Photo courtesy of Riot Act Media

For those unfamiliar with Midwest folklore, Petoskey stones are rocks that wash ashore on Lake Michigan; science tells us that these stones are fossilized pieces of coral that were deposited in the lake by moving glaciers and when they make it to the shore, they look like normal grey rocks. Yet under water, magical looking hexagon shapes appear. Such stones are the inspiration for Austin singer-songwriter Dana Falconberry‘s new song “Petoskey Stone,” taken from her forthcoming EP Though I Didn’t Call It Came.

“When I was a kid I would spend hours searching for them along the shores of the Lake, dipping rocks in the water to see if they would light up with magic shapes,” Falconberry says. “That area of Michigan is so majestic and peaceful and it’s been really important to me and my family. [This song] is a celebration of that land as well as a reverence for the passing of time that somehow seems to be so apparent there. It’s a very textural song to me, and I wrote a lot of it thinking about what it feels like to run your hands through dune grass and walk through dry sand.”

Indeed, textures abound here. Falconberry, who in the past tended to keep things on the sparse side, branches out into an orchestral-folk arrangement, complimenting the high pitch that lines her voice with strings and harps. It’s a reflective, yet whimsical song, the way one should be when waxing on days spent discovering these little Lake Michigan gems.

Though I Didn’t Call It Came is out January 24 on Crossbill Records. “Petoskey Stone” will also appear on Falconberry’s new full-length, due later this year.