Grace Potter & the Nocturnals

Known for their rootsy blend of folk, blues, and alternative rock, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals hustled their way into the spotlight through sheer talent and relentless work ethic. A staple of the jam band circuit, the group formed in Vermont in 2002 when singer and multi-instrumentalist Grace Potter met drummer Matt Burr at an open mic night at St. Lawrence University in upstate New York. The pair quickly hit it off and recruited guitarist Scott Tournet for their independently released studio debut, Nothing But The Water in 2005. The album received heavy airplay on college radio and garnered the attention of Hollywood Records, who re-released it the following year. It wouldn’t be long before the band reaped the fruits of their hard work in the form of a Jammy Award for Best New Groove in 2006 and two nominations for the Boston Music Awards, including Album of the Year. With their star on the rise, they released This Is Somewhere (2007), their sophomore effort, to great critical and commercial acclaim, making an impressive debut at the top of the Billboard Heatseekers Chart. Both of the album’s singles, “Apologies” and “Falling or Flying,” went on to be featured on several prime-time TV shows such as One Tree Hill, Grey’s Anatomy, and ER. The band spent the following years touring tirelessly, playing music festivals and opening for established acts like The Black Crowes and Dave Matthews band, while Potter worked on a solo project produced by blues legend T-Bone Burnett that was eventually shelved by the label. After the addition of new members Benny Yurco on guitar and Catherine Popper on bass, Potter and company released their eponymous third full-length in 2010, which peaked at Number 3 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums and spawned the singles “Paris (Ooh La La)” and “Medicine.” In subsequent years, they put out a Christmas EP entitled Christmas with Grace Potter and The Nocturnals (2011) and re-emerged with the Dan Auerbach-produced The Lion The Beast The Beat (2012), which reached Number 2 on Billboard’s Top Tastemaker Albums chart propelled by lead single “Stars.”

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