It’s not unusual for college students to play the music of Eric Clapton and Little Feat and other legendary musicians and dream of one day joining their ranks. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals is one band that actually made that dream come true. What started as a group of St. Lawrence University students — Potter, drummer Matt Burr and lead guitarist Scott Tournet — has now turned into a powerhouse of indie rock/Americana that boasts sold-out show after sold-out show around the United States.
| Onstage |
| Performer: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals |
| When: 8 p.m. doors; Saturday |
| Where: 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW |
| Details: Sold out at press time; tickets may be available from online resellers; 800-955-5566; 9:30.com |
“The Nocturnals come through for me with flying colors, which shows me that it’s the people you know and your family that are the ones you should put your faith in,” said Potter of the band’s self-titled 2010 album, which was a career high for them, reaching No. 20 on the Billboard charts.
Potter and her band have landed on a fast track. High-profile appearances at the Americana Music Awards and a duet with Kenny Chesney on the title track of his album “Hemingway’s Whiskey” have pushed Grace into the public consciousness.
Yet it’s the sound of Nocturnal veterans Tourney and Burr joined by bassist Catherine (Cat) Popper from Ryan Adams & the Cardinals and rhythm guitarist Benny Yurco of the GPN side project Blues & Lasers that combine with Potter’s vocals to boost the band to major league status.
“It has always been the three of us, me and Matt and Scott going up to Ottawa and buying records and dreaming of us being onstage playing the way Eric Clapton does, or Little Feat does, and eating spaghetti and drinking bad wine,” Potter said. “It has always been the Three Musketeers and then when Cat and Benny joined us, we were ready to launch. This is where we landed.”
The show, she said, changes every night depending on the crowd. When they’re in Nashville, they’re more country. When they’re in Memphis, they move toward soul. But whatever path they need to take, Potter said she has the band to power them there. The band is akin to a chameleon, and for that she’s grateful.
“That’s what drives me and that is what keeps me talking about my band because they’ve earned that right, they have earned that respect,” she said. “They have earned the right to the spotlight just as much as I have.”
