, and check out their Bay City concert video for yourselves below!

Finally, here's the latest from St. Ignace, Michigan metalcore band Heavy Lies The Crown, so what have they been up this month? Last week, they shared this image on their Facebook page that heavily implies that they're releasing a new single named "Marble Skin" in the near future, which will be their first new song since Nathan Switzer returned to the band to replace Ted Olson as lead guitarist. A string of social media application logos was included, but take that with a grain of salt re: the song's availability, as I don't think Pinterest and Instagram are known as music streaming platforms. A new video featuring drummer Jaxon Massaway (clearly before or after work) was also posted on April 2nd to hype up their next announced concert, where they will open for Born Of Osiris and many other metal bands at The Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac on May 26th.

I can't embed the video here, as Facebook content matched audio used in it from the headliners in the generic promotional video for the show at large that followed Jaxon's plug, but it gets the job done to hype what will be a huge night for fans downstate or locally who are willing to make the 4-5 hour drive! Click here to watch the video, see above for more from H.L.T.C., and look for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!