Spokane staple Spare Parts to play Hotel RL Free Outdoor Summer Concert Series

From ArtFest to Arbor Crest and every venue in between, Spare Parts has played it all.

The group has been a staple of the local music scene for the past decade, whether as some combination of the “core four” - singer/guitarists Joel Johnston, Scott Randall and Kevin Gardner, and singer/bassist Kim Davis - or with the whole crew, which includes drummer Rick Westrick, electric guitarist Nick Herman and pedal steel guitar player Dwayne Becker, in tow.

Members of the band have songwriting experience, but collectively Spare Parts focuses on covers.

The band’s jukebox-like ability to perform anything and everything has earned them a big fan base.

“We play the music that we love, that we grew up on,” Johnston said. “Songs that we’ve always wanted to do but never had the collective talent within a group to do them.”

Set lists often include ’60s and ’70s pop-rock tunes by artists like Crosby, Stills and Nash, James Taylor, the Doobie Brothers and the Eagles. But Spare Parts has no trouble switching gears and performing Southern rock or “downright country” hits either.

“I always tell folks when they ask what we do, it’s really five decades of music, maybe six decades now, because we play anything from Ricky Nelson and the Everly Brothers to Jason Mraz,” Johnston said.

Audiences tend to request songs like “Brown-Eyed Girl” and “Margaritaville,” which Johnston said the band feels like it’s worn out, but adding new songs to the repertoire, like crowd-favorite “American Pie” by Don McLean, keeps things feeling fresh.

Spare Parts will perform Saturday as part of Hotel RL’s Free Outdoor Summer Concert Series.

If you’ve never seen them before, an outdoor show might be the best way to enjoy the band.

With its laid back vibe and ability to keep the hits coming, a Spare Parts show makes for a relaxing night.

Also playing this week:

Soul Proprietor, Hotel RL’s by Red Lion Spokane at the Park (Friday)

Working Spliffs, Summer Concert Series at Harrison City Park (Saturday)

Super Sparkle, Lantern Summer Concert Series (Saturday)

Sean Owsley & the Blue Mustangs, Arbor Cliff “Concerts on the Cliff” (Sunday)

Five Alarm Funk, Coeur d’Alene’s Live After 5 (Wednesday)