Charlie Parr

In the music of Charlie Parr, there is a sincere conviction and earnest drive to create. The Minnesota-born guitarist, songwriter, and interpreter of traditional music has released 19 albums over two decades and has been known to perform up to 275 shows a year. Parr is a folk troubadour in the truest sense: taking to the road between shows, writing and rewriting songs as he plays, fueled by a belief that music is eternal and cannot be claimed or adequately explained. The bluesman poet pulls closely from the sights and sounds around him, his lyrical craftsmanship built by his influences. The sounds from his working-class upbringing — including Folkways legends such as Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie — imbue Parr’s music with stylistic echoes of blues and folk icons of decades past. Parr sees himself merely as a continuer of a folk tradition: “I feel like I stand on a lot of big shoulders,” he said in an interview. “I hope that I’ve brought a little bit of myself to the music.”

With a discography simultaneously transcendental in nature and grounded in roots music, Charlie Parr is the humble master of the 21st century folk tradition. Parr started recording in Duluth in 2002, where he lives today. Life in the port town on Lake Superior has a way of bleeding into his work the same way his childhood in Austin, Minnesota does. Parr self-released his debut album, Criminals and Sinners, and did the same for his sophomore album 1922 (2002). With growing popularity abroad, Parr signed with Red House Records in 2015, where he recorded break-out albums Stumpjumper (2015) and Dog (2017). Parr’s music has an overwhelming sense of being present and mindful, and his sound is timeless.

Parr’s mastery of his craft is only more apparent when contextualized within the history of folk tradition of which Parr has dedicated his practice. The land and lives around and intersecting with Parr have always influenced him, from the hills and valleys of Hollandale, Minnesota to the Depression-era stories from his father. Parr strives to listen to everything: “I don’t see that I’d ever be capable of creating anything if it weren’t for these inspirations and influences, books and music as well as the weather and random interactions with strangers and animals. So, the well never runs dry as long as my eyes and ears are open,” Parr said in a 2020 interview.

Before he was even 10 years old Parr was rummaging through his father’s record collection — sometimes drawing dinosaurs on the vinyl sleeves — and listening to country, folk, and blues legends, many of whom are staples in the Folkways catalog. When Parr sings and plays his resonator or 12-string, you can hear influences like Mance Lipscomb, Charley Patton, Spinder John Koerner, Rev. Gary Davis, and Dock Boggs. This is especially true in his playing, when, after a diagnosis of focal dystonia, Parr turned to greats like Davis, Doc Watson, and Booker White for two-finger picking inspiration. Gifted a 1965 Gibson B-45 12-string by his father, Parr has never had a formal lesson and learned by to listening records and watching musicians he admired.

Parr’s first album with Smithsonian FolkwaysLast of the Better Days Ahead (2021), foregrounded his lyrical craftsmanship and sophisticated bluesman confidence, with spare production highlighting Parr’s mastery of guitar and elevating his poetry. Last of the Better Days Ahead is a portrait of how Parr saw the world in that moment, reflecting on time and memories that have past while holding an enduring desire to be present. In his 2024 release, Little Sun, Parr weaves together stories celebrating music, community, and communing with nature. Putting forth an ambitious and raw album that exemplifies the best of Parr's sound: a blend of the blues and folk traditions he continues to carry with him and the steadfast originality of a poet.

Upcoming Shows


Jan
26
th
Turf Club
Jan
26
th
Turf Club

Charlie Parr

January 2025 Residency

★ Local Show ★
with Paper Wings
Jan
19
th
Turf Club
Jan
19
th
Turf Club

Charlie Parr

January 2025 Residency

★ Local Show ★
with Laurel Premo
Jan
12
th
Turf Club
Jan
12
th
Turf Club

Charlie Parr

January 2025 Residency

★ Local Show ★
with Samuel Locke Ward
Jan
5
th
Turf Club
Jan
5
th
Turf Club

Charlie Parr

January 2025 Residency

★ Local Show ★
with Jon Edwards

Past Shows


May
3
rd
2024
First Avenue
May
3
rd
2024
First Avenue

Charlie Parr

★ Local Show ★
with Mama’s Broke and Marisa Anderson
Jan
29
th
2023
Turf Club
Jan
29
th
2023
Turf Club

Charlie Parr

January 2023 Residency
with Emma Jeanne
Jan
22
nd
2023
Turf Club
Jan
22
nd
2023
Turf Club

Charlie Parr

January 2023 Residency
with Mike Gangloff and Adam Kiesling
Jan
15
th
2023
Turf Club
Jan
15
th
2023
Turf Club

Charlie Parr

January 2023 Residency
with Haley
Jan
8
th
2023
Turf Club
Jan
8
th
2023
Turf Club

Charlie Parr

January 2023 Residency
with Todd Albright
Jan
1
st
2023
Turf Club
Jan
1
st
2023
Turf Club

Charlie Parr

January 2023 Residency
with Greta Ruth
Nov
26
th
2022
Armory
Nov
26
th
2022
Armory

Trampled by Turtles

with Charlie Parr
Jan
30
th
2022
Turf Club
Jan
30
th
2022
Turf Club

Charlie Parr

January 2022 Sunday Residency
with Corey Medina & Brothers
Jan
23
rd
2022
Turf Club
Jan
23
rd
2022
Turf Club

Charlie Parr

January 2022 Sunday Residency
with Superior Siren
Jan
16
th
2022
Turf Club
Jan
16
th
2022
Turf Club

Charlie Parr

January 2022 Sunday Residency
with Buffalo Weavers
Jan
9
th
2022
Turf Club
Jan
9
th
2022
Turf Club

Charlie Parr

January 2022 Sunday Residency
with Kyle Orla
Jan
2
nd
2022
Turf Club
Jan
2
nd
2022
Turf Club

Charlie Parr

January 2022 Sunday Residency
with portal iii
Nov
13
th
2021
Palace Theatre
Nov
13
th
2021
Palace Theatre

An Evening with
Charlie Parr

‘LAST OF THE BETTER DAYS AHEAD’ Record Release
Aug
18
th
2021
Bayfront Festival Park
Aug
18
th
2021
Bayfront Festival Park

Water Is Life ⏤ Stop Line 3

Hosted by Winona LaDuke
with Bon Iver, Mumu Fresh, Hippo Campus and more!
Jan
31
st
2021
First Avenue
Jan
31
st
2021
First Avenue

Charlie Parr + friends

Sunday Residency Livestream — Live from First Avenue
Jan
24
th
2021
First Avenue
Jan
24
th
2021
First Avenue

Charlie Parr + friends

Sunday Residency Livestream — Live from First Avenue
Jan
17
th
2021
First Avenue
Jan
17
th
2021
First Avenue

Charlie Parr + friends

Sunday Residency Livestream — Live from First Avenue
Jan
10
th
2021
Livestream
Jan
10
th
2021
Livestream

Charlie Parr + friends

Sunday Residency Livestream — Live from First Avenue
Jan
3
rd
2021
Livestream
Jan
3
rd
2021
Livestream

Charlie Parr + friends

Sunday Residency Livestream — Live from First Avenue
Jan
26
th
2020
Turf Club
Jan
26
th
2020
Turf Club

Charlie Parr

with Ingeborg von Agassiz

More Shows

Feb
19
th
Fine Line

BoomBox

Feb
19
th
7th St Entry

Stephen Day

Apr
2
nd
Fine Line

The Birthday Massacre

with Essenger and Magic Wands
Apr
2
nd
Turf Club

Sir Woman