The band began as an offshoot of the university's folk music club. Chris Freeman, Antonio Alcorn, and others met weekly in the student union to play traditional music. The gatherings were open to anyone, and didn't hold any performances; nevertheless in late 2010, through a misunderstanding, members of the club were offered an opening set at Toad's Place in New Haven, Connecticut. Freeman and Alcorn put together an impromptu band, and soon recruited music students Harrison Goodale and Max Shakun to continue playing shows.
Career
In 2013 the band signed to Signature Sounds Recordings and released their self-titled debut album, Poor Old Shine, produced and recorded by Sam Kassirer in Parsonsfield, Maine. Erik Hischmann, the session drummer hired for the album, joined the band soon after recording was completed. In July 2014 the band changed its name to Parsonsfield. The following month marked the band's second studio release, Afterparty EP, featuring covers of songs by Mississippi John Hurt, Bert Jansch, and Huey Lewis and the News, as well as traditional songs and one original. In September 2016 the band released its third studio album, Blooming Through The Black, also produced by Sam Kassirer, and recorded in Collinsville, CT in an abandoned axe factory on the banks of the Farmington River. In March 2018, Parsonsfield released their fourth studio album, WE - produced by Dan Cardinal and recorded at Dimension Sound Studios in Boston, MA. This marks their first time recording in a traditional studio. The first single, "Kick Out The Windows" was released in February with a companion video, which premiered by American Songwriter. In December 2018, Goodale left the band.
Film, television and theater
In winter 2013, and winter 2014–spring 2015, Parsonsfield wrote and performed an original soundtrack to The Heart of Robin Hood, a theatrical production playing eight shows per week in Cambridge, Winnipeg, and Toronto. After returning from Canada, the band relocated to Leverett, Massachusetts. In March 2016Weeds or Wildflowers, track 1 on Poor Old Shine, was featured on AMC's The Walking Dead. In September 2016, Parsonsfield wrote and performed an original score for the 1922 silent documentary Nanook of the North.
Members
In live performances, members of the band all sing, and often switch instruments and trade places on stage. Besides their primary instruments, various members play saw, synthesizer, glockenspiel, melodica, and auxiliary percussion.
Chris Freeman – banjo, guitar, pump organ, bass, lead vocals
Max Shakun – guitar, pump organ, synthesizer, bass, vocals
Antonio Alcorn – mandolin, banjo, bass, vocals
Erik Hischmann – drums, bass, vocals
Other work
Hischmann is credited as assistant engineer for The Beast In Its Tracks, Bad Self Portraits, and various other albums including Poor Old Shine.
