Sparky Parker is a blues/rock/soul guitarist and vocalist from Houston, Texas with the grit, drive, and talent needed to stand tall in the eternally-competitive Texas music scene. Houston fans knew him as a young blues guitar prodigy but Parker has grown far beyond that kind of simple label. Parker is now a triple threat who writes quality songs, sings with a feeling, and plays with ferocity. His latest release with his power trio The Sparky Parker Band, In The Dark, will see daylight in the Fall of 2019 and those close to Parker feel that the record will break him to a larger, national audience. 

Parker began playing professionally straight out of high school, cutting his teeth as a frontman with the rock band Bayou Monster and playing guitar in the blues band Mojofromopolis. He also joined the Houston rock band Funky Mustard, who he still plays with to this day. Parker went on to log road miles with Blues Music Award-winning artists Diunna Greenleaf and Vanessa Collier, playing important shows around the USA and Europe, including The Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise, The Blues Music Awards show, and The Chicago Blues Festival among dozens of other major music festivals.

Parker launched the Sparky Parker Band in 2012 with Kevin Berry (drums) and "Fender" Phil Lock (bass). The band is a high-energy outfit whose debut album, Live In Houston, was captured live in the band’s hometown at Dan Electro's Guitar Bar. The trio format lets Parker dig deeply into his influences, which include Jimi Hendrix, The Allman Brothers, Texas and Chicago Blues, Classic Soul, R&B, and Classic Rock. The band is amped up to take the seven originals and three covers from the new record to the people and knows what it has to offer is tested and true. 

Parker has been compared to Gary Clark Jr, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Jonny Lang but creates intensely original music that never falls into the shadows of imitation. A shy and reserved person offstage, music has always been the best way for him to forge connections with other people. It’s how he tells his story and speaks his mind. That story will get a vital new chapter added onto it with the release of In The Dark and the road and the crowds will finish the tale. Anyone interested in where the blues is heading in the modern era should discover Sparky Parker today.

"Parker’s guitar chops are gritty, articulate, and multi-dimensional, with a genre-blurring quality that melds blues, funk, roadhouse country, and more into a cohesive and entertaining whole.... Parker is understated and tasteful in all that he does and never sacrifices finesse for flash, even when he’s ripping. read more
– Greg O'Cull - Rockin Blues Muse

"Houston guitarist/vocalist Parker alternates between blues and rock, drenching "In The Dark" in wah and adding razor-sharp
lines to "This Old Thing" and Slim Harpo's "Shake Your Hips." His mastery of basic blues dominates "Games" and is even more effective 
on the intense "Sleepy Town." 
– Rich Kienzle - Vintage Guitar Magazine

"In The Dark is bluesy, swampy, and aimed directly at the heart…and they hit their mark."
– Bill Wilson, Reflections in Blue (Top picks for 2019)

"Parker is a classic triple threat: He’s a virtuoso with a Gibson Firebird guitar, the same ax wielded by Texan Johnny Winter. Parker is a smooth, confident singer and an excellent story-telling songwriter"
— Tim Parsons, Tahoe Onstage

"Parker is one skillful lad, whose undoubted gift for melody is complemented by blues engraved deep in his DNA."
— Daniel Pavlica, The Rocktologist

"Leading a crisp trio through everything form pimp scores to straight up power trio stuff, this is one seriously exciting cat that is well versed in delivering the goods. High octane and hard hitting throughout, this is what you need for cardio to really get sweating." 
— Chris Spector, Midwest Record

"Sparky Parker and band have created a solid and interesting album of blues rock. In The Dark will hopefully be Parker’s breakout release."
— David Bowling, Cashbox Reviews

"Add another name to the esteemed Texas blues guitarist family tree. guitarist Sparky Parker’s new album, In the Dark, features ten sparkling blues-rock tracks that will remind you that sometimes the most exciting aspect of blues music is the genre’s continual evolution, and the new and exciting artists that process brings." read more
— Greg Victor - Parcbench.live NYC

"....Sparky’s vocals are well suited to this music. His guitar playing is well informed in the blues and blues-rock genres. He can play straight ahead blues or zoom into the stratosphere with soaring beautifully distorted notes flying from the strings.
...He now brings his considerable guitar chops and vocal skills to fronting The Sparky Parker Band on this his debut release (Live In Houston). This live recording from Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar was a perfect choice for their first time out, as it showcases the bands forceful and cohesive attack." read more
— Greg "Bluesdog" Szalony - Blues Blast Magazine

"Sparky Parker is a young artist with an old soul. He is more passion than flash, more substance than style. He's refined beyond his years. And his new CD Live In Houston should serve as a "how-to" example for both younger and older musicians alike.
As a vocalist, Parker displays both range and depth. He is equal parts crooner and preacher, and he often employs a relaxed style that is reminiscent of classic Allman brothers Recordings." read more
— Hollywood Steve Rangel - Houston Music News

"...Sparky has become the true master of the art. "Live In Houston", Sparky's latest CD is out for consumption. The volume captures the energy of his stage performance that only a handful of us do not get out often enough to hear live performance. The volume includes covers of Chester (Howlin' Wolf) Burnett, Willie Dixon and other great blues players that cry out to the ear and the mind - restraint and timing, Sparky's strong suits, clearly come through on each and every track. Kevin Berry (drums) and Larry Evans (bass) complete the power trio and frame every note from this young blues master's six string. In addition Sparky has included 3 original tracks that when listened to in the context of the album make it clear that this artist belongs to be held in high regard not only in H-Town but to the planet. From the first note to the last on the entire volume, the blues is expressed in a manner that brings a smile to the face and joy to the heart.

Recorded at Dan Electro's, November 2014, the volume captures an energy that rarely defined on recordings made in-situ, that is to say on stage. If you can't or won't make it out to a show but need to hear that sound, the electric blues, this is a must for your next party, lazy afternoon, or ride around town... the driver's seat boogie needs a sound track, and this is it." read more
— Sandy Weinmann - 90.1FM KPFT