Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Grace Potter, recognized for her commanding vocals and focus on blues-infused roots rock, works as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist whose primary tools remain the Hammond B-3 and guitar. She first gained notice in the early 2000s both on her own and fronting the Nocturnals. The band broadened its sound on the self-titled third studio album in 2013, merging country and heartland rock with strong Memphis-style grooves. Potter ended the Nocturnals that year and began working with producer Eric Valentine on the 2015 album Midnight. Their partnership continued when Valentine produced the reflective Daylight in 2019 and the vivid, expansive Mother Road in 2023.

Born in Waitsfield, Vermont, Grace Potter was raised by parents who supported her creative work across music and theater. She was studying theater at St. Lawrence University when drummer Matt Burr heard her at a 2002 open-mike night and suggested they start a band. She turned him down at first, but reconsidered once her high-school friend and bassist Courtright Beard arrived on campus. The three began writing jazz-tinged songs, with Potter also playing Hammond B-3. Guitarist Scott Tournet joined soon after, and the group, named Grace Potter & the Nocturnals for their late-night rehearsals, began treating music as a serious career. After Burr graduated in 2003 they moved to land owned by Potter’s parents in Vermont, replacing Beard—who stayed in school—with Bryan Dondero.

In 2004 they independently released their debut, Original Soul, which earned praise and drew comparisons to Norah Jones and early Bonnie Raitt. Major-label interest followed, yet the band chose to grow its audience through steady touring and festival appearances. Their live reputation spread, leading Hollywood Records to sign Grace Potter & the Nocturnals shortly after the 2005 self-release of Nothing But the Water. The third album, This Is Somewhere, reached stores nationwide in August 2007. Hollywood mounted a major campaign for the 2010 release Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, sending the group on nonstop tours for the next year and a half. During that period they issued a four-song Christmas EP, a live album in the U.K., and a digital-only set recorded at the Fillmore. Potter’s duet with Kenny Chesney, “You and Tequila,” received a Single of the Year Vocal Collaboration nomination at the American Country Awards, and the pair performed it at the CMA Awards. June 2012 brought the studio album The Lion the Beast the Beat by Grace Potter & the Nocturnals. It reached number 17 on the Billboard 200 and attracted more attention than any prior Nocturnals record, yet Potter opted to record her next project, 2015’s Midnight, as a solo artist. Produced by Eric Valentine, who also co-wrote many songs, the album appeared that August.

By the time Potter returned to the studio with Valentine the two were married, a shift reflected on the emotionally intense 2019 album Daylight. That record addressed the official end of the Nocturnals, a divorce, a marriage, and the birth of her first child.

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic Potter issued two reassuring singles, “We’ll Be Alright” and “Eachother,” the latter featuring vocals by Jackson Browne, Marcus King, and Lucius. Before beginning work on her next album, she and her family moved back to Vermont, a relocation recounted on the 2023 Valentine-produced album Mother Road.