Charlie Parr, Chicago Farmer, No Name String Band

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Graham Tolbert

Charlie Parr

While there are a ton of artists these days who call themselves “folk,” few embody the genre better than Charlie Parr. An amiable Minnesotan, Parr has spent the majority of his adult life making music, and it shows in his wise, world-weary songs. Along for the ride is Chicago Farmer, the nom de plume of Illinois troubadour Cody Diekhoff, an everyman in the tradition of his hero, John Prine; and No Name String Band.

press release: Brewgrass Fridays, in partnership with Door County Brewing Company, features performances by some of the nation’s best bluegrass bands and a traditional Fish Fry held every Friday night of the season. Free (on the plaza).

Duluth, Minnesota, artist Charlie Parr released his newest Red House album, Dog, in September 2018; it’s the follow-up to his acclaimed last record, Stumpjumper. “I have a dog, her name is Ruby but I call her Ruben, and we go for these long, crazy, chaotic walks," said Charlie of the track's inspiration. "Because I decided a long time ago that I get along really well with this dog, and I was taking her for walks, and she wanted to go this way, and I wanted to go that way. And then I thought, why are we going to go this way and not that way? Maybe I should be the one getting walked. Maybe I'll learn something. So I follow the dog."

Dog is Parr’s most personal record yet. It's an album that focuses on emotional issues, issues of mental health and the existential examinations of life, the soul, and the purpose of life and living. Originally, Charlie had planned to record these songs stripped down and alone but at the urging of a friend, he ended up asking his most trusted collaborators to play on the record.  Experimental folk artist Jeff Mitchell, percussionist Mikkel Beckman, harmonica player Dave Hundreiser, and bassist Liz Draper, who traded her typical upright bass in for an electric at Charlie's request, found an instant chemistry in the studio, capturing some of the tracks on the first take.

Some live albums are so good they become the recordings those artists are known for. Frampton Comes Alive and Cheap Trick at Budokan were monster hits and catapulted them to rock superstar status. Cody Diekhoff, too, has big hopes for his first live Chicago Farmer first live album, Quarter Past Tonight, a two-disc set to be independently released Aug. 3. “Folk superstar would be just fine,” Diekhoff says.

A touring musician for 20 years with a quarter century of writing songs under his belt, Diekhoff has seen the type size for his moniker grow steadily larger on festival posters over the years. He called his 21-song 2005 debut album About Time, and the same title would have fit for the new live album, recorded Dec. 1-2, two sold-out nights at the Apollo Theater in Peoria, Illinois in 2017. This is a solo record with Cody being the only performer, singing and playing guitar as well as harmonica as Chicago Farmer. Fans have requested a live album for years with a love for his stories and banter as much as his songs.  

“People for the longest time have been coming up to me at the merch table — ‘What do you have that’s just like what you just did on stage,’” Diekhoff says. “So after a long time of putting it off, I finally did it.”