Duluth, Minnesota country bluesman Charlie Parr will embark on an extensive Australian tour this April/May. These will be Parr’s first-ever shows in Australia, including a number of headline dates in Victoria, the West Coast Blues Festival in Fremantle, as well as some 20 shows supporting Paul Kelly.
Parr has risen to prominence of late with the swinging success of his finger picking, freewheeling tune, ‘1922 Blues’, taken from his acclaimed album 1922 (Level Two Music/Shock) and widely heard on a Vodafone TV commercial.
Originally a tribute to Charlie’s late father, 1922 reflects the country blues records and Smithsonian/Folkways field recordings Parr grew up with. Favouring National resonator guitars, 12-string guitar and banjo, Charlie Parr puts a bright and lively face on narrative-based songwriting – stories about gamblers, union workers, criminals and sinners – that don’t pull any punches. His self-taught mix of slide, finger-picking and quasi-frailing technique come together with a voice that’s low on drama and high on impact. The stories he tells get into some dark spots; that place where regret and remorse part company.
A bit of a modern take on timeless conditions.