Sawyer Fredericks and The Accidentals tour behind new albums

BENTON HARBOR — Sawyer Fredericks and The Accidentals perform at 7 p.m. Oct. 13 at Lake Michigan College’s Mendel Center, 2755 E. Napier Ave.

The tour is an album release tour for both bands, for “Vessel” by The Accidentals and “Flowers For You” by Fredericks.

With “Vessel,” the female-fronted Michigan band moves into a new chapter with its music — Americana style lyrics, pop melodies and punk energy — filling out their signature strings and dreamy harmonies with electric instruments.

The Accidentals — Sav Buist, Katie Larson and Michael Dause — began recording “Vessel” in 2018 with award winning producers Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Neko Case) and John Congleton (St Vincent, Sarah Jaffe). 

The trio finished it during lockdown, producing the finals songs for the album themselves in a makeshift attic studio. The lyrics deal with overcoming, tuning out the toxicity and being kinder to oneself.

Fredericks released “Flowers for You” in 2020, but because of the pandemic, this will be his first time touring behind it. The album features 12 original songs that showcase his songwriting, played in his self-described “free range folk” vein. When he was 16, Fredericks won Season 8 of “The Voice.”

Larson and Buist of The Accidentals contributed strings to two songs on “Flowers for You,” “Lies You Tell” and “Days Go By,” and also were featured in the pandemic-era video for “Lies You Tell.”

Tickets are $100-$20.

For more information, call 269-927-8700 or visit themendelcenter.com, sawyerfredericks.com or theaccidentalsmusic.com.