Grace Potter & the Nocturnals

Grace Potter & the Nocturnals Artistfacts

  • 2002-2015
    Grace PotterVocals, multi-instruments
    Scott TournetGuitar, harmonica
    Matthew BurrDrums
    Benny YurcoGuitar, vocals
    Catherine PopperBass2009-
  • Grace Potter was trying to make it as a folk singer before she met the rest of her band. She was performing at a student-run venue called The Java Barn at St. Lawrence University when she met drummer Matthew Burr. The two shared common influences, such as James Brown and The Band, and immediately hit it off. They got married in 2013 but split in 2015.
  • Several songs on Grace Potter and the Nocturnals' fourth album, The Lion The Beast The Beat, were co-written by The Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach.
  • Grace Potter is a big fan of beauty products. In an interview with Seventeen magazine, she cited dry shampoo as her go-to, saying, "The number one thing on tour is dry shampoo. You have to have some dry shampoo because there is just no other way to do it."

    Potter also likes Sally Hansen airbrush tan: "It's magic. People think I'm wearing tights if I put too much of it on, so I have to be careful."
  • Grace Potter and the Nocturnals were signed to Hollywood Records, an offshoot of Disney. Potter told Hit Fix that she was a Disney kid and being on the label helped her do cool things she would've never thought of doing, like lending her band's cover of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" to the Alice In Wonderland soundtrack. Another "dream come true" for Potter was singing the song "Something That I Want," which plays during the end credits of the animated Disney movie Tangled.
  • Catherine Popper, bassist for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, used to play bass for the alt-country band Ryan Adams & The Cardinals. She uses effects pedals, which is a bit odd for a bass player. Potter says everyone in the band has pedals but she stays away from them because she doesn't want to turn into Radiohead and use them all day long.
  • Grace Potter and the Nocturnals were hoping to play on Saturday Night Live. Potter told Speakerboxx that she "wants to play and act on SNL" because it's something she's thought about since she was a kid. Although her acting career didn't pan out, Potter believes she is happy because she "loves what she is doing" and it keeps her "creatively charged."
  • In 2008 and 2009, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals played the hugely popular Jam Cruise. The event features dozens of bands playing on a cruise ship while the ship makes stops in popular sun destinations such as Mexico, Honduras, and Belize. Every Jam Cruise since its inception in 2004 has sold out, which helped the band secure a larger audience.
  • The group disbanded in 2015 when Potter released her solo album, Midnight. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals released their last album, The Lion the Beast the Beat, in 2012.

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