Tuesday, December 24, 2013

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Peril, Scarkazm, and RamWagon), And More!!

In our last post before Christmas, we have a few assorted news items (including a band withdrawal for an upcoming concert), but first, here's a bunch of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next year at two linked regional Eastern Upper Peninsula concert venues!

Sault Michigan hard rock quintet RamWagon have confirmed their early Kewadin Casino concert dates for all of 2014 via their Facebook page (with no changes to the original tentative posting), so when can you see them in the new year? If the current word is any indication, mostly at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, with 12 shows scheduled there for January 3rd & 4th (their first with new drummer Ron Suchey), March 14th & 15th, May 9th & 10th, July 11th & 12th, October 17th & 18th, and December 19th & 20th! They'll also be back at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin branch on March 28th & 29th, August 1st & 2nd, October 24th & 25th, and November 28th & 29th, though the band has noted that they'll announce more dates when confirmed. All 20 concerts have 21+ age limits, no announced cover charges, and 9:00 PM-ish start times, so check the above links for more details! It'd be nice to hear of some new gigs outside of the Kewadin Casino umbrella (there haven't been a ton since their launch), but hopefully we hear more soon from their camp, and don't miss the new lineup's debut next weekend!

Also in new Kewadin Casino concert announcements, Charlevoix classic metal trio Peril will return to the U.P. for the first time in 2014 with shows at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on January 10th & 11th, plus on February 28th & March 1st, while they'll play their first Soo Kewadin dates of next year on February 7th & 8th! Currently their only announced shows at any location of 2014, their current concert schedule through March 1st was announced on their Facebook page yesterday, with their shows denoted in red (as the poster outlines all of frontman Jeff Hudson's bands' early 2014 concerts.) Like the above RamWagon concerts, these should have 21+ age limits, no cover, and 9:00 PM start times, and check the above links for more details! It's great to have Peril's entertaining classic metal cover sound back in the Eastern U.P. for some more dates early next year, and hopefully these are just the first of many, so keep an eye out for updates!

Now, speaking of Jeff Hudson's bands, you may know that he plays in a few other active rock groups that aren't frequently seen in the Soo area. That might be changing though, as Jeff's Traverse City-based metal trio Scarkazm as playing at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino for two weekends on January 31st & February 1st and on April 25th & 26th! The former dates are listed on the schedule above, while the April shows are via their website. A melodic groove metal band featuring Jeff on drums, Scarkazm have recent original material along with a wide array of covers, they have a solid crunch and chemistry that I'm enjoying on early listens, and hopefully these upcoming shows will encourage more dates for both Scarkazm and Jeff's non-Peril bands up here! As above, these are 21+ shows with no cover and a kick-off time of 9:00 PM, so check the above links for details, and stay tuned for more concert announcements as we get them!

Finally for today, here's a handful of assorted recent news items, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

  • Windsor progressive hard rock band Awake To A Dream are looking to play in Sault Ontario in early 2014 (preferably January-February), so if you can help their solid melodic rock sound towards a local date, message frontman Chris Wilbur on Facebook at this link! They've already gotten some local contacts via Chris' post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group earlier this month, but just in case, see if you can help!
  • Local power/classic metal band The Hydra's Teeth have dropped off of THIS THURSDAY'S Heavy Winter concert at The Roosevelt Hotel due to a scheduling issue, as per the Facebook event page. Disappointing for sure, but promoter J.D. Pearce is working to get them on a 2014 show of his, and if any late lineup replacements are announced, we'll have them here!
  • Former Blind Baby frontman Tadd Gravelle is looking to join a new Sault Michigan-area music project, as per his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post last week. He's aiming to jam and write original music, and it'd be nice to see him in a new band, so message him above or at this link for further details!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for some Christmas surprises TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

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