BIOGRAPHY
John T. Parks is a singer/ songwriter from south of Batesville, Arkansas. He plays and writes a variety of music, with a strong foundation in blues, folk, rock, and Americana music. He has the heart of a storyteller and an ear for catchy melodies. He has shared the stage with such people as Amy LaVere, Ha Ha Tonka, Grace Askew, Amy Helm, and Sun Records artist Sonny Burgess.
His originals are a carefully crafted mixture of old ragtime ditties, sparse acoustic ballads, and raucous stompers that evoke images of old western reveries, despondent drifters, weary characters of bygone eras, and a sense of southern pride, even in the face of destitution.
In 2010, he released Sleeping in the Henhouse, a collection of 15 originals that includes “The Old Boxcar Waltz,” which was featured in American Songwriter magazine.
In 2019, he released This Ain’t a Story for the Faint of Heart. The follow-up, Can Anybody Hear Me Up There, is expected to be released later this year. Parks also performs as part of local cover band The Lockhouse Orchestra and as half of the duo The Natural Disasters.
“…John Parks has as unique a sound as I've ever heard and I've heard it all...”
– Matt Tallant, Jonesboro Radio Group
“The songs of John T. Parks are true Arkansas treasures. His songwriting style brings a literary depth to musical storytelling, and his songs are unique, thoughtful, and free from the cliches that dominate so much of pop and country music. The word 'artist' is used far too often to describe musicians, but John T. fits that bill without argument as he is a true musical artist in every sense of the word.”
– Marty Scarbrough, KASU
John has played Levon Helm Hometown Jubilee, Mountain View Motocycle Festival, Johnny Cash Music Festival, the Arkansas Roots Concert, the Beatles at the Ridge, and the Red, White, and Blue Festival in Mtn Home, as well as countless other fairs, festivals, and celebrations over the years
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