The Fist Magnet/Spigots Reunion Concert Video Showcase!!

In today's post, let's look at videos from the well received 1990s punk reunion concert at Soo Blaster on December 27th! These videos all come from former AlgomA guitarist Kevin Campbell's YouTube channel, which hosts various vintage punk videos and albums, not always locally tied (the channel is now known as Canadian Punker, but operated under a different name for years). This show (held in the memory of late Fist Magnet guitarist Chuck Ayotte) raised $5,360 for the Algoma Regional Community Hospice, as verified in this post from ARCH's Facebook page, so kudos all around to everyone who supported the cause! Kevin filmed all bands on this night except late openers The Sault Side Squad (now renamed With Gunfire, more on them in an upcoming post), but he got fourteen videos from the night's other four groups, so in performance order, who else took the stage?

Second up on the 27th was debuting local punk quartet P.R.O.D., featuring former Destroilet bandmates Christian Foisy & John Conway alongside Fist Magnet bassist Andrew Marson and Gambit drummer Clint Wilson. While their Soundcloud (and so far, only online) page has original demos, Kevin filmed them covering NOFX's "Bottles To The Ground", and as embedded below, The Crucifucks' "Hinkley Had A Vision". Christian takes on lead vocals here, and while his singing is somewhat buried in the mix, they have a solid enough 1990s punk spirit on these covers, and I'm game to hear more from them! Check this out below, and watch for ex-Destroilet drummer Matt Waples!

The two one-off 1990s punk reunions came next, starting The Spigots (or, as the screen says, "Some Spigots"). Here, singer Trevor Harding & bassist Frank Guidocco were joined by half of The Inner City Surfers (Mikey Hawdon and Dave Bahun), and Kevin filmed them covering Gordon Lightfoot's "Ed's Boat" and playing their originals "Beer Goggles", "You're So Rad", and as embedded below, "Nothing You Do". Interestingly, all four of Kevin's videos have Mikey on guitar and Dave on drums, a flip of what they usually play, but I don't know if this is how the whole set went or not. Fun throwback sound with Trevor displaying a lot of energy, and the increased crowd on the floor is encouraging, so check these out above & below!

Though not last on the 27th, the long awaited Fist Magnet reunion was the top advertised band, and if you liked P.R.O.D., you'll like that all but Clint took part here! Frontman Garry Ingram (ex-Gatgas) and drummer Dave Stokes joined their old bandmate Andrew plus guests Christian and John for a well received return set, with Kevin filming them covering Death Sentence's "Live To Die", The Lewd's "Suburban Prodigy", and playing their own "Evil God Hater", "Big Fuckin' Joints", and as embedded below, "Fat Lip". It's great to see Fist Magnet back (if only Chuck could be here for it!), and they delivered well on their original heyday's promise and attitude, so check these videos out as well, and hopefully they and The Spigots return again!

Curiously, the closing band here was active local crossover thrash band Hails, in what turned out to be their last concert with founding guitarist Mikhal Muto. Kevin filmed their cover of The Almighty Trigger Happy's "Meathook" (as seen on "Punk Canada Vol. 4") and two songs from their self-titled album, namely "The Drifter" and (as embedded below) "Pink Clouds Of Density" Ending things on a faster and heavier note, Ha!ls were on form from their prior 2025 gigs here, and they definitely fit the theme of the night, as frontman Brenton Ellis got his local music start in the 1990s punk scene, so check out their Soo Blaster videos above & below!

That's all for now, but we'll touch on With Gunfire's set in an upcoming post, and weekend concert previews are on tap next! Thanks everyone!

Studio Updates & New Material From Three Local Bands!!

Before we begin this post, just a heads up that Brutally Fatal frontman Austin McCrea's obituary was posted on SooToday yesterday, confirming that he sadly passed away on Boxing Day. While it doesn't go into the specifics that the GoFundMe campaign did about his medical battles, it does detail his courage & resilience, as well as his love of music, even noting some of the projects he was involved in in the 2010s. He is survived by his parents, son Richard, sister Jasmine, and many friends. Among those he was predeceased by was his brother Matthew Nadon, who you may remember was supposed to get a tribute concert in the winter of 2022-2023 that Austin's band Far From Fine were scheduled to play at. Visitation will be on Friday from 1:00-3:00 PM at the Arthur Funeral Home's Barton & Kiteley Chapel, with a celebration of life at the Holiday Inn Express from 4:00-8:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Algoma Autism Foundation would be appreciated by the family. Hopefully there's a good turnout on Friday to pay their respects, and we'll let you know when more comes out on the tribute concert that's in the works. R.I.P. Austin!

Today's post otherwise looks at new studio material from three local bands, starting with newer hard rock quartet Maynard Hayes, who I didn't even know were in studio! In their first post on their Instagram page in five months (remember, that's their only social media account), the band revealed that their debut single would drop on December 20th, accompanied by this teaser video featuring rare public video of them in concert at Soo Blaster. Why not post that in a fuller and not pillarboxed form factor somewhere with the raw audio? The song in question is named "No Security", which you can now stream on Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, Anghami, Boomplay, and embedded below via YouTube, and the lyrics (seemingly about empowering someone to stop using drugs and better themselves) can be read at this link. How is Maynard Hayes' first original song overall?

It's a melodic hard rock number with Damon King using some deeper clean singing to good effect, even if the song is more casual sounding than the pointed lyrics would suggest. Musically, I was kinda reminded of Avenged Sevenfold structurally, but the vocals definitely don't match. Solid enough first track, and we'll have to see if Maynard Hayes have more in the works! Also, thanks to artist credits on streaming sites, we can now confirm that their bassist is Gabrielle Abulencia, an Algoma University student that I'm unfamiliar with from prior local bands. Stay tuned for more from Damon, Nathan, Gabrielle, and David when it comes in, and here's "No Security"!

Speaking of active bands featuring drummer David Peredun with new original songs from last month, his progressive metal band Convergence released the updated version of their song "The Ebb" on Christmas Day as promised! As long-time fans may remember, this song was originally seen on their 2023 debut EP "One", but Brendan & Jake have since wiped their two instrumental EPs from streaming services in order to basically relaunch as a full band with David and singer Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio now in the fold, with their first full-band EP (possibly still named "In Bloom") still in the works. You can stream the new version of "The Ebb" on YouTube Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Anghami.. I'll hold comment on the song for now, as unlike Maynard Hayes, we do know that an album or EP from Convergence is on the way, even if we don't know many current specifics.

This is our first full song sampler of Convergence with Stephen on vocals outside of live videos, so don't bypass it above and below, especially as they posted this lyric video to their official YouTube channel on the 25th! Stay tuned for more from Convergence as the year continues!

Finally for this post, we have a studio teaser clip to share from local southern hard rock quartet Fort Creek's Facebook page! After a very quiet 2025, the band resurfaced with their first proper new update in four months on New Year's Eve via this 13 second sample of their second original song from their long-gestating debut album. As teased in the summer, it's for their song "Sweet Rosie", and while there's not enough here to comment on even without knowing that an album is in the works, what we hear sounds promising, especially as it's a full electric song compared to last year's acoustic "One For The Road". Check out Fort Creek's new teaser video below!

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

The Latest Updates & Album News From The Realignment Project!!

Let's talk about local industrial metal solo project The Realignment Project in this single-topic post today, so what have they been up to since we last left off with them in November? Well, on the 7th of that month, project leader Matt Hicks revealed that their fourth EP would be called "Let You Fall", which he had already finished recording at that point (remember, T.R.P. released three EPs last year alone). On November 10th, Matt confirmed both the final album cover and the release date of January 2nd (this past Friday!), with the track listing following on the 16th, notably specifying that "Scatterbrain" was retitled from "Nitwit" for one reason or another. You can see "Scatterbrain", "Where Did You Go?", and "By Myself" from that album being tracked in vertical videos linked here, here, and here from their Facebook page that same month. In a surprise announcement on November 24th, Matt announced that The Realignment Project had signed a label deal!

As teased in this video, he is working with East London Recordings, a British indie label that help independent artists release physical albums, and they have released T.R.P.'s first two 2025 EPs "Afterthought" & "The Frustration Sessions" together on vinyl, one EP on each side! East London uses a print-on-demand method from ElasticStage for making albums, which is also what Mike Haggith's MorningStar Records utilizes for physical album pressings, but I have no idea if Matt was aware of that prior. It does appear that ElasticStage's 12'' vinyl records have a 23 minute limit per side, which affects "The Frustration Sessions". Rather than drop a song, Matt opted to edit down four of its songs to fit ("Minor Outburst" alone is chopped down by 50 seconds). Keep that in mind before buying, but if you want some local industrial rock on vinyl, it costs $43.90 at this link!

This would imply that their third EP ("War Songs") & "Let You Fall" will be similarly combined for a vinyl release, but if East London does release them thusly, note that both EPs exceed 23 minutes, so expect edits on both sides. "Let You Fall" was successfully released on Friday, and if you believe promotional postings, it is "available everywhere". Definitely not true, as it isn't even on Amazon Music at press time, among other services, but you can currently stream it on YouTube (with lyric video postings ongoing), Apple Music, Spotify, Boomplay, and KKBox, and it is buyable on Bandcamp (name your price) and iTunes ($5.94). Given our ongoing album review backlog, The Realignment Project are currently pencilled in for April, as No Arrow, Sykotyk Rampage, and Handsome Sandwich all had albums that beat the yet-to-be-reviewed "War Songs" to market.

In the event that "War Songs" and "Let You Fall" get a joint vinyl release by April 30th, I would review both at once, as that would be a singular local album release, but if this was a one-and-done, we'd just review "War Songs". Either way, I'll be looking at new music from The Realignment Project in the spring, and Matt never stops, as he was already working on his fifth EP as of December 13th! Also last month, Matt was interviewed about The Realignment Project by David Oman of the British blog PlayedByDavid, where David interviews various indie musicians, seemingly all being posed the same questions. In Matt's interview, he outlines his musical background, favourite original songs, his songwriting and recording process, favourite musicians, future plans, and more, and he gives some good detailed thoughts on the topics at hand! In terms of scoops, the biggest one is that he's planning to release T.R.P. CDs.

This would be through ElasticStage (no word on if he'd be combining them like on vinyl), and while Matt is not planning on playing live in this project, he hasn't ruled it out either. It's great to see The Realignment Project staying exceedingly productive, and hopefully 2026 sees more quality music from them, so stay tuned for more from Matt soon, and here's the lyric video for the opening/title track from "Let You Fall"! Thanks everyone!

Where Are The New Albums? (January 2026 Update)

With a new year upon us, here's our first "Where Are The New Albums?" post for 2026! This monthly feature series looks at the current release statuses of upcoming albums from local metal, hard rock, or punk bands who have publically confirmed that sessions have began in studio for them. We actually have two albums to remove this month, one due to its successful release on Friday (The Realignment Project's "Let You Fall", more on that soon), and one due to the band in question now being publically inactive. For the remaining four entries, entries with new information have the title in italics. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!

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Bone Yard 225's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "F.A.F.O.", "Gypsy Spell", "Fuck!", "I Took A Pill In Ibiza" (Mike Posner cover)

Background: After months of teasers that they were planning to record original music, local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard 225 began releasing their own songs on major streaming services in July 2024, a whopping fifteen years after the pre-225 band debuted as a country cover quartet. Their first three singles (all recorded at their home studio) were posted online by January 2025, though it took until May for the band to confirm on their Facebook page that they were indeed working on a proper album. It's not immediately clear if their existing three singles will be included, but it's not a given, as Jonesy Land fans saw with "Zoom-Out". As of August 11th, it was reportedly "album tracking time", while this video from three days later shows bandmates Alex D'Ettore and Warren Reville recording backing vocals for their cover of Mike Posner's "I Took A Pill In Ibiza". That will be one of "a couple of covers" for the album, as confirmed by frontman Greg Simpson during recent concerts. "Fuck!" was renamed "The F Word" on streaming services last month, but it's not clear if the less explicit name will stick on the album. The band was still "in the studio finishing shit" as of December 4th, source here.

Current Release Status: In that Facebook post from May 30th, your local 225 said that "the album is coming along nicely", and they hoped to release it "by the end of 2025", but Greg has since adjusted the timeframe to "early 2026" when mentioning it during live shows. While singer/drummer Greg Simpson did release an EP with his old band Stiffler's Mom, it's hard to compare the release methods and schedule given that "The Demo" came out in 2004.  It is neat to see that Greg, Alex, and Warren are going all in on a studio album, and stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

Rumoured Songs: "The Cities Alive & It's Angry"

Background: Ever the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work), originally named "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy elaboration of the rock opera in 2022, now titled "The Chaotic Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release timeline. Clips of songs have surfaced on his Facebook page, as have full songs not explicitly tied to the album, as well as the final artwork. In more recent promotion, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final solo album as part of aims to focus on his personal life more than his prolific original material. Regardless, the final product has been pared down to 25-30 minutes.

Current Release Status: Chase elaborated on Facebook in mid-2024 that the album was 95% done earlier that year when the files "got trapped on my desktop's hard drive", and he had been unable to procure a backup of the material or recover the files as of that post. In any event, three of the full songs uploaded to Facebook in 2023 were clarified as not being planned for "The Chaotic Rite", but they could surface on a separate EP. Fingers crossed that Chase is able to save this album and put it out when able, especially given the years that he's put into the making of it!

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Convergence - In Bloom

Rumoured Songs: "Gemini", "In Bloom", "Breaking News", "It Ate The F&$%ing Moon", "Kraken Mara", "You Are Not Flesh", "The Ebb"

Background: Just over a month after releasing their sophomore EP "Dead And Dreaming", local progressive metal band Convergence announced in February 2024 that EP #3 would be named "Gemini", with its cover artwork being released at the same time. Teaser clips of most songs from the EP were posted on their Facebook page and their YouTube channel throughout much of 2024, but most prior media was wiped as they retooled as a full band, now including singer Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio and drummer David Peredun. Convergence worked in studio last year with producer Dustin Goodall at Unsalted Audio, documenting the sessions in Facebook "Reels", eventually confirming in concert that the EP (now named "In Bloom") is still in progress. Live versions of early instrumentals (now with vocals) have also been played in their early sets. A new version of "The Ebb" (first seen on their 2023 EP "One") was released to streaming services on Christmas Day.

Current Release Status: No clue, and given the complexity of their music yet their independent studio trappings so far, that could bode a quick or lengthy timeline for "In Bloom" to come out, depending on what angle you take. Since their modern studio cycle commenced in 2023, things have been relatively steady for Brendan and Jake as a recording act, and here's hoping that Convergence keep that up for their third offering! 

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Fort Creek's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "One For The Road", "Sweet Rosie"

Background: Background: Local southern/hard rock band Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, but they wouldn't release any samples until almost two years later when they shared (now-deleted) clips of their original song "Hammer Down" on their Facebook page. The guys would play it regularly at concerts from 2022-2023, with studio sessions taking place in early-mid 2023 as well. After the departure of bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer Anthony Fabiano in the fall of 2023, Fort Creek opted to abandon material recorded with them "as a show of good faith", and have been working on new material and rebuilding their studio over the past two years. Now featuring Phil Greco on drums, their first single (the acoustic "One For The Road") was posted online in January, with the band confirming plans to now record a 10 song album at Jettison Studios prior to returning to live concerts. Their new single "Sweet Rosie" was being recorded as of August 31st, and a teaser of the song was posted to their Facebook page on New Year's Eve.

Current Release Status: Prior release timelines for their debut EP reflected their early 2020s lineup's material, and Justin, Shane, Bill, and Phil have largely kept things somewhat close to the vest prior to putting out "One For The Road". There are a lot of unknowns, especially given the 5+ years of production time and their decision to basically start over in 2023, and that this is a band that was primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit before their rhythm section left. It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned for updates!

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We also have one album to remove this month due to its now unlikely release status with the band in question falling inactive, so here's what you should know on that: 

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Bullet Train's upcoming EPs

Rumoured Songs: "Atmosphere", "Illusions", "Profit", "Wayside"

Background: The new hard rock band from former Sense of Truth/Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchsion and ex-Fort Creek bandmates Robin "Bones" Lee and Anthony Fabiano, Bullet Train  existed solely as a studio band, releasing four original songs recorded at their own home studio to their YouTube channel in 2024, all very much influenced by their take on current events. After a quiet summer due to "life's trials", Bullet Train resurfaced on their Facebook page in September 2024 to reveal that they were working on two demo EPs, with the first one entering post-production as of the 9th, though it's not clear if their 2024 singles would have been on them.

Reason For Removal: Despite claiming in September 2024 that EP #1 would have a release date announced "in the upcoming weeks", Bullet Train have not issued a public update concerning band activity since Christmas Eve 2024, past our one year inactivity threshold, so we'll be moving them to our inactive band links. Hopefully we hear more from Cory, Bones, and Tony in time, as they were a promising band for fans of modern hard rock!

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on or around February 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will likely be our first Defunct Local Band Profile, scheduled for Saturday. That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225), Hails Updates, And More!!

Before we get too far in today's news post, I wanted to update folks on memorials for the two local metal musicians that we lost last month. I normally wouldn't mention this without a public posting, but a tribute concert to late Brutally Fatal frontman/Far From Fine drummer Austin McCrea is in the works, and the family has asked his friend Taylor "Tea" Emlaw (Handsome Sandwich's singer) to put it on. She is currently looking for performers, so contact her via her personal Facebook page if you want in, and we'll let you know when formal public details go out! No sign of an obituary yet for him or Rebel Priest/Glass Statues guitarist Ben Kemp-Reynolds, but the surviving members of Rebel Priest are hosting an open memorial for Benny tomorrow at The Moose, the Vancouver bar that he worked at. I know that most SMS readers aren't in British Columbia, but in the event that you did know Ben, are out west, and want to pay tribute, keep this in mind!

An earlier post by Rebel Priest did say that they were working with Ben's family towards giving him the right sendoff, but I don't know if any public memorials in the Soo or Central Algoma are being planned, let alone ones that would involve music (note that Rebel Priest never played a show here). We'll keep you posted when anything extra comes out regarding Austin or Ben, and they are continually missed!

Now, today's post features some new videos and updates, starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 have more shows ahead this month, all courtesy of their website's concert calendar! We already touched on TONIGHT's and TOMORROW'S short notice gigs at Beck's Bar on the site on Thursday, but "the dirty three" will be seen thrice more later this month, starting with their first Water Tower Pub show of 2026 on Friday, January 23rd! Even though electric bands routinely play at the Great Northern Road nightclub, Bone Yard always play there "uncorked", so if you prefer seeing their acoustic shows there, keep this one-nighter in mind! Their next regular plugged-in concerts after this weekend take place on January 30th and 31st, when they take over The Esquire Club for a full weekend, in their first stops there in over two months. Keep all three shows in mind if you love your local 225!

Neither venue has corroborated these late-January bookings on Facebook, but we'll let you know when either posts a 2026 concert calendar. The Water Tower Pub show is at 8:00 PM, the Esquire Club gigs are at 9:30 PM, and these are all 19+ affairs with no cover charges. See above for more details, but while we're on the subject, what else have the guys been up to lately? In a jokey video on their Facebook page from December 3rd, we see Greg and Alex "grinding", but let's just say it's not on a new song! The following day, bassist Warren Reville starred in this video reflecting on "the 225 life", which at that moment, amounted to being "in the studio finishing shit". It was taken in jest, but it's good to see work on new songs is ongoing! Frontman Greg Simpson also starred in two different vertical videos (linked here & here) to promote each of their last two shows of 2025 and reflect on each prior day's weather.

In terms of performance videos, we have more plugged-in concert videos of Bone Yard 225 to share, but let's pause for now with this clip from their "uncorked" gig at Beck's on December 14th, which was uniquely filmed during a lull in the matinee when Greg's battery died mid-set. While that was sorted out, Warren played an impromptu vocal/bass original song to narrate those proceedings. Fun way to fill time, and kudos to whoever filmed this clip, which you can watch below!

Let's close with the latest from local crossover thrash band Hails, and they started 2026 with some very surprising news, as they have parted ways with guitarist Mikhal Muto. A reason for his departure wasn't announced, but in yesterday's post about his exit on their Facebook page, they did call him a "guitar wizard" and they thanked him for helping them move forward in developing their sound, so things do seem amicable. Mikhal had been a key member of Ha!ls since their early 2023 debut, but he does have many irons in the fire as it is, with The Apocalypse Afterparty, his Agnosticism solo project, and his new ska punk band A.S.D.P. all being active concerns, so we'll be seeing lots of him ahead! No word yet on if Hails will be replacing Mikhal, but remember that they were a trio before his cousin Carmen joined the band in the spring of 2024, so they could easily move forward as one again. With all of that said, what else is new from them?

This slipped us by last month, but the long-teased physical release of Ha!ls' self-titled album is getting closer, with the band sharing this image on Facebook of a test pressing of the album on vinyl. No word yet on when copies go on sale, but it is encouraging to see them making full vinyl records! At one point, other formats were also teased (remember Brent's old projects getting DIY cassette tapes?), but no finite word on CD or tape copies yet. Stay tuned for more from Hails, including videos from their last show with Mikhal next week, along with more recent news and notes! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Double Down, Headrush, and Tym Morrison) Plus New Half Past Videos!!

It turns out there was a lot more going down on this first concert weekend of 2026, so let's spend most of today's post going into that via some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, three of which are on SHORT NOTICE! To round things out, we have some new videos from a recent New Year's concert, so here's what you should know on this Friday night!

Local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will kick off 2026 with their debut appearance at The Full Throttle Saloon TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was quietly announced on the band's Facebook group on December 23rd, which slipped by me at the time. After taking December off, this will be the first gig from Headrush (not HeadF1rst) since ending November at The Esquire Club, and will be this veteran group's first public gig at the Full Throttle Saloon, the 256 Wellington West venue previously known as The Primavera Hall. If you're up to escape the snow at this new-ish Steelton nightclub, then don't miss the Johns, West, Gino, and Frank there TOMORROW NIGHT! This one-nighter has a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Headrush live last year!

Next up, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will also kick off their new year TOMORROW NIGHT with a one-night-only concert, in their case at The Water Tower Pub! Again, apologies for the short notice, they too first announced this show via their Facebook page on December 23rd, though it got much less follow-up promotion on social media than Headrush's concert, and at press time, The Water Tower Pub has yet to post a January concert calendar on social media (they didn't post one at all last month, and no word on who's playing there tonight). Double Down were last seen at Jay's Piston Broke Pub on Friday, December 14th, though not Saturday the 15th, as they quietly confirmed on their Facebook page that they had to cancel the following night's show. They didn't directly specify why there, but if memory serves, major snow hit the Soo that day. Better safe then sorry, of course! The guys last played at The Water Tower Pub on November 22nd.

Notably, that Water Tower gig was their last one with a fill-in bassist (Alex White that time) before Dan Beaupre quietly returned for last month's Jay's concert, so if central concert-goers have missed the full lineup, keep TOMORROW'S show in mind! As usual for the Great Northern Road nightclub, expect a 19+ age limit, no cover charge, and an 8:00 PM start time. See above for more details on Double Down's 2026 debut, and here they are live!

Also newly confirmed is the return of local acoustic classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison for his first solo shows of 2026, as he has confirmed a bunch of Saturday matinee dates through May at Misty's Fifties, starting TOMORROW! Apologies again for the short notice, Tym only announced TOMORROW'S show with the rest of them in this batch Facebook event page on Monday. We'll hold the last two May shows for now, as no other heavier-leaning acts have gotten that far ahead yet, but you can see Tym back at the Second Line West staple TOMORROW and next Saturday, before taking a week off from Misty's. He'll return there on January 24th, February 7th, 21st, and 28th, March 14th & 28th, April 4th & 18th, and May 2nd, so keep all of the above dates in mind if you his well produced solo covers and extensive setlist! Of the Misty's bookings listed above, only one falls on a holiday long weekend (the April 4th show is the day after Good Friday). These are all 4:00 PM matinees with 19+ age limits and no cover charges.

The only other new booking from Tym (so far) will see him return to "The Naughty Corner" of The Dive Gastro Pub for his first nighttime gig of 2026, which will be on (Think It Over) Thursday, January 15th. If the lack of a Misty's gig on the 17th disappointed you, maybe this will make up for it a bit! Tym doesn't play at The Dive with anywhere near the regularity of his Misty's shows, but hopefully this 19+ and 9:30 PM show with no cover goes over well also in two weeks! Visit that show's Facebook event page and the above links for more on Tym's busy start to the year, and here he is live!

We'll close today with new videos from last year (technically), as there's footage on Facebook from local hard rock quartet Half Past's New Year's Eve concert at Beck's Bar to check out! Three videos are publically circulating, with one being shared to the band's Facebook page from Headrush bassist John Amendola's personal Facebook page (his son Johnny is Half Past's drummer), and it sees them covering Godsmack's "Keep Away". Not a band you see covered often locally, but the guys have a good handle on this single, and John's camera quality is really nice, especially when he gets closer to the stage! The lighting really accentuates the drumkit more than anyone else (John can't have minded that!), but the venue was nicely dolled up for December 31st revelry! Beck's Facebook page also uploaded two videos of their own from Wednesday night, one of them featuring a 17 second vertical snippet of their cover of Weezer's "Hash Pipe".

Unusually, the video was put into a post-production filter where it's tiled to look like four physical photographs, two in monochrome. I guess it's a way to give some zest to a vertical video, but I wonder if they shot more of this cover? It's one of my favourite Weezer songs, and it was filmed from a unique angle with frontman Jordan Rains walking into the crowd with a lot of quick zooms! Embedded below is Half Past covering Alice In Chains' "Would?" with guitarist Alain Fletcher (a.k.a. "Flex"?) helping for the backing vocals. Strong cover Jordan pushing his vocal range well, and the lighting better suits the stationary camera here, so give this video and more from Wednesday night a watch above & below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post and more on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225 & Generations) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

For our first post of 2026, we're diving into another round of weekend concert previews, as there's a range of hard rock cover bands rocking out on both sides of the border, so let's lead things off with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, with some new videos tucked in!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will make their first ever appearance (to my knowledge) at The Kiln at Searchmont Resort on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced by drummer Tony Santoro on their Facebook group on Christmas Eve, which slipped me by initially among the holiday rush. Regardless, Searchmont have not corroborated the band's announcement on their own social media. Two weeks removed from their last 2025 date at The Water Tower Pub, this will be Generations' third concert with new guitarist Joe Miller, and if you're up for a trip to our local ski resort, hitting the slopes or not, you should get your fill of classic and hard rock covers on SATURDAY! This indoor concert takes place at 8:00 PM in The Kiln with no announced cover charge or age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Generations live!

Next up, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will kick off their 2026 with shows at Beck's Bar on SATURDAY & SUNDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via the venue's Facebook page on Monday. Bone Yard proper haven't confirmed these bookings on their own Facebook page, but their website's concert calendar does list them along with other January dates that we will cover in an upcoming post along with extra band updates. Three weeks ago, "the dirty three" rocked Beck's for their most recent double header there, and like usual for their bookings at the former Vibe Lounge, SATURDAY'S show will be a normal electric concert, while SUNDAY's is a 3:00 PM "uncorked" matinee. Regardless, both are 19+ affairs with no announced cover charges. Regarding the SATURDAY matinee timeslot at Beck's, that goes to local country musician and former Soundcheck singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver.

Remember, Cameron is not "opening" for Bone Yard 225. He and the band have separate four hour timeslots spaced two hours apart. It's good to see Bone Yard starting the new year on a high note, and hopefully SATURDAY & SUNDAY's shows have strong turnouts! See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of your local 225 covering Van Morriosn's "Brown Eyed Girl" at their "uncorked" Beck's gig last month, courtesy of their Facebook page! While sadly shot vertically, it's a fine melodic rendition of this classic rock staple, accentuated with some holiday decor, so give it a watch!

Now to shows that did have advance notice, starting with new local classic/hard rock cover trio The Guilty Party, who will lead off their 2026 slate TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Reggie's Place! After a fast start to their run as a live band, these will see Brent, Terry, and Jim rock out as the first hard rock-leaning band to rock Reggie's since owner/namesake Reggie Daigle resumed management of the bar last fall after Randy Lapossie's five year tenure came to an end. It is a good sign that Reggie isn't immediately reverting to a country-only band rotation like in ye olden times, and hopefully The Guilty Party deliver a solid pair of shows downtown this weekend! The Facebook event page is teasing a "special surprise" for tomorrow's show, heavily implied to be a female guest singer in other postings, and while this isn't a 100% guarantee, note that members' other band Separate Wayz are fronted by Nicole Thibodeau (more on her and that band soon).

As usual for concerts at Reggie's, tomorrow's and Saturday's Guilty Party concerts have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no announced cover charges. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on this weekend's shows, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of The Guilty Party covering Bryan Adams' "Run To You" live at the former Reggie's West (Jay's Piston Broke Pub) in November! Sadly also shot vertically (and almost never capturing bassist Jim Michaud in frame), this Terry Eaton-sung rendition is soundly and professionally handled, though I'd have at least zoomed in a bit and moved the camera around moreso. Check this one out below as well, and don't miss the guys at Reggie's!

We'll head to Sault Michigan to round out this weekend's previews (as far as I'm currently aware), as Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will kick off their year by rocking The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Jeff Hudson's two active rock bands will actually both be coming north of the Mackinac Bridge for Soo Kewadin gigs this month (Scarkazm will be here in four weeks), but the longer running Peril are up first for Yooper fans. Should be a solid pair of hard rocking cover concerts in store to lead off 2026, so don't miss out on this talented trio's launch for another year tomorrow and Saturday! If you miss out, they'll be back at the St. Ignace Kewadin over the Valentine's Day weekend for the pond hockey tournament, but they won't be back in the Soo until at least the second quarter of the year. Expect 9:00 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Peril live a while back!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for an overdue news post on the SMS tomorrow! Thanks everyone!