Mustard's Retreat plays The Ark on Saturday.

Longtime local folk duo Mustard's Retreat usually has a midwinter showcase at The Ark. It's not every year that the show boasts a new album to celebrate, but this year's does.

Mustard's Retreat — David Tamulevich and Michael Hough — just released their 11th album, "Living in the Dream." And they perform at The Ark Saturday.

Remarkably, the duo is now in its 37th year of performing. "Living in the Dream" is their first studio album since 2005, although they have released live albums and been active with the local songwriting collective the Yellow Room Gang in the interim.

The new album consists largely of Mustard's Retreat original compositions, plus a few adaptations and well-chosen covers like Iris DeMent's "Let the Mystery Be." The duo sound is augmented on the disc by a number of talented guest performers, including multi-instrumentalist David Mosher, who also produced the album at his By The Lake Studio in Brighton.

“It was time, Tamulevich said in a press release. “We only record a new CD when we have material that we feel warrants releasing. This one took a bit longer than is our usual, as some of our best new songs have appeared over the last five years on The Yellow Room Gang recordings. We wanted this CD to be all material we have never recorded before.

“I had worked with David before, to record my songs for the second Yellow Room Gang recording (Happy New Day). One of the things I enjoy is that he can play so many instruments, and play them well. Michael and I can record our basic tracks, and then David (Mosher) will start pulling out different instruments and trying out different parts. It is like aural painting. The songs will take on a different temperment depending on the instrument and part played, and that will lead you in directions maybe you had never considered. It is fascinating; the essence of interactive creativity, and great fun, all at the same time.”

Mustard's Retreat will perform at The Ark, 316 S. Main St., at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: $15, available from The Ark box office (with no service charge); Michigan Union Ticket Office, 530 S. State St.; Herb David Guitar Studio, 302 E. Liberty St.; or Ticketmaster.com.