Tori Sparks is an internationally recognized singer, songwriter, producer, activist, and public speaker. She was born in Chicago, lived and recorded in Nashville for many years, and currently lives in Barcelona, Spain. She has released seven critically- acclaimed studio albums on her own record label (GMR), has toured in 24 countries, and has been self-managed since she started in the music business at the age of 17.
Tori Sparks’ latest full-length work, Wait No More: The Live Album was released on vinyl and double CD on Record Store Day 2019. “It’s not a live record, it’s THE live record,” says rock magazine Ruta66 in its review. “Flawless,” says news paper La Vanguardia. This is Tori’s seventh album, and her third since embracing the rock-blues-flamenco fusion that has become her signature sound and made her a household name in her adopted country. Listen to Wait No More here.
A stunning live performer, Tori walks the line between soulful and hilarious. She is probably the only blond American you’ll ever meet who is equally comfortable playing a rock club as she is performing in an a flamenco festival. In 2018, rock magazine Popular1 called her one of five most important female voices in Spain; in 2019 she received the award for Rock Artist of the Year by No Solo Cine magazine. Tori puts on the same high-energy show whether playing to 30 people in a house concert or to 30,000 people at an international festival.
Sparks is also known for her activism. She was the Secretary of the Musicians Union of Catalunya until 2020, is a spokesperson for Spanish freedom of speech movement No Callarem, and recently spearheaded the solidarity project Love in a Time of Quarantine, a compilation album featuring songs by independent artists economically affected by the global coronavirus pandemic. She is also creator of The Feed Your Soul Guitar Project, a tour and folk art auction that benefitted Oxfam America. Tori has organized and/or performed at numerous benefit concerts, and is a strong proponent of human rights, gender equality, freedom of speech, and education.
Sparks has been interviewed by numerous media outlets: Radio3, Radio4, TVE2, LateMotiv, Catalunya Radio, La Xarxa, Cadena SER, ScannerFM’s Discoforum, Carne Cruda, Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour, Rolling Stone, Ruta66, Popular1, Rockdelux, Songlines, El Periodico, La Vanguardia, Paste, The Village Voice, NPR, FOX News, and many others.
Tori was one of three artists selected to represent Spain in the international music export program Global Music Match, a collaborative initiative between 17 countries on 4 continents connecting artists around the world. Her voice can be heard on commercials (Festina Watches, Marcilla Coffee, Kids&Us, more), and soundtracks (Criminal Minds, Félix, the hit Netflix series Sky Rojo, and others).
She has presented talks and sat on professional panels at conferences such as South by Southwest (Austin, TX, USA), WOMEX (Thessaloniki, GR), The International Folk Alliance (Memphis, TN, US), This is Music (New York, NY, USA), The New Music Seminar (Cleveland, OH, USA), La Fira Mediterranea (Manresa, ES), PrimaveraPro (Barcelona, ES), the Desert Woman Summit (Arfoud, MAR), others, as well as schools and universities such as the University of Georgia (Athens, GA, USA), Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL, USA), Nashville School of the Arts (Nashville, TN, USA), The Gulf Islands Secondary School (Vancouver, BC, CA), SAE Institute (Barcelona, ES) and Il Scuola di Musica Città di Novate (Milan, IT).
She and the band’s original plan was to be on tour through 2021 in support of Wait No More, but they had to put these trips on hold until 2022 and 2023. However, they put their time in lockdown to good use and released a new single and music video, “The Man Who Sold the World” The song is included as a bonus digital download in their Record Store Day release of a limited-edition color vinyl version of El Mar, in celebration of Tori’s 10th anniversary in Barcelona.
With the release of the vinyl record, she and the band have also released a new EP and created a new live show: ⚡️EL MAR ELECTRIC⚡️. It’s an homage to and a celebration of the mix of cultures and musical styles — American, Spanish, Catalan, Arabic, Latin, and more — that have marked Tori’s 20-year career. She and the band released the EP in 2022 and premiered the live show in five sold-out concerts as a part of Barcelona Districte Cultural Spring 2023 concert series.
Tori has also recently lent a hand on the production of the new albums by the bands The Mothercrow, Alma de Boquerón, Richard White, Warm Up, and others.
She is proudly endorsed by D’Addario Strings since 2007 and Thembe Fashions since 2016. More information and current tour dates can be found on her website.