photo by Chad Syme
Among the contenders in the every burgeoning indie folk, or new folk, genre, there are a lot of pretenders and acts trying desperately to “look and play the part”, but five seconds in front of Charlie Parr and you know you’re dealing with the real thing. While the Austin, Minnesota-based guitarist and singer certainly looks and sounds like he just walked out of an Alan Lomax field recording, he evokes an sense of easy authenticity even as he performs older traditionals, spirituals and songs by his own heroes like Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Spider John Koerner or with his contemporaries like Black Twig Pickers. Recently, Charlie Parr stopped by The Roadhouse with Greg Vandy to perform a stunning 5-song set of traditionals and one original tune:
