With only a week’s notice – and down a band member – local rock band The Northwest still didn’t pass up the opportunity to play before a sold-out crowd at GFL Memorial Gardens earlier this month.
The homegrown Sault Ste. Marie band opened for Collective Soul and Our Lady Peace on March 2 in front of a fully packed house of concert-goers.
While they’ve had numerous successes since forming in 2013 – and played with a number of high profile bands before – singer Wayne Watkins said it was particularly special to play for thousands of people in their hometown.
“It's like your Super Bowl for that to be in front of a hometown audience,” Watkins said.
“As a local band growing up here in Sault Ste. Marie, to be part of a show on that scale, that's something that will live with you forever.”
“Knowing that a significant portion of our peers were in the audience that night felt really, really special,” added guitarist Greg Callaghan.
Unfortunately, bass player Mike Smykacz was sidelined with a wrist injury, leading Watkins to fill in with only a week’s notice before the show.
“We missed him up there, but I think Wayne handled it admirably,” said Callaghan, who also praised the performance of fellow band members Mike Yakasovich and Marc Santos.
A number of fans and community members have reached out to congratulate the band about the show, but – even though the band performed for thousands last weekend – Callaghan’s biggest fan might still be his mom.
She was working as a “runner” for the concert on Sunday evening, when Callaghan said she gave an unexpected ride to Raine Maida, the lead singer for Our Lady Peace.
“This man ran up to the car and knocked on the window, and he had a pass, so she knew he was part of the event, and he said ‘Hey, can I get a ride back to the hotel?’” Callaghan said. “So my mom's driving, and she’s like ‘Well, my name is Anne,’ and the guy says, ‘Hi, I'm Raine.’”
“It was Raine Maida. Apparently she was talking up The Northwest a little.”
Both Callaghan and Watkins said they had a mix of excitement and nerves through various parts of the experience, but both agreed it was great to see the city’s response to a show like Collective Soul and Our Lady Peace coming to town.
“It's really encouraging to see the city just embrace that and . . . support the GFL and support going to these shows, especially on a Sunday night in the middle of winter,” said Watkins.
“Hopefully it sends a message out there too – that Sault Ste. Marie can support these level of shows,” Callaghan said.
“It would be nice to see some more of these bigger artists coming through the GFL again.”