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When singer/songwriter Tori Sparks signed with a Nashville record label in 2005, she thought her big break had finally come. She packed up and moved to Tennessee, recorded a debut album and prepared for a promotional tour. And then the label went under.

"I think working with them took a lot of my time, and I think it wasted a lot of my time and set me back," Sparks says.

But the setback turned into a catalyst for Sparks as she took total control of her career.

Channeling her anger into positive energy, she set up her own touring schedule and started her own label, Glass Mountain Records.

Touring regularly has kept her on the road for much of the past two years, and it brings her to the Blind Tiger on Sunday . The show is a homecoming of sorts for Sparks, who grew up in Raleigh.

"I'm excited to be coming back to the Carolinas because I spent time there, and my sister was born there," Sparks says. "So it's cool to come back there to play."

Sparks managed to fit in a little studio time during her hectic schedule to record her latest album, "Under This Yellow Sun." Released by her Glass Mountain label this past fall, the album reflects Sparks' feelings on the events of the past few years.

"I think that a lot of songs on the album have to do with breaking out of a bad situation, which has to do with that older label situation, so there are some darker songs," she said.

Sparks worked with producer David Henry -- who's produced for R.E.M., Ben Folds and the Indigo Girls -- to create a mix that spans a variety of emotions and genres.

"I wanted to approach each song as its own unique entity," she said. "There's blues on there, there's rock and funk, but there's enough continuity to hold it all together."

Sparks' sound, a sultry mix of her soulful voice and bluesy guitar riffs, recalls a number of performers. But it's difficult to pinpoint one whose style exactly matches the folk/blues/hybrid she plays.

"It's so funny 'cause all artists tend to say they don't sound like anyone, but it is hard to find someone that I sound exactly like," she said.

" I guess the closest is Bonnie Raitt , but weirder."

Sparks mixes it up, often including stand-up comedy, wild guitar playing and highly emotional songs in her performances.

"I play a couple different kinds of guitars, I have props I bring, and there's a lot of interactive-ness and goofiness," she said.

Sparks' performance style developed after years of touring, playing in bars where performers had to get creative to keep the attention of a crowd more interested in drinking than listening.

"If you can make them laugh first, they'll be more likely to listen," she said. "Because you're not just some rock star up on stage, you're a person who's interacting with them and making them laugh."

Even though the road was a bit bumpy at first, Sparks is thankful for the lessons she learned from the rough patches in her career.

"I don't think I'd be doing what I'm doing now if it hadn't happened," she said. "Because I got so mad and I took that energy to set up tours and started to do a lot of touring. And so, it all worked out."

Contact Jennifer Bringle at jenniferbringle@gmail.com.