On a Michigan tour with a new album on the way, Luke Winslow-King talks about a special world music project and more with Local Spins, which also debuts tracks by Major Murphy and other Michigan artists.
On the Michigan Road Again: Luke Winslow-King performing in Kalamazoo on Thursday night. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
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Luke Winslow-King has embraced a wide array of sounds and influences since growing up in Cadillac more than two decades ago.
First, it was Michigan’s thriving folk scene, followed by 15 years in New Orleans, steeped in the wondrous and tantalizing milieu of jazz, Delta blues, Cajun music and more, before moving overseas to the picturesque and inspiring environs of Spain.
“Just to have that dry air and to have these beautiful mountains and open space – those kinds of things really do influence an artist and a songwriter,” the singer and guitarist said in a recent interview with Local Spins from his home in Spain’s Aragon region.
“Having that space and that sense of peace has really led me to being more productive and more relaxed and given me the freedom to explore different approaches with my music.”
But nothing he’d ever experienced quite prepared him for the unusual rhythms and musical approach of artists in Morocco’s Sahara Desert.
After his longtime collaborator and Italian guitarist Roberto Luti began working with “desert blues” artists in the region, Winslow-King – who has a 10-year relationship with the Playing for Change Foundation that aims to “create positive change through music and arts education” for marginalized youths – traveled to Morocco to complete a two-year project that transformed his 2016 song, “I’m Glad Trouble Don’t Last Always” into a world music masterpiece.
The reimagined version of the tune with the Joudour Sahara Music School features lyrics sung in three languages and participation by artists from Morocco, Mali, Western Sahara and elsewhere, along with Luti and Winslow-King.
“Just to see their style and ornaments and the way they do their trills is just completely foreign to me,” he said. “It was just an incredible experience to work with these artists and to try to understand how they hear music and try to share our sense of rhythm and timing with them.
“It’s so foreign. It’s as foreign as the language, the way that they hear the timing and the cadence of music and where the phrases land. It’s so hard to translate that. So this song, I feel was a big victory for both of us, that we were able to speak each other’s language, get all the languages and timings and instruments to work together to finally finish this recording.”
Partly recorded at a desert bivouac camp near the oasis village of M’hamid El Ghizlane, the single and accompanying music video – released last month to “celebrate unity, resilience and a renewed fair in brighter tomorrows” – so far has racked up more than 52,000 views on YouTube and about 46,000 listens on Spotify.
“It was two years in the making, so we’re really excited for that to see the light of day and have such a great response out there in the world.”
VIDEO: “I’m Glad Trouble Don’t Last Always”
Luke Winslow-King, Roberto Luti, Joudour Sahara
NOVEMBER SOLO TOUR ACROSS MICHIGAN WITH GRAHAM PARSONS
Of course, Winslow-King also has a soft spot for his home state and frequently returns to Michigan for tours every year – a chance to “come home and see some family and friends” while mounting “a more intimate solo tour.”
On Thursday (Nov. 20) in Kalamazoo, he launched that fall jaunt with The Go Rounds’ Graham Parsons, playing Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Cafe. Browse photos from the concert below.
The tour’s next stop is at Midtown in Grand Rapids at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Nov. 21, with $30 tickets available here), followed by Cadillac Elks Lodge at 7 p.m. Saturday for the Gopherwood Concert series (tickets available here), and Wednesday (Nov. 26) at Salt of the Earth in Fennville ($29 tickets available here).
Winslow-King: Performing new songs, reworked favorites on tour. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
“I know for certain I wouldn’t have made it this far without the support and the group of musicians and music fans we have back home in Michigan. So I want to send a shout out to all my people in northern Michigan and throughout the state that have supported me for all these years. I’m forever grateful,” he said.
“So that’s one of the reasons that I always try to come back to my home state and play music, even if I’m living over in Europe.”
And playing in his hometown of Cadillac – where he was influenced as a teen by artists such as Jimi Hendrix and The Allman Brothers – is even more special.
“I’m playing for all my teachers in high school and the mayor and everybody I know back from town. So it does put a little bit of pressure on you. It’s kind of a milestone,” he said.
“You have to come home and show people where you’ve been and what you’ve been up to. So like I said, I’m really grateful for the support and excited about it.”
Winslow-King also hinted at a soon-to-be-announced new recording, the follow-up to his 2024 Bloodshot Records release, “Flash-A-Magic,” with plans for performing several of those fresh songs on this Michigan tour.
“I’m really excited to share it with Local Spins and everybody back in Michigan. I’m excited about it,” he said of the new album that he noted will show “the influence of nature and how precious it is in this life.”
In addition to the reimagined version of “I’m Glad Trouble Don’t Last Always,” this week’s edition of the Local Spins Michigan Music Showcase featured the track, “Ave (Steel Rail Angel),” from “Flash-A-Magic.”
Listen to the interview and these songs as part of the podcast below – a show that also featured new music from Michigan artists Desmond Jones, The JR Band, Radio Vision, Spencer LaJoye, Major Murphy, Jessica Wolfbird, i.am.james. and Bob James.
The Michigan Music Showcase airs at 11 a.m. Fridays and 5 p.m. Sundays on WYCE (88.1 FM) and online at wyce.org, and on Interlochen Public Radio at 7 p.m. Saturdays.
PODCAST: Local Spins Michigan Music Showcase (11/21/25)
PHOTO GALLERY: Luke Winslow-King, Graham Parsons at Bell’s
Photos by Derek Ketchum
