When blues-and-folk musician Parr sings and plays his resonator or 12-string guitar, you can hear influences like Mance Lipscomb, Charley Patton, Spider John Koerner, Rev. Gary Davis, Dock Boggs, and others of the Depression-era music his dad raised him on. This is especially true in his playing, when, after a diagnosis of focal dystonia, Parr turned to greats like Davis, Doc Watson, and Booker White for two-finger picking inspiration. Gifted a 1965 Gibson B-45 12-string by his father, Parr has never had a formal lesson and learned by to listening records and watching musicians he admired. It’s no surprise we took a strong liking to his recordings when we discovered him in 2021. Charlie plays at Eulogy in Asheville on Thursday evening at 7. His latest album Little Sun will be released on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings the next day.
Live in Studio B, Thursday at 3pm: Charlie Parr
