Parker Millsap

(Okrahoma)

John Fullbright came first and, for Parker Millsap, that’s unfortunate. Fullbright burst on the scene with 2012’s From the Ground Up, putting Oklahoma back on the musical map with an insightful vision that’s curiously multifaceted. Millsap follows with a sound that echoes Fullbright’s, a youthful take on folk and blues with a fiery approach. Fellow Okie Wes Sharon might be to blame for producing both albums, because the similarity in sound detracts from 20-year-old Millsap’s themes of love, redemption, and what passes for spirituality these days. He smartly leads off with “Old Time Religion,” “Truck Stop Gospel,” and “Forgive Me,” three very different images reflecting his religious upbringing. The debut’s true highlights, however, fall to the quiet, finger-picked intensity of “The Villain” and devilish slide guitar rave-up “Land of the Red Man,” two aspects of Millsap’s precocious muse. (8pm, St. David’s Historic Sanctuary; Saxon Pub, 10:30pm)

**.5

This article appears in March 14 • 2014.

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