LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soundcheck) & Most Of This Weekend's Hard Rock Concert Previews!!

Given recent trends for hard rock and punk concerts in the area, this is a quiet-ish weekend, with only one known and announced heavier concert (Sandman at Soo Blaster on Saturday) having to be pushed to tomorrow's post! Quiet before the Rotaryfest storm, in other words, but that preview is coming! Now, here's what you should know for hard rock concert previews, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will head out to nearby Goulais River on SATURDAY NIGHT as the featured headliner at this year's Goulais River Community Days festival! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced their involvement via their Facebook event page on Monday, but they had been isted as appearing last month in festival advertising. As best as I can gather, Soundcheck will be performing at the Captain Tilley Community Centre at 592 ON-552 as part of the "adult dance", which immediately follows performances on SATURDAY by advertised acts like Radio (4:00 PM), TB & LC (2:00 PM), and 17 North (12:00 PM). However, Soundcheck's show is being treated separately as it will be a 19+ affair, unlike the prior sets, which take place during the family activities at Goulais Days. This poster lists all of the varied entertainment at the festival tomorrow through Sunday, and yes, Soundcheck singer/guitarist Terry Eaton will be pulling double duty as a DJ tomorrow night, so keep that in mind if you're attending tomorrow!

Soundcheck's accessible but often heavy range of covers should provide a fun closer to the non-baseball portion of Goulais Days, so keep an eye on this if you're in the area on SATURDAY! Soundcheck's show begins at 9:00 PM, and admission to Goulais Days is $5 for adults & $4 for seniors (kids are free, but again, they can't attend the 19+ adult dance). Visit the Goulais River Area Recreation & Events Facebook page and the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, let's take a quick detour to Michigan, where Sault Ste. Marie hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews will be rocking The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen in Barbeau this past weekend, these will be Rhythm & Brews' first St. Ignace shows since February, and if you believe their newest Facebook page posting, these could be their last gigs "for a month or two" (they are not advertised for the St. Ignace or Soo Kewadin lounges through August). Hopefully this supergroup's brand of up tempo hard and classic rock covers go over swimmingly at The Northern Pines Lounge this weekend, especially if we don't see them again until the fall! As usual for Kewadin lounges, expect 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. See above for more details, and we'll let you know when preview videos surface!

Finally, the fourth annual Go North Music Festival in nearby Richards Landing, Ontario (on St. Joseph Island) goes down this weekend, and two hard rock bands are on the main musical bill on SATURDAY! After a pandemic-induced two year hiatus, the Go North Festival returns to Centennial Grounds at 1511 Richards Street (the old Cornfest site) for a full weekend of live music, family entertainment, camping, vendors, and much more, so definitely visit their Facebook page and/or website for full details on what to expect beyond the musicians! The lineup that was first announced in March remains mostly intact, aside from two big changes. One is that Guelph garage rock trio The Royal Castles have dropped out of the festival due to apparent isolation due to COVID-19 exposure overseas, as per the Go North Facebook page yesterday. Disappointing to be sure, but hopefully The Royal Castles come back to Northern Ontario in due course!

They would have played third-to-last on Saturday, and were not replaced, so while the lineup order is otherwise unchanged, start times have been altered. The other big update is that there will be two stages on Saturday, with a Family Zone Stage also being held separately on Centennial Grounds featuring three acts pulling double duty in a smaller, up close setting that is more amenable to kids & families. Interesting idea, and if there's a band you like on the Family Zone Stage, you could theoretically see them twice on Saturday! Timeslots ahead for the Family Zone Stage will be in (brackets). The headliners on the main stage at 9:45 PM are Oshawa progressive rock duo Crown Lands, with Thunder Bay folk rock band The Honest Heart Collective co-headlining at 8:15 PM (4:30 on the Family Stage). With The Royal Castles out, Toronto folk musician Charlotte Cornfield is bumped up to the 7:00 PM timeslot.

Ottawa hard rock quintet Taming Sari will hit the stage at 6:00 PM, and their rootsy brand of old school hard rock should attract an audience in Richards Landing on Saturday evening! Before their trip to Ophir for the Northern Vibe Festival next month, Toronto pop rock band Goodnight Sunrise will hit the stage a little further west at 4:45 PM (3:30 PM as the Family Zone Stage openers), while the local bands kick off things on the main stage, including rising young psychedelic hard rock quartet The Uncanny Valley at 3:45 PM (headlining the Family Stage at 5:45 PM). This should be a prime opportunity to enjoy The Uncanny Valley's skilled originals and covers, so don't be late! The openers at 3:00 PM are Central Algoma Secondary School student band CASS FM (think like Mustang Sally or The Pine Tones). Friday's reduced lineup features Hamilton folk musician Jay Pollmann and local folk artist Hannah Lindsay & her backing band, so you'll still get music that night!

Discounted advance ticket sales close tonight at midnight, so get yours at this link while there's still limited time! General admission tickets at the gate run for $20 (Friday only), $55 (Saturday only), and $70 (full weekend), while 13-18 year old admission is $15 Friday, $25 Saturday, and $40 for the whole weekend, and kids 12 and under are FREE! Camping is permitted overnight on Friday too. The weather forecast is calling for sunny weather from 19-25°, so it should be great conditions for attendees! Go North looks like a fun time for fans of folk music & family fun, with a dash of hard rock, so keep the action 45 minutes east of the Soo in mind this weekend! See above for more details, and here's Taming Sari live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for the Sandman preview and more recent news on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Go North Music Festival, The Wyld Stallyns, And Soundcheck), Plus New Videos!!

(Edited at 7:49 PM) This weekend is shaping up to be a quiet one for hard rock shows, but SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS did hit my desk, so those will lead off today's post! Filling things out, we have one more big concert for the summer, and well as some new videos, so here's what you should know for this Thursday!

Local hard rock cover band The Wyld Stallyns will hit the stage for one night only TONIGHT at... Tempo Modern Mediterranean?! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook event page back on March 9th, but concerts at this location were new to me until this week, and at press time, the band proper has not plugged it on their own Facebook page. A new venue for our coverage, Tempo is a Mediterranean restaurant located inside The Marconi Cultural Event Centre at 450 Albert Street West (just down the road from Low & Slow), and it opened back in September 2020. Presumably due to pandemic concerns, Tempo proper has not hosted live bands until this year (promotions of Marconi Club gigs notwithstanding), but classic rock duo Frankly Speaking were first up there for two weekends already, and now The Wyld Stallyns will rock Steelton for this special Thursday nighter!

The atypical mid-week booking coincides with singer/guitarist Rob Speers' birthday, so keep that angle in mind, and I hope Rob's big day goes swell! While there is no cover or advertised age limit for TONIGHT'S festivities (which kick off at 7:00 PM), be advised that Tempo is a fancy, high end restaurant, not a standard bar. This is indicated by both the menu offerings & price therein, but also by the fact that Tempo offers bookings for tables if you are so inclined, though this is not mandatory to attend. Hopefully Rob, Christina, and crew have a great time with their fan friendly and often heavy covers TONIGHT, and here's The Stallyns live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's West for traditional concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced on the Facebook event page this morning, and the band has not promoted them on their own Facebook page at press time. Fresh off of their Shooters Downstairs Lounge debut this past Saturday, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows cap a three day run for Soundcheck at the former Roosevelt Hotel, following tonight's previously announced open mic night there (remember, we do not treat open mic nights as proper concerts given their nature). Their country tinged blend of classic and hard rock covers should go over well at The Reggievelt this weekend, so don't miss out on all of the action! They are on TOMORROW & SATURDAY at 8:00 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charge, as is the case for tonight's open mic night.

For a preview, here's the new videos from Soundcheck's Facebook page that originally ended this post, featuring the band (with frequent substitute bassist Rob Gilmar in lieu of Paul Belair) covering Garth Brooks' "Friends In Low Places" and, as embedded below, John Mellencamp's "Hurts So Good" at Shooters on Saturday, both with guitar Cameron Oliver on vocals. While both videos are unfortunately in the vertical cell phone orientation, fans will dig both covers, and it looks like Soundcheck got an active crowd for the occasion, and the lighting and setup looks good for live bands! Give both of these covers a watch above and below, and more from Saturday are floating around via private Facebook accounts!

Finally, Ottawa hard rock quintet Taming Sari and local classic/hard rock quartet The Uncanny Valley will hit the road for the returning Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing on nearby St. Joseph Island on Saturday, July 9th! After a two year hiatus for very obvious reasons, this festival will come back to its old stomping grounds (1511 Richards Street, the old Cornfest site) for a weekend full of varied but indie/folk-leaning original music! Like in the Go North Fest's first three incarnations from 2017-2019, the lineup is mostly comprised of touring acts, with Juno winning Oshawa prog rock duo Crown Lands headlining this year. Other listed out-of-town acts on July 9th include Toronto folk musician Charlotte Cornfield, Thunder Bay folk rockers The Honest Heart Collective, Guelph garage rock trio The Royal Castles, and Toronto pop rock band Goodnight Sunrise, while CASS FM (made up of students from Central Algoma Secondary School in nearby Desbarats) will also perform here.

Also, an opening night concert will take place on Friday, July 8th, to be headlined by Hamilton folk musician Jay Pollmann, but there are no advertised support acts. With Taming Sari and The Uncanny Valley involved, this will be the heaviest Go North Festival yet, and both bands deliver a retro inspired sound with their own modern sensibility that should pair well if they're at all close on the bill (performance schedules are not out yet), so definitely give Taming Sari a spin when you get the chance! Uncanny Valley-wise, this is that band's first publically announced concert of 2022, but they have three+ months to play locally beforehand, so we could see them in city limits at any time! Local vendors, kids entertainment, late-night fireside jams, and on-site camping will be offered as usual. Tickets are now on sale at this link, but there are a lot of options for what you want to see that weekend!

Limited early bird passes for the whole weekend run for $45, and when they're gone, the advance sale price jumps to $60, or $45 if you only come for Saturday. At the gate, add $10 to both price options. Kids 12 and under get in free, but teenagers 13-18 years old will cost $35 for the weekend or $15 for Saturday only (there are no Friday only ticket options). Just as a refresher, Richards Landing is 45 minutes southeast of the Soo, and if you saw the Horizon Drive-In movie screenings there last year, Go North takes place in the same chunk of land. It is great to see the Go North Music Festival back after the pandemic hiatus, and definitely see above for current details on everything going down in July!

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