Artist of the Year 2024 honorable mentions: Charlie Parr and Mathew Janczewski

Good ol’ Charlie Parr could be a contendeCharlie Parr and Mathew Janczewskir for Minnesota’s Artist of the Year any year. He’s a prolific songwriter and omnipresent performer, always with a new album and grab bag of gigs.

In 2024, Parr’s rustic but rich brand of mostly acoustic blues and folk music reached far outside Minnesota.

He made his latest LP, “Little Sun,” in Portland, Ore., working with renowned producer Tucker Martine (Decemberists, Neko Case) and a jubilant, Band-like backing unit. Rolling Stone hailed it as “a gritty blend of Delta blues and Depression-era roots music soaked in his hardscrabble voice.”

He did his usual wide swath of U.S. touring, upgrading from a Kia Soul to a minivan for sleeping accommodations at age 57. He also went on his longest European trek, landing sold-out shows in London, Paris, Berlin and Copenhagen over two months.

Parr still made a high impact at home. He kept us warm in January again with his beloved Turf Club residency (resuming Jan. 5). He packed First Avenue in May with a joyous release party.

Most memorably and meaningfully, when his longtime mentor Spider John Koerner died in May, Parr voraciously sang, spoke, posted and honored the last of the original Minneapolis West Bank music heroes, who also included Willie Murphy, Dave Ray and Tony “Little Sun” Glover.

“Charlie, to me, is the perfect cross between Spider John’s idiosyncratic individualism seasoned with the mule kick of Dave Ray,” said fellow Minnesota blues picker and musicologist Paul Metsa, who called Parr’s 2024 album “the spiritual descendant” of Koerner’s and Murphy’s influential 1969 album “Running, Jumping, Standing Still.”

As long as Parr is still out there channeling them year after year, those Minnesota music legends who influenced a teenaged Bob Dylan won’t become complete unknowns.

Chris Riemenschneider

Choreographer Mathew Janczewski, artistic director of Arena Dances, has shown dedication to artistry and demonstrated leadership in the dance community in 2024.

With Taja Will, Janczewski closed out the Cowles Center in March with an impressive evening of work by both choreographers. Janczewski danced in a duet he created with Dustin Haug, premiered a joyful nightclub-inspired group piece with Will and helped send off the Cowles with style.

He also showcased both repertory work and a new piece for Arena Dances’ “Monument” in September. The performance highlighted Janczewski’s extensive career making dance in the Twin Cities, with its inclusion of work he made for Zenon Dance Company in 2003. The performance also featured the choreographer’s more recent work investigating touch, weight sharing and connection in the collaboratively created “As of Now.”

Janczewski’s company, Arena Dances, also supports emerging and mid-career dance artists through its Candy Box Festival, an annual showcase and gathering of choreographers and dance artists. Arena also has supported the community through classes, its podcast “Studio Stories” and the community gathering space Floorwork. Most recently, Arena Dances has supported a new advocacy group, the Minnesota Dance Task Force, and has been a part of a listening and planning process seeking to address the dance community’s needs.

The Twin Cities dance community has been somewhat in crisis mode this year, and while many in the community have stepped up to meet the moment, Janczewski deserves particular recognition for his leadership.

Sheila Regan