Three local bands are looking to reignite the Sault’s rock and metal scene this summer.
Soo Blaster will host Sault Side Squad, Maynard Hayes, and headlining act Convergence for an all-ages show – The Upheaval – at 7 p.m. on June 28.
“We're gearing this towards any and all people who are interested in rock and metal. We want to bring back that interest in those genres,” said Brendan Christie, guitarist with Convergence.
Christie said he remembers before the pandemic, when all kinds of local bands would hit the stage around Sault Ste. Marie. Part of the inspiration for the upcoming show is to help bring that scene back to the city.
“I've been in bands since I was 12 years old, and there would be weekends in Sault Ste. Marie where you could throw a stone and hit a venue that was playing a show,” he said.
“It was always a lot of fun because you were watching the talent that's in this city in its heyday.”
Christie hopes to help inspire the next generation of Sault-based talent to hit the city’s stages, as well.
“We thought . . . an all-ages show would be a good idea so that we can maybe inspire those younger musicians to go out and make their own bands and maybe, in a couple of years, we can be the ones watching them.”
While Convergence has been a project Christie was involved with for much of the past decade, he said the band truly formed within the past year – with musicians from different backgrounds coming together to form a unique, progressive metal sound.
Christie has a background in heavy metal, while the band’s other guitarist, Jake Valois, is a “phenomenal jazz guitarist,” Christie said.
“We take inspiration from other artists and other genres and styles of music, and we try to incorporate it into ourselves,” he said.
Christie said Convergence is currently working on its first album and played its first show in recent months – a performance he hopes they can build on come June.
“We want to see how far we can take it, starting with our hometown,” he said, adding the band hopes to tour in 2026.
“We played one show about two months ago, and it was a really great experience because it was kind of like the life and the energy that was here prior to COVID was back.”
Tickets for the June 28 show will cost $20 at the door or $15 in advance through Convergence’s Facebook or on the Soo Blaster website.