Local Spins spotlights the singer-songwriter with a new recording, plus debuts tracks by Dan Rickabus, Headband Henny, Ten Peso Version and more. Check out the feature story and radio show podcast.
Michigan Album-Release Shows April 10-12: Darcy Wilkin (Courtesy Photo)
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After nearly 30 years of performing with The Corn Fed Girls and releasing her first solo album in 2020, Kalamazoo singer-songwriter Darcy Wilkin pushes the folk envelope on her sophomore album in a number of ways.
For one thing, the upcoming new album was recorded at Good Luck Studio in Chapel Hill, N.C., with a dozen other “wonderful” musicians, giving the project a lush, full-band sound.
For another, the songs on “Time Walks Along” have a different vibe.
“This album feels a lot different from the first one. It feels more adventurous stylistically, and the songs – many of them couldn’t have been written in my younger years,” Wilkin said.
“We took advantage of all the folks that I recorded down in Chapel Hill … by doing some stylistic things that are a little different. So there’s like a Cajun tune on there, one that sounds a lot like an old Carter family song, there’s one that just has pump organ and harmonica. So yeah, there’s some interesting different instrumentation setups.”
Ultimately, though, it’s still folk music, “though it touches on quite a few different styles. As for a theme, while there are a couple of love songs, I’d say the overall theme is the passage of time.”
Wilkin: Plans for lots of solo shows in 2026. (Courtesy Photo)
Wilkin will celebrate release of the new album at three Michigan shows with special guest Drew Howard: April 10 at The Lucky Wolf in Paw Paw, April 11 at Elderly Instruments in Lansing and April 12 at ArtRat Gallery in Grand Rapids. (Get info and tickets at the links for each venue.)
“Drew is a masterful musician and will be playing flat-top guitar, Dobro and mandolin,” Wilkin said of the in-demand Michigan artist who’ll also play an opening set at the shows.
“Folks should expect to hear the whole album, front to back, hear some stories, hopefully have some laughs. It’ll be a good time.”
For Wilkin, it’s the latest step in a musical journey that began as a child, growing up listening to her father Mark Sahlgren and his band, Sweetcorn, who would rehearse at their house. She started playing guitar as a teenager.
“Once a week, all these cool dudes came over and played music at my house. And then on the weekends, they’d play at festivals and concerts, I just grew up being taken to all these things. So, I was surrounded by music. It was a great way to grow up, and it definitely informed what I ended up doing.”
THE CORN FED GIRLS, THE RED CLAY RAMBLERS AND ‘MORE SOLO SHOWS’
Part what she ended up doing was being a member of the Kalamazoo acoustic Americana and bluegrass group The Corn Fed Girls for the past 29 years — a band that also plans to head back into the studio in the near future.
In addition to the mentorship of her father, Wilkin — longtime co-host of the weekly “Grassroots” radio show on WMUK-FM (102.1) — has leaned on the musical influences of John Prine and North Carolina’s The Red Clay Ramblers, with a pair of musicians from that band – guitarist Jim Watson and keyboardist Mike Carver – actually performing on the new album.
“When I was a kid, they’d stay at my parents’ house when they were on tour in the Midwest. Having those guys around was magical,” Wilkin recalls of The Red Clay Ramblers.
The New Album: ‘Time Walks Along’
“Their musicianship is unparalleled and are just some of the sweetest guys. One of the great honors of my life is to have two of the Ramblers on this album.”
The album – produced by Joe Newberry, engineered and mixed by FJ Ventre and mastered by Anna Frick at Ally Sound – also features Jon Shain, Allyn Love, George Hindenach, Joe Newberry, Jennifer Curtis, Bill Newton, Rebecca Newton, Joseph Decosimo and Mike Compton.
As for the rest of 2026, the plan is “to play a whole lot more solo shows, including a little tour in the summer,” said Wilkin, who’s also part of a new band project, Danger Dear, that features Aaron James Wright, Mike Fuerst and Jay Gavan.
“We’ll probably be playing out around October for that band,” she said. “It’s kind of spookier stuff, a little bit darker music, so it’s kind of ripe for Halloween time.”
For this week’s edition of the Local Spins Michigan Music Showcase, Wilkin featured two of her songs from the new album – “Time” and “Caged Bird.” The show also debuted tracks by several other Michigan artists: Kyle Brown & The Human Condition, Toby Bresnahan, Dan Rickabus, Headband Henny, Ten Peso Version, The Aquaerials, Seth Bernard, Harry Dean & The Dusty Boys, The Heiden Underground and Jordan Rodriguez, as well as a classic, retro track from the 1950s by Little Willie John. Listen to the podcast below.
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. Check out previous show podcasts online here.
PODCAST: Local Spins Michigan Music Showcase (4/3/26)
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