Minnesota music hero Charlie Parr announces new album, 'Little Sun,' with new collaborators

Twin Cities music lovers are sorely missing Charlie Parr's usual January residency run at the Turf Club this year, but they can't exactly accuse Minnesota's cult-loved acoustic picker of being a slacker.

On Tuesday, Parr announced the details of his 18^th (!) album, "Little Sun," and issued the first track off it, "Boombox" (posted below). The new collection will arrive March 22 via the Smithsonian Folkways label and finds Parr pairing up with some interesting new collaborators.

Tucker Martine, a Grammy-nominated studio wiz who has worked with the Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, My Morning Jacket and Bill Frisell, produced the new record for Parr at his studio in Portland, Ore. Martine was mentored in his youth by Harry Smith, the musicologist whose namesake anthology of folk music was a biblical influence for Parr.

The LP was truly recorded live, according to the announcement, with Portland area musicians for backers, including fellow guitar ace Marisa Anderson and Camper Van Beethoven bassist Victor Krummenacher.

"Up until this very album, my recordings have always been done live, with few if any overdubs and nearly always the first take," Parr said in the press release. "And that's been fine, actually.

"Here's a new way for me, though: Here's an album that was recorded live but in collaboration with producer Tucker Martine, who's become a friend and trusted musical ally. You'll hear what happened."

Parr will hit the road ahead of the LP's release to promote it, a tour that will culminate with a release party at First Avenue on May 3. In the interim, he is playing a January residency, but not in St. Paul. He's playing every Tuesday night in January with Low's Alan Sparhawk at Earth Rider Brewery's Cedar Lounge in Superior, Wis. (across the bay from Duluth).