LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Greg Simpson & Dos Amigos) And The ARCH Run Concert Preview!!

Today's post got somewhat rushed and altered thanks to not one, but two SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for TONIGHT, so those lead off today along with our preview of a returning charity concert on Saturday, so here's what you should know as our weekend concert previews roll on!

Local acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will make their apparent debut at Thomson Farms Cider & Winery for an outdoor patio concert TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced via this AI generated poster on the winery's Facebook page last night, and it appears to have been relatively late notice in conception, as it's not on the band's summer concert calendar from Instagram on July 3rd. The 4057 Third Line West winery has been hosting occasional live unplugged musicians for Thursday evening concerts this summer, and it makes sense that Dos Amigos would step in for at least one of them, as singer/guitarists Mikey Hawdon and Dustin Jones played at Thomson Farms' teddy bear picnic in June 2024 and 2025 with BookcluB (such an event did not happen last month). Despite the late notice, hopefully there's a decent turnout TONIGHT for Dos Amigos' acoustic punk covers!

Thomson Farms are also hyping up having appetizers on sale, as well as seven different kinds of cider, so keep that in mind if that's your thing! This concert takes place TONIGHT from 6:00-9:00 PM with a presumed 19+ age limit given the winery aspect, and no announced cover charge. As this is on the patio, 9&10 News is calling or partly cloudy to clear skies TONIGHT with 22-23° temperatures. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Dos Amigos live (albeit indoors!)

Next up, Bone Yard 225 frontman Greg Simpson will bring his "Ranting Rockstar" solo show back to The Dive Gastro Pub for a "Think It Over Thursday" concert TONIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, Greg only announced the show via his personal Facebook page yesterday (he doesn't have a public page for his solo concerts that I am aware of), and while The Dive did finally confirm the booking on their Facebook page this afternoon, that's more than many of their concert bookings have gotten in recent months. TONIGHT's concert will be indoors in "The Naughty Corner", and if you're familiar with Bone Yard's "uncorked" gigs (let alone The Bearded Lounge), expect more of the same, just with Greg alone, though note that Soundcheck's Travis Sharpe has guested with him at the former Low & Slow before, and is a credited guest for Greg's set at the Maddy's Mighty Mutts family fun day in two weeks. Be there TONIGHT to see if he shows up again!

In case you're curious, Bone Yard 225 are playing at a stag & doe on Saturday night, which is listed on their website's calendar, but with rare exceptions, I don't cover stags & does as "concerts" here (even if ticketed) due to their hyper-personal nature. They'll next play proper public concerts next weekend at Beck's Bar, but TONIGHT'S "Ranting Rockstar" show is at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details! The only public videos of Greg's solo dates that I can find are via The Dive, which now content matches their videos' audio as being their own, so embedding videos from their Facebook page now doesn't work.

Finally for weekend concert preview post #2 is an event that thankfully had lots of advance notice, namely the third annual ARCH Run takes place on SATURDAY outside of Jay's Piston Broke Pub! After last year's ARCH Run bizarrely never had a public schedule release, we now know exactly which bands will be rocking out to support the Algoma Regional Community Hospice as bikers make their annual rally through Sault Ste. Marie. Of course, if you want to pledge donations to ARCH or ride in the rally proper, or get details on the draw for a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle, click here. Numerous vendors will also be on site on this closed section of Korah Road for all of today's action! And just to clear up any confusion, this is the only ARCH motorcycle rally/concert this year, as the Dragonfly Run (which the ARCH Run splintered off from in 2024) ended last month, and click here for more on that decision from their organizers. 

Musically speaking, there will be a nightcap inside Jay's once again, this time by country rock cover band Elly McWatters & The Drifters at 9:30 PM, but outdoors, your headliners are young local hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe, another high profile set or them as they continue building their local name and reputation! Country cover veterans (and 2024 ARCH Run performers) Tex Riviera & The Ride will take the stage at 7:00 PM, preceded by newer classic rock cover quartet Doo & The Boyos at 6:00 PM (if there will be a Stones At The Alter sidequest then, it's not in the advertising). New local alt-hard rock band Riverside Stasis will play their third public concert set (and penultimate gig with rhythm guitarist Liam Dinsmore) at 5:00 PM, while 1960s-themed classic rock band Whiskey Hippy are on at 4:00 PM. Prolific local drummer Chris Johns will hop on guitar for a reunion of his early 1990s local band The Korner Monsters at 3:00 PM.

If you're friends of his on Facebook, head there to see archival video of this band, and it will be interesting to hear how they go over on Saturday, or if this leads to more concerts! Chris will joined by singer/guitarist Rusty Barrel, bassist Dave Konkin, and drummer Jim Edwards, and they will be playing 1980s-1990s alt rock covers. Your openers are local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith and his Big Finish Band in his first proper advertised local date of 2026, and of course, most of his band will be playing at night's end with Elly & The Drifters, so they have a big day ahead! While donations and pledges are encouraged, attending the ARCH Run and the indoor nightcap is free, and the outdoor festivities are all ages. In terms of the weather, 9&10 News is currently calling for overcast to mostly cloudy skies with a high of 23°, and as of the current forecast, the rain expected on Saturday morning should be done prior to Mike's opening set. 

Supporting ARCH and the work they do for those dealing with cancer is always a wonderful reason to come out for events like this and help out, and kudos to everyone for donating their time! While it is unfortunate that the Dragonfly Run isn't back this year, I am very glad that there is still an outdoor concert festival and motorcycle rally to raise money for ARCH, and hopefully there's a great turnout on Saturday, especially with the comfortable temperatures hopefully continuing! Visit the above links for more on ARCH Run III, and here's 5 Dollar Bribe live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned next for our Go North Music Festival and Sandman previews, and the Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands and Sunday's all-local Blaster concert are also in queue! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (ARCH Run & Quite Frankly!!)

This news post had some big changes while it was being written, thanks to a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month for a wonderful cause, but first, here's another new show and a related update from a talented foursome who suddenly have a high profile July ahead!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly will return to Beck's Bar for one night only on Saturday, July 11th! The band announced the show on their Facebook page on Sunday as a secondary note in a post thanking everyone for seeing them at The Water Tower Pub the previous night, and it's always good to get advance word of shows at Beck's on a band's end! This will be a 9:30 PM event with a 19+ age limit and no cover as usual. While we're on the subject, Quite Frankly made a big announcement yesterday, as they will make their Rotaryfest Stage 1 debut on Friday, July 17th at 8:00 PM! There has been lineup shuffling to create this opening, as local Tragically Hip tribute band The Luxury have quietly dropped out of the closing 10:30 PM set on Saturday the 18th (I have not heard a public reason as to why). Festival organizers opted to move classic rock trio The Sidekicks into that timeslot instead.

As The Sidekicks were originally the 8:00 PM Friday band, that timeslot became available, so kudos to Linsaey, Frank, Harley, and Joe for stepping in to play the Soo's summer festival! Quite Frankly will be the third-to-last band that night, only behind headlining North Bay classic rockers Just Press Play and local veterans Headrush. Click here for the updated Rotaryfest Stage 1 schedule, hopefully all is well with The Luxury, and visit the above links for more on Quite Frankly's plans over the next month!

Next up, the full band lineup for the third annual ARCH Run at Jay's Piston Broke Pub has been announced! The annual Algoma Regional Community Hospice fundraiser motorcycle rally will take place on Saturday, July 25th, and along with the rally proper that starts and ends at the former Roosevelt Hotel, there will be a draw for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. If you want to take part as a rider and/or pledge for a great cause, click here. After not plugging a band schedule last year despite reportedly hosting live music all day and night (Bourbon Blue played inside Jay's as the nightcap), Jay's have mercifully publicized a schedule for 2026, albeit via an AI-generated poster on their Facebook page. Country rock cover quintet Elly McWatters & The Drifters will serve as the indoor closing band this year at 9:30 PM, but the rest of the bands will be playing outside on Korah Road, so who all can you expect for the ARCH Run on July 25th?

The closing outdoor band at 8:00 PM will be young hard rock cover quartet 5 Dollar Bribe, in what may be their highest profile gig yet, so keep this one in mind! They'll be preceded by country rock cover veterans Tex Riviera & The Ride (who played the ARCH Run in 2024) at 7:00 PM, with newer classic rock quartet Doo & The Boyos taking the stage at 6:00 PM. No sign of Stones At The Alter in the advertising here, for the record. New local alt-hard rock quintet Riverside Stasis will play another outdoor summertime gig at 5:00 PM (we'll have more on WestFest II when the full lineup goes live), preceded by acoustic 1960s classic rock duo Whiskey Hippy at 4:00 PM. A mystery band named The Korner Monsters are scheduled for 3:00 PM, and while I have zero idea who they are, note that 2024 had a mystery band too (The Hoovers, who ended up being most of Soundcheck with a singer from their old open mic nights).

Could The Korner Monsters be similar? We'll let you know when/if we hear anything! Lastly, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith (or, if you believe the AI bot, Mike Haggath) will kick off the music schedule at 2:00 PM, presumably with The Big Finish Band in tow. Most are playing with The Drifters that night anyway! Nicely varied lineup of music with a lot of hard rock to go around, and kudos to everyone for donating their time to support ARCH! Attending the concert will be free, but donations and pledges would be absolutely welcomed if you are able. The outdoor portion will be all ages, but you'll have to be 19+ to see Elly & The Drifters inside. If you're wondering, this will be the only ARCH benefit rally/concert this year, as the Dragonfly Run (the former Ride For ARCH that was held at Jay's in 2023 before things split in two between venue & organizers) has ended after a decade-long run, as per this statement last month.

Co-organizer Marcy Catherine D'Ettore said that "we have a lot on our plate right now", and that "I don't feel (that) I can give (the Run) the amount of time, effort, and care that it deserves this year, and something this meaningful should never be done halfway". While not mentioned directly, Marcy and her husband (Bone Yard 225 guitarist Alex D'Ettore) lost their daughter Ally in the spring, which must have played a factor into where priorities lie. Marcy & Alex did a lot for ARCH and the community with this ride, and at least they're ending things on a high note in terms of what they did accomplish! Visit the above links for more on the ARCH Run, and look or more news and notes on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Bone Yard 225

After a slight delay, here's this month's YouTube Channel Profile, as we again take a look at a randomly selected YouTube channel whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk musicians/concerts! This month, we drew a channel from a prominent veteran local band who have been hard at work in the 2020s, so here's what you should know!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bone Yard 225 (http://youtube.com/boneyard225)

Owner: Likely Bone Yard 225 singer/drummer and local graphic designer/event organizer Greg Simpson

Channel Timeline: Launched on June 5th, 2024; Videos posted from the following month through January 2025

Channel Summary: Though active locally since their 2009 beginnings as a country cover band, Bone Yard only launched their own YouTube channel in 2024, coinciding with their expansion into original songwriting as a southern/hard rock trio. Their channel includes three lyric videos for their three released studio tracks so far, a brief clip from the 2024 Dragonfly Run featuring their music, and a teaser for a radio interview.

Why You Should Watch: "Boneheads" will likely be mostly interested in this channel for the YouTube copies (with lyrics!) of their original songs, as the Dragonfly Run video features one of those songs again and the interview teaser obviously doesn't have the full recording. While the guys haven't visibly updated this channel in over a year, your local 225 are far more active for posting and sharing videos on their Facebook page, and (recent break acknowledged) are still active, so hopefully we see some more YouTube activity and original music when the time is right!

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

Dragonfly Run: Bone Yard 225 are well known for their charitable involvement in Sault Ste. Marie, including performing at and promoting the annual Dragonfly Run (née Ride For ARCH), which made its debut at its current Grand Gardens homebase in August 2024. In their second upload to YouTube, the band shared this video of motorcycle riders hitting the road from the Grand Gardens to kick off that year's proper rally, with their debut original song "F.A.F.O." as backing music. complete with on-screen text to thank all involved. Kudos to Greg, Kerry, the rest of the band, and all staff and volunteers for supporting the hospice for so long!

 

 

Gypsy Spell Lyric Video: The three studio original songs posted here include the aforementioned "F.A.F.O." and "The F Word" (originally named "Fuck!"), but the most popular and longest of the three is "Gypsy Spell" from January 2025. Another lyric video, this features a slideshow of live photos, fans, logos, and promotional images, with the song being about being seduced by a woman under the titular spell. As on the other songs here, Greg is joined by guitarist Alex D'Ettore and bassist Warren Reville. I'll hold comment on this song proper pending our review of Bone Yard's album-in-progress, but fans of "the dirty three" will enjoy the danceable hard rock on offer!

 

 

Bone Yard 225 on the "Smart as Trees" Podcast on theborderline.ca radio!!! Wed Jan 29th @ 12 noon!: The title of this video does a lot of the explaining on its own, but this 67 seconds-long teaser (their last YouTube upload to date) features a slideshow of photos relating to Bone Yard's appearance on local internet radio station The Borderline, where they were interviewed by Adrian Vilaca for an episode of Smart As Trees. The band used "F.A.F.O." as backing music again, but spoken word studio bumpers that Greg, Alex, and Warren recorded at the time are also layered in. This was an informative 40-minute interview that outlines their then-current status and future aims well, if with some adult language, so give it a listen on demand above!

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, our latest randomly selected channel is that of Woodward Avenue Studios, the locally based recording studio owned and utilized by members of Convergence, so look for that on or around May 26th, and stay tuned for more news and this month's CD review soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Hot Girls), Plus The Mike Haggith & Napoleon Concert Previews!!

A busy weekend is upon us to end September 2025 with, so we'll have to break things up into three posts once again! As such, our previews of Wolf Fest, Outspoken Brewing's Oktoberfest, and Bone Yard 225  & Tym Morrison's next shows are slated for our next post, with Double Down's Saturday nighter coming after that. Look for all of those shortly, but let's lead off our previews with some downtown shows tonight and tomorrow, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Grand Rapids punk/power pop trio The Hot Girls will make their local concert debut TONIGHT at The Whisky Barrel! Apologies for the short notice, this show was announced with time to spare on September 16th via the venue's Facebook page, but between The Whisky Barrel not being an SMS staple and the band not seeming amenable to our coverage on sight, I didn't jump the gun at the time. A well travelled touring band with a clear sense of humour, The Hot Girls' upbeat brand of original rock should find a willing audience TONIGHT, so don't miss out on what should be a fun concert with riffs and laughs at the Gore Street-based Scottish pub! Unusually for a show with a touring band, TONIGHT'S concert is FREE, but it is definitely a 19+ booking with an 8:00 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details on TONIGHT's show, and for a preview, check them out on Bandcamp! I honestly can't find a live concert video of theirs to embed here.

Next up, remember how there was supposed to be a battle of the bands TOMORROW at the Downtown Plaza featuring Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band? Well, the battle has been turned into a normal concert, with Mike & crew now headlining! The plaza nor 705 Live Sound Co. have elaborated on the reason for the changes, but I can only assume that band signups weren't terribly high (remember, there hasn't been a battle on this side of the border in eight years), so organizers are turning lemons into lemonade by hosting a normal concert with who signed up. As such, this will be The Big Finish Band's first concert since the Dragonfly Run, and perhaps their last outdoor gig of the year given that it's now the fall, so consider coming out to the Downtown Plaza for all of the action! Online page-less space rock duo The Spaceship Opening will (fittingly) be opening tomorrow, so don't miss Andrew and Ralph to lead things off this evening!

No word on if The Spaceship Opening had signed up for the battle too, though I wonder if the promised $200 voucher will be given to one/both bands? Tomorrow's concert will be a FREE event at 7:00 PM and it is definitely ALL AGES. With the outdoor locale at the Downtown Plaza (covered stage acknowledged), 9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy skies with a temperature hovering around 16°. While it is a shame that the battle proper isn't taking place, kudos to everyone involved for keeping the show going, even on a work/school night! Visit the official Facebook event page for more on tomorrow's special concert, and for a preview, here's some brand new videos of Mike & The Big Finish Band live! They had cameras rolling at the Dragonfly Run in spite of the rainy forecast on August 24th, and while they had protection from the elements, it looks like the weather held up enough!

At the annual ARCH Hospice motorcycle rally outside of The Grand Gardens North, Mike had multiple cameras set up to film their sets (click here to check out their full setlist from that day), and while I don't know if we'll be seeing more from the Dragonfly Run, two videos were shared to Mike's Facebook page of him and the band playing "Carousel" and, as embedded below, "An Act Of Strength".  Strong performances as you'd expect from Mike, Chris, Elly, Matt, and Brandan, so look for more of the same (and with better weather) tonight at the Downtown Plaza!

Finally for this preview post, we'll head to Soo Blaster TOMORROW NIGHT for the local concert debut of Toronto post-hardcore quartet Napoleon! Headlining the fourth show from local promoters Heavy North Entertainment since their relaunch last year, Napoleon bring an in-your-face blend of punk, screamo, and metal to the table in their intense live attack, so come on down tomorrow to jump in the pit! The opener lineup has drastically changed since this show was first announced in July, with the original roster of four local bands dropping to three, with only one band (online page-less metal quintet The Sault Side Squad) surviving throughout. Originally, the openers were also to include promoter Tyler St. Amour's dormant death metal band Bardo, progressive metal quartet Convergence, and Instagram-only hard rock quartet Maynard Hayes, but all three have quietly dropped out for unannounced reasons. Hopefully all is well with all three bands!

In their place, fans will get to see veteran hard rock quartet Half Past in their first show since May (and a rare turn for them opening for a touring band), as well as party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty in their first of two Soo Blaster gigs in an eight day span. Still a solid and diverse lineup, so don't be late tomorrow! The aforementioned 705 Live Sound Co. will be at the controls for this ALL AGES show, which has an early runtime of 5:00-10:00 PM, and tickets run for $12.75 in advance at this link or $20 at the door. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Napoleon live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Nameless), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

Before we begin this weekend's non-Northern Vibe Festival weekend concert previews, we have cancellations to take note of, as Sault Michigan hard rock band Exit 808 are not playing at The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino tonight and tomorrow night. The band revealed on their Facebook page earlier today that they made the decision to drop out due to the Soo Kewadin not allowing bassist Blaze Beairl into the bar due to being underage (he's only entering grade 10). Blaze wasn't a permanent member of Exit 808 when they last played there in January, and the band said that "we're just not feeling comfortable stepping onto the stage" without a full lineup, so this may have been a short notice decision once the casino realized that a teenager was in the band. Exit 808 have played shows without Blaze this year, including at Musicians Unite in March, but if this was a late call, it'd be tough to get a guest fill-in for this weekend anyway.

Based on the photo shared with the announcement, ex-guitarist Nathan Webber is pictured, but I don't know if that's a giveaway that he'd have played this weekend or not. Also, the band did note that the St. Ignace Kewadin and Bay Mills have exempted Blaze for concerts at their lounges despite being casinos, but keep all this in mind, as if The Rapids Lounge don't budge, we might not see Exit 808 back there with Blaze in tow until 2031! I don't know if a late replacement band was signed or not. Stay tuned for more from Exit 808, but let's start our previews with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, with a missed concert apology to follow!

Local hard rock quartet The Nameless will return to The Merchants Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced via the band's Facebook page yesterday, and true to form, The Merch's Facebook page has not acknowledged the gig whatsoever. Fresh off of their tent-protected outdoor show in Goetzville this past Saturday, this will be their first public date in Sault Ste. Marie proper since rocking The Merch at the end of May. According to their Facebook page, TOMORROW'S show will be The Nameless' last before "we take a little break to focus in a bit and spice up the setlist", so if you're a fan of Joshua, Michael, Mike, and Jamie's hard rocking covers, come down to The Merch, as I don't know how little this break will be! The Nameless are up TOMORROW at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are live!

Now to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will hit the stage for another solo acoustic concert at The Fraternal Order of Eagles Club TOMORROW NIGHT, but sadly, we missed a show of his last night. Much to my surprise, I saw this brand new photo on Facebook this morning of him performing at The Dive Gastro Pub yesterday for their latest "Think It Over Thursday" concert (of note, he was playing outdoors on their patio rather than in the "Naughty Corner", presumably a summer bonus when weather cooperates). Alas, Tym only announced the booking via a Facebook event page yesterday morning, with The Dive following suit an hour later (they didn't post an August calendar on Facebook either), so the late notice combined with yesterday's Northern Vibe focus didn't help at all. I profusely apologize for missing yesterday's Dive concert, but hopefully Tym and attendees had a blast, and I'd have covered it had I known!

If you want an encore or make-up date, head to Steelton tomorrow for a show that had lots of notice! Tym's latest Eagles Club show (and last one until November) takes place at 8:00 PM with no cover charge and a presumed 19+ age limit. Visit the Eagles Club concert's Facebook event page for more on tomorrow's acoustic hard rock cover action on Wellington Street West, apologies again for missing his Dive show yesterday, and here's Tym live!

Finally for this preview post, the tenth annual Dragonfly Run goes down on SUNDAY NIGHT with live music in tow! For the third year since the former Ride For ARCH rebranded, this annual charity event will see a motorcycle rally through town to support the Algoma Regional Community Hospice, and the homebase returns to The Grand Gardens North for a second straight year, so attendees can take in local vendors, family friendly entertainment, bike games, prize tables, caricatures, tattoos, food & drinks, and more, so be sure to visit the official Facebook event page for full non-musical details! While the Facebook event page says that there will be "live bands all afternoon", only two are playing on Sunday, including returning southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 (who have spearheaded this event right along), and in a mild surprise that is on physical posters but not well marketed on social media, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith & his Big Finish Band in their second show of the weekend!

Good to see Mike & crew back in the Soo proper (and one day after their Northern Vibe set tomorrow), so don't miss out on their set! According to Mike's Facebook page, they're on at 3:00 PM with your local 225 headlining on Sunday evening. The Dragonfly Run proper begins at 10:00 AM, it is absolutely all ages, and it is a FREE event, though donations to ARCH are definitely encouraged. While The Grand Gardens hosts bands indoors for Toystock, the bands are slated to perform outside in the parking lot, so be advised that 9&10 News is calling for a 70% chance of thunderstorms from Sunday morning onwards. The run will go on rain or shine, but I don't know if they have provisions to move the bands indoors if need be, so keep tabs with event organizers for updates on that front. Whether riding in the rally or enjoying the Grand Gardens festivities, the Dragonfly Run is a great event for a great cause!

Visit the above links for complete details on what to expect at the Dragonfly Run (especially depending on what Mother Nature has planned), but come out to enjoy the fun if you can, and for a preview, here's Bone Yard 225 live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's CD review on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225) & A Locally Relevant Cover Song!!

Today's post covers a bunch of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS from a prominent local band as they book up their remaining dates for the summer, while a cover of local note ends things. Here's what you should know!

While local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 aren't playing at Rotaryfest again this year, they're staying busy with new show announcements for next month, so where can you see Greg, Alex, and Warren in August? All of these shows were announced on the band's website's calendar, and follow two private gigs and two tour dates, one being at Thessalon's Community Days on August 1st and the other actually already having taken place, that being the Motorcycle Poker Run in Kirkland Lake (a whopping 7 hours northeast of the Soo) this past Saturday. Props to them for supporting the cause and making that far of a drive! Frontman Greg Simpson used to live in Kirkland Lake, and he even did a radio interview with CJKL 101.5 on their morning drive show the previous day too. In terms of the new concerts, Bone Yard's next local date will take place on Friday, August 8th when they rock Reggie's Place!

The guys will also headline there on August 29th & 30th for the Labour Day long weekend, so fans of this prominent downtown venue will like that your local 225 are returning there a few times next month! If you're wondering why Bone Yard aren't playing at Reggie's on Saturday the 9th, it's because they are returning as the headliners at this year's Algoma Tree Services community meet & greet/charity barbecue that night! Like last year, expect Bone Yard to rock out at 7:00 PM with classic rock veterans Angry Joe & The Growlers also returning as the lead-off band at 1:30 PM, and alongside the music and food, there will be family activities, a staff meet & greet, and a bonfire. Keep this public outdoor event in mind at 1424 Haviland Shores Drive in Goulais River next month! After another Thessalon road trip (a second straight gig at the Aubrey Falls Trading Post Pig Roast), they have two charity gigs lined up in late August.

On Thursday, August 21st, "the dirty three" will perform at the Cruisin’ To End MS motorcycle show at the newer A&W at 659 Great Northern Road, so hopefully the weather holds up for this outdoor fundraiser event for multiple sclerosis! Expect some vendors and refreshments along with MS Canada donations and promotions, plus the bike show, far from the first such event that Bone Yard 225 have been involved in at a local A&W. Lastly for their August calendar, Bone Yard will rock the returning Dragonfly Run motorcycle rally for the Algoma Regional Community Hospice on Sunday, August 24th, as it returns for its third year since rebranding from the Ride For ARCH and second at its current homebase at The Grand Gardens North. Bone Yard remain heavily involved in the Dragonfly Run's organization, and this special charity concert should also feature family activities, vendors, a silent auction, and games like last year, though keep tabs for updates.

No word yet on the full band schedule, but last year, Bone Yard played at 5:00 PM sandwiched between Mid Life Crysis and the recently-dormant The Haze, with bands beginning at 2:00 PM. Only the Reggie's shows next month are 19+ with 9:30 PM start times. The Algoma Tree Services event begins at 1:30 with Bone Yard at 7:00 PM, and the A&W sets begin at 6:00 PM. Visit the above links for more on Bone Yard 225's end-of-summer schedule as their hard rocking "sermons" continue march onward!

We'll close this post with a nod to tomorrow night's cancelled Headstones show at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion, as I was saving a cover of theirs with a local relevance for our preview of the event. Alas, I was writing up the preview when I found out that the concert was off! In 2019, the Kingston punk/alternative veterans recorded a cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" as a non-album single. Of course, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sunk in Whitefish Bay in 1975, just 15 miles from the Soo, and the ship's loss remains a vivid memory for many in the Twin Saults and area almost 50 years later. While Hugh Dillon and crew aren't local, their website's page on the cover notes that they found the original song "profoundly meaningful", and it got strong feedback from fans when it was played at VIP soundchecks. For the single release, they even shot an official music video for the cover, so what should you know there?

In the video, Headstones members are seen walking across ice covered waters while footage of ships, shorelines, and the wreck itself are seen in between, eventually transitioning to the band performing outside at nighttime. The cover is very Headstonesy and would fit in well with their original radio hits, and drives around at a steady clip that rocks up the song but doesn't distract from the somber tone. The harmonica comes in at a good time too! Whether The Headstones would have covered the song here tomorrow, I don't know (Setlist.fm last logs them playing it in a regular set in 2023), but the local relevance is noted regardless. Check out The Headstones' Gordon Lightfoot cover below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225) & The HeadFirst Concert Preview!!

Today's post will see us finally wrap up this busy weekend concert preview run, but leading off are lots of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming months, so here's what you should know on this Saturday morning!

Local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 have announced their concert schedule for the spring months via their website's concert calendar! Greg, Alex, and Warren are taking the rest of this month off from public dates, with only a private anniversary party being listed for tonight, while their next public show will be on the road, as they'll head 90 minutes east to Thessalon for an "uncorked" gig at their curling club during their mixed bonspiel on Saturday, April 5th. It's rare when they play acoustic gigs outside of Gateway Casino and The Water Tower Pub, so keep that in mind if you're in the area next month! Most of the local dates will see Bone Yard return to Reggie's Place, so you can enjoy "the dirty three" for full weekends on April 11th-12th and 18th-19th (the Easter long weekend), and then on May 2nd-3rd, 16th-17th (the Victoria Day long weekend), and 30th-31st. Reggie's has definitely proven to be their favourite venue in recent months, so you have lots of chances ahead to see them on stage there!

The guys will bring their "sermon" back to The Coulson Entertainment Center in Sudbury on April 25th-26th, in effective reschedulings of their planned Sudbury gigs in January due to electrical upgrades. Obviously not local dates, but your local 225 do enjoy their biannual Sudbury road trip and have made many fans out there, so don't forget about them too! Bone Yard 225's next public "uncorked" date in the Soo will see them return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only on Saturday, May 10th, so keep their return to this popular central venue in mind for next month if you want to enjoy their lighter side! They are not scheduled elsewhere on Friday, May 9th. The last new date will see the guys debut at the Downtown Plaza for an outdoor show on Saturday, May 24th which will serve as a promo party for the Dragonfly Run, the ARCH benefit motorcycle rally with attached concert that Bone Yard put on & heavily support every year.

Specific details are forthcoming, but a promotional event to get the word out for the Dragonfly Run is a good idea, and given that the plaza is an outdoor-ish venue, hopefully the weather holds up in two months! We await specifics on a start time, full lineup, and admission fee for that event, but it will definitely be all ages. The Reggie's shows are all at 9:30 PM, the Water Tower Pub concert is at 8:00 PM, those are 19+ events, and none have an announced cover charge. To wrap up today's Bone Yard 225 updates, they appear to be spending most of this month working in studio, with this picture of singer/drummer Greg Simpson playing drums at their jam space on Thursday, with "new tunes being churned out", and Greg confirmed that they are in the midst of "studio time" in this "Reel" the previous day. Good to see Bone Yard staying busy this month, so definitely keep posted for more on their next original music and their April-May concerts!

Finally for today's post, let's wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews with local hard rock quintet HeadFirst's return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only TONIGHT! This is the second in an (at least) three show run of Saturday nighters at the Dennis Street nightclub where everyone is going all out for the occasion, with Shooters selling themed drinks and menu items that are only being sold during HeadFirst concerts, discounted drinks if you wear official band merchandise, and teased new songs from their upcoming "project". Fresh off of opening for Selias at Soo Blaster last night, hopefully Red, Raine, Liam, Claire, and Anthony rock the house tonight with their fun and hard hitting originals and covers! The series will also see HeadFirst rock Shooters on April 12th, with more themed dates allegedly to be announced. In terms of St. Patrick's Day themes this weekend, Shooters' DJ night yesterday was full of them.

Given that HeadFirst proper are the raison d'etre for tonight's themes, I'm not seeing much in the way of green/Irish frills for this concert, but inquire within if you're hoping for green beer and such. The raw|lust|hot rock band takes the stage tonight at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on tonight's concert, and for a preview, here's HeadFirst live!

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

Chase Wigmore/Del Boy Druid Concert Preview, New Videos, And ARCH Run Clarifications!!

Before we begin today's post, just a heads up that Tym Morrison's previously advertised concert at Gino's Fired Up Kitchen & Bar has apparently been cancelled, as per the deletion of its Facebook event page and earlier reporting by Bone Yard 225 bassist Warren Reville that acoustic patio concerts there in general had stopped. Disappointing, but we'll have more from Tym soon, and we still have a Wednesday concert preview leading things off, as well as new videos and recent updates, so here's what you should know on this Wednesday morning!

We'll start with a special mid-week concert preview, as local folk punk/extreme metal solo musician Chase James Wigmore will rock Soo Blaster TONIGHT when he opens for Winnipeg "hobo rock" singer/guitarist Del Boy Druid! Last seen earlier this month at Soo Blaster opening for Sylo, tonight's show promises to lean well into Chase's folk punk side more than anything, so while we may not get harsh vocals and such, his intense and passionate original music should be at the forefront as he helps kick off the proceedings! Del Boy Druid will bring his own distinct and original brand of folk rock to the local stage for the first time tonight, and he should turn some heads among folk and indie music fans, so definitely check him out on Bandcamp to see what he brings to the table! Outsider/anti-folk solo musician Shae Tull will kick things off tonight with another opening set that should leave a strong impression also at Soo Blaster once again!

Another presentation by promoter Mikhal Muto (kinda surprised that Agnosticism aren't playing this one), tonight's concert is a 19+ affair at 10:00 PM with admission costing $10 in advance at this link or $15 at the door. If you like anti-folk, outsider folk, and folk punk, you won't want to miss this concert despite its scheduling on a work/school night, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Chase live!

Next up, the twelfth song in Mikey & His Uke's series of 30th anniversary covers of songs from Green Day's 1994 album "Dookie" went live on their YouTube channel on Monday! Unfortunately, this was our longest wait yet for a new remotely filmed all-star cover in this series, coming six weeks after "Coming Clean" dropped. As Mikey's tribute to "Dookie" continues the deep cuts-only home stretch, song #12 is "Emenius Sleepius", and if you're a fan of Bowling For Soup, you'll be very interested, as singer Jaret Reddick and bassist Rob Felicetti are on hand for this cover! Fans may recall Jaret covering Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" with Mikey and crew last year, while Rob's involvement makes this the first "Dookie" cover in this series to not feature Andy Plafoot or Randy Bradbury on bass. Bookclub frontman Mikey Hawdon plays guitar and (initially) ukelele once again.

Ex-Goldfinger drummer Darren Pfieffer continues his run as the series' house drummer here, and he has another hockey jersey for the occasion! No major frills here for production or video settings, but everyone delivers an enthusiastic performance of this Green Day hidden gem, and it is neat to see half of Bowling For Soup involved in this one! We have just two songs left (three if the bonus track "All By Myself" is tackled separately), so look for "In The End" next! Given past timeframes, it should drop between Sunday and October 7th (the current average would be September 14th). Check out "Emenius Sleepius" for yourselves below!

Also today, here's some updates from local hard rock quintet HeadFirst, who have been announced as the local openers for the Blood Opera-headlined Steel City NerdCon afterparty at The Queen Of Hearts Club above Shooters on October 19th! They will be taking over for The Apocalypse Afterparty in this role for Blood Opera's local return, and hopefully their skilled originals and covers prove to be a fitting appetizer for the violent horror-influenced stage show to follow later this fall! In terms of new videos, HeadFirst posted a "Shorts" video to their YouTube channel earlier this week of drummer Anthony Boudreau dancing to Men Without Hats' "The Safety Dance" outside of Jay's Piston Broke Pub during the ARCH Run while in work clothes! Yes, HeadFirst were the headliners outside that day, but he is seen here dancing during Bourbon Blue's set (I don't think they were playing "The Safety Dance" though.)

Fun video for what it is, and we'll have more from the ARCH Run in a second! For now, we actually have proper new live videos of them at their late notice Hilton Beach gig on August 17th from their Facebook page, where you can see HeadFirst covering Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising", and as embedded below, either a very obscure cover or an unreleased original song, as I couldn't match the lyrics to anything. Both of these videos are vertical and were shot in "selfie mode" by singer Red Jettison, capturing a lively crowd dancing along at this community hall kitchen fundraiser, and while neither video is very long, the band sounds good on both! Check these out above & below!

Finally for today, here's four brief clarifications from the band lineup at the ARCH Run outside of Jay's Piston Broke Pub on Saturday! Partial credit goes to Audrey Marshall for these notes, as photos shared from her personal Facebook page helped confirm some missing or incorrect details from our coverage last week. These are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

• Bourbon Blue drummer Alvaro Scheid was in attendance for the motorcycle rally/concert, and actually played guitar in their debuting Pink Floyd tribute sister band Dark Side Of The Soo (Jules Cote drummed). Alvaro did drum with the pop rock cover band for their matinee outdoor set (which was also short-handed alongside just Jules and Nicole), but he did indeed miss Bourbon Blue's indoor nighttime show at Jay's, with Double Down's Ric Datson filling in instead. Hopefully both bands' sets were a success! 
• Though personal Facebook postings indicated that new local acoustic rock project Dodge This was a duo, guitarist Jamie July is not pictured in Audrey's photos from the ARCH Run, with just singer/guitarist Jason Taillefer performing. I haven't heard why Jamie missed the event, but hopefully nothing too serious happened, and fans of Jason's recent shows at The Dive will have taken to his covers on Saturday!
• New local classic rock band The Hoovers welcomed Soundcheck's Terry Eaton, Jim Michaud, and Glen Thomas (no Cameron) to back up singer/guitarist Dwayne (not sure of his last name). According to Glen's personal Facebook page, they knew Dwayne via performing with them when they were jam night hosts at Jay's. Time will tell how The Hoovers will progress as a live concern, but Dwayne found a very capable backing band for the set!
• "The Preacher" has nothing to do with Lindsay Pugh or his song of that name. Rather, that is a handle being used for former Crossed/Deter guitarist Josh McNally's current blues solo material, which has recently been garnering attention at some more intimate indoor venues. In fact, he makes his Jay's debut as a solo musician on Friday! It is good to see Josh back performing locally, even if he's playing very different material nowadays than old Oddfellows Hall regulars will be used to!
  

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