NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2025
It’s hard to believe that Grace Potter has been releasing music for over twenty years! She’s an artist that never seems to age and her musicianship, personality, and onstage presence makes you understand why there are Potter groupies. You can’t help but fall in love with her. This year, she released Medicine, an album that she wrote with T Bone Burnett eighteen years ago but has been sitting on a shelf until this year. Included on this record are some re-imagined songs, like “Medicine” and “Paris (Ooh La La)”. that were released on the Grace Potter and the Nocturnals’ self-titled album in 2010. Potter wasn’t planning on touring this year, even with the release of Medicine, but was spurred by an invitation to perform from ArtPark, where she had first performed after her band’s break-up over ten years ago and the release of her solo record “Midnight”. This ignited her current 2025 tour across the US, including some stops supporting Chris Stapleton. On a gorgeous Saturday evening, July 19th, Grace Potter once again graced ArtPark with her presence.
Opening for Potter was Johnnyswim, a folk singer/songwriter couple from Nashville. Also making music for twenty years, the duo of Abner Ramirez (guitar/vocals) and Amanda Sudano (vocals) were a lovely start to a relaxing evening. Even after all this time, they’re very cute on stage; very lovey-dovey, emphasized by warning the crowd that their relationships would extend by six months or even lead to an engagement if they listened to their music. Sounds like they’re definitely worth a listen if you haven’t heard them before.
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At 8:15pm, Grace Potter took the stage with incense in hand as she blew calming vibes into the crowd. Did it work? All I know if that the audience seemed to scream louder! The last time she played ArtPark (September 2023), a fan had brought her a jacket and that fan was here again this night. Potter indicated she had brought the jacket with her but the fan had made two additional jackets for her! This is a very dedicated fan!
Potter opened her set with two old Nocturnals standards: “Medicine” and “Ah Mary”. I remember them playing those at a special WXRP radio station sponsored show at the Studio in Webster hall back in 2011!! They hold up so well and Potter still sounds magnificent! This was about the point of the show where she told us she thinks she swallowed a bug. Ever the jokester, her personality always shines through at any performance. She followed with “Mother Road” from her 2023 studio album. Interestingly, her setlist didn’t include any songs from her latest record besides the three that were also on the Nocturnals record. She also didn’t include any songs from Daylight. I’m sure it’s difficult to satisfy all her long-time rock fans that want to hear her old hits but I was surprised at the decision since she did just release a new album with songs that haven’t been heard live.
The show itself was, as usual, a high energy affair sprinkled with banter from Potter, who admitted that she has a problem with not talking. “Shut up and play” is definitely not in her vocabulary. She did, at one point, refer to Buffalo as “upstate New York” and, while technically true, she may have slightly ruffled the feathers of the residents of “western New York”, although all was forgiven when she put on a Josh Allen jersey!! The band was top notch and their interactions and comradery were evident. There even was a point where Potter celebrated their last show with the evening’s drummer. As we neared the end of the show, it seemed like the audience were given a choice of hearing “Stars” from 2012’s The Lion The Beast The Beat or “You and Tequila”, a duet with Kenny Chesney that earned her a Grammy nomination. In the end, she played both, to everyone’s delight! After saying goodnight to everyone, she somehow stopped and decided to play one more song “The Lion The Beast The Beat”. An encore without actually leaving the stage? Possibly. While I love “Stars”, the fast paced actual finale with its powerful guitars and drums were a perfect way to close out the show.
With Potter releasing “old” material, it’s not clear to me what direction she is taking now with her solo career. She has seemingly abandoned the pop styling of “Midnight” and “Daylight”, moving back to her rock and Americana roots. Also, if she’s not touring to play her new music, does that mean she’s satisfied with touring on her older material? I’m sure her fans have no problem with that. Time will tell but I hope we see Grace Potter again soon. She’s a performer that needs to stay in the spotlight on a stage.
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