Minton Sparks at The Station Inn

Minton Sparks (Jill Webb Hill, a friend) is a poet, song and short story writer, a character actor and a performer, extraordinaire. She has performed at the Lincoln Center in the American Songbook Series, at the Jonesborough National Storytelling Festival as a teller-in-residence, on NPR’s All Things Considered, at the revered Old Towne School of Folk Music, and shared the stage with the likes of Rodney Crowell, John Prine, and Nanci Griffith.

Last April, at the prestigious Conference on Southern Literature in Chattanooga, the Fellowship of Southern Writers gave her the first spoken-word award in its 24-year history.

If you have never witness one of her live performances you have truly missed out. Her latest album – “Live at the Station Inn” –accompanied solely by the remarkable acoustic guitar work of John Jackson (perhaps best known for having played with Bob Dylan), faithfully captures her colorful, instinctive and extraordinary gifts.

The album was recorded at Nashville’s premier bluegrass and root’s music listening room before a hometown crowd – folks who obviously enjoy listening to a good story told by a first-rate storyteller.

Next Thursday, August 25, she will, once again, appear at The Station Inn, sharing the bill with Marshall Chapman, who once said of her – “if she’s not the ghost child of Flannery O'Connor and Hank Williams, then cotton doesn’t grow in a cotton field." If you are in town I highly recommend attending the show.

Here’s a clip from one of her performances at MusicCityRoots:


"Mama's Purse"