LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison & Soundcheck) Plus More Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

This busy weekend concert preview slate begun early with Thursday nighters yesterday, and moves into Friday-Saturday shows in Sault Ste. Marie city limits for post #2. The plan is to preview the Northern Vibe Festival next (I did get a tentative schedule from one of the performers), with this weekend's two ARCH benefit motorcycle rally concerts and Wax Mannequin to follow where space and time allows. Stay tuned on those fronts, but here's what you should know for this weekend otherwise, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will head just outside of town to Echo Bay TOMORROW NIGHT for a second concert at The Elks Lodge there linked to slo-pitch baseball! Apologies for the short notice, we only learned about this show via the band's Facebook page yesterday, though the Echo Bay Sunday Slo-Pitch League Facebook page first confirmed their involvement last week. Soundcheck had first rocked Echo Bay in June as part of the Elks Bay Days tournament, but things clearly went well for the baseball players and fans in Echo Bay then, as their return TOMORROW's concert is for the league proper's end-of-season banquet, and will be preceded by a catered dinner with cash bar. This is a ticketed and publically attendable event, and admission will be $20 (kids 10 & under are free), which will also enter you for the door prize.

Soundcheck's set TOMORROW NIGHT at 96 Church Street is at 9:00 PM running for your standard nightclub runtime, and free on-site camping is also available. Hopefully TOMORROW's concert is another home run for Soundcheck as they rock Echo Bay one more time to end the slo-pitch baseball season there, so don't miss their fan friendly hard rocking covers there or this evening at the newer A&W for the Cruisin' The Dub car show! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, joining his regular weekly concerts TOMORROW at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post and on SATURDAY at Misty's Fifties, local acoustic classic/hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will play a rare gig at a more standard nightclub when he returns to Reggie's Place on SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice on the Reggie's gig, it was only announced on the venue's Facebook page yesterday. Tym is way more commonly seen at atypical and more unplugged-friendly venues than he is at nightclubs known for hosting bands regularly, so keep his return to Queen Street East in mind on SATURDAY NIGHT for his own entertaining blend of classic and hard rock covers! Remember, he had played in the vicinity of Reggie's at the former Tazzi's a few times in the past year. Of course, his regular weekly shows at The Mike Case Memorial Stage tomorrow and at Misty's on Saturday prior are still going on as those series march on into (at least) next month.

The Reggie's show is a one-nighter due to or resulting in a karaoke night there tomorrow. Tym's triple header this weekend has start times of 7:00 PM tomorrow, 4:00 PM at Misty's on Saturday, and at 9:30 PM at Reggie's on SATURDAY NIGHT! The Trading Post show has no age limit, and none have a cover charge. Weather-wise, tomorrow's Mike Case Stage show is looking to have cloudy weather at 21°, but it's not expected to rain. Click here & here and visit the above links for more details, and here he is live!

Now let's head to Sault Michigan, where "weird Wisconsin hard rock" trio Sunspot will return to The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! This will be Sunspot's fourth annual trip from Madison to Sault Ste. Marie to coincide with the annual Michigan Paranormal Convention, which returns to the Soo Kewadin this weekend from today through Saturday for what will actually be its final year (click here for more details on why the MiParacon is "bidding the mortal realm adieu"). Suffice to say, if you are at all into ghosts, aliens, cryptids, and anything else paranormal, you'll definitely want to check out all of the action at the Kewadin ballroom this weekend, and click here to see who all is coming to the Soo for this year's festivities! Of course, you don't need a MiParacon wristband to see Sunspot at The Rapids Lounge, but they're quite fitting for the weekend.

Sunspot actually have ghost investigators in their lineup, many of their songs are about mythical and fantastical concepts, and their hard rock/power pop hybrid sound (including some violin input) has definitely turned local heads since 2021, and hopefully the end of the convention doesn't mean the end of Sunspot making 7 hour trips northeast to play here! Expect 9:00 PM start times and 21+ age limits tomorrow and Saturday, and these absolutely have no cover charge, paid MiParacon admission isn't needed. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Sunspot live!

Finally for weekend concert preview post #2, let's head back to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to Gateway Casino for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Two weeks removed from their last date at Shooters alongside bassist Pierre Anthony Vaillancourt's son Liam as a guest singer, regular frontwoman Valerie Powley will be back on Saturday, in what will be their first show at the downtown casino since they ended Rotaryfest weekend there. Hopefully Generations' skilled blend of classic and hard rock covers find another solid audience of fans and casino patrons alike on Saturday! No, they're not playing elsewhere tomorrow that I'm aware of. Saturday's concert has a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on Generations' casino return on Saturday night, and for a preview, here they are live at Rotaryfest last month!

That's all for now, but look for our preview of this year's Northern Vibe Festival next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Bone Yard 225), Thursday Concert Previews, And New Videos!

(Updated at 9:58 PM) This weekend's concert slate is quite busy again after getting a relative reprieve last week, so let's start things a day early today! After all, two (three?) of the shows are Thursday evening affairs, and have more to say than normal given the setting of them, so here's what you should know to start, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT! We'll touch on Friday-Saturday nighters and/or the Northern Vibe Festival in preview post #2 hitting the site tomorrow.

Joining the previously confirmed Soundcheck concert at the Cruisin' The Dub car show at the newer A&W at 659 Great Northern Road tomorrow, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will indeed be headlining the concurrent motorcycle show at the old A&W at 121 Great Northern Road TOMORROW! Apologies for the short notice on Bone Yard's end, public advertising confirming their involvement only showed up on Facebook earlier today, but remember that they have been busy prepping for the Dragonfly Run on Sunday (preview forthcoming). The dual sets by both bands at the respective A&W car and bike shows is a reprise of last year's Cruisin' The Dub festivities, only this year, Mother Nature isn't going to interfere, as 9&10 News is calling for sunny skies and weather of around 23°. Both car & bike show were rained out in 2023, so things should run smoothly across the board!

As expected, Cruisin' The Dub is in support of Multiple Sclerosis Canada, with lots of classic cars and motorcycles to check out across both Great Northern Road A&Ws, along with family friendly games, prize draws, and refreshments, and a hard rocking local band at both locations, so keep all of this in mind TOMORROW! A much bigger follow-up to the car-only show that Soundcheck played in June, the car and/or bike show will have no cover, they're absolutely ALL AGES, and both run from 5:00-8:00 PM. Visit the above links for more on TOMORROW'S action, stay tuned for more from both bands this weekend, and here are both bands live, including one of three new videos of Bone Yard 225 live via their Facebook page! Two of them were live-streamed from their concert at the Laird Agricultural Fair on Friday, including one of them covering The Ramones' classic "I Wanna Be Sedated" with bassist Warren Reville on lead vocals.

While it is vertical, the filmer largely only focused on Warren, so the orientation isn't so bad in that regard! Solid cover but the vocals came through very quiet. The other Laird Fair video (which is horizontal) sees them covering ZZ Top's "Tush" with guitarist Alex D'Ettore on lead vocals, and it's a solid cover with good energy! Embedded here is their (also horizontal!) new video from one of their Reggie's Place gigs in July, where they covered The Tragically Hip's "Little Bones" with singer/drummer Greg Simpson handling vocals. Another strong cover filmed in high quality, if slightly to its detriment given the stage lighting at Reggie's, but check this out for yourselves below, and don't miss Bone Yard TOMORROW!

Next up, Hails frontman Brenton Ellis' acoustic punk solo project Slumshine will play a rare live set TOMORROW NIGHT when they return to the Sault Ste. Marie Museum for their third straight set at the annual Fringe North Festival! The only SMS-amenable music act playing Fringe North this year, Slumshine will see Brent break out his acoustic guitar and pink knit ski mask for the first time since last year's Fringe North when he opens up "the Comet Stage", which will be set up outside of & behind the museum tomorrow night (as such, expect the same sunny & 23° weather conditions as at Cruisin' The Dub). The official program outlines all of the details you could ask for re: this year's festival, including a complete performer lineup at the Museum and elsewhere, celebrating art and culture in all of its diverse forms. Like last year, Slumshine's set (named "A Work In Progress") will be themed around Brent's recovery from drug addiction.

Click here to read more about Slumshine's modus operandi and what to expect lyrically from their set, courtesy of Fringe North's website. While Slumshine's set opens tomorrow's program at "the Comet Stage" at 7:00 PM, each individual performer is priced separately at different tiers, with no batch price packages to cover an entire day's musicians on one stage. Brent will be a musical outlier anyway tomorrow, as he precedes sets by Toronto R&B musician Aieysha Haws at 8:00 PM, Thunder Bay rapper O'Rose at 9:00 PM, and rappers from local label Sooicide Records at 10:00 PM. If you want to see Slumshine's set tomorrow from 7:00-8:00, the minimum advertised price is $5, though $15 is the "support the artist" rate (note that the program lists both tiers as being $5 higher than the online ticket page does). It is also worth noting that Brent will be jetting off to Southern Ontario for shows with Hails this weekend!

On Friday and Saturday, they'll be opening for Toronto "hypnofolk" band Twintwa (who also played with Ha!ls at It's The Pits in Leeburn) and Hamilton electro-noise rock band Better Homes For Meaner People, across both nights, the former at Vertagogo in Hamilton and the latter at the third annual Humber River Art & Music Festival in Toronto, where the three bands will be joined by Peterborough rapper Garbageface, the Soo's own Shae Tull, and many others. Hopefully both shows are hits for Brent, the Mutos, and Keeghan this weekend, but don't miss Slumshine tomorrow at the museum first! See above for more details on Fringe North 2024, and for a preview, here's Slumshine live back in 2019!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Unfortunate Sun & The Nameless) And More From Sault Michigan!!

Today's SMS post is devoted to Sault Michigan bands and E.U.P. concerts, including a bunch of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this fall, so here's what you should know across the river!

Local hard rock quintet The Nameless will reportedly return to Huck's Pub & Grill in nearby Rudyard for one night only on Saturday, September 14th! The band has not publically confirmed this date yet, but it was announced via the venue's concert calendar on their Facebook page (always nice to see venues plug shows like this!), and I believe it will be their debut at the former Joe's Bar & Grill. That said, there is a more pressing matter in their camp, as a GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help frontman Joshua LaCoursiere and his family. Earlier this month, Josh was stung by a bee and had a severe allergic reaction that caused major swelling and blood clots in his shoulder & hand, and he has needed at least two surgeries in Petoskey to address what happened. As such, he missed The Nameless' set at the Serious Business-promoted multi-band concert in Brimley this past weekend (if they dropped out, I hadn't heard 100%).

As Josh can't work right now, the aim is to raise $15,000 for him and his family at this time of need, and if you can help the LaCoursieres, definitely consider doing so at this link! Of course, our best thoughts are with Joshua, his kids, and his family and friends as he recovers, and hopefully we see him back on stage when fully able! I have no idea if this will affect the Huck's gig next month, but we will keep you posted if it is cancelled or postponed. For now, it's at 8:00 PM on the 14th with a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Stay tuned for more from The Nameless when it rolls in, and I hope Josh gets better soon!

Next up, eagle eyed readers may have noticed gigs from newer local hard rock cover bands Dirty Musky and Unfortunate Sun at Huck's later this fall, and while we already knew about the former's show on October 5th (we'll pick things back up on Dirty Musky in a bit), the Unfortunate Sun gigs are new to us! Yes, the Fake Chow successors will make their way to Huck's in Rudyard for Saturday nighters on October 26th & November 16th, and no word on if the shows will be outdoors like their debut gig was last month, but it will obviously be the fall then. Also, keep in mind that the October 26th show could be Halloween themed, but given that October 31st is a Thursday this year, some venues may opt to have their events late so they're closer to the actual day. We'll know more in a couple of months! Along with these two shows, Unfortunate Sun announced three more upcoming dates on their Facebook page, so where are they playing next?

Their second public date as Unfortunate Sun will be on Saturday, September 7th when they perform at... The Stalwart Agricultural Fair in Goetzville? This is a new one for the SMS, but the 118th annual Stalwart Fair is a farming/agricultural fair just southeast of Pickford at the corner of Sand Ridge Road and 28 Mile, and the fair's Facebook page has confirmed that Unfortunate Sun will be headlining under the on-site pavilion there (I don't know if this will be fully outdoors or not). No other bands that day, with most of the Saturday events focusing on livestock judging and horse pulls, but visit the official website for full non-musical details! An 8:00 PM start time is planned for this concert, which has no advertised age limit, and there is a $5 admission fee. The other two shows appear to be standard one-nighters at local nightclubs, with Unfortunate Sun debuting in the Soo on Saturday, September 28th at The Merchants Bar, and...

...on Wednesday, November 27th at The Islander Bar in Hessel? Other than being the day before the American Thanksgiving, I do not know the significance of scheduling a mid-week show like this, assuming that the date is accurate, but we'll keep you posted if there's clarification! Both shows should have 9:00 PM-ish start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more on Unfortunate Sun's upcoming concert slate, and hopefully we hear much more from them soon!

Finally, let's look the aforementioned Dirty Musky, who don't have brand new shows to announce (yet), but we do have new live videos of theirs to check out! Uploaded to their Facebook page last week, these are their first official videos that run for longer than 20 seconds, let alone feature the band directly performing on camera. Granted, each runs for 31 and 41 seconds respectively, but beggars can't be choosers! Unfortunately, both were shot vertically, and they had a circular peephole filter put on them, but at least these are embeddable on external websites. Both videos capture parts of Dirty Musky covering Tool's "Sober" (here's part 2) at The Islander Bar in Hessel earlier this month, and it's a solid enough cover for what we hear! It's just nice to see new videos of a Dave Menard-fronted band, as Splitshot and 415E did not post much in the way of official live videos.

Fran's head is often obscured by the one speaker at this angle as well, but this is still the best look that we've had at Dirty Musky on video, so give these chunks of their "Sober" cover a watch above and below, and don't miss them at Huck's in Rudyard in October, and hopefully elsewhere prior!

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

Rotaryfest 2024 Fallout & Videos (Part 3!!)

It's been almost three weeks since we last posted a recap post from last month's Rotaryfest, and I haven't touched on nearly anything from Stage 2 yet, let alone the closing Stage 1 band, so let's make up for lost time before we enter another month! We left off on Saturday, July 20th before the last band, and for the ninth time in ten years, the last musicians at Clergue Park were a local band rather than the touring Stage 1 attraction. Classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down got the honours in their sophomore year, and they were filmed a lot! Interestingly, it's their original Facebook page (the one formatted like a personal account that they largely stopped using after their guitarist switch) where videos were being shared last month, rather than their newer band-formatted page. Possibly because of the privacy settings on such pages, none of these videos are embeddable externally, so click the song names linked below to see each video.

Attendee Michael Alexander was the first to upload videos in a batch post the day after, getting horizontal(!) videos of them playing "Green Eyed Girl" (which might be an original, but at any rate, it's not the Sugarloaf song like I mistook it for in the past), Honeymoon Suite's "New Girl Now", and Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back In Town" and "Jailbreak", with new guitarist Beej Syrette handling lead vocals on the Thin Lizzy covers and his cousin Joel singing on the other two. Filmed close to the stage at a slightly skewed angle closer to bassist Brad Stephen, these have good audio, if what inconsistent lighting depending on where Michael was standing combined with the stage effects. Still, fans of Double Down's will like the performances on offer here! Also filming at Rotaryfest was attendee Wanda Wanda, who filmed them covering the Thin Lizzy version of "Whiskey In The Jar", again with Beej on lead vocals.

Wanda was in a similar location to Michael, but alas, this was shot vertically. The lighting is a tad overexposed, and if this clip had to be vertical, I'd have at least centered the band in frame rather than capturing so much of the upper stage, but it's a strong cover for fans of the Thin Lizzy (and Metallica) versions of this Irish standard, and you can tell that Beej is a big fan of theirs! The other two known public videos from Double Down's closing set were live-streamed by attendee Vicky Smith, who filmed them from the opposite side of the stage (if at a much sharper vantage point), though alas, also vertically. Vicky shot the guys covering Simple Minds' "(Don't You) Forget About Me" (with Joel singing), as well as a different angle of their "New Girl Now" cover. Vicky's videos are the most distant from the stage, but the lighting is more level and the audio holds up nicely, so fans should get a kick out of these!

No word on if Double Down themselves had official cameras rolling for their set like they had last year, but these fan-shot videos capture a fun slice of their set, if an unembeddable slice, so click the song names above to hear the Syrettes, Brad, and Ric in action, and yes, we will have some new concert dates of theirs on the SMS soon! Barring some very belated videos or news coverage to come, that wraps up Stage 1 at Rotaryfest 2024 for what has been publically made available, but what about the Friday blues and originals-leaning Saturday lineups on Stage 2 beside the Art Gallery of Algoma? From the former, I haven't seen any public videos (granted, most of the bands on the Friday Night Blues lineup don't have social media pages), but you can see a bunch of photos from Friday on the Sault Blues Society's Facebook page. However, we have a video from the very first band on Stage 2's Saturday lineup to share, and an embeddable one, at that!

The first non-"Shorts" video to ever be uploaded to their YouTube channel (believe it or not), this features hard rock quintet HeadFirst playing their new original "Little Darling" from their debut EP "Head Trauma", which had its pre-release party launch here. The filmer sure made the rounds to get some quality shots of HeadFirst in action from near & far, and while I'll hold comment on the song pending our review of "Head Trauma" (stay tuned by month's end), the performance is lively with good audio quality, and Red is sure putting his energetic stage presence to good use! Give it a watch below, and don't miss HeadFirst at the ARCH Run at Jay's on Saturday!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Devil's Sons, The Space Wizards, And Double Down), Plus More Recent Notes!!

Let's address some more LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS in this Sunday afternoon post, along with some shorter recent updates, so here's what you should know in chronological order!

Montreal psychedelic hard rock trio The Space Wizards will make their local debut on Wednesday, September 4th when they headline at Soo Blaster! Described as "another short notice show" by promoter Mikhal Muto when plugging it on the Sault Live Music Gig Announcements Facebook group yesterday (even though I only term "short/late notice" here as within the week prior), The Space Wizards are a relatively newer band who have been making increasing waves on tour with their fittingly spacey brand of classic-inspired hard rock, and hopefully they draw a solid crowd in two+ weeks despite the work/school night scheduling! Two local bands will open here, including hard rock quintet HeadFirst (fresh off of their Hilton Beach gig last night) and a mystery group named The Spaceship Opening. I have absolutely no information on them, but if we hear anything tangible in advance of the 4th, we will let you know!

Online ticket sales have not yet begun for this show (when they do, you'll find them here), but advance tickets will run for $15, and you may be able to get them at the venue or perhaps through Mikhal/the local openers. The door charge will jump to $20 for this 19+ concert, which begins at 9:00 PM. Add another intriguing concert with a touring headliner onto the increasingly busy slate for Mikhal's burgeoning slate of promoted concerts, so visit the above links for more details on this event!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartets Double Down and Generations will be among the performers at The Tarentorus Sports Club at 56 Avery Road on Friday, September 20th for a special benefit concert! Entitled "Band Together To Rock Cancer", this event is in support of Mustang Heart guitarist Lorenzo Fabbri, who has been battling cancer throughout this year. I believe this is partially why the classic rock veterans haven't played live in 2024, even missing Rotaryfest, On this night, four bands familiar to the weekend nightclub cover circuit will join forces for the cause, with Double Down and Generations being joined by classic rock veterans RPM, while Mustang Heart will play their first show of the year as headliners, with Lorenzo's Stages bandmate Sam Spadafora and former Double Down guitarist Adam King joining them as special guests for the night

Taking place deep in the west end at the curling rink/multi-purpose hall off of Allens Side Road, tickets are $20 to attend and $15 if you can't come in person but want to support Lorenzo and family in his fight (either way, there will be a door prize). A cash bar and refreshments will also be on hand. Having lost my mother to cancer, I absolutely sympathize with what Lorenzo is going through right now, and hopefully there's a great turnout for this stacked lineup of talented veteran cover rock bands next month in his honour! Visit Mustang Heart's Facebook page for more details, and apologies again to Marci for how things were initially worded.

Also newly announced is another Mikhal Muto-promoted joint, as on Monday, September 30th, Edmonton punk/hard rock quintet The Devil's Sons will make their local debut when they headline at... The Whisky Barrel? Yes, the 113 Gore Street nightclub is going to try hosting a non-acoustic touring band next month, and Mikhal did acknowledge the venue's generosity in having this show there when plugging it on his personal Facebook page, so we'll have to see how things go! It's been too long since there was a venue on Gore that hosted bands this heavy, though in The Devil's Sons' case, they have an interesting hybrid sound that calls to mind a heavier Dropkick Murphys, so if you're up for some rollicking punk n' roll, don't bypass this show next month! While the show is not publically advertised on social media yet that I've seen, The Devil's Sons did confirm it in this poster on their Facebook page for their upcoming tour.

Local metal trio The BAG (don't miss them at Soo Blaster tonight!) will open in their Whisky Barrel debut, and hopefully their hard hitting originals and covers get things off on the right foot! This 19+ show will reportedly have FREE admission and an 8:00 PM start time, though we do await full public advertising for this show locally beyond personal Facebook accounts. It'll be interesting to see how this concert goes, so visit the above links for more on what to expect at The Whisky Barrel next month!

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

 

• Sault Michigan hard/blues rock quartet Project 906 did indeed welcome back guest hand drummer Brian Duford for their three most recent gigs in Pickford, Cedarville, and Hessel, as per photos shared on their Facebook page after each concert. As best as I can tell, Brian has not quietly joined 906 full time, as he's not in this band photo promoting their Islander Bar show from August 10th, but the band's "#summerof906" is now over unless they have new bookings that weren't in the batch of concerts announced back in May. We'll let you know when we hear more!
• In their newest Facebook post ("Stories" aside), Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 posted a "Reel" last week of them covering Kenny Loggins' "Footloose" at a private Bass Lake event. As a "Reel", I can't embed it here, but it looks like there was a strong turnout under the tent to dance the night away! The band just played at Winnie's Hometown Festival in White River last night (you may have seen a Facebook "Story" or two from there), and they'll make their public return to the local nightclub circuit in three weeks, so look for more from them in the fall!
  
• I have moved local acoustic hard rock band Tattoos & Scars back to our inactive band links. Featuring Fort Creek bandmates Justin Grayson, Shane Biron, and Bill Brouillard, they had announced their return from a 4+ year hiatus on their Facebook page on August 8th of last year, but nothing has publically followed since. Fort Creek have been busy behind the scenes since they lost their rhythm section last fall, so it's entirely possible that Tattoos & Scars are just on the shelf until they get their sister band back up and running at early 2020s levels, but follow them on social media to see what Fort Creek are currently up to!
   

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (B.A. Johnston, HeadFirst, And Chase Wigmore), Plus Sykotyk Rampage Updates!!

Today's news post mostly looks at LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE linked to a cancellation, alongside some big updates on a prolific local band's next album, so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock quintet HeadFirst will not be playing at Shooters Downstairs Lounge tonight, but they will still be in action, if an hour southeast of here, as they'll make their St. Joseph Island debut TONIGHT at the Hilton Beach Community Hall in Hilton Beach! Profuse apologies for the short notice, HeadFirst only announced this show via their Facebook page this morning. I don't know whether they dropped out of the Shooters gig to take the Hilton Beach one or if Shooters had already cancelled beforehand, but note that HeadFirst last mentioned playing at Shooters tonight on their Facebook page on July 31st. That gap is concerning alone, but hopefully all's well with band & venue! TONIGHT's show at 3050 Hilton Road is a fundraiser dance in support of renovating the kitchen at the community hall, and there will be a cash bar, barbecue, and door prizes for the occasion. HeadFirst appear to be replacing The Retrofit Band here.

I don't know a thing about The Retrofit Band beyond that they play(ed?) classic rock covers, but hopefully all's well in their camp re: why they pulled out! Based on what I'm reading, TONIGHT's fundraiser dance has an admission price of $25, and if you aren't on St. Joe to get tickets at the stated physical locations, it appears to be the same price at the door. Remember, this is a fundraiser to renovate the hall's kitchen, hence the price. HeadFirst take the stage at 8:00 PM but doors open at 6:30 PM with a DJ bookending their set. Best of luck all around as HeadFirst hit the road for a good cause, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here they are live!

Next up, here's another new concert coming to Soo Blaster that has somewhat flown under the social media radar, as local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore will return there on Wednesday, August 28th when he opens for Winnipeg "hobo rock" musician Del Boy Druid! Of course, Chase is also playing at Soo Blaster tomorrow as part of the Sylo-headlined all-local concert there, but he and outsider folk singer/guitarist Shae Tull (also playing tomorrow) will serve as the local openers on the 28th for Del Boy Druid, a prolific lo-fi indie rock musician who has performed across Canada. Not a hard rock musician but he is a skilled songwriter with many original qualities and some surprise cover choices, and it will be interesting to see how Del Boy fares locally later this month! Given what I have heard, Chase's acoustic folk punk side will be a good match musically, as will Shae, so fans of outsider folk with a dash of punk rock will be into this concert (if you can swing the work/school night scheduling!)

This presumably 19+ concert has a 10:00 PM start time, and tickets are $10 in advance at this link or at Soo Blaster (I don't know if Chase or Shae have advance tickets on hand themselves), though admission jumps to $15 at the door. Visit the above links for more details on this mid-week concert, and don't miss Chase and Shae there tomorrow beforehand!

Also coming to Sault Ste. Marie next month is Hamilton outsider folk/punk musician B.A. Johnston for his fifth local headlining appearance on Friday, September 20th! Never playing the same local venue twice, B.A. will set up shop next month at The Whisky Barrel, in the acoustic-leaning Gore Street nightclub's second show with a touring headliner in under a month (and if you think this is odd for there, there's one more huge outlier to be announced!). B.A. Johnston last brought his eclectic and self-deprecating brand of acoustic punk originals here at Outspoken Brewing in August of last year, but this show thankfully has more public advance word, so if you've liked his amusing and hard-to-describe evenings of music and irreverence here, your next chance is coming! Local support is via Wyld Stallyns/ex-Elements frontman Rob Speers in an increasingly common solo set.

I still am not positive how closely Rob's solo sets hew to his bands (I don't believe he has any social media pages for his solo work anyway), but he is a talented musician and will hopefully set the tone well next month! This 19+ concert is FREE and has an 8:00 PM start time (though I can't confirm if bringing Hawkins Cheezies will do anything tangible). Visit the official Facebook event page for more on B.A.'s local return next month!

Finally today, you may recall seeing my occasional mentions on the site since May that local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage had released (and then quickly taken down) a new album on Bandcamp on both May 15th and August 1st, with minor alterations to the cover artwork and album name for the August re-post. What exactly was going on there? Well, the album is now 100% slated to come out for real on Sunday, September 15th, and its final name is "The Waerlogas Sagas 1: Konfysion Of Fyck". As per the band's Facebook page this month, the album will be released alongside a 137 page read-along comic book, which may explain why it was temporarily uploaded twice beforehand! If you scan the provided QR code, you'll be taken to this sale page for the comic, which is legitimately being sold on paperback for $90. That may be beyond the pale for some, but the interactivity is fun and noted!

The album will permanently return to Bandcamp next month and will be on sale likely for $15, but will be freely streamable there too. The teaser images (featuring AI generated art) suggest that the comic will have 9 chapters and the album will have 34 songs, and if these are hints towards actual pages of the comic, the contrast of the text is very inconsistent. Some level of guest musicians will also be involved in the final product, but full credits will hit Bandcamp next month. Intriguing stuff all around, so visit the above links for more on Sykotyk Rampage's 70th album, and stay tuned for more on the site next week! Thanks everyone1

The Rest Of This Weekend's Hard Rock/Punk Concert Previews!!

Before we begin our second weekend concert preview post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family & friends of former Great White frontman Jack Russell, who passed away yesterday at the age of 63, a month after retiring from touring following his diagnosis of Lewy body dementia. Visit your preferred music news websites (like this) for more details. The classic and longest tenured frontman of the Los Angeles hair metal icons best known for tracks like "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" and "The Angel Song", Jack fronted versions of Great White at least thrice in the Soo area, including on New Years Day 1990, where they opened for Alice Cooper at Sault Memorial Gardens. Great White would headline at The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino 19 years later, before the splinter version Jack Russell's Great White headlined outside of the St. Ignace Kewadin in June 2017.

Jack wasn't in the original Great White anymore when they opened for Ace Frehley at the St. Ignace Kewadin last month (he had already retired anyway), but fans of theirs will absolutely recognize Jack's talents as a singer and frontman from their late 1980s-early 1990s heyday until the modern era, and hopefully fans have lots of good memories, both from his local gigs and beyond. R.I.P. Jack!

Today's post otherwise completes another round of hard rock/punk weekend concert previews in the Twin Saults, and we'll pick things back up in Brimley, where a rare multi-band event with a touring artist goes down at Pickles Bar & Grill TOMORROW NIGHT! Two known SMS-amenable local bands are playing Brimley for the first time, those being Sault Ste. Marie rock quintet The Nameless and 2023 LSSU Battle of the Bands-winning punk band The Sole Aggressors, so if you like what these rising groups bring to the table, head to Pickles to see them in action! The headliner here is Detroit electronica musician R. Solomon, with Detroit experimental duo Sean & Diego also making the trip north, and if that seems out of left field, remember that promoter Brighton LeBlanc of Serious Business brought in a diverse mix of genres in his Satisfied Frog show in November featuring four touring acts from around the state, so this genre mix isn't new.

This 18+ (not 21+) concert takes place at 9:00 PM in the lower level of Pickles at 11204 West Lakeshore Drive tomorrow night, following an unrelated matinee gig by local jazz duo Midnight Sun at 5:30 PM, and it has a $10 cover charge. It is great that the E.U.P. is getting some promotion of multi-band shows with touring musicians like this, and hopefully tomorrow's festivities are a huge hit so Brighton keeps this up with even more! See above for more details, and for a preview, here's The Sole Aggressors live!

Before moving to our remaining Sault Ontario concert previews, just a heads up that Bone Yard 225's debut gigs at Gino's Fired Up Kitchen & Bar tomorrow night and on the 31st have been cancelled, as per bassist Warren Reville in comment replies on our Facebook page earlier today. Warren implied that Gino's have stopped/been prohibited from hosting live music period, but I haven't heard an announcement from the restaurant on this front (their social media last referenced hosting live musicians on July 27th). Hopefully this isn't 100% it for acoustic concerts there, but if all else fails, you can still see Bone Yard at the Laird Fair tonight!

Resuming this weekend's previews, let's head to Shooters Downstairs Lounge, where local hard rock quintet HeadFirst will return for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! This will be HeadFirst's... first concert since their CD release party for their debut EP "Head Trauma" at Shooters three weeks ago (our review of it is coming up this month), and while there's no raison d'etre for tomorrow's concert beyond just playing live, the band should have CD copies of "Head Trauma" on sale. With momentum at their backs, hopefully tomorrow's concert is a huge hit full of their entertaining hard rock originals and covers! A one-nighter due to Shooters' Friday DJ nights this year, tomorrow's concert has a 9:30 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's HeadFirst live! Yes, I am well aware of their new Rotaryfest video, we'll finally resume our Rotaryfest 2024 fallout coverage on the site soon!

Finally for this weekend, let's head to Soo Blaster, where a rare all-local concert goes down on SUNDAY NIGHT featuring four local groups and two solo musicians! In a mild surprise, young local hard rock band Sylo (the former Raincourt) will headline in their second public show of the year and first since parting ways with bassist Owen Dearing. Sylo's social media presence has been slim at best since they returned from hiatus earlier this year, but given that frontman Elijah Russell is reportedly moving from the area for college shortly, this could be your last chance to see the band for a while, so keep Sunday's show in mind! Joining Sylo at Soo Blaster on Sunday are local punk quartet (assuming that Carmen did join) Vanity First, thrash metal trio The BAG, and comedy rock band The Floor Between Us, alongside prolific local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore and anti-folk/outsider singer/guitarist Shae Tull.

Notably, we haven't seen Chase at a public concert since February, and it's good to see that he's still gigging despite his prior teasers about stepping away from music after his next album comes out! Unlike most of Vanity First guitarist Mikhal Muto's recent blitz of self/co-promoted concerts at The Distraction and Soo Blaster, Sunday's festivities do not have advance ticket sales, just a flat cover charge of $10. It is definitely ALL AGES, and doors open at 8:00 PM. An all-local show with this many acts, especially not attached to a festival, isn't as common as it once was, so don't miss out on all of the action on Sunday! In lieu of a Sylo video (they haven't uploaded anything since the name change), here's Vanity First live!

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