Chris Bathgate’s forthcoming album “Salt Year” was the Ann Arbor singer/songwriter’s way of taking his hardships over the past several years and turning them into a raw, folk-laden form of sonic art.

“It took a very long time to record,” Bathgate said. “I sort of went through hell over a period of two years while I was working on the record, and it sort of came out in the record … It’s dark and sad, but there’s happiness somewhere in it as well.”

Bathgate, who will appear at Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids on April 23, is set to embark on a tour across the state of Michigan in support of his new album, which will be released on April 25. The tour kicks off from Ann Arbor on April 21, which is incidentally Bathgate’s 29th birthday.

“The tour is sort of a celebration,” Bathgate said. “ It’s sort of an indulgent tour, in the sense that I really love the music everyone on the tour.”

Bathgate will be accompanied by Philadelphia artist Hezekiah Jones, Oklahoma artist Samantha Crain and Kalamazoo native Graham Parsons. He referred to them as some of his “favorite songwriters of all time.”

“Hezekiah’s song’s are extremely beautiful, and simple, and enigmatic,” Bathgate said. “Samantha Crane’s are certainly in the same vein, but her voice is like absolute butter. It gives me goosebumps. Graham’s work, I sort of just found out about in the last year – he’s got two sides to his writing. He does this solo stuff that I really like, but he also plays in a band called the Go Rounds, who are probably one of the tightest bands I’ve ever seen.”

Bathgate described his new album as “in the same vein, but cleaner” than his prior albums, which relied heavily on a sense of earthy rawness.

“There are still definitely raw moments,” Bathgate said. “But all in all, it’s a lot smoother.

The album’s title has two definitions, Bathgate explained. One comes from the title track, which tells the story of meeting a lost love after a long period of distance. The other definition references the hardship he faced during recording.

“I refer that period of time in my life, when I was recording the record, as a ‘Salt Year,’” Bathgate said. “It was technically about two years long, but it’s sort of my moniker for that dark period of time.”

When he’s finished with the tour, Bathgate plans to fly to Cyprus, an island off the coast of Greece, where he will spend a month writing for and performing in an “experimental version” of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” After that, he’ll return home for a full East Coast tour.

While “Salt Year” doesn’t release until April 25, Bathgate said it would be available early on tour stops, including the April 23 stop at Founders. There will be a $5 cover at the door, and the show begins at 7 p.m.

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