Nov. 14: Concert Features Charlie Parr with Liz Draper

Sunday, November 14, 2021
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Elias J. Halling Recital Hall

Minnesota State University, Mankato Department of Music News Release

MANKATO, Minn. – Charlie Parr, along with Mankato-based Liz Draper, will perform on Sunday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the Elias J. Halling Recital Hall of the Earley Center for Performing Arts, 320 Maywood Ave. The concert is sponsored by the Minnesota State Mankato Performance Series.

Charlie Parr is a beloved international touring artist, with a fan base spanning the United States and as far as Ireland, England and Australia. Parr is in his element while playing on stage.

Parr first grabbed a guitar at age 8 and has never had a formal music lesson. Nevertheless, Charlie Parr wows crowds with his incredible fingerpicking on his 12-string baritone resonator, acoustic guitar, and banjo.

“Parr is a master storyteller,” said PopMatters. “One can’t help but come back and marvel at his ability to make us believe that we know each of his characters or that, maybe, there’s some part of them in each of us.”

Parr released his new album, “Last of the Better Days Ahead” (July 2021), on Smithsonian Folkways, the same label that features recordings of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and modern star Rhiannon Giddens. In “Last of the Better Days Ahead,” you are met by someone who prizes quiet reflection over hustle and who shuns distraction for a long walk in the woods. With that collection of songs, Charlie captures the world he has lived in and retells the stories he has gathered along the way.

Versatile bassist Liz Draper has performed, recorded and toured internationally with such groups as the Grammy Award-winning Okee Dokee Brothers, Soul Asylum, The Cactus Blossoms, Davina and the Vagabonds, and Dakota Dave Hull. A professional musician since age 16, Liz has performed in an astonishing array of musical genres and ensembles, from jazz and classical to folk, metal, improvisational, experimental, Balkan and acoustic strings.

Charlie Parr reflects on his musical relationship with Draper, “Music is a super different kind of relationship, a different kind of communication ….. Liz is one of the only people that I've been able to enter into that relationship with and feel like it's had nothing but a positive effect on me.”

Masks or face coverings are required in all University buildings and venue spaces. 

Minnesota State Mankato students are admitted free with a valid MavCARD. General admission is $15. Those who wish to purchase tickets online should go to  https://link.mnsu.edu/musictickets or call the Performance Series office, (507) 389-5549.