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 eye-popping soul-singing, and zany stand-up-style humor. Tori’s brand-new third album, The Scorpion in the Story, 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 (Counting Crows), Will Kimbrough (Rodney Crowell), Viktor Krauss (Lyle Lovett, Mindy Smith, and yes, Alliison’s brother), Fats Kaplin (Mark Knopfler, Kevin Welch), and Barry Walsh (Gretchen Peters).

The Scorpion in the Story is a tale in thirteen chapters, a tour diary in the form of a concept album. Each song was written about one of the many colorful individuals Tori met while touring across the U.S. last year. The album includes a French version of the song “Merry Go-Round,” (“Le Manege”), and was released on Glass Mountain Records in June 2009.