Starting their Michigan run with two shows at Grand Rapids’ Midtown, the indie-folksters join Georgia Middleman, Gary Burr and Mary Bragg for the latest iteration of their ‘in-the-round’ concerts.
Loving ‘Time Out’ and All Its Tunesmiths: The Accidentals, at left, with Mary Bragg, Georgia Middleman and Gary Burr. (Courtesy Photo)
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Call it a timeout for good behavior – a respite from the rigors of life as a career musician.
Amid the maelstrom of touring, recording, studying, promoting, booking and organizing, The Accidentals’ Sav Buist and Katie Larson have taken refuge in “Time Out,” their co-writing project with iconic tunesmiths who help them get back to the essence of creating meaningful music.
“It helps us get away from the noise and do it with people who are super supportive,” Buist said of the long-running collaborations that have produced two EPs featuring co-writes with Beth Nielsen Chapman, Tom Paxton, Peter Mulvey, Kim Richey and a host of other award-winning artists.
On Friday, The Accidentals release a new full-length album that combines tracks from the first two EPs, the same day that they’ll kick off a two-night run at Grand Rapids’ Midtown listening room with intimate, in-the-round concerts featuring collaborators Georgia Middleman, Gary Burr and Mary Bragg.
Tickets, $35-$100, for the 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday shows are available at themidtowngr.com.
It’s part of an eight-show “Time Out” tour that comes on the heels of The Accidentals releasing their cover of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” – the first song in the band’s upcoming album of covers of songs by female artists who’ve inspired them.
Larson raved about the “really good lineup” of “Time Out” performers which includes Burr, who’s toured and/or written songs with the likes of Carole King, Juice Newton, Kenny Loggins and Ringo Starr, among others. His wife, Georgia Middleman, has released several albums, performed in a trio with Burr and Loggins, and the two of them frequently play as a duo. (Scroll down to listen to The Accidentals’ collaboration with Burr and Middleman.)
Bragg is a Nashville singer, songwriter and producer (described as an “Americana queen” by Vice/Noisey) who also serves as an adjunct professor of songwriting for Berklee College of Music.
AN ‘EXCITING PROJECT’ AND ‘A GREAT SHOW’
“We’re all a little mind-blown to be on the same tour together,” Buist said, noting that fans get to hear the stories behind some powerful songs. “It’s a collaborating, mind-bending experience for us, but it’s also a great show.”
The process of collaborating on new songs with veteran writers “keeps us accountable to the heart of what the song is about,” Larson said. “You get a therapy session when you sit down with these writers because they really break you open.”
A third “Time Out” EP is in the works, with Buist noting that they’ve already written new songs with Roger Cook, David Wilcox and others, with hopes of releasing that recording later this year.
Back in GR: Buist and Larson during ‘Time Out’ in 2022. (Photo/Anna Sink)
“It’s an exciting project,” Buist said. “I love it to death.”
Not surprisingly, The Accidentals will be back performing at South By Southwest In Austin later this month, joined by Elizabeth Day, Katelynn Corll and Grand Rapids native Patty PerShayla, with summer touring kicking off in June.
Buist and Larson will also be part of a special cruise and bike tour taking place June 16-24 in Croatia, along with songwriter Kim Richey.
The “Time Out” tour officially kicked off Wednesday in Nashville and moves to Peoria tonight (Thursday) before the Grand Rapids stops. On Sunday, the tour heads to Traverse City for a show at City Opera House, followed by two straight nights at 20 Front Street in Lake Orion and wrapping up March 10 at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk.
LISTEN: “Leave It in the Dust,” The Accidentals, Georgia Middleman (Written by Sav Buist, Katie Larson, Gary Burr, Georgia Middleman)
VIDEO: The Accidentals, “Heart of Glass”
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