Susan Werner on Defining Hard Work, Paid Vacations, and Relaxing as Indie Musician, ep. 307

It's Lizzie No speaking to you from Dublin, Ireland, where I recently moved! It's fall here which makes my mind wander back to my home state of origin, New Jersey, where leaves are undoubtedly changing and cider donuts are being consumed. I hope you're enjoying autumn wherever you are. This summer I said goodbye to Nashville, Tennessee, where I had been living for the past three years. I also worked on a bunch of projects, rehomed my beloved foster dog Dino, and prepared myself logistically to move to a new country. I don't think it was possible to prepare myself emotionally, but the paperwork is done, thank god. I'm mentioning all of this from my desk in Dublin because it's hitting me how quickly a transition period can become a major chapter of your life, how quickly a temporary living situation can become home, and how all of a sudden things that felt permanent have become memories. This leads me to my interview with Minnesota folk singer Charlie Parr, whose new album, Rooming House, comes out on Smithsonian Folkways on October 16. Rooming House is an emotionally impactful musical story in seven acts. Like a lot of Charlie Parr's music, this album feels like a play where the stakes feel so real that you can't help but walk away more empathetic for having experienced it. The setting is a rooming house, and the characters are the folks from young to old who have been thrown together by circumstance. It's the type of brilliantly observed story-album that we are lucky enough to get when imaginative artists from working class backgrounds have the courage to tell stories. In addition to being a prolific songwriter, Charlie Parr is a fabulous guitar player and student of the blues, so our conversation covers some of his musical backstory in addition to a discussion of the album. On a personal note, in 2020 I made an exhaustive cross-genre list of the songs from the decade of the 2010s which had been most important to me, and Charlie Parr's "Cheap Wine" came in at #1. His songs have accompanied me through a lot of life changes, so today is a big day for me, and a big day for Basic Folk. Before I let you listen to my conversation with this contemporary heavyweight of folk music, I want to read you a passage from Charlie's written accompaniment to Rooming House: Follow Basic Folk on social media: https://basicfolk.bio.link/ Sign up for Basic Folk's newsletter: https://bit.ly/basicfolknews Help produce Basic Folk by contributing: https://basicfolk.com/donate/ Interested in sponsoring us? Contact BGS: https://bit.ly/sponsorBGSpods

Michaela Anne grew up in a military family that moved a lot: Washington, Michigan, California, Virginia, and Italy. She and her family are currently in the middle of a huge, long move. It seems like there are always SO MANY THINGS going on with Michaela in her family and career.

Jimbo Mathus grew up in a house full of musicians, and by the time he was 8 years old, he was sitting in on family jam sessions. He dropped out of college, joined the Merchant Marines and eventually settled in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He formed The Squirrel Nut Zippers in 1993, which experienced massive success in the mid- to late ‘90s. The band was swept into the short-lived swing music revival, alongside The Brian Setzer Orchestra, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and movies like The Mask and Swingers.

For 17 years, Rachel McCartney had set aside a music career and all the anxiety and uncertainty that came along with it. She was in her mid-30s and wanted a family and some stability. Once she started a new life as an ICU nurse and mother to two young children, her musical career and the momentum she had created over the past three decades in New England and Western Pennsylvania didn't much cross her mind.

We are so honored to welcome Keb' Mo' (aka Kevin Moore) on the show for our 350th episode! After many decades of incredible music, his new solo acoustic album, The Breakdown, was written and recorded at his home studio near Nashville following open-heart surgery and personal life changes. He's also recently released his second collaborative album with the legendary Taj Mahal.