For Immediate Release—

Christian Parker Dives Into The Byrds’ Discography on New Album, Change is Now: A Tribute to The Byrds

Out March 22nd; Parker is rejoined by original Byrds studio session player, Earl Poole Ball; Hear first single “Change is Now” today

January 17, 2024 - Canton, NY - On his last release, Sweethearts—an all-encompassing tribute to The Byrds’ classic, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, which Glide Magazine called “Tender, faithful renditions that capture the groundbreaking character of the original album, just as his own versions are distinctive"—upstate New York recording artist Christian Parker wanted to prove his skills as an astute music student. On his upcoming LP Change is Now: A Tribute to The Byrds, he taps into the sounds that made him fall in love with music in the first place: the 12-string-strummed songs of The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn.

“Growing up, there were always these dividing lines. Either you were a McCartney fan or a Lennon fan,” Parker explains. “I always thought Dave Crosby was a cool cat, but I was never like Dave Crosby musically; I related more to Roger McGuinn. I wanted to honor that childhood hero on Change is Now.” 

Today, Parker shared the album’s title track, “Change is Now,” from the band's 1968 album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers. Parker’s version shares a tight stack of harmony vocals riding atop swirling guitar and peddling bass drones with the original. “When I first heard ‘Change Is Now’ by The Byrds, I thought it was psychedelic country music,” remembers Parker. “It started with a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar hook and three-part harmonies, and then the chorus came in with a pedal steel guitar. Wow, that was a left turn, I thought! I was excited to track the electric guitar solo, which takes you to outer space and brings you back to the next verse.”

Fans can stream or purchase “Change is Now” at this link and pre-order or pre-save the album before its March 22nd release date here. Stream or purchase Sweethearts today at this link to get an immediate taste of Parker’s Byrds project. For more information, please visit christianparker.com.

Change Is Now Tracklist:

Change is Now

She Don’t Care About Time

Here Without You

The World Turns All Around Her

I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better

Chimes of Freedom

Wild Mountain Thyme

Ballad of Easy Rider

Get To You

Time Between

Your Gentle Way of Loving Me

Full Circle

Bugler

Farther Along

The Last Thing On My Mind

More About Christian Parker: Christian Parker always wants to tell an unexpected story, illuminating the less traveled and overlooked paths. Based in Canton, a small upstate New York town that hugs the Canadian border, the singer and songwriter has spent his career building his own worlds. A seasoned musician, Parker has been making music since childhood, heading to the maple woods and singing “Mrs. Robinson.” He took his first guitar lesson the day after John Lennon was killed, an inauspicious beginning but one that served more as a metaphor for his perseverance than anything else. Christian learned to play “Rocky Racoon” that night.  

A few years later, he was introduced to Bob Dylan’s music, which gave him the songwriting bug in a way he’s never been able to quit. He wrote his first tune as a 16-year-old, and that song, “Reflections of Tomorrow,” became the title track to his first album, which he released when he was 17. Through the ‘90s, he played regionally, improving as a songwriter, singer, and guitarist. He co-wrote several songs with Peter Pendras, who played with country artist Gail Davies and was a staff writer for Bug Music in Nashville. Before his latest tribute to The Byrds, Change is Now, Parker released six studio albums, each building on his eclectic style as a keen observer of our modern world. With Change is Now, he expands this scope even further, imbuing one of music’s great catalogs with his one-of-a-kind voice. 

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Media Contact: IVPR/Sophia Romano, [email protected] and Maria Ivey, [email protected]