Culture
Gladden House Sessions 2018: Charlie Parr
By: Xan Spalding
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Charlie Parr performed at the Gladden House on Sunday, June 3, the final day of the 2018 Nelsonville Music Festival. Hailing from Austin, MN, Parr rose to popularity in Australia and New Zealand after his 2002 tune “1922 Blues” was featured in a 2007 Vodafone (an international cell phone provider) commercial. He has since found international critical acclaim and has developed a sturdy fan base.
Parr kicked off his Gladden House set with “I Dreamed I Saw Jesse James Last Night,” from the 2010’s When the Devil Goes Blind (Gaga Didi Records). Parr follows this with “Just Like Today,” a mellower song that complimented the peaceful landscape created by the Gladden House. That song was originally released on 2007’s Jubilee (Little Judges Records).
Parr finished his Gladden House performance with a rendition of the title track of his 2017 album Dog (Red House Records). Early in the session, Parr spoke about how walking his dog allowed him to better manage his clinical depression and influenced the creation of his latest album. The song aches in Parr’s traditional country blues style and left the audience with the sincere, plangent cry of “a soul is a soul is a soul.”