Charlie Parr Returns to Open Silver Bay’s Summer Concert Series

I spoke with Charlie Parr while far from home, a place I rarely leave, especially not for long or for far-flung destinations. As a nervous traveler, I figured it was the perfect time to ask someone who has spent more than 200 days a year on tour how he manages it.

Parr himself was also far from his home in Duluth, Minnesota, having traveled to Stoughton, Wisconsin, to perform at the Catfish River Mu­sic Festival. It’s a recurring stop for him that’s part of the town’s multi-day July 4^th celebration.

Despite all his time on the road, I was surprised to learn that he, too, has struggled with the challenges of traveling.

“There’s so much out of your con­trol, and I think that is the cause of a lot of that anxiety,” he said. “You’re putting yourself in the hands of maybe a pilot or a bus driver or an automobile that you’re not re­ally 100% sure is going to make it across the country.”

This understanding has helped Parr develop techniques to stay grounded, even while in motion. His number one piece of advice is to give yourself plenty of time. He also brings along comforting things. For Parr, “music is my com­fort,” and he ensures he has a good variety on hand. He also listens to audiobooks, avoids the news, and practices positive self-talk, remind­ing himself that everything will be fine.

“I’m gonna do this a mile at a time, you know? And I’m gon­na conquer the next mile and then smile about that and take on the next one,” he said. “I’ve traveled a lot and I’ve been in cars that break down or flights that get canceled and, somehow, the universe has al­ways found a way to put me to my next stop.”

Those stops have included, ac­cording to concertarchives.org, over 1,500 concerts for the musi­cian and will soon include another in our neck of the woods for Rocky Wall Entertainment’s 2025 Silver Bay Music in the Park live concert series.

This won’t be his first time open­ing for the series, which is now in its fifth season, and he’s looking forward to heading up to the North Shore.

 “It’s a cool little town and it’s got an interesting history,” he said. “The folks that live there, they’ve always been really re­ally kind to me.”

After his many travels across the country and around the world, Parr still appreciates when a concert series feels like more than just music.

“It feels very community ori­ented,” he said. “I think that’s really important because some­times the world feels like all the attention is on the big picture all the time. I’m a person who really values local things. The more local I can get, the happi­er I am. The Silver Bay series feels very local to me. They come down for a concert se­ries, they’re happy to be there, and it’s really special. I’m just grateful that they thought of me for their event. That’s a big deal to me.”

Parr himself grew up in a small town, Austin, Minneso­ta, where, like many families, his parents worked at the lo­cal meatpacking plant. He re­membered a neighborhood full of latchkey kids who played, fought, and looked out for each other.

“It was good growing up,” he said. “I was not unhappy; I just didn’t see my folks a whole lot. When they did come home from work, they were exhaust­ed. They had hard jobs. My dad always told me, ‘You can do whatever you want in your life, but don’t do this, this is terri­ble.’”

His dad loved music and had eclectic taste. Parr recalled that the centerpiece of the living room he grew up in was a mas­sive Magnavox stereo and a record player that allowed you to stack records on the chang­er to automatically flip through them.

“He had just this weird, sham­bolic collection of records,” Parr said. “Music played all the time. He listened to everything. He would indiscriminate­ly choose five or six records to throw on that changer, like Johnny Cash, Lefty Frizzell, the soundtrack to Mary Pop­pins, Albert King, or one of my sister’s Grateful Dead records. You never knew what was go­ing to be in that pile.”

Parr said he learned a lot about music and life from his dad, who was born in 1922 into a family of 16 children. Grow­ing up during the Depression era, they were tenant farmers in Northern Iowa, led by an abu­sive and alcoholic father. When he was 14, Parr’s dad ran away from home, hopping on a train and heading off on an adven­ture.

“He was an intelligent per­son,” Parr said. “He was a homespun philosopher. He worked hard, and he encour­aged me to adopt a calm, meditative perspective toward things so that I wouldn’t get upset or make decisions with­out some forethought.”

Parr says his first batch of original songs were written “because of him and were about him,” referring to his dad.

Since then, Parr has released more than 20 albums influenced by his dad’s eclectic taste. He draws inspiration from blues and folk legends like Missis­sippi John Hurt, Reverend Gary Davis, and Charlie Patton. His music lives at the crossroads of country blues, Piedmont blues, and American folk, with lyr­ics that explore working-class struggles, small-town life, soul searching, and philosophical themes.

“My technique is to write stuff out kind of as stories,” he explained. “I can see the plot happening and tweeze out the lines that fit into the melody of the song but still carry the plot forward.”

He believes songs are living beings that are always evolv­ing, never quite finished. With each performance, a song takes on new life, growing and changing with the moment. For Parr, this ongoing evolution keeps his music fresh and ex­citing, both for himself and his listeners.

“Writing songs is really unique because they’re never done,” said Parr. “You know you get to rewrite them every time you perform because it’s never going to be the way it was on the record. The record is just a moment in the song’s life. There is no definitive ver­sion.”

Performing his songs gives Parr the chance to breathe new life into them again and again. Each time he takes the stage, the songs evolve, shaped by the energy of the moment and the connection with his audience.

“They’re never finished be­ing written as long as I’m still excited about them,” he said. “Recreate them in performance and something new will hap­pen with them. And I’m always excited about them. Sometimes something radically different happens with them and I can break off that difference and make it into a song of its own.”

Collaborating with other mu­sicians amplifies that creativ­ity. On his new album, Little Sun, Parr stepped away from his usual solo approach and worked with a slew of talented musicians.

“It’s an incredible experi­ence,” he said. “You sit down with your instrument and you write a song and you work it out and your ideas about it. As soon as you sit down with other musicians, suddenly their perspectives are involved. You can tell them what to do, or what you want, but you know because of their unique ability they’re bringing their finger­print to your music and it’s go­ing to change it.”

He described the songs on his new album as “hopeful,” mark­ing a shift from his previous album which was maybe more somber work.

“I don’t think it’s as depress­ing a record as the one before it,” he said, recalling Last of the Better Days Ahead, which was written during the pandemic.

Parr’s song “Boombox” from the Little Sun album earned him top honors at the 21st An­nual International Acoustic Music Awards, taking both the overall grand prize and Best Folk/Americana/Roots Song. The song is about fully being yourself in rhythm with some­thing bigger, encouraging us all to dance the way we dance.

Get ready to dance the way you dance at Silver Bay’s Mu­sic in the Park series opener, featuring Charlie Parr, on July 18th at 7 p.m.

The Friday night concerts remain free to attend thanks to generous support from more than 20 corporate sponsors, over 50 individual donors, and two foundations. The Minne­sota State Arts Board, Lovin’ Lake County, Best of the North Shore, and the Lloyd K. John­son Foundation lead the way in keeping the music playing.

To learn more about Charlie Parr, visit charlieparr.com. For more information about Rocky Wall Entertainment’s Silver Bay Music in the Park series, visit rockywallentertainment.org/events.