“After headlining last year’s local American MusicFest and Millennium Music Conference, Sparks is back in support of her new concept album, The Scorpion in the Story”

Harrisburg, PA (June 15, 2009) - Award-winning chanteuse and internationally acclaimed Nashville songwriter Tori Sparks will return to the Harrisburg-New Cumberland area this July. She will play three local shows, at Scott’s Old Town Grill on July 2nd (9pm), Suba on the 3rd (9pm), and a special 4th of July celebration at the Local Beat with Rhyne McCormick and the Hey Van Band (8pm).
 
Tori Sparks played last year’s Millennium Music Conference and was a special guest at the American MusicFest in 2008. Her new album The Scorpion in the Story will be released on June 16th, and features an all-star cast of musicians, including Viktor Krauss (Lyle Lovett, Mindy Smith, Allison Krauss), David Henry (R.E.M., Ben Folds, Josh Rouse, Widespread Panic, Cowboy Junkies), Steve Bowman (Counting Crows), Will Kimbrough (Rodney Crowell), Fats Kaplin (Mark Knopfler, Kevin Welch), and Barry Walsh (Gretchen Peters).

The Scorpion in the Story is a concept album, a tour diary recording Sparks’ experiences on the road in 2008. Each song was written about a real person, in a different city all over the United States. A map charting her path is included in the album art. Scorpion also includes bonus track "Le Manege," the French version of the song "Merry Go-Round." Tori's exposure in Europe last year as a result of the success of her song "Cold War" on Universal Music France's compilation Country Vol. 2 inspired
the bilingual artist to delve into singing in her second language. The music video for “Merry Go-Round” was shot on a 100-year-old carousel and features the Nashville Rollerderby Girls.
 
Tori broke out in 2007 with her album Under This Yellow Sun, which was licensed to MTV, Lifetime, and the Oxygen Network and featured on the Paste New Music Sampler # 43 alongside artists such as Elvis Costello. The album was included on the long list of potential Grammy nominees for 2008
in several categories.
 
Please see www.torisparks.com or www.myspace,com/torisparks for more information, show details, and directions.