Genelec USA Artist Room Welcomes Walter Parks
Guitarist, composer and storyteller Walter Parks is dedicated to the work of “sharing stories and tunes that explore matters of the soul & spirit.” Inspired by the swampy gospel blues that wails from storefront churches and roadhouses in and around the southeast Georgia low country, Parks’s style is full of boot-stomping, guitar-strumming tunes built upon a foundation of jazz and folk. His music churns with the energy of the folk tradition, and in August 2020, Parks was invited by The Library of Congress to archive his research on and perform his arrangements of music (“hollers, hymns and reels”) made by southeast Georgia’s Okefinokee Swamp.
For 10 years, Parks served as the sideman guitarist to music legend Richie Havens. Now based out of St. Louis, Parks has recently collaborated with former Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch, and he has performed with R&B drum legend Bernard Purdie and at Lincoln Center with Judy Collins. He tours with his own trio Swamp Cabbage, with his solo show Swamp By Chandelier and with an Americana spirituals project called The Unlawful Assembly co-founded by drummer Steven Williams. He was also a member of The Nudes, a popular folk duo, with cellist Stephanie Winters.
For this Artist Room session, Parks performs “The Lid” along with an interview. This represents the very first Genelec Artist Room session filmed in
the U.S.
To watch Walter's Artist Room performance and interview, simply click the play buttons below.
For more information about Walter Parks, visit https://www.walterparks.com.