Modern Folk. Original Voices. True Stories.

Spark and Whisper is a Modern-Folk/Americana band led by singer/songwriters Velvy Appleton (vocals, acoustic/electric/slide guitars) and Anita Sandwina (vocals, guitar, mandolin, banjo).

Based in Northern California, Appleton & Sandwina first crossed paths at the Strawberry Music Festival in 2003, where they met at a campsite jam session. After playing together casually for a few years, they founded the critically acclaimed  “Three At Last”, a folk trio which released two CD’s (“Three At Last”, and “Live From The Freight & Salvage”), garnered stellar local and national reviews, and thrilled
audiences on both coasts.

In 2010, Sandwina and Appleton culled their best material and further evolved it into the toe-tapping, spirit-lifting stew-pot of fresh, modern folk that is Spark & Whisper. In Spark & Whisper, they delve into the rich territory of the modern American experience— our daily encounters and travails with technology, tradition, love, money, and the natural world. Spark & Whisper shares their intimate life experience, communicates their search for soulful purpose, inspires honest exchange with their audiences, and brings their musical vision to the stage with energy and delight.

Paul Liberatore of the Marin Independent Journal writes, “Spark & Whisper is now a serious force in modern folk. A full-sounding acoustic quartet with a debut album of sensitive, introspective and, at times, refreshingly hard-driving indie folk.” (8/19/2011)

The Pacific Sun writes, “Spark & Whisper have created an infective original sound based on pitch-perfect vocal harmonies and dynamic acoustic grooves that soothe and move the mind and body.“