Charlie Parr Drops New Album 'Little Sun'

Minnesota-based singer, songwriter and guitarist Charlie Parr's new album, Little Sun, is out today via Smithsonian Folkways.

Notably his first ever album to not be recorded entirely live, Little Sun was produced by close friend and collaborator Tucker Martine (Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists, My Morning Jacket) in Portland, OR during the worst snowstorm the city had seen in decades. Across these eight tracks, Parr offers a clarifying work that reflects on the world and people around him.

Relentlessly on the road, Parr has performed across the world for the past two decades, earning his reputation as an underground DIY legend. Parr will continue to tour through this summer including shows at Nashville's American Legion Post 82, Denver's Bluebird Theater, Seattle's The Crocodile, San Francisco's The Chapel, Los Angeles' Gold Diggers, Minneapolis' First Avenue, St. Louis' The Old Rock House and Kansas City's recordBar among many others. See below for complete tour itinerary. Full details can be found at www.charlieparr.com/tour-dates.  

Of the project, Parr shares, “Up until this very album, my recordings have always been done live, with few if any overdubs and nearly always the first take—leave all the mistakes, missed lyrics, extraneous noise, and whatever else might happen there for the ages. Most records have been recorded in roughly the time that it took to play the songs. And that's been fine, actually. Here's a new way for me, though: here's an album that was recorded live but in collaboration with producer Tucker Martine, who's become a friend and trusted musical ally. You'll hear what happened, so I don't need to describe it to you, but I'm very grateful for the opportunity to work with this very talented group of musicians.”

In addition to Parr (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Little Sun—the prolific artist's eighteenth album—features highly acclaimed guitarist Marisa Anderson as well as background vocals from Anna Tivel along with Andrew Borger (drums, percussion), Asher Fulero (piano, Hammond, keys) and Victor Krummenacher (electric bass, upright bass, bass VI). 

Born in Austin, MN and now based in Duluth, MN, Parr has seventeen albums since his 2002 debut including his most recent, 2021's Last of the Better Days Ahead, of which No Depression praised, “They don't make them like Parr anymore—the sponge-like folk troubadour that imparts all he's absorbed, beckoning us closer to sit cross-legged at his feet and listen, and to find crumbs of our own stories within his.”

Additionally, Acoustic Guitar declared, “chock full of memories and energy with a sprightly sense of adventure” and Americana Highways proclaimed, “in the realm of traditional acoustic blues and folk very few people master it. With Parr's latest release he has done just that.” In addition to his work as a musician, Parr also released his debut novel, Last of the Better Days Ahead, in the fall of 2022. 

CHARLIE PARR CONFIRMED TOUR DATES

March 22—Nashville, TN—American Legion Post 82

March 23—Lexington, KY—The Burl

April 3—Boulder, CO—eTown Hall

April 4—Denver, CO—Bluebird Theater‡

April 5—Fort Collins, CO—The Armory‡

April 6—Salt Lake City, UT—Commonwealth‡

April 7—Boise, ID—El Korah Shrine‡

April 9—Bozeman, MT—The Elm#

April 10—Missoula, MT—The Wilma#

April 11—Spokane, WA—District#

April 12—Seattle, WA—The Crocodile#

April 13—Portland, OR—Polaris Hall#

April 14—Arcata, CA—Humbrews#

April 16—San Francisco, CA—The Chapel#

April 17—Mariposa, CA—The Grove House#

April 18—Los Angeles, CA—Gold Diggers#

April 19—Phoenix, AZ—Valley Bar#

April 20—Flagstaff, AZ—Yucca North#

April 21—Albuquerque, NM—Fusion#

April 27—Austin, MN—Paramount Theatre

May 3—Minneapolis, MN—First Avenue^

May 4—Fargo, ND—Fargo Brewing Company

May 18—Mineral Point, WI—The Mineral Point Opera House

May 19—Des Moines, IA—XBK Live

May 21—St. Louis, MO—The Old Rock House

May 22—Little Rock, AR—White Water Tavern

May 23—McAlster, OK—Spaceship Earth

May 24—Eureka Springs, AR—Strings of the Kings 2024

May 25—Kansas City, MO—recordBar

May 26—Maquoketa, IA—Codfish Hollow Barnstormers

June 6—Marquette, MI—Ore Dock Brewing Company

June 7—Ontonagon, MI—Ontonagon Theatre of Performing Arts

June 14—Saint Joseph, MN—Milk & Honey Ciders

June 22—River Falls, WI—Kinnistock

June 29—Bayfield, WI—Big Top Chautauqua

July 13—Monticello, MN—Nordic Folk Festival

July 19—Oak Hill, NY—Grey Fox Festival 

September 5—Baars, Netherlands—Speelplaats Baars

September 6—Mechelen, Belgium—Outdoor Willowfest 42

September 7—Herent, Belgium—Sortie Blues

September 8—Eindhoven, Netherlands—Effenaar

September 9—Lint, Belgium—Het Groot Verzet

September 10—Couentry, U.K.—The Tin Music and Arts

September 11—Glasgow, U.K.—The Glad Café C.I.C

September 12—Newcastle Upon Tyne, U.K.—Cluny

September 13—Abergavenny, U.K.—The Art Shop & Chapel

September 14—Manchester, U.K.—Gullivers

September 15—Birkenhead, U.K.—Future Yard CIC

September 16—Sheffield, U.K.—Greystones

September 17—Birmingham, U.K.—Kitchen Garden Café

September 18—Bristol, U.K.—Exchange

September 19—Pocklington, U.K.—Pocklington Arts Centre

September 20—London, U.K.—Moth Club

September 21—Dorking, U.K.—Saint Mary’s Pixham

September 22—Lewes, U.K.—Lewes Con Club

September 24—Middleburg, Netherlands—De Spot

September 28—Bremen, Germany—Schule 21 E.U.

September 29—Saarlouis, Germany—Tennis Club Saarlouis Roden

October 2—Zurich, Switzerland—Bogen F

October 5—Hatowice, Poland—Rawa Blues Festival

October 6—Hlavní Město Praha, Czechia—Zasekávák

October 8—Bergneustadt, Germany—Schauspielhaus Bergneustadt

October 9—Berlin, Germany—PrivatClub

October 10—Norderstedt, Germany—Music Star

October 11—Copenhagen, Denmark—Beta

October 13—Rotterdam, Netherlands—New Grounds

*with special guest Two Runner

+with special guest The Wildmans

†with special guest The Resonant Rogues

‡with special guest Anna Tival

#with special guest The Lowest Pair

^with special guests Mama’s Broke and Marisa Anderson

photo credit: Shelly Mosman

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