Crossings brings Charlie Parr to Zumbrota's State Theatre on Saturday, April 25 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $16 in advance, $18 at the door, and can be purchased online or by calling 507-732-7616. Doors open at 6:30 pm.
Charlie Parr's heartfelt and plaintive original folk blues and traditional spirituals don't strive for authenticity — they are authentic.
It's the music of a self-taught guitarist and banjo player who grew up without a TV but with his dad's recordings of America's musical founding fathers, including Charley Patton and Lightnin' Hopkins, Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly. With his long scraggly hair, fathertime beard, thrift-store workingman's flannel and jeans, and emphatic, throaty voice, Parr looks and sounds the part entirely.
Parr’s latest release, “Hollandale,” is a once-in-a-lifetime album that uncovers new depths of original folk blues and traditional spirituals. Inspired by early 20th Century folk blues, engineered specifically for vinyl, the five improvised 12-string instrumental songs on this album were played freestyle in an abandoned house that was being renovated by close friend and collaborator Alan Sparhawk of the band Low.
Parr plays an 1890 banjo, a 12-string guitar and a resonator. Most of his recordings, including “Roustabout” (2008), “Jubilee” (2007), “Rooster” (2005), “King Earl” (2004), “1922” (2002), and “Criminals and Sinners” (2001) eschew typical studio settings. He has recorded in warehouses, garages, basements and storefronts, usually on vintage equipment, which gives his work the historic feel of field recordings.
A beloved regional artist, with a fan base spanning as far as Ireland and Australia, Parr, who grew up in Austin, draws inspiration from the alternately fertile and frozen soil of Minnesota.
The State Theatre is located at 96 East 4th Street in Zumbrota. For more information call 507-732-5210.
