Pittsburgh CAPA student Connor Parente to bring his songs to Light of Day WinterFest

Connor Parente fell in love with music after hearing Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and locals Joe Grushecky and the House Rockers. This week, the 17-year-old will be following in some of his heroes’ footsteps and performing at the Light of Day WinterFest at legendary music club The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, N.J.

“The first time I realized music was something more than just sounds in the background, it was when I first listened to Bob Dylan,” said Parente, who is currently a senior drama major at Pittsburgh CAPA High School.

He said that music — and drama — are longstanding passions for him. Starting at age 6, Parente performed in local musical theater productions. But he said he didn’t start writing or making his own songs until more recently.

“I didn’t even pick up a guitar until about five years ago. But then, I started writing my own stuff, and then, I eventually became able to get into some local shows and I started playing at bars, and then it just kind of continued from there. Now, I’ve got a whole album of my music coming out, and it’s really exciting,” he said.

So far, Parente has released three singles — “Martyrdom,” “Going Electric” and “My Love & My Rock ‘n’ Roll.” His debut studio album “Hieroglyphics” will be released this spring. He worked with Pittsburgh music scene staple Rick Witkowski on the record.

On Jan. 19, he will appear in a Next Generation show at the Light of Day WinterFest. The performance will be held at the renowned club that served as a launching pad for artists including Bruce Springsteen and John Bon Jovi.

The Light of Day Foundation was founded 25 years ago to raise money and awareness for Parkinson’s disease, ALS and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). The first iteration of its WinterFest was a surprise birthday party for Bob Benjamin, a music industry veteran who had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

The party was headlined by Benjamin’s clients Joe Grushecky and the House Rockers. They played late into the night, and the set included a surprise appearance by their frequent collaborator, Bruce Springsteen.

Since that first year, the Foundation’s WinterFest — now in its 25th year — has expanded to a 10-day, multi-state affair. Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers will still be playing the main event show on Saturday night, along with John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls; Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem; and Brian Baker of Bad Religion.

This will be Parente’s first time attending the festival, though he’s seen many clips and pictures from previous years. He was surprised and honored to be included in this showcase.

“It’s a bunch of young performers, you know, unsigned people. We each get 15-minute sets to play our original music,” he said.

Currently residing in Squirrel Hill, Parente has lived in several areas of the greater Pittsburgh region, including Monroeville and Irwin.

While he loves singing and songwriting, Parente isn’t content to stop there.

“Guitar is my primary focus, and if you came out to see a show live, that’s what I’d be playing, but I do love playing other instruments. I taught myself the guitar and I’m teaching myself the drums and bass and keyboards and all that,” he said.

But he doesn’t try to do it all by himself, in shows or on record.

“I do solo acoustic shows all around the city, but I also play with a band, and our shows are ramping up a bit more this coming year. And the music is still my solo music, but now it’s hearing it with a live band, so that’s cool. I’ve got some really amazing artists that I’m working with,” he said.

He describes his upcoming album as “classic rock inspired.”

“I want it to feel like a rock album that came out back then, but it’s still got modern influences of people I listen to and it’s got all this cool modern recording stuff. But, generally, my songwriting and the orchestration that I like is more dialed into that genre.”

Learn more about Connor Parente at connorparente.com and the Light of Day WinterFest at lightofday.org.