December 18th: Sparks and Sneed to perform at the Midnight Rooster

Internationally-acclaimed singer/songwriter Tori Sparks will play for the first time in Hartsville this month, in a special acoustic performance at the Midnight Rooster. The concert on will begin at 8pm, all ages show.  The Midnight Rooster is located at 136 East Carolina Avenue, Hartsville.  Call (843) 383-0800 for directions. Also appearing is local favorite Dylan Sneed.

Tori Sparks is based in Barcelona, Spain, having relocated eighteen months ago from Nashville – but she spends most of her time on the road all over the world. She speaks and sings in English, French and Spanish, and plays over 200 concerts each year. Sparks’ new release, Until Morning/Come out of the Dark, marks her third musical collaboration with producer David Henry (R.E.M., Josh Rouse, The Cowboy Junkies, Widespread Panic), and her first with Roger Moutenot (Yo La Tengo, Elvis Costello, Velvet Underground, Gypsy Kings, Rosanne Cash). The recordings feature a cast of world-class musicians, as well as special guest vocalists Shawn Mullins (Grammy nominee, #1 on the US Americana Charts), Mike Farris (Americana Music Association Artist of the Year, Dove Award Winner), and more.

Sparks’ previous three albums (Rivers + Roads, Under This Yellow Sun, The Scorpion in the Story) climbed the Americana and College charts in the US and overseas, have been licensed by MTV, Lifetime, Oxygen, the Travel Channel, SciFi, Life Beyond Breast Cancer, and featured on the compilation Country Vol. 2 released by Universal Music France (over 40,000 copies sold). She has been interviewed by The Los Angeles Times, NPR, the Village Voice, Starpolish, Paste magazine, and others. The All Music Guide gives her five stars, Americana UK calls her "an elemental force."

Tori is known as a champion of the DIY business model, and regularly speaks at universities, performing arts schools, music conferences and festivals (SXSW, Folk Alliance, Woodsongs, WOMEX). The young performer-slash-entrepreneur is also known for actively trying to give back to the community through music. She is the creator of The Feed Your Soul Guitar Project, a tour and folk art auction benefiting Oxfam America. Tori has organized and/or performed at benefit concerts on behalf of the National Federation of the Blind, F.A.C.E., the March of Dimes, VH1’s Save the Music, Rett Syndrome International, the One Campaign, Gilda’s House, and many more.

Tori has already toured in fifteen countries in 2012, and will be on the road non-stop throughout 2013 in support of Until Morning/Come Out of the Dark.  More information is atwww.torisparks.com.