What comes after Nirvana and the Pixies? For a 14-year-old kid living on Lake Erie—D’Angelo’s “Voodoo”, apparently.

While that album became the Sgt. Pepper of the neo-soul movement, it also served as the watershed moment for the Akron-born/Columbus-based Parker Louis, who started putting his stamp on the musical world around the time his hero sat back down at the keyboard.

Fresh off an undergrad degree from Capital University (Columbus, Ohio), Louis stitched his self-taught chops with flashes of soul and rock & roll, cutting his teeth on a handful of independent nationwide tours before writing and releasing his breakout solo effort ‘All Good Things’ (SoulStep, 2019).

In 2020 he introduced himself globally via A COLORS SHOW with the release of ‘Rise‘ and “Say Less” — two captivating live performances on one of music’s biggest digital stages.

In 2022 Louis leapt into the future with his sophomore effort, ‘Lifted’, a thoughtful blend of proto-R&B that sounds aged yet timely. The EP is about age, though. Less than the number but more an examination of time passed; of growth and space. Much like the time spent during the previous three years, he takes care to not just acknowledge tension and release, but lift it up.

In late 2022, Parker officially joined forces with indie-giant Secretly Canadian, signing a publishing deal that brightens his already unique position as artist/producer/musical-auteur even further.

Louis’ once heavier guitar-driven anthems have matured into a silkier R&B, still bolstered by a voice capable of asserting a character beyond its years. Think Donny Hathaway’s vocals coupled with Buddy Guy’s steady hand — Louis can take over a room as much as he can take it into trance.