Listen to "Enron-Ron" - As performed by The Fifth Amendment (a.k.a. Bill Parsons, Eric Weinberg and Barry Gordimer) on NPR's morning edition.

Imagine a train wreck between David Wilcox and Elvis Costello. Or a talk show hosted by Dr. Scott Peck and Bill Maher. What would you get? Irreverent spirituality. Enlivening metaphor. Blunt illumination. Playful chit chat. In short, you'd get Bill Parsons. Folk music for a post politically correct world.

Bill Parsons, age 34, has been delighting audiences with his signature performances on the North American folk circuit since 1993. In that time, he has performed with many of today's marquee names in folk music (e.g. The Burns Sisters, Kate Campbell, Don Conoscenti, Dana Cooper, Catie Curtis, Cliff Eberhardt, Bob Franke, Vance Gilbert, John Gorka, Greg Greenway,  Anne Hills, Jim Infantino, James Keeleghan, The Kennedys, Peter Mulvey, The Nields, Odetta, Tom Paxton, Chuck Pyle, Garnet Rogers, David Roth, Sonia Rutstein, Martin Sexton, Cosy Sheridan, Richard Shindell, Michael Smith, Sloan Wainwright, Dar Williams) at many of the top listening rooms across the country (e.g. The Birchmere, The Bluebird, Cafe Lena, Club Passim, Coffeehouse at Mays Chapel, Eddies Attic, The Fast Folk Cafe, The Fez, Godfrey Daniels, Johnny D's, Jonathans, Left Bank Cafe, Prism Coffeehouse, The Point, The Ramshead Tavern, The Tin Angel, Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse, The Waterloo Ice House, The Winteride). He has sold over 5000 units of his recordings and built a mailing list of over 4500 fans nationwide. In 1996, he performed three shows for the athletes at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, and his song "Oslo Blue" was picked up by National Public Radio for use on its Morning Edition program. In 1998, he was invited to participate in the prestigious Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Artist Showcase in Hillsdale, NY and received artist endorsement deals from Taylor Guitars and D'Addario Strings. In 2000, he showcased at the South Florida Folk Festival, the Philadelphia Music Conference, and the NACA East Coast Music Festival. His acoustic reinterpretation of Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science" received significant national airplay -- including rotation on such syndiated shows at The World Cafe and The Acoustic Cafe -- and his musical parodies (e.g. "The Love Bug Song", "$2.60 in Chicago", "Hand Count"), co-written with his musical partner Eric Weinberg, are regularly heard on National Public Radio's Morning Edition program. What's more, the people who know Bill best -- the 1500 strong members of the Washington Area Music Association -- have now honored Bill nine times with coveted WAMMIE (Washington Area Music Award) nominations.

Born in New York City, Bill makes his home in Washington, DC with his wife Kerry, daughter Natalie, and dog Josh. When not performing, Bill remains active in the songwriting community -- helping to organize songwriting retreats with Trapezoid co-founder Paul Reisler -- as well as being a regular columnist for Performing Songwriter  magazine. He is a former aide to consumer advocate Ralph Nader and an accomplished martial artist. In addition, he is the pants.

"To be hopeful without being trite or naive. That's the goal." -- Bill Parsons