Glass Mountain Records » TORI SPARKS

TORI SPARKS

TOUR DATES »

Click here for Tori’s upcoming tour schedule.

ALBUMS »

NEW RELEASE! Click the play buttons below to preview songs.

	1. Cold War	7. Providence, RI
	2. Out of the Void	8. Under This Yellow Sun
	3. Free	9. Peace of Soul
	4. Under the Rug	10. Caged Bird
	5. Most Alone	11. Where is the Love
	6. Poison Well	12. Carry Us

Under This Yellow Sun (Glass Mountain Records, 2007)

Click to download Under This Yellow Sun on iTunes.

	1. Trouble	7. When I Said
	2. Rivers + Roads	8. Shame
	3. One In A Million	9. Incidentally
	4. Looking For Wisdom	10. Red Letter Day
	5. The Contract	11. Otherwise
	6. Driving Alone	12. Remembering You

Rivers + Roads (Platinum Plus Universal Records, 2005)

Click to download Rivers + Roads on iTunes.

	1. When I Said
	2. One In A Million
	3. Red Letter Day
	4. On Your Way Home

Tidewaters (Self-released, 2003)

Click to download Tidewaters on iTunes.

Click here for a list of 100+ places to download all of Tori Sparks’ albums.

Click here for a list of stations playing Under This Yellow Sun and Rivers + Roads.

Click here for Tori Sparks Ringtones.

COMPILATION DISCS »

Universal Music France: Country Vol. 2 (double-disc)

Song: “Cold War”
With Tim McGraw, Gary Allen, Wynonna, Shooter Jennings, Over the Rhine, more.

[Cover Art Coming Soon]
Paste Magazine New Music Sampler

Song: “Cold War”
Released with June 2008 issue of the magazine.

MSMF Multiple Sclerosis Music Fest 2006 Compilation CD

Song: “Remembering You”
All proceeds went to Montel Williams’ Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.

Canadian Music Week Best Unsigned Artists of 2006

Song: “Red Letter Day”
Distributed to radio stations across Canada and industry attendees of Canadian Music Week conference.

A Taste of Triple A #16 Compilation (2006)

Song: “Trouble”
Featuring Brandi Carlile, Black Rebel Motorcyle Club, Mason Jennings, Rachael Sage, and more.

KSYM-FM Camp Victory Compilation for the Troops

Song: “Trouble”
Produced for local soldiers stationed in Iraq. Featuring Corinne Bailey Ray and more.

VIDEOS »

Cold War (Glass Mountain Records, 2007)

Finalist - Unisong International Songwriting Contest (2007)

The Making of Under This Yellow Sun: Tori Sparks with Producer David Henry (Glass Mountain Records, 2007)

Screen Printing Madness with Tori Sparks (Glass Mountain Records, 2007)

Rivers + Roads (Platinum Plus Universal Records, 2006)

Best Pop Video – The Indie Gathering (2006)
Selection – Flint Film Festival (2006)

Click here for a list of video programs playing the Rivers + Roads music video.

BIOGRAPHY »

Tori Sparks calls Nashville home, but spends most of her time on the road in the U.S. and Europe. Called “a knockout” by the Village Voice, her dynamic live show is equal parts soulful singing and zany stand-up-style humor. Tori’s latest album Under This Yellow Sun was co-produced with indie rock veteran David Henry (R.E.M., Ben Folds, Josh Rouse, Widespread Panic, Cowboy Junkies) , and features players such as Steve Bowman of Counting Crows, Aaron Sands of Jars of Clay, John Deaderick (Patty Griffin, Lucinda Williams), and Pat Buchanan (Mary Chapin Carpenter, Dixie Chicks).

Under This Yellow Sun is the first release under the auspices of Tori’s own record label (Glass Mountain Records) and publishing company (Hand Over Foot Publishing). It has been praised by Relix, Harp, Maverick, Skope, The Nashville Music Guide, XM Radio, and others. After breaking the Top 100 on the RIYL Weighted College Charts, the album was immediately licensed by MTV, Lifetime, and the Oxygen Network for use in their 2008 television seasons. A subsequent feature by XM Radio Unsigned prompted Universal Music France to contact Sparks, has toured in France and other parts of Europe. Universal included Sparks’ single “Cold War” on their double-disc compilation, released internationally in March 2008, which has sold 25,000+ copies to date.. “Cold War” is also featured on the Paste Magazine New Music Sampler released in June 2008.

Tori’s relentless touring has taken her from New York to Los Angeles to Miami, from Toronto to London to Paris, and through every small town in between. She has shared the stage with Justin Townes Earle, Garrison Starr, Rachael Sage, Maria Muldaur, John & Mary of 10,000 Maniacs, and more. The fearless chanteuse makes the audience her own in any setting. Besides her big black boots, and balls-to-the-wall guitar playing, she is known for being a part of and organizing benefit concerts on behalf of the National Federation of the Blind, F.A.C.E., the March of Dimes, and the One Campaign.

Contrary to popular belief, Sparks did not emerge Venus-like from Lake Michigan on a gigantic seashell Tori was born in Chicago, and grew up in Sarasota, FL. She recorded her first EP, Tidewaters, in 2003, while attending Florida State University. . The four-song project attracted the attention of a small independent label based in Nashville. The label snapped her up, promptly recorded her debut album and music video ”Rivers + Roads” in 2005, moved her to Music City… and even more promptly went belly-up. Where some would crumble, Tori emerged from the wreckage and dove into eight solid months of exhaustive touring, radio, and video promotion. Her work paid off, as radio and video airplay in the U.S., Belgium, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, France, and England resulted.

One of the aforementioned eight months was devoted to The Feed Your Soul Guitar Project, a tour and folk art auction benefiting Oxfam America. ASCAP, The Village Voice, Paste Magazine Online, Northeast InTune Magazine, All Music, NBC, ABC, FOX, the Women’s Right to Rock Music Festival and others thought this was pretty cool and said so. Tori’s debut music video, “Rivers + Roads,” was screened at the Flint Film Festival 2006, and was selected “Best Pop Video” by the Indie Gathering 2006. She was selected as a Unisong International Songwriting Contest Finalist for her politically-charged alterna-blues tune “The Poster Child” in 2005, and again in 2007 for “Cold War.”

Under This Yellow Sun and Rivers + Roads can each be purchased for less than the price of a veggie burger in Los Angeles at one of 100+ digital distributors in 25 countries. These include the ubiquitous iTunes, and 30+ CD retailers, including BestBuy.com, Target.com, Amazon.com, and others. Tori’s guilty pleasures include black jelly beans and 80s music. There is a big map of the U.S. and Europe on her wall, full of little colored pins marking cities she’s played.

Check out Tori Sparks on ToriSparks.com! MySpace! Facebook! ReverbNation! Groupietunes Ringtones!
Watch the music video for “Cold War.”

RECENT AWARDS »

Cashville 411 Top Ten Tracks of 2007 (”Caged Bird”)
Finalist - 2007 Unisong International Songwriting Contest (”Cold War”)
Best Pop Video – Indie Gathering 2006 (“Rivers + Roads”)
Selection – 2006 Flint Film Festival (“Rivers + Roads”)
Recipient – 2006 ASCAPlus Award
Recipient – 2005 ASCAPlus Award
Finalist – 2005 Unisong International Songwriting Contest (“The Poster Child”)

PRESS »

“Here’s a singer/songwriter with the strong, eloquent vocals of Bonnie Raitt and the guitar mastery of Joni Mitchell. Her second indie release Under this Yellow Sun is a bounty of subtle rock and haunting blues…
- Nancy Dunham, Relix

“Tori Sparks’ voice isn’t one of those passive instruments that treats a lyric like it’s a classified ad… Here is a supple, teasing voice that flutters and flies seemingly without effort from note to note, line to line, so that weepy sensitivity and pleading vulnerability cozy up with tough resilience and firm resolve so seamlessly you never even notice the mood swing.”
- Jeff Tamarkin, Harp Magazine

“Under This Yellow Sun, the second offering from songbird Tori Sparks, is drenched in drama, featuring Sparks’ torrid vocals splashed over self-penned, alternative roots-rock numbers that sizzle with authenticity.”
- LCB, Performing Songwriter

“The talented Tori Sparks… [is] an Americana-Pop knockout…”
- Voice Choice; The Village Voice

“…[her] songcraft is sparkling and Sparks’ voice is warm and inviting … the effects can be simply stunning… a winner of an album…”
- Joseph McCombs; All Music Guide

“[Tori’s] music gives me chills… I was so wrapped up in the emotional experience that it took me a few plays to get through to the words. They are worth it.”
- Joyce Arnold; City at Night Magazine

“Sparks needs little in the way of effects or layering to get her music across… strong and fabulous…”
- Jason MacNeil; PopMatters

“Under This Yellow Sun is a sensuous blend of folk, blues and rock. … Sparks proves herself a soulful songwriter and vocalist who at once manages both strength and vulnerability. An assured, auspicious disc that should bring [Sparks] deserved national attention.” [4 stars]
- Amanda Schurr; Creative Loafing

“[She] has really stepped it up. Those are the songwriting skills of someone like Roseanne Cash…Providence RI [from Under this Yellow Sun] has Springsteen a la Nebraska or Darkness on the Edge of Town magic about it. Tori really blew me away with this record!”
- Jon Delange, Tinderbox Music

“[Tori] should add The Pretenders to [her] list of influences. In a good way. I’d take that any day.”
- Ben Folds

“Sparks’ bluesy vocals and intensely rhythmic groove paints a sexy and sultry sound that’s a joy to hear in any venue… this 24 year old songstress rocked the room, drew listeners from tables in the back to the stage front and pulled people in from off the street (yes, during SXSW) to hear her…”
- Anny Randel, Savvant Music

“All of her hard work is starting to pay off… Yet, with all the apparent beginnings of commercial success, Sparks remains incredibly focused on the reason she sings and plays: the passion that fuels the creation of her music.”
- Don Swaby, Melt Magazine

“There is a very sensual quality to her voice. It just drips with emotion. ‘Out of the Void’ is damn near heartbreaking…The songs are well written, interesting and catchy without being trite. The musicianship is fabulous… this is a fantastic album.”
- Amy Lotsberg; Collected Sounds

“With the grit of Chrissie Hynde, the sadness of Martha Davis in the Motels, and the pure sensualness of Margo Timmins from the Cowboy Junkies, this girl hurls you onto planet Sparks and leaves you there… you’ll listen to [Under This Yellow Sun] once, then you’ll listen to it a second time and also a third. …[Tori Sparks] is truly, one of the most original artists I have heard in a long, long time.”
- Rebecca Rego, Music News Nashville

“[Sparks] packs a wallop of a voice… each song proves that she’s more than just a pretty face.”
- Paul Barbatano; Dayton City Paper

“[Tori Sparks] has displayed on her recent release, Under This Yellow Sun, a voice that is equal parts elegant, striking and rangy, while her songs can be soothing, evocative, or energetic.”
– Ron Wynn; Nashville City Paper

“Tori Sparks is… a guitar whiz.”
– Steve Shanafelt; The Mountain Xpress (Bele Chere Festival Preview)

“Just damn good… [an] exuberant and muscular vocalist/songwriter/guitarist.”
- Chris Uebbing; Infringe This!

“[Tori] is an excellent songwriter… Her songs are well crafted, personal and at times introspective. … More than anything, Sparks deserves to be recognized for her voice. It can take her about anywhere she wants — it’s that good.”
- David Bowling, The DailyVault

“This multi-talented artist really struts her stuff on [Under This Yellow Sun]. Her warm gutsy vocals are full of soul… mixed with lots of attitude. You’ll want this one for your record collection.”
- Brad Fischer, Nashville Music Guide

“Sparks lets go of the typical restraints of the singer-songwriter stigma… She makes me want to grab hold of life, take a breath and push my boundaries to find my inner self. [Under This Yellow Sun] is not only sexy, beautiful, and enticing, but Sparks shows something that many artists forget—the truth.”
- Jeff Russell, Murfreesboro Pulse

“…Both concise and taut mixtures of lyrics with music that are thoughtful and evocative without being pretentious. … Discover Sparks’ powerful voice now…!”
- Ron Saranich, Cosmik Debris

“A fearless performer, she is notorious for her blend of quirky humor and fiery delivery and has fused a sound and astyle that is unmistakably her own.”
- Cassaundra Baber; Utica Life & Times

“Sparks. . . [has] stuck to her muse and it was exactly what people wanted.”
- John Stoehr; Savannah Morning News

“…..mature and intelligent songwriting… Rolling Stone features and FM radio playlists are very real possibilities rather than wistful pipe dreams.”
- Jonathan Dyer, Phase 9 Entertainment

“I found her vocal stylings interesting, different…Her music possesses a grit and angst not heard much today…”
- Brooke Welu, Northeast InTune Magazine

“Tori Sparks’ debut album…shows both promise and maturity — a rare find so early on! … She has a very feminine yet very soulful voice that sticks with you long after the album is done….”
- Mark Fisher; 1340 Magazine

“ Tori can rock so seductively then revert to a striking emotive process. . . there is nothing formulaic that you can pigeon-hole. . .She has been touted as one of the USA’s bright prospects and I look forward to a long association in listening to her music.”
- Carmine Pascuzzi; Media Search (Australia)

MEDIA KIT »

Click here for the official media kit.