if you go
• Luke Winslow-King
• 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 15.
• The Parliament Room at Otus Supply, 545 E. Nine Mile Road, Ferndale.
• Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 at the door.
• Call 248-291-6160 or visit otussupply.com.
You can take the boy out of Michigan, but...
Rootsy singer-songwriter-guitarist Luke Winslow-King spent 16 years living in New Orleans, where he began a music career that’s included six albums, including this year’s “Blue Mesa.” But he’s returned to his native Cadillac, Mich., to be closer to family and friends and a lifestyle he craved after the more bustling environs of the Crescent City.
Winslow-King still remains a world traveler, however, and “Blue Mesa” has him back on the road, playing up the same kind of storm he’s been pursuing for some two decades...
• Coming back to Michigan was an organic decision, according to Winslow-King. “I was just looking for a change,” he explains by phone. “I’d been in New Orleans a long time. I wanted to focus more on my family, nature, getting back in touch with some of my old friends. I really enjoy trout fishing and cross country skiing. I’m grateful for the experiences I had in New Orleans over the years. I’ll always go back there to see friends and work. I’m not ruling out living there again, but right now I’m back home and loving it.”
• For “Blue Mesa,” however, Winslow-King and his band went to guitarist Roberto Luti’s home in the Tuscan village of Lari, where they wrote songs and recorded the album. “It was a really cool experience,” Winslow-King recalls. “We had our run of the whole town. There was great food, beautiful views out the window of this mountain village. We did almost everything live in the studio, 10 tracks in two days, just trying to capture the tunes in the freshest, most sincere and honest deliver we could come up with.”
• “Blue Mesa” also finds Winslow-King in good spirits after its predecessor, 2016’s “I’m Glad Trouble Don’t Last Always,” dealt with the breakup of his marriage. “This one is a little more broad than my last album. That one was all about one topic; This one just has a little bit more fresh air in it, a little more of a relaxed approach. I was just frankly tired of singing about the same topic and wanted to just have a little more diversity and open things back up a little more.”
If You Go:
• Luke Winslow-King
• 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 15.
• The Parliament Room at Otus Supply, 545 E. Nine Mile Road, Ferndale.
• Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 at the door.
• Call 248-291-6160 or visit otussupply.com.