Sault Blues Society announces virtual concert series

After several months of organization, the Sault Blues Society has announced a virtual blues concert miniseries.

The concert series will include five 50-minute concerts, all featuring local musicians playing original songs. 

The series will kick off this Thursday at 8 p.m. featuring Blues Shop with musicians Mike Yurich, Josh Norling, Valerie Powley, Jeff Pinnett, Warren Reville, and Eugene Gassi.

The pre-recorded concerts will be available to watch on Shaw Spotlight, the Sault Blues Society’s YouTube channel, and Borderline Radio.

“Since 2020 was the 10th anniversary of the Sault Blues Society, we were working with Rotary Sault Ste. Marie to present an all blues stage night as part of Rotaryfest 2020," a new release issued by the Sault Blue Society states. "We had also been in contact with four traveling bands that were routing through the Sault in 2020 to work out the possibility of performing for the fine blues fans of the Sault. Unfortunately, these acts were not possible due to the worldwide COVID pandemic. We hope that you enjoy our Virtual Blues Miniseries with the expectations of live performances to return to local stages in the future."

The Sault Blue Society says that this series wouldn’t have been possible without community partners and the 20 great local Sault Ste. Marie musicians that participated in this project.

“We at the Sault Blues Society hope that you are all managing through this time of uncertainty and lack of live music,” the release states.

The following are the five local bands featured in the miniseries:

Blues Shop - Thursday, Jan. 7 at 8 p.m.
Mike Yurich - guitar and vocals
Josh Norling - saxophone
Valerie Powley - vocals and percussion
Jeff Pinnett - drums
Warren Reville - bass
Eugene Gassi - keys

Big Wheel and the Spokes - Thursday, Jan. 14 at 8 p.m.
Jay Case - guitar and vocals
Frank Deresti - bass
Cliff Alloy - drums

Cosmic Blues Band - Thursday, Jan. 21 at 8 p.m.
Ray Gassi - guitar and vocals
Mike Yurich - guitar and keys
Pierre Vaillancourt - bass
Chris Johns - drums

Blues Harvest - Thursday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m.
Keith Conway - guitar
Jake Rendell - guitar and vocals
Josh Norling - saxophone and ewi
Michael DiSanto - bass
Ken Coulter - drums

Rusty McCarthy - Thursday, Feb. 4 at 8 p.m.
Rusty McCarthy - guitar and vocals
Lindsay Pugh - bass
Maja Bannerman - vocals
Josh Norling - saxophone Chris Johns - Drums