The much-admired northern Michigan singer-songwriter opens up about her new music for Local Spins, which also debuts tracks by Michigander, G-Hollow, The Junky Swinger and more.
Exploring ‘Different Spaces’: May Erlewine pushed for a more rock-forward vibe on her new album. (Courtesy Photo)
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May Erlewine wanted to rock.
So, when she and producer-musician Theo Katzman assembled the same group of musicians to record the follow-up to Erlewine’s 2023 album “The Real Thing,” she decided to change things up.
“I thought, OK, well if we’re going to get the same people together in the same room, what’s going to be different about it? I’ve been really craving making more rock music,” she said, “so I kind of picked songs and asked the band to dig in a little bit more on this one.”
The resulting “What It Takes” – officially released today (March 21) – brims with an undercurrent of rootsy rock, propelled by Erlewine’s poignant, pointed and uplifting songs and powered by Katzman on drums, Phil Cook on keyboards, Packy Lundholm on guitar and Joel Gottschalk on bass.
“We were all just really reaching together in the room,” Erlewine said of the sessions at Cinnamon Ranch in northern Michigan. “It took a lot of courage to kind of go into different spaces than I had before on a recording. I think as we gain experience, then we can also gain the courage to try new things.”
Lyrically, Erlewine’s familiar and powerful themes remain front and center amid a grittier rock milieu.
“The album – there’s a lot of love in there, There’s some frustration and a lot of commentary on what it feels like to be disappointed, and also feeling our traumas and deciding what we’re going to carry forward,” she said in an interview earlier this week from her Traverse City home.
“And so there’s a lot of personal music that could be taken as like, oh, ‘This is just about one relationship.’ But most of those songs apply to a greater whole of what’s happening right now.”
VIDEO: May Erlewine, “Animals” (from “What It Takes”)
PLAYING GR, KALAMAZOO, ANN ARBOR AND TRAVERSE CITY
Erlewine said she’s always loved experimenting with different things in her recording and writing over the past 20 years, so this was an opportunity to continue “diversifying” that space while still maintaining “the thread of me and my voice and my songwriting. So in that way, I think I’m in there and the people who know me and have followed me will hear me in the songs.”
“I think it’s a departure from anything else I’ve done, but I’m always trying to be really honest and think about the songs and how they’re serving a greater whole,” she offered. “I think you can still hear that even in these songs that are rock ‘n’ roll – and even though one of ’em has swear words – it’s like it’s still all very tenderhearted.”
The new album is titled, “What It Takes,” she said, “because it took everything up until now to be able to make it, and I wouldn’t be the person I am without everything that’s happened.”
Erlewine and her band will embark on the first leg of their album-release tour starting April 2 and 3 at Midtown in Grand Rapids, followed by shows at Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Café in Kalamazoo April 4-5, The Ark in Ann Arbor on April 6 and The Alluvion in Traverse City April 8-9. Get tickets, details online here.
Lundholm, Gottschalk, drummer Ben Rose and keyboardist Charlie Millard will join Erlewine on tour, with Katzman serving as “a special guest on the first batch of shows.”
Songs That Apply to the ‘Greater Whole’ of What’s Happening: Erlewine (Courtesy Photo)
“It’ll be a special group of people and the shows will be very uplifting and heartfelt and trying to give people something to hang onto right now,” Erlewine vowed. “But we’ll have some rock ‘n’ roll in there as well.”
Of course, Erlewine has long championed the rights of those who’ve felt disenfranchised politically and supported environmental causes, something she’s “very carefully” addressed during her shows.
“I try to talk about things in a way that is from my own heart. And … I don’t want to bring in hate if I’m trying to combat hate. … I just take it pretty seriously and try to make sure that my words on stage are pretty thoughtful.”
Erlewine also has championed Michigan’s music scene, something with which she’s been ever more impressed after touring the world.
“It’s probably something in the water, but I think that it has to do with a very collaborative community and a community that really values music as a quality of life,” she surmised.
“I think there’s a lot of appreciation and support naturally from not just musicians, but also the listeners. We have a tremendous community that really cares about music here and is proud of their Michigan artists. There’s a sense of pride and just like we are in it together. … I think there’s just a lot of support here for the arts.”
For this week’s edition of Local Spins on WYCE – which showcases Michigan-made music at 11 a.m. Fridays and 5 p.m. Sundays on WYCE (88.1 FM) and online at wyce.org, as well as on Interlochen Public Radio at 7 p.m. Saturdays – Erlewine spotlighted the tracks “My Speed” and “Creature” from “What It Takes,” which you can listen to as part of the radio show podcast below.
This week’s show also featured fresh tracks from Luke Winslow-King, Avocadsquad, Michigander, The Lasso, Tami Hjelm, The Junky Swinger, Jeff Karoub, G-Hollow and The Reverend Jesse Ray.
PODCAST: Local Spins on WYCE (3/21/25)
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