The three women who make up the Nashville-based music group The Accidentals all hail from Michigan. This month, they’re celebrating the release of a new album of holiday music with a series of concerts back in their home state.
The Accidentals are made up of Traverse City natives Sav Madigan and Katelynn Corll and Detroiter Katie Larson. They’ve teamed up with the Ohio-based Kaboom Studio Orchestra for a new seasonal album called "Sonus Borealis: A Holiday Winter Collection."
There are songs you might expect on this kind of release, like "I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" and "All I Want For Christmas." Other numbers they’ve chosen are less obvious.
Sav Madigan covers the Joni Mitchell song "River." She says she was a bit nervous to take it on.
“It’s Joni! Her chord progressions she chooses are wild, and so we spent a lot of time thinking about how we were going to sell that, how we were going to make it work," Madigan said.
"What I loved about it was that by the time I got into the studio and the arrangements kind of filled up space, I had a way easier time than I thought I would.”
Another thing Madigan liked about "River" was getting to play baritone guitar on it.
Katelynn Corll also got to do something a little different on the track "Christmas in L.A.," stepping out from behind the drum kit to play bass.
“I just really could see the vision for how big the song could be with Kaboom a part of it, you know, and it’s got just such a nice energy,” Corll said. “It’s not super Christmasy, you know, as far as the melody and the riffs go. It’s kind of got that nice, funky vibe to it.”
Katie Larson takes lead vocals on "Pennies From Heaven," a song she felt compelled to explain being on a holiday-themed album.
“The Louis Prima version is in the movie "Elf" with Will Ferrell. That’s my biggest association with that song. It really gets me in the Christmas mood," Larson explained.
“We had some really cool orchestra soloists on that song as well, so I’m looking forward to doing that one live, because there’s a little bit where I’ll be riffing back and forth with some of the brass players.”
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The Accidentals raised money for this project on Patreon, and as audiophiles, they’re excited about a vinyl release of "Sonus Borealis: A Holiday Winter Collection," including a limited edition design bearing a northern lights pattern.
The idea of a holiday album has been on their minds for a long time. Madigan says working with the Kaboom Studio Orchestra was a natural fit for the project.
“Kate and I are on the board for the Kaboom Collective. It’s just an initiative that gets students ages 15 to 25, typically, basically gets them studio credit, either playing on records, basically just a way to amplify creativity in, like, a real world application," Madigan said.
The orchestra gets a stand-alone instrumental on "Christmas Eve Sarajevo" to close the album.
About two dozen members of the Collective are in Michigan with the Accidentals for live performances this month. They’ll be in Traverse City December 17 and 18, Grand Rapids on December 19, and Charlevoix on December 20.
Upcoming Arts Events:
The Ten Pound Fiddle folk music series will host its annual holiday sing-along program Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the University Lutheran Church in East Lansing.
The MSU College of Music presents the fifth edition of an artist-faculty and guest recital series led by pianist Ralph Votapek, featuring works by Barber, Bernstein and others, at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Music Building’s Cook Recital Hall.
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas will be at the Wharton Center next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
