Charlie Parr

Charlie Parr is a folk troubadour in the truest sense of the word: he goes on the road between gigs, writing and rewriting songs as he plays, driven by the belief that music is eternal and cannot be claimed or adequately explained. In Lab Grounds he takes us on his interesting journey through life.

The bluesman-poet draws inspiration from the sights and sounds around him, and builds his lyrical craft around them. The sounds of his working-class upbringing, including Folkways legends like Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie, fill Parr’s music with stylistic echoes of blues and folk icons from decades past. When he sings and plays his resonator and 12-string guitar, you can hear the influence of Mance Lipscomb, Charley Patton, Spinder John Koerner, Rev. Gary Davis and Dock Boggs.

On his 2024 album Little Sun, Parr weaves together stories that celebrate music, community and coexistence with nature. It is an ambitious and raw album that showcases the best of Parr’s sound: a mix of the blues and folk traditions he still carries with him and the unwavering originality of a poet.