NEW EP FEATURES SONGWRITING COLLABORATIONS WITH
GRETCHEN PETERS, BETH NIELSEN CHAPMAN, GARY BURR, MAIA SHARP, GEORGIA MIDDLEMAN, & PETER MULVEY
LISTEN: “EASTERN STANDARD TIME”
Nashville-based, female-fronted trio The Accidentals have announced their forthcoming EP Time Out Session #2, the second installment of their “Time Out” project, which features co-writes with Gretchen Peters, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Gary Burr, Tom Paxton, Maia Sharp, Georgia Middleman, and Peter Mulvey. The EP’s first single “Eastern Standard Time,” co-written with Mulvey, was inspired by Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
“A Wisconsin native, Peter is known for riding his bike across the country with his guitar on his back, sharing stories and provocative wisdom in song form,” says Sav Buist (who met Mulvey at a festival in Michigan). “After watching his set we knew someday we would write a song with him.” Five minutes into the co-writing session, the band discovered they and Mulvey were all avid nature lovers. “When you’re co-writing with people you look for the commons, things you can both write about. We spent the first forty minutes talking about plants and fungi and discovered we both had an affinity for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It’s where our home state meets Peter’s home state. “The UP is one of the most beautiful places on earth and we plan a tour there every year when the leaves are changing. We decided to write a song about that.
“The line ‘Three fires burn from the old bloodlines’ pays homage to the Three Fires Council and the lineage of Native Americans that inhabited Mackinac Island dating back to 796 AD, later known as the Great Lakes Confederacy. The descriptions of northern beauty are underscored by the dangerous oil pipeline threatening our remaining freshwater resources, and the looming concern over climate change” she explains. “We were thinking about all those things as we wrote this song.”
The Michigan-bred, indie-folk trio’s “Time Out” series has turned heads and warmed hearts by forging singular and striking collaborations with some of America’s most important, most celebrated songwriters, among them Dar Williams, Kim Richey, and Mary Gauthier.
After the Time Out Session #1 single, “Wildfire,” co-written with Kim Richey, was named No. 1 song of the year by FAI Folk Radio Charts for 2021, The Accidentals – Sav Buist, Katie Larson, and Michael Dause – are poised to build on that success by unfurling follow-up EP Time Out Session #2 featuring ever more intoxicating collaborations with prominent tunesmiths.
If Time Out Session #1 was “an anthem for how to fix a broken America” (Rolling Stone), then Time Out Session #2 is the manual. The message is clear that connection, collaboration, and community are at the heart of healing. The Accidentals are bridging differences in generations and backgrounds to create unforgettable musical alliances.
“These songs are honest and vulnerable and they were written in a safe space with songwriters, that through this process of co-writing, we have come to call friends,” says Larson.“ As producers and engineers on this project, Katie and I tried to stay out of our own way and just serve the songs, not over think it–leave space for the story,” adds Buist. “I think we did that.”
Set for release on March 4th, the self-produced EP will also launch a Midwest tour, kicking off March 2nd at 3300 Event Center in Peoria Heights, Illinois, and wrapping up on March 13th at City Winery in Nashville. Joining The Accidentals on that run are Hall of Fame writer Beth Nielsen Chapman, Yep Roc Artist Kim Richey, and celebrated songwriter, Maia Sharp. Be sure to follow The Accidentals via the links below for the latest news and updates.
TOUR DATES:
3/2 - 3300 Event Center - Peoria, IL
3/3 - Old Town School of Folk - Chicago, IL
3/4 - Listening Room - Grand Rapids, MI
3/5 - Bell's Brewery - Kalamazoo, MI
3/6 - Old Art Building - Leland, MI
3/9 - The Ark - Ann Arbor, MI
3/10 - Acorn Theater - Three Oaks, MI