Rising husband-and-wife duo Kirwan The Band have built their music on faith, hope, and the kind of hard-earned resilience that only comes from weathering storms together. Now, with their most powerful release yet, they step into even deeper waters. On “Detours,” the Irish-born pair joins forces with country mainstay Clay Walker for an emotional anthem inspired by child safety advocate Elizabeth Smart and her 2025 memoir, Detours.
The song, featured in promotional materials for the Kidnapped: The Elizabeth Smart Story documentary, carries the weight of lived experience while offering a message that extends far beyond one person’s story. Smart’s memoir details her harrowing kidnapping and the long, complex road toward healing. “Detours” translates that journey into melody, not as a retelling of trauma, but as a reminder that life’s unexpected turns often shape who we are meant to become.
Written by Colm and Caitriona Kirwan alongside independent producer Matthew Craig Johnson, the track is both intimate and expansive. The Kirwans, who found each other through a shared love of songwriting in Ireland before relocating to Nashville during the pandemic to record their debut album KIRWAN, have cultivated a modern pop-country sound rooted in spiritual conviction. With “Detours,” they lean fully into vulnerability.
The way, the way, the way
You’re gonna look back on your story one day
And see that the detours were always the way…
The lyrics unfold like a conversation between friends; steady, reassuring, and deeply human. There is no glossing over hardship. Instead, the song gently reframes it:
Oh my friend, my friend, if you need to rest
You can lay your burdens down…
The courage that you longed for is pounding in your chest.
For this release, the duo hand-selected Walker as their duet partner, a choice that feels both strategic and personal. “Clay Walker has become a dear friend of ours over the years and a real champion of our music,” the band shares. “He knows better than most the theme of perseverance through trials and hard times.”
Walker’s connection to the song runs deeper than harmony. Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1996, he transformed personal adversity into advocacy, founding The Clay Walker Foundation to raise funds and awareness for MS research. His voice on “Detours” carries the texture of someone who has faced his own crossroads and kept walking.
A multi-platinum artist with 11 No. 1 hits including “If I Could Make A Living” and “She Won’t Be Lonely Long,” Walker continues to balance career longevity with purpose. He is currently headlining his “Doin’ What I Love” North American tour while championing the MS community at every stop. His presence on “Detours” bridges generations of country music, grounding the Kirwans’ modern sound with timeless authenticity.
But at its heart, “Detours” belongs to anyone who has faced a setback, a loss, or a season that felt impossible to understand. The track doesn’t promise easy answers. It promises perspective, the belief that someday, you may look back and see that what felt like a derailment was, in fact, direction.
For Kirwan The Band, this single marks more than a collaboration with a country legend. It’s a statement of purpose. In a genre that has always valued storytelling, “Detours” reminds listeners that the most meaningful stories aren’t the straight-line ones, they’re the ones forged in resilience.
And sometimes, the detours were always the way.