In late August of 2023, after offering up a series of singles, Grace Potter released her fifth studio album to the world. With a name inspired by a line from John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, and songs inspired by several road trips Potter took to find the space to make sense of life changes and challenges, Mother Road is a triumphant result, tinged in shades of soul, R&B, country, and rock. It only makes sense that an extensive tour would support such a release, and on Sunday, March 3rd, Grace Potter’s Mother Road tour pulled up to the Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon.
After country-soul up-and-comer Brittney Spencer delivered a heartfelt and heartwarming opening performance, the stage was set for Potter to deliver the goods. The spaghetti western-themed intro to “Lady Vagabond” brought the band to the stage and the Mother Road track served as a fitting opener. For this tour, Potter brought along drummer Jordan West, bassist Kurtis Keber, Ricky Dover, Jr. on lead guitar, and 22-year-old Indya Bratton on rhythm guitar.
The stage design reflected the theme of Mother Road, with a double-lined highway running to the front of the stage, some roadside cactus, gas pumps (Ruff n’ Ready Gas) and even some neon signs advertising tacos and donuts. The stage crew wore red “Route 66” gas station attendant coveralls. These attendants got to participate in some theatrics during the performance as well. In the middle of “Good Time,” they came out with flashlights and challenged the premise of the song, trying to keep a good time down and generally being fun-haters. The act was a light-hearted addition to the set and served as a reminder that Potter doesn’t take herself too seriously.
Along with several Mother Road tracks, Potter’s set featured songs from her previous solo albums as well as her previous life leading Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. A few songs illustrated some other fun moments in her colorful career, such as “Something That I Want,” which was featured on Disney’s Tangled soundtrack, and “You and Tequila,” a song she recorded with Kenny Chesney. Brittney Spencer came out for a couple of tunes, including her song, “Reaching Out,” featured on Spencer’s fresh 2024 debut album, My Stupid Life.
Potter saved some heavy-hitters for the second half of the show, including “Stop the Bus” and “Nothing But The Water,” the title track to her very first album. After that rock n’ roll one-two punch, the band left the stage. Potter came back and gave the audience a choice of sad songs, and the winner was “Big White Gate,” a song she wrote for her grandma before she passed away. The band rejoined and let the beast out, ripping through the title track of 2012’s The Lion the Beast the Beat. Keeping with the road trip theme, Brittney Spencer and singer/producer Dresage were invited out for a run through Tom Cochran’s “Life Is a Highway,” with some verses of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor” contained within.
Having promised another sad song, and after pretending to go into Bob Seger’s “Turn The Page,” Potter asked the audience to turn on their cell phone lights for a version of “Stars,” which showcases her raw vocal power. She and the band then finished the show with the fun dance rocker “Paris (Ooh La La).”
Over the course of the evening, Potter played 6- and 12-string acoustic guitars, attacked the keyboards, shook her tambourine, and shredded on her Gibson Flying V. But it’s her voice that moves mountains. She delivers tear-jerking ballads, pop anthems, and hard-charging rock n’ roll, all with spine-tingling vocal power. She’s also a natural-born performer, with an unabashed stage presence that would make Tina Turner proud.
Sunday’s two-hour performance proved that Grace Potter is on top of her game. And after 20 years of delivering high-energy, soul-stirring performances, the only question was why the Roseland wasn’t packed wall-to-wall with adoring fans. While the adage “never miss a Sunday show” might be appropriate here, I’d venture to say never miss a Grace Potter show, no matter what day it is, and even if you have to go on a road trip to get there.
