Photos: Charlie Parr fills the Turf Club on the first night of his January residency
January 08, 2018
Welcome to the residency bonanza of January 2018! We made it to the New Year, and with its first month comes a slew of residencies: weekly shows helmed by locals Metasota, jeremy messersmith, Charlie Parr, the Cactus Blossoms, and Andrew Broder. We'll be posting photos and a brief recap of several of the series' first nights.
The last of the January residencies made its debut last night, and Charlie Parr easily pulled it off. The veteran performer hung around the merch table before his turn on the stage. And once he picked up his banjo, he had the crowd stomping so hard you could feel it through the floor.
Parr seemed to be in good spirits, zipping through songs and chatting with the audience more than I've ever seen him do. As always, his humor leans self-deprecating. But alongside frequent collaborators Mikkel Beckmen (washboard) and Liz Draper (bass), he looked to be settling into the series just fine.
"Don't underestimate me," Laura Sellner sings in one of Superior Siren's songs, and after seeing the band open for Parr, I wasn't planning on it. I haven't heard the "eerie folk" quartet's first album yet — from stage, Parr said he's one of the few with an advance copy — but come Jan. 12, I'll eagerly return to their cool, string-filled sound. They'll perform a release show with Parr in Duluth on Jan. 13, and Feb. 24 marks their next performance at Icehouse.
If you want to catch Parr and his band on a future Sunday, the following schedule should help you out. Fair notice: the first show sold out before doors; you may want to buy tickets online before heading over to the Turf.
Sunday, January 7, 2018 ft. Superior Siren
Sunday, January 14, 2018 ft. Feeding Leroy
Sunday, January 21, 2018 ft. Chicago Farmer
Sunday, January 28, 2018 ft. Joseph Huber
All photos by Darin Kamnetz for MPR.