No mountain—or hill—is too big for Big Sky Company to climb.

The Ann Arbor-Detroit collective explores that notion on its new folk single, “Walk Up This Hill.”

Featuring singer-songwriters and musicians Mike Ward, Dave Boutette, Neil Donato, Annie Bacon, Kristi Davis, and Jim Latini, the hopeful song serves as a rallying call to unite people and build community in divisive times.

“There are plenty of songs out there that people are writing and singing that are calls to action, but then, the action to me is not always what I’m looking for,” said Dave Boutette, who co-wrote “Walk Up This Hill” with Mike Ward.

“Mike’s songs have a unifying air about them; they have a unifying core, and frankly, that’s why he’s part of this project is because he brings people together, and his songs do that, too.”

Eighteen months ago, Boutette recruited Ward to pen the single after Geoff Michael, the owner-engineer of Big Sky Recording Company, suggested writing a social-commentary song.

“In our local music community, he felt like something was missing,” Boutette said.

“Given the tone of our times, there wasn’t enough social commentary and protest stuff out on the airwaves to the level that he would like. He tapped me to make it happen, and I said, ‘Well, I know the guy who’s going to write the song—Mike Ward.’”

On “Walk Up This Hill,” Ward sings, “Can we look upon our brothers / With love and empathy / Push all the hate and fear aside / Create a different history.”

“I had been playing around with this idea of ‘Walk Up This Hill,’” Ward said. “All I had was a couple of lines, and I started going with it. I sent it to Dave, and he had some thoughts. Then, I went over to his house, and we crafted it that night. We were in his living room and went back and forth.”

Ward and Boutette then recruited Bacon, Davis, Latini, and Donato to record the song at Big Sky Recording with Michael.

“They’re all people who will bring the goods, and also those are all people who will make very good use of studio time,” Boutette said.

Once they were in the studio, Ward and Boutette started harmonizing with Bacon, Davis, and Latini on the chorus for “Walk Up This Hill.”

Together, they sing, “Walk up this with me / Take my hand if you need / Let’s see how far we can see / Walk up this hill with me.”

“We wanted to be able to keep coming back to the chorus because it starts with the chorus and ends with the chorus,” Ward said.

“And that’s really the call; the verses are there as a relief, but they bring in different parts of the story of what we’re hoping for in this world, especially in this country right now.”

After finishing the song, they decided to release it under the newly formed collective of Big Sky Company and in partnership with the Michigan Music Resistance, a group of artists who use music as a form of protest.

“Walk Up This Hill” is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp, with proceeds from the song’s sale going to the ACLU.

To learn more, I recently spoke with Ward and Boutette about the song’s creative process.

Q: Let’s talk more about how the song originated.

Mike Ward (MW): Dave talked to Geoff initially, and then he got me involved.

Dave Boutette (DB): After Kristi and I had finished recording The Chickadees, Geoff was somehow very impressed with how we put it together. We had musicians coming in at certain times, and it was like an assembly line.

Geoff noted that and appreciated that. I thought, “Let’s get Mike in here, and then we’ll have Kristi and me, Annie Bacon, Jim Latini, and Neil Donato.”

Q: How did “Walk Up This Hill” evolve during the writing process?

MW: I shared an early version of it with my songwriting group before I shared it with Dave. I had a version with all the verses, and there were a lot. That’s part of the process, and Dave was super helpful with honing it down to three verses.

DB: It was like having a bucket of gold and removing the least awesome chunks of gold. I’m just super impressed with Mike Ward and his ability to comment on the times in a way that’s not divisive. We need to bring people together, and that’s what’s at the core of the Mike Ward catalog.

Q: How did you start getting the other people on board?

MW: Once we had it, and Geoff heard it, he really liked it. Dave and I first went to Big Sky Recording, and Dave said, “We should ask Annie Bacon.” She was immediately on board, and she has such a gift of finding the harmony and finding it quickly.

She started right in on the chorus with me, and we said, “Well, that’s just gotta stay.” The only solo parts are some of the verse lines that I do. And then Dave pulled out that baritone guitar that I love—that was really fun.

Q: What inspired the project’s name?

MW: I started designing some promotional materials, and we thought we should name ourselves. We liked the idea of being like Big Brother and the Holding Company from back in the San Francisco era.

I found some old artwork from their first album with Janis Joplin and the Holding Company. We used that as a template for the artwork, and then Annie’s son Dash took the photographs.

He gave them all to me, and I tried to make them feel more vintage. We had so much fun dressing up, and the wardrobe part of it was great. I dropped it into the template, so we had all of the posters ready to go.

Q: How did “Walk Up This Hill” become part of the Michigan Music Resistance?

MW: It actually came up later. As a collective, we were talking about it at the studio. We asked Geoff, “What do you have in mind for it?”

I’ve done a couple of songs for the Michigan Music Resistance, and a couple of other friends of mine have done them. We thought about it and said, “It’s an important aspect of what music can do to raise a voice.” We then decided to have the song’s proceeds go to the ACLU, so Geoff was all for it.

Q: How did “Walk Up This Hill” come together at Big Sky Recording?

MW: We first went into the studio on January 2, and so we did that session. That got us to the first part, and then we went back in for more harmonies. That was when Kristi came along with Dave and Jim Latini, and that’s when the real magic happened.

Dave opened the door for Jim Latini because at the end of the session they had just done harmonies. Kristi was doing a little bit of percussion, and Dave said, “Well, Jim, are there any thoughts that you have? Is there anything you want to try?”

Jim had been driving around and listening to it, and he said, “I have this line or this piece from my brother, [the late John Latini’s] song, [‘Pull Me Up’].” And the first time he did it, it was like chills.

The last part we added was Neil Donato’s Hammond organ; he did his part at home and sent it to us. Then Geoff Michael mixed it, and he sent us the mix. We then sent it to Dave Roof to master.

Q: What plans do you have for Big Sky Company’s November 7 show at North Star Lounge in Ann Arbor?

MW: We’re going to do the early show that day, and we’re going to have it from 6 pm to 7:45 pm. Each of us will do a short set; that includes Annie, Dave and Kristi, and me.

Annie’s going to join me, and maybe Dave and Kristi will join me, and maybe I’ll join them. We’ll have interlocking parts, and we’re hoping that Jim Latini makes it at least for the finale. The proceeds from the concert will go to the ACLU.

Q: What’s up next for Big Sky Company?

MW: By the end of the year, we’ll release it wider digitally. We want it to be heard so that it can go on Spotify, Apple, and Amazon.

DB: I’d be willing to work on one new song a year with Big Sky Company.