Parker Millsap at Forecastle Festival 2015 – photos

This Parker Millsap KEXP session is a year old, but I’m sharing it here because it begins with the delightfully perverse “Quite Contrary”, which was one of the highlights of Millsap & co.’s set on the opening day of Forecastle Festival in Louisville last week.

Oklaboma native Millsap will be bringing his fresh bluesy sound and compelling storytelling to Savannah’s Revival Fest in September, and I have no doubt that the set will be as spirited as last week’s on the WFPK Port Stage, with the Ohio River in the background. Hard to imagine any other 22-year old who would be such a good fit for a festival in old railroad shops.

Andy Berger already previewed that Revival Fest gig for hissing lawns:

Millsap is a 22-year-old Oklahoma native with a baby face and a grown man’s voice, but it’s his knack for crafting a song that makes him stand out as a unique talent. Without the life experiences one might expect a songwriter operating in the American traditions of folk, blues, and country & western to possess, Millsap eschews personal yarns in favor of character sketches that expertly capture the intricacies of the American experience.

For example, “Heaven Sent” — which is not yet available on official release — is described by Millsap as “a love letter from a son who’s gay, to his father who’s a pastor at a small Baptist church in rural anywhere, America.” It’s a moving, heartfelt song that depicts the heartache and chasm created by cultural divides here in 21st Century America.

I guess it’s not a bad thing that Millsap looks like DiCaprio? More photos after the jump:

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