Accidentals, Fit For a King & more mid-week marvels

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Wednesday night lit up Grand Rapids with shows by disparate artists in varied venues, from The Accidentals’ ‘Cover Art’ tour stop to metalcore’s Fit for a King and more. Recap, photos at Local Spins.

Covering The Artists Who Inspired Them: The Accidentals performing at Midtown on Wednesday. (Photo/Joshua Tufts)

SCROLL DOWN FOR IMAGES OF THE ACCIDENTALS, FIT FOR A KING, ALEX AUSTIN TRIO

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Before The Accidentals were The Accidentals, Traverse City teen musicians Sav Buist and Katie Larson would pretend “that maybe a cello was a bass or … maybe the violin was an electric guitar” and then “reinvent” songs by female artists who inspired them, Larson recalled.

More than a decade later, those influential songwriters have sparked The Accidentals’ long-awaited first album of cover songs, aka “Cover Art,” a collection that the now-Nashville-based trio recorded, engineered and produced on their own.

Touring behind this unique tribute compilation, The Accidentals on Wednesday regaled a sold-out crowd at Grand Rapids’ Midtown with innovative takes on songs by the likes of Ani DiFranco, Sheryl Crow, Indigo Girls, Blondie and Caroline Rose, among others.

Loving Grand Rapids: Fit for a King (Photo/Chelsea Whitaker0

“Tonight is going to be a featurette of all of these incredible female musicians who inspired us to become musicians in the first place,” Buist told the engaged audience of 200 or so, later adding that the band also wanted to spotlight current artists who might be less familiar to many fans.

“Part of the ‘Cover Art’ project is not just to pay homage to who came before us, but also to look to the future and see all the great art that’s being made right now.”

The trio – Buist, Larson and drummer Katelynn Corll – adroitly and enthusiastically did just that during their Grand Rapids tour stop.

After an opening set by singer-songwriter Danni Nicholls, The Accidentals rolled out smartly arranged, instrumentally diverse versions of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass,” Crow’s “Everyday is a Winding Road” and Indigo Girls’ classic “Closer to Fine,” that had many in the audience singing along.

The Accidentals play another sold-out concert tonight (April 25) at The Ark in Ann Arbor, with a Friday (April 26) concert at Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Café in Kalamazoo. Some tickets for the Bell’s show are still available here.

Read more about The Accidentals’ “Cover Art” album here, and browse a photo gallery from Wednesday’s show and watch some video highlights below.

The Accidentals’ sold-out show was just part of a lively night of live music in Grand Rapids. Texas metalcore band Fit for a King led a rousing lineup of hardcore acts at The Intersection, including Chelsea Grin, Kingdom of Giants, Our Vices and Soulkeeper.

On the other end of downtown, the Local Spins Wednesdays series at SpeakEZ Lounge featured the Alex Austin Trio, with Deerfield Run frontman Austin unfurling well-crafted tunes from his new solo album, “Nobody’s Home.” Next up for the series: The Schrock Bros play SpeakEZ on May 1.

PHOTO GALLERY: The Accidentals, Danni Nicholls at Midtown
Photos by Joshua Tufts, John Sinkevics