Patty Larkin was outstanding as the host of the Ann Arbor Folk Festival back in January. She kept the show rolling along smoothly, filled up the pauses between sets with improvisational ease, and even managed to squeeze in a couple of her magically delicious songs along the way.

The Boston-based vocalist and guitarist has a full night in the spotlight when she returns to The Ark for a showcase gig this Thursday, April 8. Patty will also stop by my morning drive program at ann arbor’s 107one at 9 a.m. on Thursday for a live interview and Studio A2 performance.

Larkin is touring in support of her just-released double-CD “25,” where she revisits love songs from her own catalog and is joined on each of the 25 tunes by a special guest vocalist.

The roster of guests is impressive to say the least, including Rosanne Cash, Bruce Cockburn, Suzanne Vega, Janis Ian, Greg Brown, Chris Smither and Martin Sexton — and that’s just for starters. Listen to Patty Larkin "Lately" with guest vocalist Martin Sexton (MP3).

I chatted by phone recently with the always-friendly Patty Larkin to talk about “25,” on which she takes a new approach to some of her finest songs.

Q: What inspired you to come up with the concept of “25?” A: I wanted to do something around the 25th anniversary of my recording career and it came out of necessity. I had a crummy year (last year); my sister suffered a stroke after surgery, then my Mom got sick and passed away halfway through the summer. I needed a record and my partner Bette (Warner) came up with the idea of redoing 25 of my love songs, and asking friends like Bruce Cockburn, Jonatha Brooke and John Gorka to come on board as guests. I said that would be great. We asked a group and they said yes, and then some more, and then it was up to 11 guests. We were looking at each other, thinking do we dare go for a guest on each of the 25 songs? We were wondering how complicated is this going to get and is it even possible?

Q: So how difficult was it to record the songs and coordinate the guests, all while going through such tough times in your personal life? A: There was a lot of footwork involved; a lot of it involved people taking time off to get to a small studio to record their parts to the songs I sent them. These are some of the people I came up with at the start of my career, people that opened for me or vice versa. It was pretty organic, and in a way I can’t believe we actually did it! The logistics were major; thank God for FedEx.

I played some of the songs for my Mom; I was playing for her on the day she died. I don’t think cathartic is the right word to describe this project, as it was hard to focus. But there was this fire under my butt, a time deadline, and once people said yes we had to get the songs ready for them.

Q: The changes that have gone on in the music business since 1985, the year you put out your first album, have been immense. How have you been affected by them? A: Things have shifted to the point where you have to market and partner yourself more and more. We’re losing venues and promoters, and people who do come to gigs aren’t buying as many CDs. There’s downloading, but few people are actually buying downloads. Film and TV (placements) are ways of getting music out to the public. With fewer CD sales you become a troubadour again.

Q: How much do you enjoy playing at The Ark? It’s like a home away from home for you. A: The Ark is top notch; it’s a survivor after 45 years and there’s a lot of love and sweat equity put into it by the Siglin family and the volunteers. It’s not really true that ‘if you build it, they will come.’ It takes more than that. Everyone at The Ark who has put that time in, everything from the people who pop the popcorn to Dave’s booking, God love ‘em, they have consistently supported the folk scene and run it like a business should be run.

Q: So many of your songs hit me on a deep emotional level. I’ll never forget the time you were playing live on my show at WDET in Detroit and reduced me to tears with a version of “Pablo Neruda.” Do you have to keep some sort of professional distance from your own material so that you don’t get too overwrought on-stage? A: That depends on the night, and how much they bring back feelings you had when you wrote the songs. There are situations where it’s really an emotional scene. You can always stop and say “I’m sorry.” There was a line at the end of “Carolina” that makes me think about our 1st daughter — before we went over (to China) to adopt her — it’s a part of the chorus with a line about looking at the side of the world, wondering what it is she sees. It’s a really delicate ballad and hard to resist going wahhhh — bawling during it. Listen to Patty Larkin "Pablo Neruda" with guest vocalist Suzanne Vega (MP3).

Martin Bandyke is the 6-10am morning drive host on Ann Arbor’s 107one. Follow him on Twitter @martinbandyke and at his web site.