Music of the Mountains: Sarah Minto-Sparks

Born in Austin and growing up in Dallas, Sarah Minto-Sparks has always been influenced by her Texas roots. Graduating from Highland Park High School, she moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to attend university.After earning a bachelor’s in behavioral neuroscience at Northwestern University in 2021, Minto-Sparks took a gap year. At the age of twenty, she grabbed a guitar, and she hasn’t stopped playing and singing since.Living in a van during her gap year, she traveled across the country, ultimately settling in Boulder. There, she found her community playing at a weekly open mic and developed her confidence.Her connections through the open mic include Wesley Scott Smith, now a frequent collaborator, and Antonio “Tony” Daniel Reyes, now her manager.Through these two connections, she expanded her performances into Estes Park, and in February 2024, she took the plunge into performing professionally. Continuing to develop her craft, she is one of five mixed-media artists selected for the 2024-25 residency at Boulder’s Oakley Art House.Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record Better off Dead here. Support the showThank you for listening to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are linked below.If you want to be involved in the podcast or paper, contact:Barbara Hardt, our editor-in-chief, at [email protected] Hickman, multimedia producer, at [email protected] Lammers, podcast host, at [email protected] inquiries: [email protected] to our website for all of the latest news. Subscribe to The Mountain-Ear in print and online.Submit local events to promote them in the paper and on our website.Find us on Facebook @mtnear and Instagram @mtn.earListen and watch on YouTube today.Share this podcast by scrolling to the bottom of our website home page or by heading to our main hub on Buzzsprout.Thank you for listening!