Concert

Nationally acclaimed Minnesota musician Charlie Parr headlines an evening of timeless folk and blues on Oct. 30 at the State Theatre

Acclaimed Minnesota songwriter and master guitarist performs songs from his powerful new album Rooming House and a career spanning more than two decades

TICKETS GO ON SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC ON FRIDAY, JULY 31 AT 10 A.M.

MINNEAPOLIS (July 29, 2026) — Hennepin Arts has announced that nationally acclaimed Minnesota musician Charlie Parr will bring his unmistakable blend of folk, blues and American roots music to Minneapolis for an evening of deeply personal storytelling and masterful musicianship on Friday, Oct. 30 at 8 p.m. at the historic State Theatre (805 Hennepin Ave.).

Don't miss an unforgettable record release event for Parr’s new album, Rooming House, featuring two full sets of music featuring Rooming House performed in its entirety with collaborator and drummer Dave King (The Bad Plus, Happy Apple. Set Two will include a retrospective of Charlie's renowned catalog spanning his legendary career.

Tickets go on sale Friday, July 31 at 10 a.m. to the general public at the State Theatre Box Office (805 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis) and online at HennepinArts.org.

Rolling Stone has called Charlie Parr’s music “a gritty blend of Delta blues and Depression-era roots music soaked in his hardscrabble voice. It’s a sacred realm of folk wisdom and sorrowful vulnerability.” NPR said he offers “expertly-picked resonator guitar and lyrics that puncture the soul.” Parr tours prolifically, and has performed at tastemaker events like the Newport Folk Fest and Pickathon.

The Duluth-based guitarist, songwriter, and interpreter of traditional music has released twenty albums over two-and-a-half decades and has been known to perform up to 275 shows a year. Parr is a folk troubadour in the truest sense: taking to the road between shows, writing and rewriting songs as he plays, fueled by a belief that music is eternal and cannot be claimed or adequately explained. The sounds from his working-class upbringing—including Folkways legends such as Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie—imbue Parr’s music with stylistic echoes of blues and folk icons of decades past. Parr sees himself merely as a continuer of a folk tradition.

Parr’s mastery of his craft is only more apparent when contextualized within the history of folk tradition to which Parr has dedicated his practice. The land and lives around and intersecting with Parr have always influenced him, from the hills and valleys of Hollandale, Minnesota to the Depression-era stories from his father.

Parr’s first album with Smithsonian Folkways, Last of the Better Days Ahead (2021), foregrounded his lyrical craftsmanship and sophisticated bluesman confidence, with spare production highlighting Parr’s mastery of guitar and elevating his blues poetry. In his 2024 release, Little Sun, Parr weaved together stories celebrating music, community, and communing with nature. In doing so, he put forth an ambitious and raw album that exemplifies the best of Parr’s sound: his blend of the blues and folk traditions with the steadfast originality of a poet. Now, he continues that tradition with 2026’s poignant and timely Rooming House, which joins the chorus of WPA-era socially-conscious folk operas and outlaw country concept albums of the 1970s to poignantly allegorize his experiences and the experiences of the people around him.

Hennepin Arts drives cultural and economic vitality in Minnesota through leadership of the dynamic Hennepin Theatre District in downtown Minneapolis and educational programming that reaches every area of the state. Its historic theatres — Orpheum, State and Pantages — and the Dudley Riggs Theatre light up Hennepin Avenue with top-tier entertainment, including the best of Broadway and a wide variety of arts programming. Hennepin Arts is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at HennepinArts.org.

This activity is made possible by voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.