Charlie Parr is premiering his eponymous new album with Folk Alley syndicated radio today, who also interviewed the Minnesota folk-blues artist. The album, which includes four new tracks, audience favorites and covers by Minnesota cult heroes Grant Hart (Hüsker Du) and Spider John Koerner (folk legends Koerner, Ray & Glover), is Parr’s first release since his nearly catastrophic skateboarding accident less than a year ago.
Read and listen HERE.
Recorded at Pachyderm Studio in Canon Falls, MN, CHARLIE PARR features his trademark resonator guitar and 12-string, aided by co-producer Liz Draper on bass, longtime collaborator Mikkel Beckmen on percussion, Jeff Mitchell on electric guitar, accordion, organ and backing vocals, and Dave Hundreiser on harmonica. CHARLIE PARR is an honest and raw recording of Parr reflecting on himself and his career up to this point. It’s a musical reckoning that came after a freak accident less than a year ago that forced him to relearn how to play guitar, causing him to take stock of the songs he’s written over his lifetime and see them through new eyes.
“I can revisit any of them I want and meditate on what it was like to be seven years old again, curious about the guitar, obsessed with music and hoarding bike parts,” he says. “I can relive all the joyful times I had with my friends and family. I can grieve all over again my Dad’s passing; I can feel my stomach turn at the mountains of regret that I’ve amassed and the people I’ve hurt when I’ve been too self-absorbed to take better care of my actions, but I can’t change it.
“Songs are a different kind of history though, they’re not subject to the rules of time, they never died and they never will, and they grow and evolve right along with the rest of me.”
Parr is now back on his grueling international tour schedule, mended and reinvigorated, covering the entire country alone in his car, occasionally cooking his vegan meals on his car manifold. It’s a lonely existence that leaves a lot of time for reflection and reminiscing. CHARLIE PARR is the first album — and there are many others — that he felt like putting his name on. It’s a bit of the new, a bit of the old, and a bit of what’s motivated and moved him. Most importantly, it’s an audio tour of his life and career to date and a celebration of more songs and stories to come.
For more information go to https://www.charlieparr.com
TOUR DATES
09.27 | Winona, MN – Boats and Bluegrass Festival
10.02 | Pittsburgh, PA – Club Cafe
10.03 | Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
10.04 | Boston, MA – Atwood’s Tavern
10.05 | New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
10.06 | Pawling, NY – Daryl’s House Club
10.09 | Washington, DC – Black Cat DC
10.10 | Raleigh, NC – Cat’s Cradle
10.11 | Atlanta, GA – Center Stage – The Loft – Vinyl
10.12 | Charlotte, NC – Free Range Brewing
10.13 | Asheville, NC – The Grey Eagle
10.14 | Knoxville, TN – Barley’s Taproom
10.16 | Nashville, TN – The High Watt
10.17 | Cincinnati, OH – The Southgate House Revival
10.18 | Columbus, OH – Woodlands Tavern
10.19 | Indianapolis, IN – LO-FI Lounge
10.24 | St. Louis, MO – Old Rock House
10.25 | Madison, WI – Majestic Madison
10.26 | Appleton, WI – Mill Creek
11.08 | Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall + Schubas
11.09 | Benton Harbor, MI – The Livery
11.14 | Omaha, NE – Slowdown
11.15 | Kansas City, MO – Knuckleheads Saloon
11.16 | Des Moines, IA – Vaudville Mews
11.21 | Minneapolis, MN – The Cedar Cultural Center
11.22 | Minneapolis, MN – The Cedar Cultural Center
12.12 | Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater *
12.13 | Bend, OR – Volcanic Theatre Pub *
12.14 | Grants Pass, OR – Rogue Theatre *
12.15 | Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern *
12.17 | Missoula, MT – The Top Hat *
12.18 | Bozeman, MT – Rialto Bozeman *
12.19 | Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room *
12.20 | Laporte, CO – Swing Station
12.21 | Denver, CO – The Bluebird Theater *
* w/ Dead Horses (duo)
