Like the subject of his latest album, Long Road Traveler, Gabe Parsons is a musician committed to exploration.
At age 24, the Hopewell Valley native is charting a course that began in his backyard and has already led him through the northeast U.S. and the musical melting pot of New Orleans. The result is a newly released, deeply personal album and a sold-out album release concert.
On October 27, Parsons’ album and his song “Letters to Your Mother” were named the Local Pick of the Day on WXPN, the University of Pennsylvania’s nationally renowned public radio station.
Yet, for Parsons, this is only the beginning of a journey whose destination remains a mystery, just off in the distance over the horizon. It’s a journey the young musician has already been on for a long time.
Creativity with Local Roots
Parsons’ path to becoming a songwriter was paved by a family environment that didn’t just tolerate creativity, it celebrated it. Growing up in Hopewell Township, the son of Melanie Staff Parsons and Andy Parsons said the arts were simply part of daily life.
“I feel like I grew up in spaces that really encouraged creativity and pursuing the arts,” Parsons said. “My dad is a scenic designer and graphic designer and a drummer. My sister (Sophia Parsons) is an actress. My brother (Zak Parsons) is a visual artist.”
This atmosphere was organic and musical. Every year, his family hosts a large summer party, a tradition centered on live music. This event became the fertile ground for Parsons’ own musical aspirations.
“We still do it,” he noted. “I played my new record top to bottom this summer. That one is always like the homecoming gig because it’s literally on my back porch.”
He picked up the guitar at age 11, exploring a path as a songwriter in a class at the New Hope public library. It was there realized he could leverage music as a lens to make sense of the world.
“I fell in love with it,” he recalled. “And ever since then I’ve been kind of using it as a way to explore or understand the world around me.”
A Musical Education Beyond the Classroom
After graduating from Solebury School, Parsons headed south, enrolling at Loyola University in New Orleans, LA to study the music industry. While the formal education was valuable, plenty of schooling happened off campus. Parsons soaked up the city’s seven-day-a-week live music scene.
“I constantly felt like I was in a classroom,” he said. “You know, in New Orleans you can walk out your door every night of the week, seven days a week, at any time of the day, and hear some of the most talented players you’ve ever heard.”
Parsons quickly immersed himself, playing iconic venues like Tipitina’s and Carrollton Station with his band, The Heartland. The city’s energy left its mark on his songwriting, with many of the tracks on his new album penned in his small uptown apartment.
His New Orleans tenure ended not with a whimper, but with a launch: upon graduation in May 2024, Parsons packed his car and hit the road, opening for the rising New Orleans band the Crowe Boys on a tour through the northeast.
The Working Musician’s Hustle
When Parsons returned to the Hopewell Valley, he wasn’t looking for a break, he was looking for work. Since coming home he’s made the transition from student musician to full-time professional.
“I was learning a lot in New Orleans … and now I feel I’m full-time and really putting the work in,” he explained. “It’s been a great learning experience. Last year I played 60 shows; this year, I think I’ve played close to 50 by this point. It’s been really awesome to do that and learn how to hustle and be a professional musician.”
He describes his bread and butter as Americana folk rock, a sound that is both literary and atmospheric. To quickly describe his style, he often jokes: “If Lord Huron and Bruce Springsteen had a baby, that’s kind of that’s my music.”
He admires Springsteen’s short-story lyricism and Lord Huron’s ethereal, mood-driven albums. “I really try to blend those two together,” he says.
Long Road Traveler: A Sound of Becoming
Parsons’ hard work culminated with the release of Long Road Traveler, his first proper 12-song LP. The album is a testament to the musical spaces he’s inhabited. It was recorded in sessions with different players in New Orleans, tracked in his New Jersey living room and basement, and finally mixed and mastered with Grammy Award-winning engineer and producer Glenn Barrett at Morning Star Studios in Norristown, PA.
Sonically, the album is a blend of rock-and-roll grit and pensive folk. Lyrically, it is defined by a deep sense of restlessness and emergence.
“It’s about the journey of being a young musician, about being a young man and kind of becoming, seeing the world for what it is in a little more clarity. And growing up, really,” Parsons reflected. “I often describe it as about not having your two feet in any one spot … and the anxiety that can cause. There’s a sense of loneliness, I think, that runs through it, too.”
The local music community was quick to embrace the work: tickets for his recent album release show at Needle Creek Brewery in Hopewell Township sold out.
The Value of Live Connection
An artist operating in the age of streaming algorithms, Parsons maintains a belief in the power of live performance.
“I think live music is more important than ever,” he said. “There’s nowhere else that you get to experience music the same way. To hear an artist tell a story about a song and to feel the way the bass or the guitar or the piano hits you in the center of your chest … you can’t fully replicate it on a record.”
Long Road Traveler is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music, and for purchase on iTunes and Bandcamp. Parsons’ has an upcoming show on Nov. 29 at Needle Creek Brewery and additional shows, his schedule, and more information is on his website, gabeparsons.com.
As for what’s next, Parsons plans to embody his album’s title. He’s looking ahead to a stint in the UK to immerse himself in a new environment before settling down in the States.
“Honestly, I think I kind of want to be the long road traveler for a little while,” he admitted. “I’ve got a body of work now and I want people to hear it. I’m excited for where that will bring me.”
