Charlie Parr

Charlie Parr is a Minnesota-born guitarist, songwriter, and interpreter of traditional music. Over two decades he has released 19 albums and has been known to perform up to 275 shows a year. Parr is a folk troubadour who takes to the road between shows, writing and rewriting songs as he plays.

Parr draws closely from the sights and sounds around him. Sounds from his working-class upbringing and Folkways legends such as Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie imbue his music with echoes of blues and folk icons. He has said, “I feel like I stand on a lot of big shoulders,” and “I hope that I’ve brought a little bit of myself to the music.”

Parr started recording in Duluth in 2002, where he lives today. He self-released his debut, Criminals and Sinners, and his sophomore album, 1922 (2002). With growing popularity abroad, he signed with Red House Records in 2015 and recorded Stumpjumper (2015) and Dog (2017).

The land and lives around Parr— from the hills and valleys of Hollandale, Minnesota to Depression-era stories from his father—have always influenced him. He strives to listen: “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.” Before he was even 10 he rummaged through his father’s record collection—sometimes drawing dinosaurs on the vinyl sleeves—and listened to country, folk, and blues legends.

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. After a diagnosis of focal dystonia he 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 listening to records and watching musicians he admired.

His first album with Smithsonian Folkways (2021) foregrounded his lyrical craftsmanship and spare production that highlights his mastery of guitar and poetry. In his 2024 release, Little Sun, Parr weaves together stories celebrating music, community, and communing with nature — an ambitious, raw album that blends blues and folk traditions with his steady originality as a poet.