I don’t want to be the one to say it, but summer is ending, which means a lot of the summer mainstays are also ending.

 The last Upside Downtown concert of the summer features local disco/ funk/ R and B band Hippodrome playing outside casa, Thursday, Aug. 31 from 5-7 p.m.

 But there is still a lot happening for the Labour Day long weekend especially for punk rock fans.

A busy week of open mics opens tonight with the Owl Acoustic Lounge’s open mic, Tuesday, Aug. 29.

Danica Sommer hosts the Slice’s open mic on Wednesday, Aug. 30. 

 Gabe Thaine returns to Theoretically Brewing to host their open mic beginning at 6 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 31.

 There are no open mics at Honkers Pub on the long weekend.

 If you think you’re funny, Brian Dawdniuk hosts pro amateur Night at Good Times, Wednesday, Aug. 30.

 Chris Griffin will provide the  laughs at Good Times Friday and Saturday.

 The Slice welcomes back Ty Vanden Dool for a big pop show, Aug. 31 featuring B.C musicians Half/Asian and Amy the Coda for a night of pop music and  sign language performance.

Doors open at 8 p.m. There is a $10 cover.

Whoop Up Days opened up it’s all Southern Alberta live entertainment component on Thursday, Aug. 24 with headliner Shaela Miller, who gave an enthusiastic audience of long time fans a preview of her upcoming new album “ After the Masquerade,” which will be released in a couple months.

Many artists reinvent themselves every couple album.

 Shaela Miller, a longtime veteran of the  Lethbridge music scene, started playing rock and roll, then more alt country along the lines of Neko Case, but lately has been   exploring more traditional country sounds.

Her next album will sound like it comes right out of the ’80s if  her Whoop Up Days show is any indication.

 She started her set with a couple of older songs including an early crowd favourite “Station.”

 Then Taylor Ackerman traded his guitar for keyboards after the Skinny Dyck penned crowd favourite “Tombstone Grey.”

 Skinny Dyck alternated between adding pretty and subtle steel guitar and  his blonde Telecaster.

 Bassist Paul Holden locked in with Tyler Bird on drums who was hidden in the shadows, adding harmony vocals for a laid back set of mostly new original music 

Her new music comes right of the ’80s, but it is still what people expect from Shaela Miller — heartfelt, vulnerable, sweet and wearing her heart on her sleeve.

 For something  a little different that songs of loneliness and broken hearts, they played a love song from the movie Labyrinth.

This show was all about previewing the new album, though they sprinkled in a few old favourites and a couple tracks from her most recent album “ Big Hair , Small City,” including ‘700 ” and “ The Devil in You.”

 The title track off the upcoming album “After the Masquerade” got the audience moving.

“ Friend In You,” and “Station”  have always been crowd favourites, so everybody cheered for their performance here.

Miller quipped she still tears up  when playing her own songs, ” then cracked a rare smile on stage  before leading the band into  a laid back version of the Eurythmics’ ’80s  nugget “ Sweet Dreams (Are made of This.)” which had every one who wasn’t dancing before, dancing for this one.

 I stopped by The Rotary Ribfest on Friday, Aug 18, mainly to see Saints and Sinners, a hot cover band out of Raymond. I missed them the week before at the Slice, but made a point of catching  them at Ribfest.

I missed Obsidian Soul who opened the Friday stage, but was in time for it to start to rain and for Saints and Sinners to rock the stage ’70s and ’80s style.

They played a variety of classic rock and modern pop beginning with Harlequin’s“ Sweet Things In Life” and a solid version of Kansas‘ “ Carry on my Wayward son.”

They went modern with a catchy version of Maneskin’s “ Beggin’”

Whitney McLellan impressively carried those high notes especially on the Darkness’ “ I Believe in a Little Thing called love,” and Led Zeppelins’“ Ramble On.”

 For something different for covers, they played an excellent version of The Outfield’s “ Your Love.”

 I had to move on to the next gig as they were tearing up some Def Leppard.

— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor

Local bluesman Eric Braun has branched out from the blues into more alt country, as he showed during his, Saturday, Aug. 19 show at the Owl Acoustic Lounge.

 I missed the first set,  but it took a while for the second set  to get going, so I caught most of that.

Braun opened by strumming a couple songs solo beginning with an apt cover of Chris Stapleton’s “Starting Over,” which he followed up with a break up song “ I’m Not Who I Used to Be” and a cover of Tyler Childers’ “White House Road.”

 Keyboardist Nate Lockley joined Braun for a couple of sad songs plus Jason Isbell’s “ Cover Me Up.”

The rest of the band, drummer Jon Bateman and bassist Mike Davidson joined him to play some of his original blues songs from early in his career and some more covers.

One of the highlights was  “Back to California, which reminded me of Chris Colepaugh and the Cosmic Crew.

 They got people up and dancing with crowd favourite “Mustang Sally.”

— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat editor