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August 30, 2017: Charlie Parr is premiering his latest album,
      Dog, as a "Hear It First" selection
      at Folk Alley. Dog, out on September 8 on Red
      House, features the blistering picking, offbeat characters and
      honest emotion that has made him a cult favorite. It's raw, even
      painful at times, as on the darkly humorous "Pleasant Valley,"
      sung from the point of view of a hoarder and the title track,
      which examines the way we treat our fellow creatures.  
 
 
Fans who have been
      following Charlie through his previous 13 full-length albums and years of
      nonstop touring already know that the Duluth, MN-based songwriter has a
      way of carving a path straight to the gut. On Dog,
      however, he seems to be digging deeper and hitting those nerves quicker
      than ever before on these songs dealing with homelessness, mental health
      issues and the quest for understanding. It turns out that Charlie’s
      been grappling with his own demons. 
 
“I had some really,
      really bad depression problems over the last couple years,” he explains.
      “I've been trying to get fit, trying not to drink so much, trying not to
      do the rock 'n' roll guy thing. And then I got depressed. Really
      depressed. And to me, depression feels like there's me, and then there's
      this kind of hazy fog of rancid jello all around me, that you can't feel
      your way out of. And then there's this really, really horrible third
      thing, this impulsive thing, that doesn't feel like it's me or my
      depression. It feels like it's coming from outside somewhere. And it's
      the thing that comes on you all of a sudden, and it's the voice of
      suicide, it's the voice of ‘quit.’” 
 
“These songs have all
      kind of come out of that. Especially songs like ‘Salt Water’ and ‘Dog,’
      they really came heavily out of just being depressed, and having to say
      something about it.” 
 
Despite the album’s
      darker moments, it's also a reflection on how far he’s come — and that
      he's accepted that some things are simply unknowable. 
 
Charlie is on tour
      throughout 2017. Highlights include two nights at the Cedar Cultural
      Center in Minneapolis, MN and multiple festival stops including
      AmericanaFest in Nashville on September 15. 
 
 
 CHARLIE PARR on tour
 
 TH  9/7      Duluth, MN - Sacred Heart Music Center
      (with Dave Simonett)
 TH  9/14    Nashville, TN -  Family Wash -
      AmericanaFest
 FR  9/15    Mount Vernon, OH - Ohiolina Music Festival
 SA  9/16    Bristol, TN - Bristol Rhythm & Roots
      Reunion
 SU  9/17    Newport, KY - Southgate House
 WE  9/27    Pittsburgh, PA - Club Cafe
 FR   9/29    South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
 MO  10/2    Cambridge, MA - Atwood’s Tavern
 WE  10/4    New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
 TH   10/5    Philadelphia, PA - Boot and Saddle
 SA  10/7     Milheim, PA - Elk Creek Cafe and Aleworks
 WE 10/11   Washington, DC - Black Cat
 TH  10/12   Roanoke, VA - 5 Points Music Sanctuary
 FR  10/13   Asheville, NC - The Mothlight
 TH  10/19    Indianapolis, IN - The HiFi
 SA  10/21    Chicago, IL - Schubas
 FR  10/27    Minneapolis, MN - The Cedar Cultural Center
 SA 10/28     Minneapolis, MN - The Cedar Cultural Center
 SA  12/16    Lake City, MN - Oak Center General Store
 
 Press:
 
 "Parr is a picker --
      whether on National resonator guitars, dobro, or banjo -- who cut his
      musical teeth on Charley Patton, Woody Guthrie, and Lightnin' Hopkins,
      and his actual teeth on the canned meat packed at the Hormel plant in his
      hometown. Parr's songs ring out with a working class ethos and a
      welcome home energy."  - The Bluegrass Situation
 
 "Stumpjumper is a deep
      blues album first and foremost, but it’s Charlie Parr’s master
      craftsmanship at fingerpicking rhythms, and his folk-leaning songwriting
      that has liberated him from specific categorization." - Saving Country
      Music
 
 "The native Minnesotan’s
      style can best be described as new music from an older time – sometimes
      dark and desolate, sometimes raucous and danceable." - Dan Forte (Vintage
      Guitar)
 
 “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.” - Jim Beckman (KEXP)
 
 “John Fahey described the
      music he collected on American Primitive Vol. 1 as ‘made under the
      influence of enthusiasm.’ The enthusiasm he spoke of was a kind of
      possession … Charlie Parr’s recordings, which make splendid companions to
      Fahey’s anthology, are similarly enthusiastic.” - Popmatters
 
 
  http://www.charlieparr.com
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