featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
October 21, 2026
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
We mentioned a few weeks ago that we'd had the opportunity back in our Radio Days to interview Charlie Parr. This was for an hour-long live broadcast that featured some chat and a good deal of live music. At the time, Parr was touring behind his excellent Stumpjumper record. While that 2015 project focused on original writing, the Minnesota musician has served his time playing classic blues, traditional folk and gospel. We're especially fond of his work with Black Twig Pickers and Low.
It occurred to us to feature Charlie Parr this week as a recognition of his brand new Rooming House record for Smithsonian Folkways. The label labels this a conceptual folk opera, so we'll add that to Parr's list of accomplishments.
During our Radio Days, we interviewed everyone from a young and bleary-eyed Nathaniel Rateliff to a profoundly sun-burnt Robert Earl Keen (it hurt just to look at him). We spent an hour in a too-small studio with John Moreland, Lucero, and Todd Snider. More than any of those luminaries, Charlie Parr struck us as Just A Guy. Granted, he could play his guitar and his banjo better than most, but he struck us as grounded and grateful.
We could name names ...
Anyhow, here are thirty favorites from a decent fellow.
CHARLiE PARR: thirty favorites
- "1922 Blues" 1922 (2002)
- "To a Scrapyard Bus Stop"
- "Lowdown" Criminals and Sinners (2002)
- "Possessed By the Devil" King Earl (2004)
- "King Earl"
- "Dead Cat On the Line"
- "Cheap Wine"
- "Jubilee" Jubilee (2007)
- "Just Like Today"
- "Bonneville"
- "Don't Send Your Child To War" Roustabout (2008)
- "God Moves On the Water"
- "I Dreamed I Saw Jesse James Last Night" When the Devil Goes Blind (2010)
- "Mastodon"
- "Death's a Black Train" Glory In the Meeting House (2010)
- "There Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down"
- "Poor Lazarus (ft Alan Sparhawk, Mimi Parker)" Keep Your Hands On the Plow (2011)
- "Motorcycle Blues" Barnswallow (2013)
- "Jesus Is a Hobo"
- "Falcon" Stumpjumper (2015)
- "Remember Me If I Forget"
- "Over the Red Cedar"
- "Stumpjumper"
- "Jaybird" I Ain't Dead Yet EP (2016)
- "Dog" Dog (2017)
- "Last Of the Better Days Ahead" Last Of the Better Days Ahead (2021)
- "817 Oakland Avenue"
- "Portland Avenue" Little Sun (2024)
- "Boombox"
- "Rooming House" Rooming House (2026)
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