Get ready Bozeman! Folk and acoustic blues artist Charlie Parr will bring his talents back to the Filling Station on Saturday, April 2nd with a little local help from Russ Chapman beginning at 10pm. On tour in support of his latest effort Stumpjumper, Charlie is sure to put on an excellent performance!
Tickets to this 21 and over show are $15 and are available in store and online at cactusrecords.net/ or at the door. Doors open at 9pm. Part of the Duluth, MN, music scene (Alan Sparhawk and Low, Trampled by Turtles), Charlie Parr is an electrifying performer whose live shows are akin to a religious experience. Propelled by his incredible fingerpicking (12-string and a custom 4-chamber resonator guitar), searing vocals and percussive foot stomps, Charlie gets a huge sound. His songs are populated with a list of characters you wouldn’t ordinarily meet: old ladies going to buy “the cheap wine” (“they ain’t no better than the bums”), a woman with “an uncontrollable temper,” and people getting left out getting of the American Dream. While his albums sound like vintage field recordings, his live shows are anything but retro. Deservedly, he’s a cult hero in some circles. For the recording of Stumpjumper, Charlie changed things up, traveling to rural North Carolina to record the album with fellow musician Phil Cook (Megafaun, Hiss Golden Messenger) for his first full-band release.
Charlie’s blistering picking and insightful lyrics have brought him a fervent following that crosses ages and genres. His recent Folk Alley session was just selected as an NPR Favorite Session and Stumpjumper was chosen as one of the best roots/folk albums of last summer by Rhapsody. With a decidedly creative style, Russ Chapman stomps and sings highly original music drawn from the deep well of Americana. Combining a keen sense of melody and lyrical wit, with medicine show sensibility, here is one of those rare performers who can keep an audience on the edge of its ears. Russ has recorded and performed with multiple Grammy winners, including members of Ricky Skagg’s Kentucky Thunder, Jim Lauderdale’s band, and America’s favorite cowboys–Riders in the Sky. It was during a Nashville co-writting session with Earth, Wind and Fire’s founding member Ronnie Laws, that a giddy Laws proclaimed, “You’ve got a good thing there, man!” Indeed…from the melodically percussive guitar style and inspired wordsmithing, to an impressive ability to stomp and shuffle his feet, there is something positively fun and refreshing about Russ Chapman. Or as John Anglim (KAFM radio) put it, “Every once in a while an artist comes along who defies description…Russ Chapman is unforgettable!” Be sure to check out the next issue of the BoZone for an exclusive interview with Charlie Parr prior to the show!
For more information about this and other shows, visit chickenjamwest.com/. •
