Rotaryfest Stage 1 Concert Previews, Cancellations, And Air Quality Condition Notes!!

(UPDATED AT 1:09 PM) Today's post previewing Stage 1 of Rotaryfest for 2026 went up when there were still many unanswered questions about the status of the festival given the severely poor air quality due to the forest fires in Northwestern Ontario and the smoke drifting east across much of the province. Festival organizers announced late yesterday that they would monitor conditions and issue updates about closures at 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM, and in the latter update on their website, they confirmed that today's Stage 1 lineup at Clergue Park (Encore, Lime, The Lock City Rollers, and The Range Lights) has been cancelled. In fact, every Rotaryfest event today has been called off except for Ribfest, the midway (though hours may be subject to change), and certain vendors at their discretion. Musically speaking, I believe this is the first time that a complete day's worth of music at Rotaryfest has been cancelled due to weather or atmospheric conditions (they tend to tough out rain).

Similarly, the City of Sault Ste. Marie has cancelled the Downtown Street Party scheduled for tonight (concurrently with the Stage 1 timeframe at Rotaryfest), as well as all other City-ran outdoor events today, as per this update. Tomorrow's Rotaryfest itinerary is not yet determined, but the air quality index for Sault Ste. Marie remains at 10+ (very high risk), and unfortunately, the forecast has worsened, as it's now only expected to drop one notch tomorrow to a forecast maximum of 10 (high risk). At this point, I have zero idea if they will chance having bands at Clergue Park tomorrow on any stage, and if so, would there be lineup adjustments based on performers opting out of playing. Pandemic aside, large-scale outdoor concert cancellations like this are new to me, but I will absolutely let you know when/if anything is tangibly announced about the status of Stage 1 and Stage 2 for Rotaryfest tomorrow and/or Saturday.

Regarding our current post schedule, I'll leave our Stage 1 previews as is for tomorrow's and Saturday's programs, as they're still officially on until otherwise stated, and I'm still covering the Second Stage programming in our next post, hitting the site by tomorrow morning, but I'm monitoring everything as much as I can, and so should you if you were planning on going to Clergue Park this weekend. Please stay inside and stay safe, especially if you have asthma or preexisting health conditions, and if you have to go outside or want to chance going to the carnival/getting ribs, please mask up and use common sense. As always, our best wishes go out to those directly dealing with and fighting the forest fires out west!

Assuming things aren't impaired any further by the forest fire smoke (a big if), TOMORROW is the delayed kickoff for the annual Rotaryfest music program, as Sault Ontario's summer festival returns for another year of family entertainment across three two days at Clergue Park and surrounding areas! Visit the official website or read your physical program in your mailbox for full non-musical details, including what's going down at the EDM-focused Stage 3 at the Downtown Plaza. This post will focus on the cover band-centric Stage 1 beside the Centennial Library, which will be curated by stage manager Valerie Pluss once again with Andrew Stuetz returning as MC. In the 25th installment since the familiar blue/yellow stage and modern format debuted in 2001, TOMORROW'S now-opening day on Stage 1 will feature six bands, with all but two making their Rotaryfest debuts (assuming no dropouts or replacements.)

TOMORROW'S day of music on Stage 1 will be headlined by the local debut of North Bay classic rock quintet Just Press Play at 10:20 PM, featuring long-time Rotaryfest sound tech Dan Belanger, so welcome him back in style if you're out! Your Friday co-headliners at 9:00 PM are classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush (who closed last year's festival) in their return from a recent pause, while reunited classic/hard rock quartet Quite Frankly will debut at Rotaryfest in the 8:00 PM timeslot. Remember, they are late replacements for The Sidekicks, following their move to the Saturday bill after a band dropout that day. Way Backs alumni Jeffrey Wright & Meggy Lee will bring country to the big stage at 7:00 PM, preceded by the returning Jazz Cats (featuring three members of Sunday & The Broken Hearts) at 6:00 PM. Your openers at 5:00 PM are Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band Mellowship Slinky, featuring guest drummer John Mignacca (ex-As It Stands).

Between Headrush & Quite Frankly, some early heavier funk rock Chili Peppers cuts, and Dan Belanger's track record guesting with the likes of That's Chester and Obsession at past Rotaryfests, SMS readers should hear some hard rock tunes tomorrow from this stacked lineup, air quality permitting! 9&10 News is calling for 19-21° temperatures during tomorrow's band timeframe, and the mostly cloudy(!) skies have a chance of turning into rain during Just Press Play's set, so follow Rotaryfest and your preferred weather forecasts for updates on that front. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of Headrush closing last year's Stage 1! Bassist John Amendola shared this to their Facebook group yesterday, and it's a 100 seconds-long highlight reel edited with Capcut, in which you'll hear fragments of the likes of Billy Squier, AC/DC, Rick Springfield, and Boston.

Alas, this video was shot (framed?) vertically, and I'd really rather see full videos of Headrush rather than short clips, but this does contain high quality footage of their biggest concert to date, and while not capping off Rotaryfest this year, they look to deliver more classic hard rock hits for fans at Clergue Park tomorrow evening! Give Headrush's new video a watch below!

Finally for the Stage 1 program this year, we head to SATURDAY, where 10 bands will (hopefully) rock out on the biggest and last day of the festival! As usual, a local band will cap things at 10:30 PM, and following the withdrawal of Tragically Hip tribute The Luxury for unannounced reasons, classic rock trio The Sidekicks were bumped from tomorrow's bill into this key timeslot, and hopefully Steve, Dan, and Tracey deliver for fans at night's end! This year's featured touring band is London-based Led Zeppelin tribute band Zed, making them the first Zeppelin tribute at Rotaryfest in 12 years (surprisingly, Mothership haven't played here). Zed's faithful take on the British hard rock legends' catalogue will be at 8:30 PM, following the third Rotaryfest set from punk/alternative cover sextet BookcluB at 7:15 PM, featuring The Jazz Cats' Josh Norling, who is scheduled for four bands this year across both stages. Kudos to him for staying busy!

Note that many of the 2:00-6:00 PM band timeslots were shuffled from the original schedule release, but no bands in this timeframe dropped out (yet?). Half of Abba tribute band Abba Soo will play on Saturday in the classic rock duo Just J&M at 6:15 PM, preceded by veteran classic rock quartet RPM at 5:15 PM. Pop rock cover veterans (and Dark Side Of The Soo sister band) Bourbon Blue return to Stage 1 at 4:15 PM, while Superior Heights Collegiate's student rock band Steel Rock will grace Rotaryfest at 3:15 PM once again. Local classic rock staples Mid Life Crysis will play their tenth Stage 1 set (tops among this year's lineup) at 2:15 PM, preceded by the debut of new local classic rock band Hush (featuring Mustang Heart's Vito Tassone, Turner Up's Robert Brown, and Bigsuit's Brian Oja) at 1:15 PM. Like last year, the Saturday bill will lead off with blues rock sextet Rusty & The Soft Parade at 12:15 PM.

Of course, they are led by local legend Rusty McCarthy, and feature the aforementioned Josh Norling once again), but will they play their Rotaryfest set in the rain again? We won't have an hourly forecast until later today, but 9&10 News is currently calling for a 50% chance of rain on Saturday with a high temperature of 21° (low of 12°). If rain is to be the issue rather than the air quality, it will be on Saturday, alas, but follow Rotaryfest's socials and your preferred weather forecast for specifics as we get closer. All three days of Stage 1 music at Clergue Park are FREE & ALL AGES, and there's certainly lots of music to enjoy, including seven debuting acts, so visit the above links for complete details, and here's Zed live!

With Stage 1 covered (as far as we can currently say), our next post will feature our Stage 2 preview for this year, and the rest of this weekend's known hard rock and punk concert previews will fall into place in that post or the next, so stay tuned for all of that! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Double Down & Tarnished), Weekend Concert Previews, And New Videos!!

Before we begin this preview post, I wanted to apologize for a show missed in last week's previews, as local alternative/punk cover supergroup BookcluB played at The Kiln at Searchmont Resort this past Saturday night. Both the band and resort only publically announced the show via their respective Facebook pages earlier that day, with BookcluB only giving fans five hours notice to make the trek to Searchmont. I'm sorry for missing this one, I'd have happily covered it had it even had a day's notice, but hopefully Mikey, Dustin, and crew had a blast for fans and skiiers alike on Saturday!

Today's first weekend concert preview post otherwise looks at most of this weekend's hard rock-leaning slate, but due to the amount of announced shows, we'll hold Saturday's Viscera show for tomorrow's post. As far as I'm aware, none of the hard rock-hosting venues this weekend are advertising early St. Patrick's Day festivities. Most of today's previews concern SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, and we'll start in Sault Michigan, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished will play their first show of 2026 TOMORROW NIGHT at The Merchants Bar! Apologies for the short notice, the band first announced this show via their Facebook page yesterday, and as always, The Merch doesn't promote bands playing there by name on social media. The guys were last seen on stage at the local Kewadin Casino in December.

This will be Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron's first stop at The Merch since late November, and hopefully there's a solid turnout! A one-nighter as usual at the 108 West Spruce Street nightclub, TOMORROW'S concert goes down at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge, and if you believe Tarnished's own promotion, "it's going to be a BLAST" (they capitalized it, not me!). Visit the above links for more on the hard rocking cover action ahead, and for a preview, here's Tarnished live at The Merch!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will set up shop at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band first confirmed this weekend's bookings on their Facebook page on Monday, and the venue has not corroborated them on social media. Marking their first gigs at the former Roosevelt Hotel for this new year, fans last saw Double Down elsewhere in the west end this past Saturday at Beck's Bar, where they welcomed back guest singer Jack "Jacklyn Hyde" Alisat for at least one song. Unlike that gig, however, the band are 100% publically advertising that Jack is back in some capacity TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, so if you want to catch the original Quite Frankly frontwoman on stage with a full band again, you have at least two more chances in the west end this weekend!

Double Down's brand of rocking cover action can be enjoyed TOMORROW & SATURDAY at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of Double Down with Jack at Beck's on Saturday! Filmed by RPM drummer Joseph Bertrand and uploaded to the band's Facebook page, this cover of AC/DC's "Shoot To Thrill" really shows off her vocal range nicely, and you'd never guess she was just a guest here! I wish Joseph had zoomed in more from where he was in Beck's, but at least this is horizontal. Give it a watch below, and get more from Double Down & Jack TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Jay's!

Moving to shows that did get advance notice, we'll next head to The Machine Shop, as Great Britain-based Queen tribute band Majesty: A Tribute To Queen will make their local concert debut TONIGHT! While local fans will be no stranger to Australia's Queen: It's A Kinda Magic's periodic concerts at the S.C.T.C., this concert will deliver an alternate British take on Freddie, Brian, John, and Roger's classic singles and stage show. Whether you prefer the performance quality and attention to detail of It's A Kinda Magic or not is subjective, but Majesty are the real deal, and if you love Queen, they'll deliver the classic rock goods tonight from across Queen's run! I have not seen any reference to an opening band. The second of three major hard rock concerts at The Machine Shop in a sub-2 month span (following The Trews and preceding Pop Evil), this is an all ages event taking place tonight at 8:00 PM.

Tickets remain on sale at this link, at the Community Box Office at Station Mall, or at the door tomorrow, and tickets run for $45 (seated) or $40 (standing). Despite this structure, this is a general admission event, so first come first serve for the best spots. This should be a fun concert, so consider coming out if you can swing it on a work/school night! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Majesty live!

Finally for this preview post, we'll head back to the west end, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will rock Beck's Bar for the first time on SATURDAY NIGHT! It is surprising that this is their debut at the former Vibe Lounge, but remember that they had been prioritizing private and community events over the winter, only just playing their first nightclub gigs of 2026 this past weekend at The Esquire Club. This talented foursome should have a lot of fun rocking covers in store for fans on Saturday, so keep this one in mind! This is a one-nighter as is usual at Beck's (DJ Dark Mark is spinning tunes tomorrow), while the 3:00 PM Saturday matinee timeslot this week belongs to new local country rock duo Danielle Roberts & Brad Collar. Of course, they aren't "opening" for Silent 9, they and the band each have 4 hour timeslots spaced 2 hours apart, but you can hang out to see both if you like.

Silent 9 are up at Beck's on Saturday at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video from the band's Facebook page of them at The Esquire Club this past weekend! The band rarely uploads videos of full songs, so you only get 34 seconds of Silent 9's cover of Cher's "Believe" (featuring many front row fans as their "new backup singers") here, but at least the video is horizontal and filmed from a really close angle. Jess is completely at ease here, and everyone's having fun, so while not the most "rock" cover in their setlist, it's a fun rendition! Give it a watch below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Majesty & The Trews), Tym Morrison Concert Previews, And Convergence Updates!!

Here's a Saturday morning post to check out before/instead of shovelling yet again, and it features this weekend's last hard rock concert previews, a teaser for an upcoming album, and leading off, two big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS at the same venue next year, so here's what you should know!

Juno Award-nominated Nova Scotia alt-hard rock quintet The Trews will return to Sault Ste. Marie for a headlining concert at The Machine Shop on Wednesday, February 25th! Well known on domestic rock radio from hit singles like "Not Ready To Go", "So She's Leaving", and (more recently) "Breakdown", this will be The Trews' first local gig since headlining last year's Go North Music Festival on St. Joseph Island. Within city limits, fans last saw them open for Marianas Trench at GFL Memorial Gardens in 2022, but this will be their first proper headlining concert in Sault Ste. Marie since 2009. Crucially, since last year's outdoor gig in Richards Landing, Country 104.3 became 104.3 The Fox, giving The Trews more local radio play than ever, so if you can swing the mid-week concert scheduling, you won't want to miss out as the tour supporting their new album "Bloody Light" continues!

I have not seen any reference to opening bands for this concert yet. Tickets went on sale yesterday for $40 at this link, and can also be bought at the box office at Station Mall and at the Gelato Mill on site at Mill Square. This is definitely an all ages show, and an 8:00 PM start time is listed. This should be a strong concert with lots of familiar rock numbers from this talented group, so visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more on The Trews' Machine Shop concert in a couple months!

Next up, here's another new Machine Shop concert announcement for the new year, as Majesty: A Tribute To Queen will headline there on Thursday, March 12th! Now, the idea of a Queen tribute band is far from new here, as fans who saw Australia's Queen: It's A Kinda Magic will know well, following that group's multiple headlining appearances at The Sault Community Theatre Centre in the last few years. Majesty will also be on an intercontinental trek (they're from Great Britain), and if you watch videos of them in action, they definitely have the Queen sound and look down, so it will be interesting to see a high quality Queen tribute at a more intimate local venue! Another all ages and 8:00 PM affair, ticket also start at $40 like for The Trews at the same on-sale locations (buy them online here), but unlike that show, there will be some general admission seating for Majesty, and those tickets will run for $45. Visit the above links for more on Majesty's local debut!

Now, let's wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews via another busy weekend for prolific local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison, who will play yet another matinee concert at Misty's Fifties LATER TODAY before doing the matinee honours at Beck's Bar TOMORROW! While the consecutive matinees is notable enough, these actually mean that Tym has played three shows in four days, as alas, I completely missed that he played at The Dive Gastro Pub on (Think It Over) Thursday. While The Dive didn't confirm the booking until four hours prior to showtime (I miss their monthly calendars), Tym had quietly announced the show on November 6th via this Facebook event page. Given how Tym promotes his concerts, it's easy to miss individual Facebook event pages when he plays the same venues so often, but I profusely apologize for Thursday's gig falling through the cracks. 

Hopefully he rocked "the naughty corner" well as usual, and note that he played the same three venues on the same days of the week back in early May as well! After his downtown trip, fans can see him back at Misty's on Second Line West today at 4:00 PM before doing the matinee honours tomorrow at Beck's on Goulais Avenue at 3:00 PM. Neither show has an announced cover charge, and both are 19+. Click here or visit the above links for more details on today & tomorrow's shows, and here he is live!

Finally for this post, here's the latest from local progressive metal quartet Convergence, who have revealed that the first single from "our debut album" will be released on Christmas Day! Now, long-time fans will know that Convergence released two EPs when they were still a two man instrumental project (2023's "One" and last year's "Dead & Dreaming"), but since adding singer and 2025 Soo's Got Talent runner-up Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio to the band late last year, they've basically started over publically, wiping both EPs from streaming services, though songs from both are expected to be on the new album, now with vocals and David Peredun drumming. No word on if the album will still be called "In Bloom" (already renamed from "Gemini") or not, but the first single will be "The Ebb", which was first heard on the "One" EP. To preview its re-release, Convergence shared this lyric video snippet on their Facebook page on December 3rd.

Why it has to be vertical, I don't know, but its existence implies that a full lyric video could be in the cards in a few weeks. Both because I hope to review the album next year and that this is a 30 second teaser, I'll hold comment on the "Ebb" clip, but it's good to hear some true public news on Convergence's next studio album for the first time in months! They last alluded to their studio work on social media in the spring, and they were teasing that as being towards building an EPK at that point. Give the teaser video a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Convergence in the coming weeks, including "The Ebb" on the 25th!

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

Rust, Bone Yard 225, And Curtis McKenzie Concert Previews!!

Before we begin our second weekend concert preview post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of original Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, who passed away yesterday at the age of 74 after being on life support following a fall at his home that led to a brain bleed. Visit your preferred music websites for continuing details on this sad news. A highly influential guitarist who co-wrote many of Kiss' biggest hit songs in the 1970s and early 1980s, and fronted what most considered to be the best of Kiss members' four simultaneous solo albums in 1978, Ace made his own name in the late 1980s and beyond with his own band Frehley's Comet and numerous solo releases, including last year's "10,000 Volts". Ace played two solo concerts in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, including at The Dreammaker's Theatre at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino in November 2009, before headlining the outdoor '80s Rock Invasion concert at the St. Ignace Kewadin in July of last year.

Of course, Ace was not in the band anymore when Kiss played their two Sault Ste. Marie gigs, but his influence was felt from their setlists to the Spaceman costume taken on by Tommy Thayer, let alone the Kiss tribute bands that have played here. With hits like "Shock Me", "New York Groove", "Rock Soldiers", and "Cold Gin" on his resume as writer and/or singer along with ample guitar credits, Ace will be remembered fondly by the Kiss Army, and blast them loud if you can tonight. R.I.P. Ace!

Today's post otherwise looks at more weekend concert previews in Sault Ontario, and we'll start at Beck's Bar, where former Haggith/Project 421 frontman Curtis McKenzie will play their Saturday matinee timeslot TOMORROW! This will be Curt's first unplugged solo date since rocking The Dive Gastro Pub two weeks ago, a date that I regrettably missed covering on here despite teasing that he would be back soon when he announced that there was a scheduling mix-up the previous week and wasn't playing then. I profusely apologize for missing that Dive gig (which was a an outdoor "Patio Play" event), and hopefully he had a great on October 4th! Fans haven't seen Curtis rock out at the former Vibe Lounge since the end of August, so if you want a solid matinee block of alternative and hard rock covers, go west! Tomorrow's show is at 3:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Curt live!

Next up, who's playing the nightcap at Beck's Bar TOMORROW NIGHT? Southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, who will also pull the rare weekend double as the acoustic matinee performer on SUNDAY! One of the few local bands who play both of Beck's usual live band days (Fridays are typically DJ nights, tonight's Joe Mattalo country concert acknowledged), fans of "the dirty three" will have last seen Greg, Alex, and Warren at the Goulais Avenue nightclub in early September. Whether you prefer your Bone Yard in its full electric splendour or would rather see them earlier on and "uncorked", you have options this weekend! Just a reminder, Curtis McKenzie is not "opening" for your local 225 tomorrow, he and Bone Yard have separate four hour timeslots spaced two hours apart, but with no cover, you can hang out and see both if you choose. Tomorrow's concert is at 9:00 PM, Sunday's is a 3:00 PM matinee, and both shows are 19+ affairs. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Bone Yard 225 live!

Finally for this weekend, we'll head downtown to "The" Soo Blaster, where Sudbury's Rust: A Tribute To Rush will return for a headlining concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Fittingly now taking place in the wake of the real Rush's reunion tour announcement for 2026, this will be Rust's first local stop since November of last year, though the Kuthy brothers are far from strangers to the Soo, having played here four times with their Def Leppard tribute band Just Leppard, including in April. On this current tour, Rust are playing the album "Moving Pictures" in full and in order during their sets, and with their faithful looking and sounding stage show, fans of the Canadian progressive hard rock legends would be hard pressed to miss Saturday's concert for what should be a solid night of Rush classics! Doors open at 7:30 PM tomorrow for this all ages concert, which has tickets running for $25 online at this link or at the venue, though the door charge will jump to $35. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's the official trailer for this show!

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

Rotaryfest 2025 Stage 1 & 2 Concert Reviews!!

For a second straight year, I went to Rotaryfest at Clergue Park to do an extended double run of both Stage 1 and Stage 2 on Saturday, and this is my extended review of what I saw! Last year, I saw eight bands in partial sets by hopping back and forth between stages, but this year, I had ambitions of seeing everyone across both stages, aided by the unusually cool July temperatures. The only spanner in the works there was the rainy weather, which held on longer than forecasts were projecting. I did make it down to Clergue Park during the Stage 1 opening set by classic rock quartet Rusty & The Soft Parade, but the rain was coming down steadier and harder, as you can see in my pictures. My Fujifilm Finepix digital camera has an impressive zoom lens, but one that was acting up during the rainfall, and there was even condensation building up inside the LCD display screen.

It's an old camera, but a really good camera, and I was not comfortable risking it with that rain coming down any further. I did get 10 rainy photos of The Soft Parade (my cap for the bands on Saturday), but my sole video attempt ended after about 3 seconds, and I bailed to let the weather run its course and leave the area. I opted to come back in the 3:00 PM hour, so I do profusely apologize to The Rhythm Junction, Matthew James, Steel Rock, and Cameron Oliver for missing their sets. If public coverage/videos of their sets crop up when we do our Rotaryfest fallout coverage, I'll let you know!

Just to clarify, I tried to see 20-30 minutes of each band at Rotaryfest (Soft Parade aside), allowing for time to walk from stage to stage, so I could see a fair amount of everyone's set to keep things equal, though there were Stage 2 delays in the second half of the day's schedule. When I made it back to the festival grounds, St. Mary's College's new student rock band Crusade was mid-set covering Creed's "Higher" with a female singer, and later tackled Simple Plan's "I'm Just A Kid" when I was present. Like with Steel Rock before them (that day and last year), they have a modular lineup, with students coming and going depending on the needs of the song. The program listed fourteen members of Crusade and I definitely didn't see all of them. Obviously, I can't speak for the whole St. Mary's music program, but the kids did a good job, and hopefully this will set them up for bigger things!

At around 3:30, I headed off on the short walk to Stage 2 for my first band on the originals-leaning program there, namely crossover thrash quartet Hails in their festival debut. One of the heaviest bands to play the Second Stage yet, their set featured original songs like "Peter Pandemic", "Pink Clouds Of Density", and "Ghosts", plus their cover of The Almighty Trigger Happy's "Meathook". Another ferocious and speedy set, Brenton Ellis was in fine form on vocals and bass, and guitarist Carmen Muto's haircut didn't sap his powers at all! A decent crowd was on hand for Ha!ls' fury, and hopefully this drove up hits for their self-titled album on major streaming services! In quite a shift in styles, my trek back to Stage 1 led me to The Northern Jazz Ensemble early in their 4:00 PM set. The most prolific Rotaryfest band on this year's bill, the Martin Virta-led band started with an instrumental number before Judi Holmes joined on vocals.

Songs covered during The N.J.E.'s set included Diana Krall and Nat King Cole songs, plus an instrumental version of Donovan's "Sunshine Superman". I'm far from qualified to talk about jazz, but everyone performed well (including Convergence guitarist Jacob Valois in his second of three sets on Saturday, including with The Rhythm Junction), and the smooth jazz interpretations were a good change of pace! The sonic whiplash continued when I headed back to the Second Stage for local hard rock quintet HeadF1rst's second straight time here, and they broke out originals like "Homewrecker", "Tour Bus Fantasy", and "Story Of Me" in a set heavily based around their new album "Road Trippin'". I also heard their cover of Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak", which went over well also. Similarly to when I last saw HeadF1rst in May, they had a strong set with catchy originals & good enthusiasm, especially with Red Jettson's stage presence!

Everyone performed to standard, with Rainey Rancourt's solos being top notch, and Red's deeper range was captured well on "Steam", but I had to miss their Claire-fronted songs due to the voyage back to Stage 1, where classic rock cover quintet Encore had taken the stage. Dressed in matching white shirts and pink ties (save for frontwoman Janet Brown), I was able to hear them covering songs by the likes of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bryan Adams, Eddie Money, Fleetwood Mac, and The Foo Fighters. Not leaning heavier for the most part, but they had a good sound for classic rock fans! Janet had a friendly manner while still commanding the stage, while Paul Glassford & Dave Repath were a solid compliment on guitar, so they did good to capture fans' attention in their Rotaryfest return! I could have seen more of their set, but unbeknownst to me when I left, there were delays underway.

For one reason or another, progressive/djent metal quartet Convergence weren't able to begin their 5:30 PM Second Stage set until 5:47, which led to a 15 minute-ish delay for the rest of the night. In the time I spent there, the rain from earlier cropped up again, forcing me to retreat under a nearby tree to give my cameras as much protection as possible while still seeing the band, and I'm glad I wasn't forced to flee, as they put on an impressive performance with technically sound dual guitar work from Brendan Christie and (completing the Rotaryfest double) Jacob Valois! The big question mark for me was vocalist Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio, whose singing style reminded me a bit of a heavier, more hardcore-influenced Claudio Sanchez (I hope that's fair), and he delivered good energy and aggression with melody! The coordinated Hawaiian shirts were a nice touch, though I'd have introduced more songs (I only heard "Dig Up Your Ghost" named.)

The delay threw off my schedule timing a tad, but my walk back to Stage 1 let me take in much of an entertaining set from local punk/alternative cover favourites BookcluB, the only band that I saw at Rotaryfest both this year and last. After missing their Stage 1 set last year, bassist Dustin Jones was back with Bookclub on Saturday, though they played shorthanded anyway, as saxophonist Josh Norling was out of town. Their suitably eclectic set included covers of the likes of Timbuk 3, Cake, Marcy Playground, and Lindsey Buckingham, with Dustin taking over lead vocals for a rendition of David Lee Roth's "Just Like Paradise". Good stuff, with Mikey Hawdon leading everyone through some fun covers that you don't hear other local bands play often, and Allan Watson's drumming was on point! Late in their set, I returned to Stage 2 to check out the solo debut of Shane "DJ Seith" Erickson, who was up to his usual tricks on Saturday evening!

Giving more credence to DJs using proper turntables and vinyl record mixes rather than just pressing keys on a laptop, Seith laid down some fun mixes for assembled fans, and while I didn't immediately recognize any of the songs he was mixing, there were lots of catchy vibes to go around, and he seems more animated for arm movements and lip syncing than I recall previously! Nice touch by bringing tambourines for the audience to use too! Over on Stage 1, the next band on Saturday evening was pop rock cover quartet Lime, who I kinda sorta saw last year as "Miss Madii" playing frontwoman (and reigning Soo's Got Talent champion) Madii Schomogyi's original songs on Stage 2. This year, they were only on Stage 1 doing covers, and drummer Braiden Bryant was present after missing last year's Rotaryfest. Madii and the guys covered the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay, Jet, Kenny Loggins, and Def Leppard on Saturday.

Lively array of crowd pleasing covers, and they were a good choice to hook people in, as they were the last Stage 1 band before Who Made Who. A couple songs were well handled duets with guitarist Liam Seymour also singing, and there's definitely lots of talent here, so hopefully Lime keep the momentum up! For the penultimate Stage 2 band, I headed back outside of the Art Gallery for my first time seeing indie rock quartet Jupiter Marvelous, whose lineup entirely features musicians we've previously covered in heavier bands: singer/guitarist Anthony Marcello (ex-Caroline Divine), guitarist Shane Storozuk (ex-Vol.), bassist Jacob Quarrell (ex-Mike Haggith's solo band), drummer Bradley Nixon (The BAG), and apparent guest guitarist Spencer Pine (ex-Electric Church). Their set was heavily made up of songs from their 2024 album "Isn't This Supposed To Be Fun", like "Juice Box" and "Cherry Girl", plus covers of Fall Out Boy and... T-Pain?!

Jupiter Marvelous definitely lean more to an indie/alternative sound that by and large suits what Stage 2 had tended to book, but they have a lot of talent and were definitely having fun and staying loose up there (Jacob was particularly funny and engaging with the audience in particular), and their cover choices point to some eclectic influences! Not the heaviest band going, but don't bypass their studio material on major streaming sites! Once I headed back to Stage 1, there was a sea of people as Toronto-based AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who's featured sets had begun! Due in part to the Convergence delay on Stage 2, I saw the start and end of Who Made Who's set, though not the middle, but I caught them covering songs like "If You Want Blood", "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", and "Sin City" before leaving once more for Stage 2. While I have seen Who Made Who on their prior local stops, it's been many years, and certainly never to this huge of a crowd.

If you're a fan of Brian Johnson-era AC/DC, you'll have been right at home with their up-tempo and very faithful take on the AC/DC live sound, with Dan Hunter sounding just like Brian, and Scooter Von continues looking and sounding the part on guitar, though he didn't do the duck walk as often I recall from prior shows. Everyone had a strong handle on AC/DC's classic hits, but there was one more band on Stage 2, so I ducked out at around 9:00 PM to check out reunited local midwest emo band Fuller as the closing band there! For this set, they did indeed welcome Nebraska Arms alum Dave Prendergast to fill in for an absent Mark Rand on bass (Dave's shirt was a nice touch), but in a complete surprise, they also welcomed former Id Iota/Pixo Control guitarist Dustin Goodall as a second guitarist! I don't know if Dustin is joining permanently, let alone if Fuller have future plans beyond Rotaryfest or not.

Remember that Dustin produced and provided additional instrumentation on their album "II" from March of this year, so he knows the material from the album well! Jamie, David, and crew unleashed originals like "Image In My Sight", "Love Is Always Better When You're Dreaming", and "I Will Crush You" during their Second Stage closing set, while also covering The Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?". I'm not an emo/post-hardcore scholar, but it was neat seeing Jamie Vincent front Fuller again for my first time since their original Oddfellows Hall days, and a strong crowd was present for their up-tempo alternative sound, and hopefully we hear more from Fuller in some form or fashion! After Fuller's set wrapped up (no encore), I returned to Stage 1 for the final time to catch the end of Who Made Who's extended set. They finished with the AC/DC classics "Thunderstruck", "High Voltage", and, of course, the band's namesake song "Who Made Who".

As has been the case in all but one non-pandemic year since 2015, a local band was booked after the touring headliner, and this year, the honours went to Rotaryfest newcomers Headrush, who unleashed a set of hard rock-leaning classics for remaining fans! The numbers were thinner, but a good number of fans witnessed the Johns, Wes, Frank, and Gino covering the likes of Journey, Billy Squier, Boston, Harlequin, and Loverboy during their nightcap set. You'd never have guessed that they were still so relatively new as a band, as they had a tight sound and good chemistry, with John Anderson's uniquely toned but rangy vocals suiting their cover choices, and Wes Greco's lead guitar truly was the engine driving these covers forward. Solid work with crowd-pleasing hits, and hopefully we see more from Headrush soon! Overall, Rotaryfest 2025 (well, most of the Saturday bills) went well for music, and I'm glad to have seen more of the bands this year!

The rain did dampen things early, but it didn't dictate the whole day, thank goodness. Whether the skies will be clear for 2026's Saturday run, who's to say, but I do want to do the full day marathon at some point! There's a lot to see and sample, so click here to check out our photos (all 135 of them) from the fourteen acts that I saw on Saturday at this link or via our Facebook page! Again, no video of Rusty & The Soft Parade due to the rainfall, but I filmed everyone else that I saw, so in order across both stages, here's Crusade covering Green Day's "She", Hails playing "Sole Crusher", The Northern Jazz Ensemble covering Vinicius de Moraes' "Agua De Beber", HeadF1rst playing "Have A Good Time", Encore covering Hot Chocolate's "You Could Have Been A Lady", Convergence playing an unintroduced original song, BookcluB covering The Traveling Wilburys' "Handle With Care", DJ Seith mixing Shocking Blue's "Send Me A Postcard", ...

...Lime covering Van Morrison's "Wild Night", Jupiter Marvelous playing "Pieces", Who Made Who tackling AC/DC's "Sink The Pink", Fuller playing "And I End", and Headrush covering Sweeney Todd's "Roxy Roller"!

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

Rotaryfest 2025 Concert Previews (Stage 1!!)

The busiest concert weekend of the year is upon us, so let's start things off today with a look at who's playing Rotaryfest Stage 1 at Clergue Park! This is the 25th year since Rotaryfest adopted its current staging and format for the covers-centric pop-up stage beside the Centennial Library, and as usual, there will be three days' worth of FREE live music for all ages over the weekend! Visit the festival website for more on non-musical activities going on downtown before, during, and after the bands. Here's what you should know on the musical end of things!

Andrew Stuetz is returning as the MC for Stage 1 this year on all three days. We'll start our Rotaryfest weekend concert previews off TOMORROW for night #1, as the first four bands in this year's program will take the stage, three of which being festival newcomers. In a first for the Thursday lineups, a touring headliner will close things, namely Billy & Elton: The Legends, the joint Billy Joel/Elton John tribute show from accomplished & relocated local musicians Mick Dalla-Vee and Michael Sicoly in a relatively rare local concert appearance from them in any project. They headline at 9:30 PM, while hard rock fans will get the largest bone of the evening at 8:00 PM when classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 pause their summer break in their second straight appearance on Stage 1. Debuting local ten-piece yacht rock/R&B band The Lock City Rollers will take the stage at 7:00 PM, while pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue will make their Stage 1 debut at 6:00 PM.

Like Silent 9, Bourbon Blue are taking a couple months off from bar gigs, so if you've missed either as of late, be at Clergue Park tomorrow! The current weather forecast from 9&10 News has sunny skies with temperatures of around 17-18°, but there is rain currently expected tomorrow morning, so follow your preferred weather outlets for specifics closer to. Sounds like a talented and varied lineup to kick off Rotaryfest for 2025, and Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve should deliver some hard rocking favourites for the occasion, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Silent 9 live!

Next up, let's profile night #2 of Stage 1 music on FRIDAY, as six local bands will grace the stage, four being returnees from past Rotaryfests. Your headliners are classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations in their third consecutive year on Stage 1 and first turn as the closing act on a given day, so don't miss their old school cover classics at 10:20 PM! Jeffrey Wright's classic country cover band The Way Backs will themselves play Rotaryfest for a third straight year at 9:00 PM, and country fans will also want to check out Soundcheck alum Cameron Oliver's one-off band Mile 38 at the 8:00 PM timeslot. Handsome Sandwich guitarist Jesse Cook will notably be showing his musical diversity in Mile 38, though with Cameron's teased move out of town this fall, see them on Friday while you can! Classic rock cover veterans RPM will play Stage 1 for a fifth time at 7:00 PM, while fellow classic rock staples Flathead Ford play their seventh Rotaryfest at 6:00 PM.

Opening on Friday at 5:00 PM are The Jazz Cats (not to be confused with 2017's "Jazz Catz"), a newer local jazz cover quintet featuring Convergence bandmates Jacob Valois & David Peredun, so while the metal is a day away on Stage 2, the technicality will be present on Stage 1! As of this writing, we're too far from Friday for an hourly forecast, but 9&10 News is currently calling for partly cloudy weather with a high of 21° then. Another varied but very talented lineup of musicians for fans to check out on Friday, with Generations ending things on a heavier note, so visit the above links for more on night #2, and here's Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre live!

Your closing lineup of bands on SATURDAY is, as usual, the longest of the three days, with ten bands taking over Stage 1, and your featured touring headliners are Toronto-based AC/DC tribute Who Made Who in their fifth local concert appearance since 2010 and first since they played at the former Canadian Nightclub in 2019. Good to see their faithful take on the Australian hard rock legends again on home soil, and hopefully they infuse Stage 1 with lots of high voltage rock n' roll on Saturday night! As normal, the touring attraction aren't the final band, with Who Made Who playing at 8:30 PM, but the closing band this year will be classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush, closing the festival at 10:30 in their Stage 1 debut, which ain't a bad spot to be in at all! Working backwards, local pop rock cover quartet Lime will rock Stage 1 for a fourth time at 7:00 PM, while alternative/punk cover sextet BookcluB will play Rotaryfest for a third straight year at 6:00 PM.

Classic rock quintet Encore will hit the big stage at 5:00 PM in their fourth time on Stage 1, while The Northern Jazz Ensemble will return at 4:00 PM in their sixteenth time at Rotaryfest and seventh consecutively (both records among this year's lineup). Two of Sault Ste. Marie's four active high school rock band programs will rock Stage 1 in the 3:00 & 2:00 PM timeslots, namely Crusade from St. Mary's College (in their Rotaryfest debut) and Steel Rock from Superior Heights Collegiate (who played last year). The kids are alright, as you'll see on Saturday afternoon! Funk/dance rock cover band The Rhythm Junction will play Stage 1 for a second time at 1:00 PM, and the day's music lineup will be led off by local blues rock veteran Rusty McCarthy and his new classic rock cover outfit Rusty & The Soft Parade, and you can see them kick off the day #3 program at 12:00 PM. 

For both the amount of bands total, the multiple SMS-amenable acts, and the concurrent Stage 2 program on site (more on that tomorrow), Saturday will likely appeal the most to diehard readers, but don't bypass any of this year's lineups on Stage 1, as there's loads of talent on hand! The current weather forecast is calling for mostly cloudy weather with a similar high temperature of 21°, but there is a 30% chance of rain at press time. Again, keep tabs on your preferred weather forecast for updates as we approach the festival proper. Visit the above links for much more on all three days of Stage 1 action at Rotaryfest, and here's Who Made Who live!

That's all for now, but we'll next dive into non-Rotaryfest previews and Stage 2, so stay tuned for all of that shortly! Thanks everyone!