Parks lands in Newport for gig

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Walter Parks will bring the music and stories of North Florida's Okefenokee Swamp to Newport for a KYAQ concert at the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center this Friday, Aug. 28.

Best known to many music fans as the longtime guitarist and sideman for Woodstock legend Richie Havens, Parks has spent decades crafting a sound that blends Delta blues, Appalachian reels, gospel, work songs, swamp jazz and Southern folk traditions. His distinctive fingerstyle guitar playing and expressive vocals draw on a rich musical heritage while creating something uniquely his own.

Judy Collins has called Parks "an extraordinary singer whose songs can break your heart as well as get you dancing," praising his ability to create music that is both deeply personal and transcendent.

Parks has followed an unconventional path. After leaving business school, he operated a clothing store, formed the acclaimed Nudes Duo in New York, spent a year at Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village monastery in France and toured with Richie Havens for a decade before focusing on his own music.

Today, Parks performs as a solo artist and with the bands Swamp Cabbage and The Unlawful Assembly. His work preserving the traditional songs and hollers of southeast Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp has also earned recognition from the Library of Congress' American Folklife Collection.

Friday's concert begins at 7 pm at the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center, located at 333 SE Bay Boulevard. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. For tickets and more information, go to kyaq.org.