Wednesday Concert Previews, Plus Theatre Of Night & Headrush Updates!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for a concert that missed our coverage, but the lone SMS-amenable band on the bill ended up dropping out. Fans of party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty are well accustomed by now to them being on the bill of otherwise-rap-only concerts at Blaster Powerhouse in the 2020s, and they were advertised to open for 94Fatso and Robbie G there on Friday (here's the poster). Between the band's lack of social media promotion and my own busy personal schedule, this fell through the cracks, which I do apologize for, but The AA did not play due to personal commitments (thank you to Paul for confirming.)

Hopefully all is well with him, Mikhal, and Amanda, and that we see them back at it down the line, and I do hope that the rap concert was a big hit! Now to two mid-week concert previews as we fully emerge from the Labour Day long weekend, with some more news and notes in the back half, and we'll start with the always-prolific Tym Morrison, who is slated to conclude his annual Wednesday summer concert arrangement at The Mike Case Memorial Stage TOMORROW! Unless Tym's run is extended (it has been before), this is your last chance to see Tym's unplugged covers on the 1332 Great Northern Road outdoor stage for the 2026 season, so keep tomorrow's show in mind if you enjoy his unplugged classic and hard rock covers! As usual for his shows there this year, Tym will be on at 6:30 PM tomorrow with no cover charge or age limit.

9&10 News is calling for temperatures hovering around 20° tomorrow evening with clouds disappearing as the 2 hour show progresses, so things should be similar to last week. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, we'll have more on his new Reggie's show announcements later this week, and for  a preview, here's Tym live!

Next up, here's a special Wednesday night concert at Beck's Bar, as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will play their first fully-plugged-in public concert in Sault Ste. Marie in over a month TOMORROW NIGHT, but they won't be alone. For this one-off(?) concert named "Midweek Mayhem", they will welcome Stones & Crows/Jupiter Marvelous guitarist Spencer Pine in a brief reversion to Bone Yard's 2009-2021 form factor. Beck's owner Becky Sawyer was inspired to bring Spencer and your local 225 together after being impressed by Spencer's guitar skills during Stones & Crows concerts there, and given his and Alex's talents on the six string, this should be fun to see what they can cook up together alongside Greg and Warren! Implications in marketing have this being more of a freeform/jam night setup than a typical Bone Yard concert, but if you want their full three-piece shabang, check them out an hour east at the Bruce Mines Fall Fair this weekend, preview forthcoming.

In deference to this being a work/school night, tomorrow's concert runs from 8:00-11:00 PM, though the 19+ age limit and no cover charge remain as expected. It will be very interesting to hear how Spencer fits in with "the dirty three", especially if he is able to sing lead at all, so visit the official Facebook event page for more on Midweek Mayhem, and here's Bone Yard 225 (sans Spencer) live a couple of years back!

Also today, I wanted to acknowledge an event that local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush played at last month at Mulligan's Irish Pub. On August 22rd, the guys played their last summer gig for the year at the afterparty for the sixth annual Andy Buffone Memorial Golf Tournament, which is a fundraiser for Canadian Mental Health Association Algoma held at The Sault Golf Club at 1804 Queen Street East. Click here for SooToday's coverage of the tournament, who Andy Buffone was, and what funds raised here go towards at CMHA Algoma. While nominally held at Mulligan's (the golf club's on-site bar/restaurant), Headrush's concert was outside on the front lawn, and bassist John Amendola heavily implied on the band's Facebook group that they also played at this tournament last year, though they did not publically acknowledge their involvement at all in 2025.

I didn't cover this on the SMS last month because it wasn't open to the general public, just registered golfers and donors, but John praised the event well, from the start to the alleged end-of-night "shenanigans", so hopefully everything was a hit for a worthy organization like the CMHA! A video from the private gig was shared by John to their Facebook group, which sees Headrush playing the back half of their cover of April Wine's "Roller". Sadly, the video is both vertical and incomplete, but they were in solid shape on this big outdoor stage, and John Anderson was hitting the notes you expect on vocals, so give it a watch above! I can't embed it here, possibly due to John Amendola's video privacy settings.

Finally for today, let's head south to Sault Michigan for updates from local/Grand Rapids classical metal band Theatre of Night! While their Facebook updates have been slight since releasing "Christmas Night III" last year, they have been teasing that they might be returning to do another Christmas tour run this year after not playing shows last year. Their website has confirmed two new band members joining Craig, Steve, and Erik, including vocalist Aziza Poggi (replacing their most recent live singer Marquita Bernard) and bassist Alex Darwin (replacing Luke Bernard). Aziza is a Grand Rapids-based classically trained mezzo soprano singer with a strong background in Western Michigan, and while I can't find substantial details on Alex's musical background, he is pictured with a 5 string bass, which is usually a good talent indicator. A reason for the Bernards' departure wasn't announced, but all past live and studio singers with Theatre of Night are listed as "guest singers", regardless of if they were officially advertised as band members.

No, they did not credit Luke or fellow past instrumental members Greg Giles, Chris Webster, or Scott Andringa in the same way. German session vocalist and former full-band member Gaby Koss remains credited as a "featured singer", implying that she will turn up on some future studio material. While we await full band samples with Aziza & Alex, this Instagram-exclusive video from last week sees guitarist Steve Giles and drummer Erik Sales jamming "O Holy Night", which is an effective teaser of what's to come later in the year! I believe the band turned off external embedding on Instagram, so give it a watch above, and stay tuned for more from Theatre of Night soon, let alone on the SMS as the week continues! Thanks everyone!

New Videos From Mike Haggith, Molly Escherich, And The Floor Between Us!!

As our slow clear-out of the backlog continues, here's a new news post on this Saturday afternoon that takes us from the EUP to Southern Ontario before finally coming home to Sault Ste. Marie, but we'll start in Michigan with another recent full set video, so here's what you should know!

In a follow-up from our coverage of last month's Superior Whitefish Festival battle of the bands in Brimley, Michigan, you may recall that there was a separate Music In The Park concert before the battle featuring acoustic-leaning performers. One was 8th Fire frontwoman Molly Escherich just hours before she led her new band to a second place finish, and like with the main band, her solo matinee set was shot in full for her YouTube channel! I have been more selective with acoustic singer/guitarists in our band links in recent years, as for metal, hard rock, and punk, it doesn't play in as well for song choices, and anyone with a guitar can play a set live and call it a day, but what does a 56 minute set of Molly's entail in 2026? In performance order, the 14 year old Dafter native covered Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Still The Same", The Eagles' "Take It Easy", Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down", ...

...The Doobie Brothers' "Listen To The Music" (which The 8th Fire covered in their battle set), Carole King's "It's Too Late", Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary" (briefly), and "Have You Ever Seen The Rain", before playing the original song about the perfect boat day with her dad that led off The 8th Fire's battle set. Covers resume with Noah Kahan's "The Great Divide", The 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up", Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive" (also covered by The 8th Fire that night), another attempt at "Proud Mary" that was more successful than previously, Zach Bryan's "Something In The Orange", Coldplay's "Yellow", and Little Big Town's "Boondocks", before Molly ended her set with two more original songs named "Cheap Cologne" and "Always Known". Molly definitely has some other hard rock covers in her back pocket from past solo gigs that I want to look at in the future, but her solo set is definitely more varied.

Regardless, she is a very talented singer and guitarist who is still rapidly improving (being at Interlochen will help in that!), and for her age, she has an ease about her on stage and a good audience rapport already! If you saw her battle set with The 8th Fire, the three common songs from Molly's solo set (one being an acoustic solo performance too) will either be an interesting contrast or feel redundant, but remember that a lot of early festival attendees didn't stay for the battle, or vice versa. Good stuff, and with a dash of the hard rock to come that night, so give Molly's Music In The Park set in Brimley a watch below, and we'll have more from her soon!

Next up, let's head north of the border (and yet still south) to Barrie, Ontario, where local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith returned to Athletic Kulture Stadium there on July 4th to sing "O Canada" at a Barrie Baycats baseball game! Now competing in the renamed Canadian Baseball League, the Baycats welcomed Mike to sing the anthem at games in each of the past two seasons, though rain delays got in the road of his original 2024 bookings. For Mike's game this season, he sang before Barrie's clash with the Hamilton Cardinals on the Fourth of July, and regrettably for the home team and fans, the Baycats lost 8-1. As always though, the game was live-streamed on Barrie's YouTube channel, and if you want to just check out Mike's performance, he is introduced by the PA announcer at the 7:42 mark. Mike sings well, as you'd expect given his talents and pedigree!

I just wish the game went better for the Baycats, but they are in fourth place in the nine-team league, which would guarantee them a playoff spot if the season ended today, so best of luck for a strong run over the rest of the CBL season. Give Mike's performance (and the game) a watch below!

Finally for today, I wanted to mention the local comedy/art rock band The Floor Between Us, who have came up sparingly in our coverage in recent years. If you're not familiar with them, their lineup features one-time Soo's Got Talent finalist Colin Gasparelli on vocals & guitar alongside singer Ivy-Rose Morrison, Stones & Crows bassist Nicholas Gingras, and Spaceship Opening/ASDP drummer Ralph Barber (an "Andrew M." played keyboards for them once too). Their music is very eclectic, experimental, and has more in common with a lot of 1960s pop rock and bands like They Might Be Giants than heavier styles, but there's a joie de vivre and clear sense of humour across their original music, so I do recommend checking out their material on maior streaming platforms to see what you think! However, they do occasionally cover some songs that cross the SMS' radar in concert.

The Floor Between Us are fans of the English anarcho-punk band Chumbawamba, best known for their one mainstream hit "Tubthumping", which they have covered live (here they are playing it unplugged at a Korah talent show featuring Ralph's ASDP bandmate Mikhal Muto on cajon). However, they haven't just gotten up again after being knocked down, as they covered their 1994 b-side "The Day The Nazi Died") at one of their Sault Theatre Workshop fundraiser concerts in November. More of a politically charged folk song that would definitely fit an English pub (complete with Nicholas on added percussion), this is well performed with sharp lyrics, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Craig Harrison

It's finally time for this month's YouTube Channel Profile, as again shine a light on a YouTube channel whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk concerts/artists, as randomly chosen from our YouTube subscriptions! This month's selection takes us to Sault Michigan (well, by way of the Lower Peninsula) for a look at a prominent local musician's YouTube output from the late 2000s through the ensuing decade, so here's what you should know!

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Craig Harrison (http://youtube.com/craigharrisonshortdog24)

Owner: Theatre Of Night keyboardist Craig Harrison, also known from past local/Grand Rapids bands like Integrated System Of Machines, End Of Existence, and Dust N' Bones

Channel Timeline: Launched on February 11th, 2008; Videos uploaded from April 2010 through September 2020

Channel Summary: A personal use channel, Craig noted in the description that, as he is "a composer, singer, songwriter, adventurer, etc..., my channel has a bit of weird variety". Most of his 34 videos include in-studio performances, either jams/rehearsals with bandmates or solo performances on keyboard and sometimes vocals. Craig's channel also includes two live concert videos (one of him on stage, one of the mosh pit at a 3 Inches Of Blood show in Detroit), some studio samplers and introductions for Theatre Of Night, and non-musical videos ranging from a comedic rap song to outdoor sports-centric to a timelapse drawing of a zombie to one featuring corrections officers from over 25 years ago.

Why You Should Watch: This channel will primarily be of interest to fans of Craig's 2010s work in Theatre Of Night, giving a bit of a behind the scenes look that is especially notable, as not all of their official content and pages from this era is still online in 2026. The existence of an even rarer I.S.O.M. live video shouldn't be overlooked either! The rest of the videos will have a mixed appeal for most, but Craig wasn't lying about this channel having "a weird variety"! For more recent official Theatre of Night videos, visit that band's active YouTube channel and their social media accounts.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

Integrated System Of Machines- I.S.O.M. live: While outviewed by the aforementioned rap song and corrections video, Craig's most popular video otherwise is also his first, which sees his old local epic metal band Integrated System Of Machines playing their self-titled song on the Ozzfest Stage at the annual Carnival Of Chaos Festival in Stanton (four hours south of the Soo) on June 27th, 2009. Joining many other bands as openers for Taproot that day, their exact lineup here isn't 100% obvious, but it is good seeing Craig and singer Bob "Orb Hearthstone" Helsten on stage again, and while the video is shaky, you can't be too harsh for an almost 17 year old concert video, and it sounds good for its age. Strong charging song with a catchy chorus and good aggression without getting too extreme! Yes, that does appear to be Craig's future Theatre of Night bandmate Rachel Mender on backing vocals.

 

 

Darkness Falls Within: A good array of solo performance videos by Craig made their way to his channel, mostly of him on the keys (though Dust N' Bones fans won't want to bypass his singing on some clips), while some of these have extraneous video filters added in post-production. Despite being the primary leader of Theatre Of Night, you don't often see videos that really show off his keyboard skills, and this April 2014 performance of their original "Darkness Falls Within" is as good as any for that. The filter is completely unnecessary, but this is a fine showcase of their epic symphonic qualities with a dark ambiance, so if you're not familiar with their non-Christmas material, this is a good introduction! Hear the full version at this link.

 

 

Late night jam session with Theatre of Night and Flesh for the Beast members: In his final channel uploads aside from a shred video in 2020, Craig Harrison posted videos from an April 2018 jam session featuring Theatre Of Night bandmates Steve Giles (guitar) and Erik Sales (drums) plus guest musicians from their friends in Grand Rapids death metal band Flesh For The Beast, who Steve was an alum of. Both videos (including this 13 seconds-long one) feature different F.F.T.B. members on bass, one presumably being Craig Riley, but Craig H. didn't specify names in the descriptions. There are some odd reflections, as if Craig H. was filming behind glass or plastic, but the performances here are sound, and it'd be neat to see Theatre of Night do more with Flesh Of The Beast, live or in studio! Just a shame that Erik was largely obscured behind that pole from this vantage point.

 

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will be back on or around April 26th, while our next monthly feature post will be our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post tentatively scheduled for Thursday, pending how weekend concert previews are blocked. That's all for now, but look for more on the SMS this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dr. Feelgood & Quite Frankly), The Trews Concert Preview, And More!!

Hopefully everyone is inside while this snow comes down! For this news post, we have our preview of a big concert tomorrow night, updates from local terrestrial radio, and some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming months, so here's what you should know!

Reunited local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly have announced four upcoming concerts at four differtent venues for the spring! While they are taking this month off, Linsaey, Frank, Harley, and Joe will pick things back up on March 28th at De Marco's Boots & Saddles Roadhouse, marking the first time we've ever covered a show there. Located at 2667 Second Line West (deep in the west end, 5 minutes north of the airport), you may recall Silent 9 playing a private gig there last month, but it historically hasn't been a haven for hard rock-leaning bands, so hopefully Quite Frankly leave a good impression next month! After taking the Easter weekend off, they will return to The Water Tower Pub on Saturday, April 11th, while they will rock Gateway Casino for the first time two weeks later on April 25th! Lastly, they'll return to Beck's Bar on Friday, May 1st, as the former Vibe Lounge continues occasionally booking bands on Fridays rather than DJs.

None of these venues are known to book bands on consecutive nights, just to clarify. All are 19+ events with no announced cover charges, and all are 8:00 PM affairs except the Beck's show (at 9:00 PM). It's great to see Quite Frankly finally start ramping up their live bookings, and hopefully these shows go over well for the band and attendees alike! Visit the band's Facebook page for more details on these concerts!

Next up, Niagara Falls-based Motley Crue tribute band Dr. Feelgood will make their local concert debut on Saturday, June 20th when they rock The Sault Community Theatre Centre! Newly announced yesterday via the White Pines-based theatre's Facebook page, hair metal fans will definitely want to circle this date on their calendars, as Dr. Feelgood do a strong job of bringing Motley Crue's classic singles to life on the big stage, which they have done across Canada for over two decades. Seeing as it'll be 20 years since the real band's local concert took place later this year, this is a fitting way to enjoy the next best thing! An 8:00 PM start time is advertised for this all ages concert, and tickets will run for $61.02 (adults), $49.72 (seniors aged 65+ and students aged 13-21), or $22.60 (kids aged 6-13) , with children under 6 being free. Buy yours online at this link or at the in-person box office at Station Mall, and visit the above links for more details!

Also, here's a special mid-week concert preview, as Juno-nominated Nova Scotia alternative/hard rock quintet The Trews will return to the Soo TOMORROW NIGHT as headliners at The Machine Shop! Last seen in our area at the 2024 Go North Music Festival on St. Joseph Island, this will be their first gig in city limits since opening for Marianas Trench here in 2022 and their first headlining show here since 2009 (and if you don't count that acoustic tour, 2008). Of course, since we last saw The Trews up here, 104.3 The Fox debuted on the FM dial, meaning that their hit singles like "Poor Ol' Broken Hearted Me", "Tired Of Waiting", and cuts from their new album "Bloody Light" get a lot more local airplay than they did, so there should be a solid turnout tomorrow despite the Wednesday scheduling! While not well advertised in the lead-up, this tour does have an opening act, namely southern/roots rock quintet Eddy & The Dirty Boys in their local debut.

While a relatively new band, Eddy & The Dirty Boys are actually a side project from three members of Kingston rock band The Glorious Sons, their genre-blurring sound has been making waves in recent months, and they should set the tone well tomorrow! This all ages concert goes down tomorrow at 8:00 PM, and general admission tickets remain on sale at this link, at the Station Mall box office, or at the Gelato Mill (located nearby at Mill Square) for $40, while $60 VIP passes are also available that will get you access to an acoustic pre-show from both bands, a meet & greet, and more perks. This should be a huge concert, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's The Trews live at GFL Memorial Gardens in 2022!

Finally for today, some potentially major news from local radio came out last week via this Inside Radio article, as later covered by Carol Martin of SooToday's Sault Michigan sister website SooLeader. Apparently, local radio company Sovereign Communications is at risk of losing its seven active broadcast licenses (Rock 101 among them) in the next 60 days, and thusly having the stations go off air on FM and AM, if they don't make overdue fees, interest, and penalty payments to the Federal Communications Commission, currently adding up to over $37,000 USD. SooLeader also reported that Sovereign owes over $10,000 in rent for its city-owned broadcast tower in Sault Ste. Marie. A repayment agreement with city council has been agreed to, but the article doesn't outline the status of the money owed to the FCC, though according to Inside Radio, they could appeal to try to waive or defer the owed fees.

I won't speak on matters that I'm not privy to, but it'd be a massive blow, even if temporary, to lose Sovereign stations on the FM and AM dials. After all, Sovereign has collectively owned Rock 101, 99.5 Yes FM, Oldies 93, Country 105, 1230 WSOO, News Talk 1400, and WNBY 1450 in this market since 2010, and the only other truly local station in Sault Michigan that isn't repeated from elsewhere is classic hits station 95.1 The Bridge. Rock 101's Scott Cook struck an optimistic tone in the SooToday comment section, so hopefully Sovereign sorts everything out soon! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The BAG), New Song Uploads, And More!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to make a couple of acknowledgements regarding shows this past weekend that we didn't cover in our latest round of previews, both of which were only promoted on Facebook via "Stories" (the strip of posts on your news feed that vanish after being seen once or twice). First, I profusely apologize for missing local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos' first public show of the year, which was on Saturday night at Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s on-site Tap Room, something that the band & venue didn't announce on Facebook otherwise (I caught Mikey's "Story", albeit too late). I hope the show went well, and I'd have happily promoted it here had someone said something more public and permanent! Meanwhile, you may have seen a "Story" suggesting that classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 were playing at the Boots & Saddles Roadhouse on Saturday, so did I miss something else?

Not really, as this was one of the private events listed on the band's website's calendar. and they won't return to the public stage for another two weeks. The Boots & Saddles Roadhouse (located deep in the west end at 2667 Second Line West) has never crossed our radar before as a public host of a hard rock concert anyway, but hopefully the private booking went well!

Today's post otherwise features new videos, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as local metal trio The BAG will headline their album release party at Soo Blaster on Saturday, April 18th! While we have seen Spencer with his other band With Gunfire since, The BAG have largely been publically silent since last summer, though their debut album "Sacculus" was finished mixing and mastering as of October, and it finally goes on sale in three months. It's great to see Spencer, Austin, and Bradley back with the fruits of their recent labour ready to release, and we'll let you know when more comes out on "Sacculus" proper! Openers will include death/thrash metal trio Pillory (less than a month removed from opening for Demon King at the same venue) and in their first true public gig, ska punk trio A.S.D.P.! Of course, Adam Smith Death Parade are no stranger to private events and house parties since last they launched last summer, but they have yet to play a formal event at a proper venue.

It will be good to see this promising new band finally on a public stage, and if they don't play elsewhere beforehand, you could say that this is the de facto release party for their debut album "Atom Bombs & Lemonade" too! The second booking from A.S.D.P. frontman Mikhal "Châ" Muto's new agency Underground Events SSM, this show has an 8:00 PM start time, no age limit, and tickets running for $15 ($25 at the door), though availability is to be announced. No word yet on how much CD copies of "Sacculus" will run for, let alone if there will be any other physical formats. Metal and ska punk fans will want to circle April 18th on your calendars, so visit the above links and the official Facebook event page for more details!

We'll close with some new song uploads on YouTube, starting with a brand new original song from local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison's YouTube channel! Lately, most of his original songs have been influenced by his take on current events and/or his faith, complete with a proper video, but this is just an instrumental named "Nebuchadnezzar's Dream", which references the second chapter of the Book of Daniel from the Bible. If I was going to title the song after a specific story from the good book, I'd have included lyrics, but that's just me. Fans of Tym's metal work from his solo album and past local bands will appreciate his return to those roots with this song, and he shreds nicely with a quality guitar solo to boot! The programmed drums are a little obvious, but give Tym's new song below, even if you likely won't hear it when he goes unplugged for his next Misty's Fifties matinee next Saturday!

Finally for today... how late into January is considered too late to wish someone a Happy New Year, let alone to sing "Auld Lang Syne"? For SMS readers' sake, I hope four weeks isn't too long, as Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night posted their rendition of the Scottish folk standard & January 1st staple onto their YouTube channel on New Year's Eve! This was not included on last month's "Christmas Night 3", but I have seen multiple Christmas albums include "Auld Lang Syne", so there is precedent. Honestly, this is more fitting for the inaugural "Christmas Night" from 2011, given that this is an instrumental without any vocalist. If you're familiar with Craig, Steve, and crew's orchestral take on heavy metal, you'll appreciate how "Auld Lang Syne" translates here, and the folksier guitar outro fits in context! Good stuff, and a fitting local cut for January 1st, 2027, so give it a listen below, and stay tuned for more from Theatre Of Night!

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

Theatre Of Night - "Christmas Night 3" Album Review!

It's now time for our 198th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and in a seasonal break from our recent run of reviews of backlogged new albums in chronological release order, we're looking at Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night's new album "Christmas Night 3"! This way, our string of new album reviews will continue unabated, while we'll be able to look at this album in a timely fashion, as Theatre of Night's prior two Christmas albums (2011's "Christmas Night" and 2022's "Dreams Of Winter") were also reviewed here in December. If I kept it in our regular album queue, we wouldn't be able to get to it until the summer, so tis the season! No Arrow's "Souls For Sale" (released in July) will 100% be our first album review of 2026, so look for that next month. Independently released to the band's Reverbnation page on Friday, "Christmas Night 3" reunites Theatre of Night with German session vocalist and former permanent band member Gaby Koss, who resumed working with the band last year on new material.

While she had sang on one-off singles in the early-mid 2010s, Theatre of Night and Gaby released a "Celtic Christmas metal EP" exclusively to YouTube last year, and built on that for the full "Christmas Night 3" this year with five new recordings supplementing the EP's initial five songs. Compared to their prior Christmas albums, "Christmas Night 1" from 2011 was an instrumental effort, while "Dreams Of Winter" (effectively considered "Christmas Night 2") featured re-recordings of all ten songs from the previous album, plus two new cuts, as well as former lead singer Rachel Mender on vocals on seven of the songs. "Christmas Night 3" drops things back to ten songs, six of which are returnees from "Dreams Of Winter", but there are four new songs/carols here that Theatre Of Night never included on a prior paid album. Instrumentally, guitarist Steve Giles and keyboardist Craig Harrison are back as expected, though bassist credits were not given (note that Luke Bernard was their most recent live bassist for their early 2020s tours).

On the five songs carried over from last year's free Celtic EP, "What Child Is This" and "Carol Of The Bells" feature archival recordings from original drummer (and Steve's brother) Greg Giles, while current drummer Erik Sales drummed on the other three songs. One could infer that Erik that he drummed on the five new songs too, but again, credits were not given for the album proper. While you can stream "Christmas Night 3" for free on Reverbnation and YouTube, it is formally on sale via the former site for $7.99, so consider buying it to support Theatre of Night's work for the holidays! For the six songs previously heard on "Dreams Of Winter", I will offer comparisons between the 2022 and 2025 versions. 

Featuring 10 songs running for about 47 minutes, let's begin this festive review with the opening song "What Child Is This", which has led off all three Theatre of Night Christmas albums. The new version largely retains the same structure as the 2022 version, with a somewhat louder and more dramatic introduction, though the vocalist is the key difference. Gaby and Rachel have similar vocal performances here, but Gaby (who is classically trained) does hit higher operatic notes on her verses, and there is some multi-tracking here to make it sound more like a choir of vocalists. Otherwise, this remains an effective opener on par with the prior version! The first brand new Christmas song on offer is next, namely "The First Noel", which has a slow dramatic and symphonic opening before the first verse, and it maintains a serious but grand tone throughout. Gaby's sharper and more pointed tone of voice is very clear on this track.

I got kind of an "On The Turning Away" vibe from Steve's guitar solo here, which Pink Floyd fans may appreciate! The lyrics of this carol are somewhat repetitive, but that's not the band's fault. If you like your Theatre of Night in a more serious and orchestral mode than even their normal Christmas output, you should take to this song! Another new cover is next, namely "O Come Emmanuel" (note that they omitted a second "O Come" from their titling). A spare piano intro from Craig leads into a slow and very drawn out rendition of this somewhat lesser known carol, and while the music slowly builds in stature, the song never really gets out of second gear and remains really laboured in pacing. I've heard this cover done with more life while still being approached traditionally, so while technically sound, it's not a favourite of mine here. Next up is the second returning song from prior seasonal releases, namely "Silent Night". 

This is the shortest song on "Christmas Night 3", and it retains a similar structure and pace to the 2022 version. The big difference is the vocals, and here, Gaby does dial things back to sing this one at a more reserved pace than Rachel did, which suits the delicate and melancholy vibe of this carol a little more. Otherwise, if you like traditional "Silent Night" renditions with a slight rock kick, you'll like this! The first half of the album ends with "Little Drummer Boy" (no "The" at the start), which was also heard on Theatre of Night's prior Christmas albums. Functionally, the 2022 version is almost identical instrumentally, but the big difference is that Gaby sings the "rum-pum-pum-pum" parts throughout the verses, where Rachel omitted them until the title character started playing for the baby Jesus in the song's timeline. I do find that Rachel's singing fits this song a little better, but the full lyrics being restored helps a ton.

Otherwise, it's the same song, so pick and choose what you'd rather hear! Song #6 is "God Rest Ye Merry Gents", and yes, that is how they titled it for this album (under its full name "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", it debuted in their catalogue on "Dreams Of Winter"). Again, this song is basically a verbatim re-recording of the 2022 version, but similarly to "Little Drummer Boy", Gaby actually sings the full and complete verses here, where Rachel only sang the back half of most verses, something that I never understood the point of on the last album. The restored lyrics (including more outro singing) help a lot with this song, which still fits well in a metallized setting, so this is an album highlight for me! The next two songs are the other two brand new carols for "Christmas Night 3", starting with "Let All Mortal Flesh" (no "Keep Silence" in their title), By far the longest song on offer, Gaby's vocals really drive this one along for the duration.

It's very verse heavy, but the backing instrumentation has a very ominous building quality with really strong bass. I wasn't overly familiar with this carol going in, but it's way too drawn out and serious, and it leans too heavily on the singing, so while it's not one of my favourites, I do like how the band proper add to the ambiance, and the drumming steadily improves as it motors along! That's followed by "Good King Wenceslas", which is slowed down compared to traditional renditions, but it's well performed, and I honestly prefer Gaby's lower register singing here compared to her higher full voice work on most of the other tracks. Steve gets some room to show off with some guitar shredding in the background (even if it doesn't seem all that necessary), and while not the heaviest song on offer, it comes together fairly well and suits the mood of prior songs! The penultimate song here is "Hark The Herald", again shortening its title without "Angels Sing".

Once again, this song shares largely the same structure as prior carryovers from "Dreams Of Winter", including the between-verse interpolations of "The Twelve Days Of Christmas", but the retained structure is partially to its detriment, as the drawn out outro is back. The big change is vocally, as Gaby sings more and fuller verses here, whereas on the 2022 version, Rachel didn't sing on the first verse and only partially on others. That goes a long way towards making this song sound full, and it's a big improvement to one of the more grandiose and epic sounding songs here! The album closes with "Carol Of The Bells", which is done for the first time on a Theatre of Night album here with vocals, and even the 2022 version didn't have Rachel singing. As fans of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra know from "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24", this song bodes very well in a metal context, and the two versions only share minor differences from each other.

Obviously, the inclusion of vocals makes this one stand out a lot, and she really exercises her vocal range here, starting with upper register falsetto that gradually steps down and down later in the track. The sweet spot was in the middle, as the opening vocals were somewhat shrill and the latter ones sounded forced to get low like that, but it does show Gaby's abilities nicely! To me, the repetitive style of singing for "Carol Of The Bells" undercuts the heaviness of the guitar too much, but it's an effective capper to the album! So, three Christmas albums into their run, how does "Christmas Night 3" stack up? Really, it's not even a full sequel because it only has four brand new songs, and the only major change on the other six is Gaby on vocals, Whether you prefer Rachel or Gaby is subjective, but I appreciate Gaby's range and vocal control, while Rachel's full voice singing was a little deeper and softer edged, so both have their plusses.

Honestly, the big plus of Gaby's vocals here is that she/the band weren't pulling the "only sing half of the verses" thing like on "Dreams Of Winter", which made too many songs on that album sound incomplete. Musically, everyone performed soundly and with purpose to create classical metal magic, and while nothing major was changed for the six returning songs, the production values suited the grandiosity. Craig, Steve, and crew know what they're doing, even if we've been served most of this Christmas dinner before. I would have been curious to hear Gaby's takes on the three "Dreams Of Winter" songs with vocals that weren't carried over here (namely "Away In A Manger", "O Come All Ye Faithful", and "O Holy Night"), I did find some of the multi-tracked vocals to be a little roughly layered, "Carol Of The Bells" works better as an instrumental, and there is still a problem with some songs in terms of drawn out structures and lengthy outros.

Still, as a festive companion piece to their prior albums and a much belated end result of Theatre of Night's decade+ studio work with Gaby, this is a quality album for some heavier symphonic Christmas music, so buy/stream it above! I hope you guys liked our last monthly CD review of 2025, and we resume our new album release queue in release order next month when we look at defunct Sault Ontario grunge trio No Arrow's posthumous studio album "Souls For Sale"! Watch for that in January 2026 (hopefully early given the unexpected postponement of that review), and for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone, and Merry Christmas!