Concert Reports

Grammy Award-nominated rocker Grace Potter played an amazing show at Paso Roble’s Vina Robles Amphitheatre on August 12. Potter is currently touring solo in support of her debut solo album “Midnight,” It’s her first new music since 2012’s The Lion The Beast The Beat. The album’s first single is “Alive Tonight”

All Photos: Steve Kennedy

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www.GracePotter.com     www.VinaRoblesAmphitheatre.com

GRACE POTTER is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and internationally performing rock musician. With her longtime backing band, The Nocturnals, she has released four studio albums. The fourth, The Lion The Beast The Beat, debuted at #17 onBillboard's Top 200 chart and #10 on Billboard's Digital chart. The single "Stars" reached #1 on the iTunes Rock Song chart. Grace Potter's highly anticipated current release, a solo album titled Midnight, is out now. Of the first single, "Alive Tonight", SPIN says it "sounds every bit as Black Keys as it does Sia, a satisfying halfway point", and that the song "highlights her trademark howly-growly belt." Grace is best known for her hit song "Paris (Ooh La La)." She has opened for Robert Plant, Dave Matthews Band and the Avett Brothers, played numerous festivals, including Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Coachella and Rock in Rio, and has collaborated with members of The Black Keys, The Flaming Lips, and Gov't Mule. The singer-songwriter also had a hit duet with country star Kenny Chesney, “You and Tequila.”

Grace Potter has been on a steady rise since her band formed in 2002 while students as St. Lawrence University in upstate New York. Long praised as one of the best live acts in music today, Potter made headlines in late 2010 after being a featured performer alongside Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj and Sugarland on VH1’s “Divas Salute The Troops.” Continuing on the upward trajectory, Potter stepped out of her comfort zone in a big way in 2011 when she was asked to duet with country superstar Kenny Chesney on “You and Tequila” from his last album “Hemingway’s Whiskey.” That duet went platinum and garnered the Vermont rocker numerous country award nominations.

Potter, who has been called, “…one of the rock world’s reigning elite female vocalists…” and her band have cultivated a growing following with a steady stream of releases (four studio albums to date), incessant touring, and late night TV appearances. They’ve opened for Dave Matthews Band and The Avett Brothers, played numerous festivals, including Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Coachella and Farm Aid, and have collaborated with members of The Black Keys, The Flaming Lips, Kenny Chesney and Gov’t Mule.

Grace Potter’s epic musical journey reaches a new milestone with the arrival of her solo debut, Midnight ( released August 14 on Hollywood Records), an inspired work that is surprising, revelatory and wildly original.

Midnight was recorded and mixed at Barefoot Studios in Hollywood with producer Eric Valentine, whose own diverse discography—from Queens of the Stone Age to Nickel Creek—evidences a similarly adventurous spirit and openness to possibility. If Valentine’s studio work has a distinguishing characteristic, it’s his hard-hitting sonic signature, which is on display throughout Midnight’s dozen tracks. The core studio band consisted of Potter and Valentine on most of the instruments, with Burr on drums and percussion. In addition, members of Potter’s longtime band The Nocturnals: guitarists Scott Tournet and Benny Yurco and bassist Michael Libramento contributed to the sessions, as well as former tour-mates and friends including singer-songwriter Rayland Baxter, Audra Mae, Noelle Skaggs of Fitz & the Tantrums, Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips, and Nick Oliveri of Queens of the Stone Age.

“This album is about embracing life as it comes at you – with all its unexpected twists and turns,” says Potter. “I took a much more open approach to songwriting than I have in the past – probably because it was unavoidable. I’ve experienced a huge amount of growth and change in the past two years – both personal and professional, and it can be overwhelming for an artist to find ways to express that in a vacuum. So I tried to strip away the confines of other people’s expectations. I started tapping into some of the deep-running themes that have shaped me into the human I’ve become, and as I went deeper and deeper, I found the results to be insanely satisfying.

“This music means so much to me because it was hard-won. It was a terrifying yet fulfilling process of boiling down what I really wanted to say – peeling back all the protective layers of lyrical metaphor and sonic padding that I’m so used to leaning on. Ultimately the process has fueled` me to share more, learn more, listen carefully, work harder, love harder… Our time on earth is far too short to be resistant to beautiful opportunities as they come our way, so when my inspiration took me somewhere new, I did what I always do: stripped buck-ass naked and ran straight into the fire.”

Visit www.GracePotter.com for updates

About Vina Robles Amphitheatre

Welcome to the Vina Robles Amphitheatre, where European Inspiration meets California Character and the stars always shine. Here, two of California's great compositions meet, as exceptional wine and intimate live music are paired to create an unforgettable wine country experience.

The 3,300 seat boutique amphitheatre is nestled on a picturesque, oak-dotted hillside in Paso Robles on California's Central Coast. With its opening in the summer of 2013, the Vina Robles Amphitheatre became one of the largest outdoor venues for arts and entertainment in San Luis Obispo County. Featuring a style reminiscent of the California missions, guests are able to immerse themselves in a unique and intimate concert adventure as they enjoy modern amenities and first class hospitality. The concert season runs from May through November and features top tier acts from around the world in all genres. Various seating options all within 150 feet from the stage, including regular, VIP and general admission lawn seating, make events accessible to anyone in the community. We look forward to sharing our love of wine and the arts with you soon. For more information about the Vina Robles Winery, Click Here  

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