Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound Grace Potter and the Nocturnals delivers an inspired performance

Author: Melissa Marshall

"Take me down to the river. Take me down to the lake. Yes, we'll all go together. We're gonna do it for the good Lord's sake." A smoky voice slid around the enraptured bodies whose collective hushed breathing hung heavy in the air of McCullough Social Space on Friday night. All eyes were fixed upon the twenty-two-year-old dervish with a voice like Aretha and a style reminiscent of Joni's, as she swayed on stage - her band finally flinging itself into a maelstrom of chords and percussion. The spell broken, the reanimated audience continued its awkward dancing and offbeat chanting illicited by a concert that could only be described as a religious experience.

And the leader of the services? Grace Potter - a petite girl from rural Vermont whose mind-blowing vocals and contagious energy refused to release the audience from the palm of her hand. But the college is only a small part of her conquered territory - the young rocker and her gifted band The Nocturnals can claim the entire state of Vermont as loyal subjects. The goup's cult following originated with the release of Original Soul in 2004.

Head of Middlebury College Activities Board (MCAB) concert committee Sam Jesse '07 discussed the Vermont music scene. "One thing many people notice when they come to Vermont is the strength of the local community. In a region where meeting-hall politics still run towns and 'buy local' campaigns offer support for small farmers, it is not surprising that Vermonters show the same sense of community with respect to local musicians. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, in particular, have been embraced by the Vermont community," said Jesse. And in return, Potter and her bandmates Scott Tournet (lead guitar), Bryan Dondero (upright/electric bass) and Matt Burr (percussion) have embraced their small town roots - their music reflecting Hammond B-3 organ-fueled blues-rock, typical of rolling mountains and open spaces. "The band seems to have taken the small town of Waitsfield, Vt., where they currently live, with it wherever it goes, bringing the sounds of rural Vermont to the big stages of Bonnaroo, the Newport Folk Festival and the Telluride Blues and Brews Fest," continued Jesse.

The sound of Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, however, is anything but conventional. When the folk genre is mentioned, most people conjure up images of Willie Nelson-esque acoustic guitar sets. But just as Ms. Potter's voice, which reverberates through the rafters and shakes the bones, is unexpected from her small frame, her music is elusive and defies definition. At times during its Friday night performance, the group sounded like Neko Case with a slight country twang in Tournet's riffs, while on other songs it sounded like veritable reincarnatations of seventies power bands such as Led Zepplin or The Rolling Stones. Still others place the band under the jam-band category and it has been nominated for two Jammy Awards - an awards show sponsored by Relix magazine that celebrates improvisational, live music. However, the band shies away from this label reminiscent of hippie-fests and Mary Jane. Folk, country, blues - a label makes no difference. The only word to describe Potter's control of the stage, and the way Tounet's guitar sings, is inspired.

"Most bands play a show. Very few get up and perform. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals performed this past Friday. All of the members have a stage presence and a genuine enjoyment of their music that you don't see in many bands. This Friday was the second time I saw Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and I enjoyed every bit of it as much as I did the first time, if not more. Those musicians have it. I don't know what it is, but they've got it. I would see them ten times over and never tire," said Starret Berry '09 in reference to Grace Potter and the Nocturnal's awe-inspiring energy.

Max Sinsheimer '09 agreed, "Grace Potter put so much into the performance. Their energy level was intense. I loved her songs, her enthusiasm and the way she drew the crowd in. Plus, she's cute."

She may be just a young country girl, but as her fingers flew over the keyboard - a look of ethereal passion crossing her features as her powerful voice saturated the social space - a whole audience was converted.