Cold Leather Seats set for new music, SpeakEZ show

Mid-Week Musical Magic: Cold Leather Seats brings its unique approach to SpeakEZ. (Courtesy Photo)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Local Spins 2026 Calendars will be available for in-person sales before tonight’s show at SpeakEZ Lounge, 600 Monroe Ave. NW. Save on shipping for these calendars that make terrific Michigan-centric Christmas gifts. Scroll down for Cold Leather Seats music video.

Support our coverage of
West Michigan’s music scene

When Local Spins last checked in with West Michigan’s Cold Leather Seats, the Americana-driven band was preparing for a robust summer and fall of concerts and touring.

Now, with the band’s final show of 2026 taking place at 7:30 tonight at SpeakEZ Lounge in Grand Rapids — part of the Local Spins Wednesday series — the group is getting ready to turn its attention to the recording studio and finally lay down tracks after writing “a ton of music” over the past few years.

“We spent the entire year on the road. It was an incredible experience and we learned so much together. The last couple months have been spent regrouping,” said guitarist and singer Alex Svoboda of Grand Haven.

“We have a couple projects in the works, most notably our long-awaited debut EP. We are still working on a timeline for releasing in 2026 as we balance careers, families and busy lives. … Over the last few years, we really dedicated our time to playing shows and performing. That didn’t leave a lot of time to get into the studio to record, however. Over the next year, our goal is to spend a lot of time in the studio and getting our music — that we have been performing extensively — out into the world.”

Fans can expect to hear some of that new music during the SpeakEZ show, part of the “gospel-Americana” repertoire that defines the group that combines “Americana, country, folk and rock … through the lens of Christian storytelling,” according to Svoboda.

‘Perfect Scenario’: Recording new music, playing more shows. (Photo/Local Spins)

“This is something we have worked hard to flesh out over the last few years and it has been where we now feel most at home, musically. Our music relies heavily on acoustic rhythm, three-part harmonies and strong fiddle melodies.”

The band – which has released several singles since 2020 and hopes to release an EP and full-length album over the next year or so – kicks off this holiday weekend’s Buses by the Beach Bus Benefit festival in Trufant at 7 p.m. Friday (May 23) with a jam-packed summer performance schedule beyond that.

The band – which began when Svoboda wrote a song with a Northern Michigan University classmate and eventually released, “Roots,” via White Elephant Records – has performed as a duo, a trio and eventually solidified as a five-piece, expanding to a seven-piece ensemble for some shows. (Scroll down to watch the music video for “Roots.”)

The group features Svoboda, bassist Isaac Frisbie, singer Elizabeth Patterson and drummer Drew Poehl, with John Robey on fiddle for the Local Spins Wednesdays show.

WHY ‘COLD LEATHER SEATS’?

Svoboda noted that he “grew up in church as did all of my other bandmates really” and first started singing with Patterson at Ferris State University where they performed in a church choir together. Consequently, band members “feel at home” with their gospel-hued Americana music that also draws inspiration from the likes of John Prine and The Head & The Heart.

As for the band name, Svoboda provides this explanatory anecdote.

When I first got to college at Northern Michigan University, only one of our small group of friends had a car. It had cheap, beat-up leather seats,” he recalled.

“First the AC went out, followed by the heater during that first long, cold, snowy winter. There became a running debate of which was worse — hot leather seats or cold leather seats. Someone remarked that Cold Leather Seats would be a great band name. Four years later, we started a band and needed a name (and) somehow we remembered that old car, and the name stuck.”

Heading into the studio in 2026: Cold Leather Seats (Courtesy Photo)

With “personal journey” songs such as “Traveler,” the band has connected with its audiences. “We have so many people come up and tell us how it’s communicated to them in some way, how it’s touched them, how it’s resonated,” Svoboda said.
“It was unexpected. … It really has touched some folks and it’s really awesome to hear that.”

Audiences can expect more of that in coming months and years.

“In a perfect scenario, we will be able to record and release both an EP and an album in the coming one to two years,” Svoboda said. “We also would love to continue performing and are always eager to get on stage.”

VIDEO: Cold Leather Seats, “Hey Pretty Mama”