Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Listen to the title track of Charlie Parr’s 'Rooming House,' his conceptual folk opera and third album on Smithsonian Folkways. Parr describes the song:
"'Rooming House' is where the listener is introduced to the characters in this musical play while they’re going about a normal evening of preparing food together. A terminal illness is introduced here, too, kind of another character or at least assuming the role of one, when our hero realizes that the pain he’s feeling is more than food poisoning. There are two movements to this song, divided in time by something less than a couple months and on the album by just three songs, and Dave King and I played the entire thing as one song so we had to fade it out in the middle and fade it back in later."
Animated & Illustrated by Drew Christie
Charlie Parr - guitar and vocals
Dave King - drums
Purchase/Stream:
Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu/charlie-parr/rooming-house
Bandcamp: charlieparrmusic.bandcamp.com/album/rooming-house
All other platforms: orcd.co/charlie-parr-rooming-house
“These folks here, in this record, have no idea what’s wrong. Or how to help. They are sick with the longing to make everything better. And they can’t. Tiny things are important. This house could be anywhere. These things could happen to anyone.” With this reflection, Charlie Parr introduces the characters of Rooming House, a conceptual folk opera that chronicles the lives of Upper Midwesterners through his quietly raucous, deeply rooted, and empathetic blues. These are songs of lost memories and hardship, but also of the improvised acts of kindness that help neighbors make do. Joined by celebrated drummer and fellow Minnesotan Dave King (The Bad Plus, Happy Apple), Parr cements his role as one of the great troubadours of our time with an album that becomes its own small yet profound offering of care.
Charlie Parr: charlieparr.com
Facebook: facebook.com/Charlie.Parr.Music
Instagram: instagram.com/charlie.parr
Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu
Facebook: facebook.com/smithsonianfolkwaysrecordings
Instagram: instagram.com/smithsonianfolkways
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/smithsonian-folkways
Join our mailing list: https://folkways.si.edu/join-our-mailing-list
Become a Friend of Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu/friends-of-folkways
#CharlieParr #SmithsonianFolkways
Listen to the title track of Charlie Parr’s 'Rooming House,' his conceptual folk opera and third album on Smithsonian Folkways. Parr describes the song:
"'Rooming House' is where the listener is introduced to the characters in this musical play while they’re going about a normal evening of preparing food together. A terminal illness is introduced here, too, kind of another character or at least assuming the role of one, when our hero realizes that the pain he’s feeling is more than food poisoning. There are two movements to this song, divided in time by something less than a couple months and on the album by just three songs, and Dave King and I played the entire thing as one song so we had to fade it out in the middle and fade it back in later."
Animated & Illustrated by Drew Christie
Charlie Parr - guitar and vocals
Dave King - drums
Purchase/Stream:
Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu/charlie-parr/rooming-house
Bandcamp: charlieparrmusic.bandcamp.com/album/rooming-house
All other platforms: orcd.co/charlie-parr-rooming-house
“These folks here, in this record, have no idea what’s wrong. Or how to help. They are sick with the longing to make everything better. And they can’t. Tiny things are important. This house could be anywhere. These things could happen to anyone.” With this reflection, Charlie Parr introduces the characters of Rooming House, a conceptual folk opera that chronicles the lives of Upper Midwesterners through his quietly raucous, deeply rooted, and empathetic blues. These are songs of lost memories and hardship, but also of the improvised acts of kindness that help neighbors make do. Joined by celebrated drummer and fellow Minnesotan Dave King (The Bad Plus, Happy Apple), Parr cements his role as one of the great troubadours of our time with an album that becomes its own small yet profound offering of care.
Charlie Parr: charlieparr.com
Facebook: facebook.com/Charlie.Parr.Music
Instagram: instagram.com/charlie.parr
Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu
Facebook: facebook.com/smithsonianfolkwaysrecordings
Instagram: instagram.com/smithsonianfolkways
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/smithsonian-folkways
Join our mailing list: https://folkways.si.edu/join-our-mailing-list
Become a Friend of Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu/friends-of-folkways
#CharlieParr #SmithsonianFolkways
